5 MERCIFUL STARS ✬ ABBIE ROADS ✬ SAVING MERCY

SAVING MERCY

Fatal Truth #1

by

ABBIE ROADS

✬✬✬  5 MERCIFUL STARS ✬✬✬

The air smelled of pine and tasted of remembered pain.

I'm trying to keep this as spoiler-free as possible. One warning though - if you are sensible to blood or violence this book is not for you.

I love when an author introduces you to a new story and you don't feel disoriented but at home from the get-go. The premise of this book sounds fascinating: The son of a serial killer helps the FBI finding murderers by re-living scenes from the crime as a consultant. The blood on scene is his tool - when he paints himself with it he can clearly see what transpired.

The former victim of the consultant's father is being held in an asylum. Against her will. What makes it worse is that she endures abuse on a daily basis with no chance to escape.

Our hero, Cain, has been keeping tabs on Mercy but he doesn't know about the atrocities happening at the psychiatric hospital until an old friend, who works there, makes him take her with him to save her. From here on the mindf*ck starts and let me tell you, it's an awesome one.

He was Killer Killion’s Kid— Triple K, the media called him. The spawn of a killer with the genetic predisposition to be a murdering machine.

Cain has a love-hate relationship with blood. He craves the feeling of it on his skin, it is the gateway to the minds of those who kill mercilessly.

He became the killer. He saw what the killer saw. Did what the killer did. Felt what the killer felt.

He doesn't want to become like his dad. Often times he thinks there is to much of his sperm donor in him so there is a lot of self loathing inside him going on when he meets Mercy. She shows Cain from the first moment on that he is nothing like his father, to convince him and make it stick is the real problem. There is so much self-disgust inside of him that she often struggles to make him believe in himself.

As a character Cain is sweet and so painfully broken, I wanted to hug him all the time. His father broke him when he was a boy and that child surfaces often. I bawled when I felt how starved for love Cain was. Mercy is the band aid and salve to all his emotional ailments.

He squeezed her hand holding his, and his free arm snaked around her slowly, as if he was waiting for her to change her mind. But only love lived here between them. Slowly he settled his head against her shoulder and neck.

Sometimes he lashes out at people. Like a hurt animal he bites first before he gets bitten.

Mercy is a tremendously strong heroine yet has a kindness about her that is miraculous. The things she has gone through should have broken her beyond repair, yet she is endearing, sweet, caring. Both of them feel immensely protective of one another and it is that trait that causes a lot of hurt between them.
Their behavior is sometimes erratic and I had to keep reminding myself that these people don't act like you and me. They are too complicated, too damaged but in a roundabout way they make sense and are utterly perfect for one another. And that's why their moods and actions, while erratic, make sense to me too.

Mercy's and Cain's connection is instantaneous - they bond over the fact that they both have been broken by the same person and the connection deepens very fast. You could call it insta-love but it is absolutely believable which I appreciate.

His hands cupped her face as if he held something fragile in his palms, and then his tongue was in her mouth and she was lost. She didn’t know where she was. Didn’t have a past or future. All that existed was this moment where every muscle and bone, every breath and heartbeat, every working brain cell tuned in to Cain and his tongue in her mouth filling her with the warm, sweet taste of him and the feeling that for the first time in her life, she’d found perfect harmony. 

Abbie Roads has a very vivid writing style. The words on the pages transform easily into images in your mind. I really loved that, and generally the story flows smoothly.
I wouldn't call this book paranormal romance. It is a mix of thriller, paranormal and romance and all these elements are in balance. The suspense is so good and full of tension that I was on the edge of my seat most of the time. I didn't see the solution coming until I the last plot twist - and there are a couple that left my mouth hanging open. The end was completely satisfying in every aspect. If you love any of these components give this a shot (if you can handle a lot of blood). I am convinced you won't regret it. She has totally won me over and I can't wait to get the next in the series in my hands.