Mercy

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Title: Mercy
Author: Debra Anastasia
Publication date: 08/20/2017
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: No

So, the hero was an assassin who stalked the heroine (as well as 2 other girls) and had a full-body skeleton tattoo (even on his face)...and I adored him. What the heck did you DO to me, Debra Anastasia???

​I was only about 10% into the book when I realized there would be no sleep until I finished it. It grabbed me right by the feels and refused to let go until the very end.

It’s definitely a slow-burn romance (no sex until maybe the 40% mark, or so), and I’m really glad it was, because a quick hook up for these 2 beautifully damaged characters just wouldn’t have made sense. The slow build-up gave the author time to set up Nix and Becca’s backstory, which was essential to understanding how these 2 polar opposites could ever make sense as a couple. And, holy hell, do they EVER make sense as a couple.

Becca was an extremely likeable heroine. She was open and honest and accepting of Nix and his, um, eccentricities. She never asked him to be anything other than exactly what he was, and I really enjoyed that about her.

But as much as I enjoyed Becca, the real draw of the story for me was Nix. He loved and protected Becca from afar for years, thinking they’d never meet. He acted completely selflessly, and that’s just something you don’t see too much of in romance land. And his devotion to Christina and Ember, and to his friend (brother, really), Animal, was absolutely beautiful. (Quick aside: I’m not generally a fan of face tattoos. But by about 20% of the book, I totally didn’t care about the face tattoo, and I—a grumpy old lady of the highest order—found Nix, skeleton tattoo and all, to be hot as hell. Seriously. Hot. Who knew, right?)

The sex scenes weren’t the main focus of the story, but they were SUPER steamy, nonetheless. Fans of romantic erotica would be totally satisfied (ahem) with what they read here.

Secondary characters were FANTASTIC. Pretty much everything that came out of Henry’s mouth made me happy. And just so you know, Debra Anastasia, I will be 1-clicking the crap out of Animal’s story whenever it’s ready.

All in all, this was a somewhat gritty, somewhat dark, somewhat hilarious (pecker pinanta. Ha!) read with a damaged-but-not-broken hero and the heroine who was tailor-made just for him. This one has all the feels you could ever want from a slow-burn romance, and all the heat you could ever want from an erotic romance. In other words, why are you still reading??? Go 1-click!                     

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
Crushes it. Holy crap, does it crush the romance stigma.

Other reading suggestions
Check out the Debra Anastasia backlist. And for another sometimes gritty, sometimes dark, often hilarious read, try Willing Captive by Belle Aurora.

Note: you can check out our 5-star review of Willing Captive here. ​

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