Mercy Leroux (Author of We Are Not Strangers)

Mercy Leroux wrote a new blog post Valentine Fletcher “Everyone loves me for a night. Only a night.” A common strumpet with several secrets. Birthdate: July 30, 1758 (18 at the start of On Holy Ground)He Read more of this blog post »
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Mercy Leroux rated a book it was amazing The Philadelphia Campaign: Volume II: Germantown and the Roads to Valley Forge (Philadelphia Campaign) by Thomas J. McGuire	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Compellingly written and, just like Vol. 1, wonderfully detailed.
Aug 08, 2026 06:56PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Philadelphia Campaign by Thomas J. McGuire. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Philadelphia Campaign by Thomas J. McGuire <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mercy Leroux rated a book it was amazing Philadelphia Campaign, Vol. 1: Brandywine and the Fall of Philadelphia by Thomas J. McGuire	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Extremely detailed and well-written.
Aug 08, 2026 06:55PM · like · see review
Mercy Leroux wants to read John Peebles' American War: The Diary of a Scottish Grenadier, 1776-1782 (Publications of the Army Records Society, Vol. 13) by John Peebles (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Mercy Leroux rated a book it was amazing Patriots and Spies in Revolutionary New York by A.J. Schenkman	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Contains details, all the details! Exceptionally thorough, yet still reads smoothly.
Aug 02, 2026 06:47AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Patriots and Spies in Revolutionary New York by A.J. Schenkman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Patriots and Spies in Revolutionary New York by A.J. Schenkman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mercy Leroux rated a book it was ok Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring by Alexander Rose (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
As a reading experience, this book is quite good. Extremely detailed, and vivid writing. As for historically accurate, I have some serious questions. Rose is detailed, but at times draws incorrect conclusions that seem to arise from not looking deepl ...more
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Mercy Leroux rated a book liked it The Fifth of March: A Story of the Boston Massacre by Ann Rinaldi	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Mercy Leroux rated a book it was amazing The Corpse War of 1793 by Brandon Fisichella (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I found it delightful how well the book gets into the verbiage and style of the eighteenth century. Even the title page is fashioned after the style of the times: "The Melancholic WAR of CORPSES containing a Complete & Authentick account of the Desol ...more
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Mercy Leroux is now following Salina B. Baker Author of The Line of Splendor: A Novel of Nathanael Gree...
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Mercy Leroux wrote a new blog post

Valentine Fletcher

“Everyone loves me for a night. Only a night.”
A common strumpet with several secrets. Birthdate: July 30, 1758 (18 at the start of On Holy Ground)He Read more of this blog post »

Mercy Leroux rated a book it was amazing

The Philadelphia Campaign by Thomas J. McGuire

The Philadelphia Campaign: Volume II: Germantown and the Roads to Valley Forge (Philadelphia Campaign)
by Thomas J. McGuire

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Compellingly written and, just like Vol. 1, wonderfully detailed.

Mercy Leroux rated a book it was amazing

Philadelphia Campaign, Vol. 1 by Thomas J. McGuire

Philadelphia Campaign, Vol. 1: Brandywine and the Fall of Philadelphia
by Thomas J. McGuire

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Extremely detailed and well-written.

Mercy Leroux wants to read

John Peebles' American War by John Peebles

John Peebles' American War: The Diary of a Scottish Grenadier, 1776-1782 (Publications of the Army Records Society, Vol. 13)
by John Peebles (Goodreads Author)

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Patriots and Spies in Revolutionary New York
by A.J. Schenkman

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Contains details, all the details! Exceptionally thorough, yet still reads smoothly.

Mercy Leroux rated a book it was ok

Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring
by Alexander Rose (Goodreads Author)

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As a reading experience, this book is quite good. Extremely detailed, and vivid writing.
As for historically accurate, I have some serious questions. Rose is detailed, but at times draws incorrect conclusions that seem to arise from not looking deepl As a reading experience, this book is quite good. Extremely detailed, and vivid writing.
As for historically accurate, I have some serious questions. Rose is detailed, but at times draws incorrect conclusions that seem to arise from not looking deeply at the source material. I forgave the notion that William Cunningham was hung, because that is a popular albeit incorrect rumor. However, I looked into two cases that caught my attention and came away perplexed about Rose's treatment of the source material.
First: people were not, in fact, lighting prostitutes on fire in the Holy Ground. None of Rose's cited sources support this. There was one case of a woman named Christian Taylor dying of severe burns, but this was because she refused a sailor, not because she had an disease, and furthermore, there is no mention of her being a prostitute.
Then there's Daniel Taylor. No source lists him as captain; he was either a lieutenant or sergeant (probably sergeant). The doctor who administered the emetic was not James Thacher, but Moses Higby – Thacher is quite clear in his diary that he merely heard about this case and did not witness it himself. Third, the letters he carried were from friends (not officers) addressed to him, not to people in Burgoyne's camp. His defense at trial is misunderstood; the author appears to have confused being an express with a spy, when those were traditionally different roles. Parts of that event are also simply fictionalized in the retelling - for example, there’s no reports of Daniel Taylor panicking or that he 'forgot' about the silver ball before being brought to Clinton (In fact, Clinton's recounting is quite clear that he was not the one who witnessed Daniel swallow the silver ball). Nor could I find evidence of news of Burgoyne's surrender arriving just as he was hung. No citation is provided for this, and there is no description of this event in sources that do describe his execution.
Altogether, I realize everyone misinterprets and makes mistakes. But these are just the two stories I happened to know about and look into. Maybe I happened to choose the two inaccurate cases and the rest of the book is sound; I hope that's the case. But I was left with the feeling that the historical facts were second to a good story. ...more

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Patriots and Spies in Revolutionary New York
by A.J. Schenkman

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The Fifth of March: A Story of the Boston Massacre
by Ann Rinaldi

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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

The Fifth of March is a decent story, well written and well-researched, especially for the time it was written in.
It's rather sound as a narrative, with clear themes and decent character development. It follows Rachel Marsh, John Adams' real life ser The Fifth of March is a decent story, well written and well-researched, especially for the time it was written in.
It's rather sound as a narrative, with clear themes and decent character development. It follows Rachel Marsh, John Adams' real life servant from around this time period, and her relationship with Matthew Kilroy. Rachel's internal conflict centers on her search for a place, which arrives at a satisfying conclusion wherein she decides that she must follow what she thinks is right, even when well-intentioned mentors tell her otherwise.
The story also strikes a nuance that is absent in many American tales of the Revolution (which often fall into a simplistic "British bad, Americans good"). Even the characters who are wise mentors, like John Adams, are occasionally wrong (and significantly so), which gives them a distinctly human complexity. Rachel's understandings of her place are rooted in an understanding of liberty, of being able to decide your own fate regardless of where you come from, which nicely ties the novel's bildungsroman elements with the history in which it's set.

My complaints about are threefold, and none of which take away from this book's achievements. Firstly, there's a "personal taste" element. Secondly, there's an outdated cultural view promoted (but fair for when it was published in 1993). Lastly, despite being well-researched on the whole, I must be nitpicky and point to some incorrect facts.

Historical Inaccuracy
Rinaldi mentions that Patrick Carr was 17, when in reality he was about 30, while James Caldwell and Samuel Maverick were 17. It's also a strange choice to have Montgomery try to flirt with Rachel when he was known to be married (not that that stops men, but there were other soldiers who weren't right there in the same cell, so it's an odd choice).
Moreover, Matthew Kilroy asks Rachel to bring him paper to write home. In real life, Kilroy was illiterate. The story also portrays Matthew's branding as carried out immediately after the verdict, when in reality there were nearly two weeks between the events.
These are minor. The novel's more impactful inaccuracy is that it relays that, as a child, Matthew was coerced into joining the military to pay off his brother's gambling debts. While the real Kilroy did join the military at the unusually young age of fifteen (a child), the forced part is almost impossible. See Don Hagist's lecture here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_Hj6...) detailing how the 18th century British military prevented coerced conscriptions.
And, of course, there's a wide range between "forced" or "tricked" and joining of your own free will with a full understanding of what you were doing with all the options possible in life, and we don't have history telling us what Kilroy's circumstances were beyond that he wasn't a skilled tradesman and wasn't educated enough to read. It's fair to presume his options were limited.
Still, despite the oft-repeated American assumptions about how the British forced their soldiers to fight and they were all young men barely out of childhood, that's just not accurate. In fact, in 1770, most men in the 29th Regiment of Foot were Irish and in their 30s. Because the book perpetuates the myth that the British were all forced kids who had no liberty, this inaccuracy rankles a bit more.
However, let's also give Rinaldi credit. She was writing in the 1980s-90s without the advent of, say, Google. It's not that she didn't do the research so much as it seems made a few mistakes. And these are fairly minor details, even the conscription story, that don't change the overall trajectory of the narrative.

Outdated Views on Women
Rachel's and Matthew's relationship is very much framed as the older man tempting a younger woman with corruption, but Rachel redeems Matthew by not giving in and compromising her virtue (ie, not "kissing" Matthew). Rachel's uncle, for instance, compares her and Matthew to Rachel's parents, who conceived Rachel before marriage. Rachel is horrified and scandalized by this. Fair enough.
The depth of Rachel's horror at this, though, and the framing of this as shocking beyond belief, is far more anachronistic. In reality... such marriages were hardly uncommon even in Puritan-descended Massachusetts. Of course, premarital sex wasn't encouraged back then, but it was common enough. Make no mistake, I'm not saying the 1770s had a progressive view. They did not. However, the framing and even the wording used in the novel reads much more modern. As a result it took me, even as a preteen, out of the story and into modern day.
That Rachel's insistence on keeping the relationship pure from any physical show of romantic interest plays a role in redeeming him also makes me, well, cringe. As someone who grew up in the 1990s, when the book was written, the way the whole book frames sexuality comes across less as a historical recounting of Puritan ideals and more like a 1990s True Love Waits campaign. It preaches that men only want one thing and sex is bad and will ruin you, but keeping your virtue will redeem a man.

Personal Taste
The "personal taste" aspect I didn't like is that, despite the odd framing at times, the actual romance is cute. It made me root for them. Rachel's decision not to marry Matthew at the end? It left me unsatisfied as a kid and it still does now.
Again, this is, by itself as a narrative, not a valid flaw. It is purely a taste thing. Rinaldi has a theme this ties into and it is a decision that cements Rachel's understanding of who she is and where her place is. ...more

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The Corpse War of 1793
by Brandon Fisichella (Goodreads Author)

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I found it delightful how well the book gets into the verbiage and style of the eighteenth century. Even the title page is fashioned after the style of the times: "The Melancholic WAR of CORPSES containing a Complete & Authentick account of the Desol I found it delightful how well the book gets into the verbiage and style of the eighteenth century. Even the title page is fashioned after the style of the times: "The Melancholic WAR of CORPSES containing a Complete & Authentick account of the Desolation of Stowlham and the Great Battle between the LIVING and the DEAD." Beautiful.

Second, the action grabbed me from the beginning – the slow building tension as John (whom I've decided to adopt) warns his skeptical comrades, their march to Stowlham, and the inevitable arrival of the "devils," which is genuinely visceral and horrifying and... emotional. (The teeth chattering wound up in my nightmare the next night, so thanks for that, Mr. Fisichella).

Characters: Ensign Tell is barely there, and yet, he had my heart as well as the narrator's. Captain Lawrence and the unnamed woman and her husband pack an emotional punch. And Captain Penn is a bright, sparkling gem.

Then there's John, John, John, my sweet summer child and the standout character for me. Suffice to say he's incredibly sympathetic and complex, and the narrator's description of why he calls him John when everyone else is called by their surname moved me to actual tears.

What I was left wanting:

– More details of the individual soldiers and victims. What do they look like? What are their backstories? Each dying redshirt (haha, get it) got their small distinguishing shout-out, but what about while they're living? I wanted to distinguish John, Bennet, Wilkes, and everyone beyond just 'soldier' or 'weeping' or 'stubble.' What color are their hair and eyes? Is their visage round, square, oval? Have they a bulbous nose, a narrow one? Etc.

– Character development. Aside from John, there's not much, and even the narrator is not as explored as much as I wished. (Where did he come from? Why did he join the army?) However, that may be in keeping with the fact that this is written as a "true telling" – in other words, this is a story within a story. In the novel, our narrator is publishing his account for the public to read. Thus it makes sense for our narrator to restrain himself from revealing everything about his past.

– The ending. Was it, and the lack of complete answers, fitting for a grim tale of bloodshed experienced by a common soldier? Sure. Was it the ending I personally wanted or enjoyed? Absolutely not. But that's my personal taste.

All that being said, I couldn't put it down. It gave me nightmares and made me cry. So, ultimately, I highly recommend this book! ...more

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	We Are Not Strangers: Boston 1775 (An Omegaverse History of the American Revolution Book 2) 4.45 avg rating — 11 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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