Abbie Roads writes Dark Contemporary Romance with a hint of the paranormal. She writes about the darkest sides human beings can have, about love, passion, determination and that some of us don´t have the best start. This book shows in a great way what it means to be saved from a living hell and that we sometimes punish ourselves way more than the rest of the world could. Saving Mercy is one of those books where you know right from the beginning that at some point during the reading you will turn into an emotional mess in a very positive way. The author is famous for her dark, haunting, gritty, bloody and romantic plots. And this one is no exception.
Saving Mercy*
by Abbie RoadsFatal Truth Series #1
Publisher Sourcebooks Casablanca on April 4, 2017
Genre Dark Contemporary Romance
Pages 303
Format Paperback
Source ARC by Author
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He´s found her at last. Cain Killion knows himself to be a damaged man. His only redeeming quality? The extrasensory connection to blood that he uses to catch killers. His latest case take a macabre turn when he discovers a familiar and haunting symbol linking the crime to his horrific past – and the one woman who might understand what it means. Only to lose her to a nightmare. Mercy Ledger is brave, resilient, beautiful – and in terrible danger. The moment Cain finds her, the line between good and evil blurs and the only thing clear to them is that they belong together. Love is the antidote for blood – but is their bond strong enough to overcome the madness that stalks them?
Story
The murder of a man brings Cain to the crime scene where a picture painted in blood starts to make him feel weird. Everything he sees reminds him of his father´s cruel work though his father is in prison with no chance of coming out soon. So who tries to be a copycat and why? When Cain finds out that Mercy, the girl who survived his father´s attack is tortured in the clinic he thought she´d be safe in and for a very good reason, his world turns upside-down.
Style
If you want to read a nice and normal romance where everything is butterflies, sunshine, and flowers, then keep your hands off. But if you are looking for some real troubled characters, a woman who went through the worst and yet has to endure a hell you wouldn´t wish your dearest enemy, you should consider reading this book. Abbie Roads writes dark. Her style is easy to read and you will be amazed by the words she is using. Some of them I didn´t even know existed. This novel is brought to the reader from Mercy´s and Cain´s personal views. There is a lot of pain between the pages and it is kind of surprising that the villain in this plot isn´t showing any hate towards mankind. In fact, this figure gave me the creeps.
Saving Mercy is no book you will read just like that and then go over to the next book. No, the story is frightening in a special way, you see good and evil and despite that, you know that there will be some kind of happy ending, you get caught up in all those emotions that are swirling around. Every death touches you to your core, every senseless loss of a person lets you ask yourself if you are sure that you can read this and yet you can and find yourself doing it.
Characters
Where does Abbie Roads take the power her figures show? Or where do her characters take that incredible strength they have deep inside them and which is what keeps them going, what makes them survive even the cruelest moments life can offer?
Cain had to endure the evil cruelty his father, an ice-cold killer, called education. Where other children were playing with Lego bricks or trucks, Cain got the blood of animals. Where other kids could look their parents in the eyes, Cain was forced to never do that otherwise he got punished for not being submissive. As a grown-up man, he now is caught in a nightmare that brings his skills - that he can see by the touch of blood what the killer saw - what he thought and what he did.
Mercy had to witness the brutal death of her family. A huge scar on her neck is the visible reminder that she had survived a murder that turned her life into a living hell. A hell only one man is responsible for. The moment Mercy finds out who Cain is, she shows at first the typical reaction everyone would expect from her. But then she starts to see the differences in Cain´s face and behavior. The way she does that is remarkable and her trust even more.
Conclusion
This is one of the books where I found myself in a real dilemma: on one side I was so haunted that I wanted to read it in one swoop on the other I had to force myself to take a break here and there otherwise I fear I would have turned into a sobbing and overwhelmed mess. Read!
Happy reading
*Thanks a lot to the author who kindly sent me this ARC. Abbie Roads you rock and I appreciate everything you did for me in the past months very much. You are THE BEST!
Abbie Roads
Abbie Roads is a 2014 Golden Heart Finalist with her romantic suspense novel Dangerous Dreams. Her writing is darkly emotional, but she always gives her damaged characters the happy ending she wishes for all her clients. She’s a mental health counselor known for her blunt honest style of therapy and her shoes. Abbie Roads believes that many of life’s problems can be solved with a kick-ass pair of heels and a chocolate martini—or three. If that doesn’t work—seek professional help.
