Books,  Review,  Three Stars,  YA

Beg For Mercy by Shannon Dermott

27 January, 2012
Author: Shannon Dermott
Published: August 8th 2011
Publisher: Wicked Truth Publishing
Pages: Kindle Edition (Unknown)
Goodreads: Add It
Summary: (Goodreads)
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.

THREE OUT OF FIVE STARS ***
This may be one of the harder reviews I have written in a long while. The problem was that I did, ultimately, enjoy reading this novel but at the same time, I also didn’t enjoy it. Ah yes, it’s a horrible place in my head right about now! Therefore, trying to give this book a rating and a review is being a bit difficult at the moment but, nonetheless, I am going to try and get all these jumbled up thoughts in my head some meaning and put them into helpful words on the page.
Okay, we’ll start with something fairly simple; the characters. First off, I wasn’t particularly fond of the main protagonist. I liked her to begin with, thought that she was a decent enough character but as the plot deepened and things started to unfold I started to grow a large sense of dislike for her. She wasn’t a plot-driving character. She didn’t cause the plot to change but rather, it changed around her and she reacted to everything going on about her but not in a ‘let’s fight this’ or a ‘I’m going to take control’ sort of way but more of a ‘puppy-on-a-string’ kind of way that just infuriated me. I really felt like shouting at her on more than a few occasions, especially when Luke was trying to tell her things and they would get interrupted and then she would never being it up again. It infuriated me because as a reader I wanted to know but as a person I would not be able to let it drop. But maybe that’s more of a personal thing?
As for the boys… well, I really liked Luke. He was just so sweet, gentle and caring that I wanted to pull him out of the pages and give him a big old hug! I love that he was the only one she didn’t constantly ‘gush’ over his hotness. I like that he was subtly hot, in her mind (and mine) but really it was just his kindness that really struck me. I felt that he was a really well-rounded character. I adored Flynn as well, he was that bad boy with something deeper going on and you could really tell but what I didn’t get was why she didn’t. I mean, he was being pretty damn obvious about it! But then, that was just another character flaw against Mercy. Paul I wasn’t particularly fond of. He was a bit stand-offish in my opinion. He didn’t really have a backbone and really only came back when she made him (point for her?). Then, lastly, there was Sebastian who I also kind of liked. I liked him, not how she reacted to him but there we go! He was the true dark, mysterious boy who captured my own evil heart and ran away with it. Haha.
I enjoyed reading about Maggie and her relationship with Mercy, that was quite fun and interesting and reminded me slightly of my own relationship with my best friend so that was quite nice! Then there was Mercy’s mum, she annoyed me quite a bit but I think that’s more on a personal level as well. But hey ho! So, all in all, the characters were fairly okay. Most were quite complex but there were a few flat characters but luckily these were easy to skim over and not think much of.
Plot-wise, I’ve never read a novel with a succubus and while it was interesting, I’m just not sure it was for me. Whether or not this was just because of Mercy, I’m not sure. But, I did enjoy the other demons and paranormal creatures in the story and how they interacted with the others so maybe I shouldn’t rule out the creature as a whole.
I did, however enjoy the plot for the most of the rest of it and enjoyed watching it and seeing how it was going to turn out. I was really irked by the ending, unfortunately, and that is a large reason for while I struggled with this review. I finished the book and just felt a bit put off by the book. It was frustrating at best. But, on hindsight, it was probably more than just the ending that annoyed me, as this review has pointed out. But, I am intrigued to see where the next book will go and I would love some more explanations on a few things and so I guess I shall wait for the next instalment and read with hopes that it is just slightly better than this one!
I received this book for review from the Shut Up and Read group on goodreads’ Read it and Reap. I am glad for the opportunity and feel that people who enjoy love triangle stories and easy books that aren’t too complicated in their plot.
Faye

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