by Shannon Dermott
Kindle Edition
Published August 7th 2011 by Wicked Truth Pubishing
Source: Author
Buy the book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Description:
Everyone dreams of that first kiss. Of that magic moment when your lips finally meet those of that special person you’ve waited your whole life for. A little awkward, a little scary, a little hot and every bit amazing. We speculate that the whole world will shake and time will just stop. No one, however, ever imagines that kiss to bring Death himself knocking.
Sixteen year old Mercy Moore's life just got more complicated. The kiss that originally could have meant she would finally have a boyfriend now was the kiss that could have very nearly ended his life. A small detail her mother conveniently never told her will take her life for an abrupt u-turn. Dating, no love, was now completely and utterly impossible. And the boy well, that boy would never be the same.
But life, however cruel, goes on. Far too soon for her taste, Mercy finds herself at a senior party with the elite students of her school and her best friend. And of all things, playing a stupid game that could very well mean the death of someone in that small room. If it were not for her best friend, the hottest guys in school, and a small need to fit in, she may have been able to escape the disaster that was to come. Her worst nightmare, her personal curse, her very life, only gets dangerously worse.
This is a young adult paranormal romance novel.
Review:
Mercy Moore is not your average sixteen year old highschool student. She is a part human, part succubus. A fact she accidentally discovered when she almost killed the first guy she ever kissed, Paul, who then later became her best friend. Due to this, Mercy has restricted herself from getting close to boys, much less having intimate relationship with them for fear that she might really kill one of them.
There were moments in the first dew chapters where we see Mercy getting really hung up over this; being envious of other girls who can freely kiss guys whenever they want especially when Paul, who she still had feelings with, was then going out with another girl. In other circumstance, I might have rolled my eyes on this, but it was quite difficult not to sympathize with her. I guess it became hard for her to resist the temptation because when a cute guy started paying attention to her, she couldn't help but succumb to it.
Though it wasn't hard to feel sympathy for Mercy over trivial things, I still had mixed feelings for her. On one hand, I think her usage of SAT words in each chapter was cute and hilarious. But on the other hand, given that she was incredibly smart, I disliked her tendency to be assuming and judgmental (especially toward Flynn) without good reason. Also, for not being curious enough when it was apparent that her friends were hiding something from her.
Another thing I had mixed feelings with was the romance. I like a good romance and no matter how many times I say that I hate love triangles, I wouldn't be able to help it if the romance is really well done. So, umm... "love hexagon"? I don't know how I feel about that ESPECIALLY when I'm on Team Flynn and the other guys are as irresistible. Luke, Flynn, Paul, Sebastian... These are the boys who play a vital role in Mercy's life. They are all really lovable with distinct characteristics so it's hard to compare them with one another.
Overall, Beg for Mercy is good start to a young adult paranormal series. It's new and exciting and will put you on the edge of your seat several times. And that ending? To die for! It was frustrating in the best way possible. Will definitely be reading the second book soon. :)
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Disclosure: This book was received from the author as part of the Beg for Mercy blog tour (hosted by SupaGurl Tours), for free in exchange for an honest review.
About the Author
Shannon first love was reading, diving into other realities to explore and brave new worlds. To share her writing is the best experience of all. Her first series explores the life and trials of being Mercy Moore, a teenage cambion. When Shannon isn't writing she loves to shop and watch horror movies that make turning out the lights seem like a stupid idea.
A love hexagon? That's a lot of love going around Chel! I fail at geometry, so I need authors to just go back to love that doesn't take any particular shape, just a nice one on one romance:) Still, despite that drawback, I do like the sound of Mercy, and I haven't read many books that feature succubi, so that makes me curious. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI've heard about that love shape, I do find it quite concerning. It's also a lot to keep up with! I'm glad you enjoyed it overall though. Fab review! :)
ReplyDeleteA love hexagon is a bit too much but otherwise this sounds like a fun read. And it's nice to have something different being featured with the succubus aspect; we still haven't got much of those in YA.
ReplyDeleteI call it a love web! Hahaha! I've read a couple of chapters of this book but stopped after seeing that this has indeed a love hexagon/web. Lol! it's not that the book wasn't good (I've seen a lot of positive reviews), I just feel like I wouldn't have the patience for it. But still, I'm curious with this series. I would still want to know who Mercy will end up with (hopefully with Finn!) on the final book. Haha! Great review, Chel. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't see many YA books about succubus so that's something new for me. And from the cover I would never have guessed that it was a paranormal.
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me on. Sorry about the love hexagon! LoL. Just one of those things when you're a succubus. Happy Reading, Shannon. :-)
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