There are two things that I personally hate in a book: excessive angst and love triangles. This book had BOTH of those things and that is a personal problem for me. So I had to decide what to do with my rating of this book. There are a lot of people who enjoy both angst and triangles so I don’t want to punish the author for doing a rather outstanding job writing a book about things that give me a migrane. I’m going with 3 stars because this book was good-really good, and includes some really poignant writing and character moments. I think, even despite the ick factor for me I would have given this book at least 4 stars if the beginning had not been so slow and the end so quick. There was something about the character introspection and their interactions that just didn’t do it for me at the beginning of the book. It took a while to get into where the book was going and by that time it went to the bad place (for me).
I highly recommend this book for those of you who really enjoy an agonizing emotional journey because boy was this ever one of those books. This book is about Mercy and even though there is definitely a romance, it’s Mercy’s story that is being told in this book. And it is some story. Mercy has had some seriously messed up things occur in her life courtesy of parents that never should have been allowed to be parents. Mercy’s actions and reactions to the events of her life are tragic but understandable, she has been a drug abuser and was promiscuous as a way of punishing herself for the sins of others. When Just One Lie starts out, Mercy is really starting out. It’s the beginning of a new millennium and it’s the beginning of Mercy (who was previously Melody). There were times during Mercy’s story that I wondered if she was going to make the healthy choice for her life, there were other times when I was frustrated because she did not make the right choice but through everything, Mercy was one of the stronger heroines I’ve had the pleasure to read about.
So what about the romance? There were two romantic interest in this book, Ash the badboy and Brad who is 100% certified book boyfriend material. Although I was rooting for one more than the other based on my perception of each man’s impact on Mercy, they were both important to the story. Again, I hate love triangles but I did think the author used the triangle in a way that moved the story forward and illuminated Mercy’s strength and growth. Through Mercy’s interaction with both Brad and Ash, we get a better look at who she is and how she is coping with discovering herself. Her choice in the end reflects her progress and her fortitude.
I have to say again, I don’t know if my rating for this book is an accurate reflection of the book. I personally found it to be a little heavy at times. I could almost feel myself drowning in the depth of the angst BUT it wasn’t pointless filler. This was a heartfelt story that you simply can’t forget and if angst and triangles don’t bother you, this should be on your MUST read list.
**ARC provided by Publisher**
I was looking to post on the blog for the giveaway. I was going to say a Tatted bad boy.
ReplyDelete