The Mercy Seat

by Alvetta Rolle

Going from raunchy to redeemed is not easy. When 19 year old prostitute Sofia Douglas walks into Freedom Baptist to reconcile with her mentally abusive foster mother Julia Aaron, she is met with much more than she bargained for.Although befriended by an elderly church mother by the name of Ruth Stills, she begins to fall for Ruth’s son Xavier who is handsome, caring, a minister… and married. Sofia begins an endless cycle of trying to stifle mutual feelings for a married man of God, and combat the bitterness of a mother who has her own issues, both spiritually and psychologically.With the arrival of the mysterious Sofia walks at the last night of revival, Xavier Stills and Felecia's already troubled marriage takes a tumultuous turn for the worst. Felecia and Xavier now have to fight to save their diminishing relationship, even as they try to ward off the temptation of yielding to outside influences.

Genres: Christian

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2012

Reviews

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was different than my usual read, as I like Christian mysteries. However, when I saw the cover and read the description, I was curious!

This is a wonderful story about Sofia Douglas, who not only went through the struggle of not knowing who her real mother was, but of being tossed out at the tender age of when she is barely an adult by her foster mom as well.

Not knowing where to turn she goes into prostitution just to survive. However, her heart still aches to have some sense of belonging so she goes looking within the church her foster mom attends for a possible reunion. But the reunion is not at all like she plans, AND on top of all that she is now attracted to a married minister, AND the attraction is mutual.

This is a beautiful story of forgiveness of others, and the process of forgiving ourselves. It also hits a homerun on the topic of marriage as well, as it discusses major marital issues with its subplot with what transpires between the minister and his wife, due to Sofia's arrival at church.

If you like Urban Christian Fiction, inspirational stories. and a heroine you can root for, you won't regret getting this book!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mercy Seat was a good story of redemption and the importance of not letting yourself stray emotionally in marriage by getting close to someone who is not your spouse. I liked the pacing of the story and how realistic the author was regarding temptation and the characters' emotions. I also loved the way she tied Sophia's emotional problems to her adoptive mother's issues. Ruth was a great influence and a solid example of how spiritual mentoring should occur. The spiritual and emotional insight was deep and for the spiritual application alone it was worth reading.

I loved the honesty in this story. The author clearly knows how to communicate emotion on the page. The delivery of it could use a little polishing regarding point of view, but honestly, it didn't take away from the value of the story as a whole. I would definitely recommend it to couples who feel an emotional distance developing between them so they can see the consequences of not dealing with things early on. Lovers of Urban Christian Fiction will enjoy the Mercy Seat. In some ways this story was deeper than just focusing on the church drama, and I appreciated that.

[Veronika Sprague · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mercy Seat is not the type of book I would normally read on my own. Not a fan of Christian romance novels, I didn't know what to expect from this manuscript...And then I started reading it. I was immediately impressed by the clarity and reality these characters possessed. Alvetta Rolle, the author, struck me as the kind of author who knew her characters as if they were her own children. When I asked for more details or expansion of certain scenes to show me more about what the characters were thinking, Alvetta wowed me with new material that just seemed to ooze out of these characters as if they were standing in front of me. I wound up loving the book, and am proud to have been a part of the publishing process for it.

[Sandrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was a good one of redemption and forgiveness. The characters were well developed and easy to relate to. The editing of this book was greatly lacking in terms of grammar and consistency of the characters and how they were addressed or in details mentioned earlier in the story. It was difficult to read at times because of this.

[TWJ Magazine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mercy Seat was a good story of redemption and the importance of not letting yourself stray emotionally in marriage by getting close to someone who is not your spouse. I liked the pacing of the story and how realistic the author was regarding temptation and the characters' emotions. I also loved the way she tied Sophia's emotional problems to her adoptive mother's issues. Ruth was a great influence and a solid example of how spiritual mentoring should occur. The spiritual and emotional insight was deep and for the spiritual application alone it was worth reading.

I loved the honesty in this story. The author clearly knows how to communicate emotion on the page. The delivery of it could use a little polishing regarding point of view, but honestly, it didn't take away from the value of the story as a whole. I would definitely recommend it to couples who feel an emotional distance developing between them so they can see the consequences of not dealing with things early on. Lovers of Urban Christian Fiction will enjoy The Mercy Seat. In some ways this story was deeper than just focusing on the church drama, and I appreciated that.

The Wordsmith Journal strives to guide readers to books of personal interest, with the understanding and respect that what appeals to some may not appeal to others. Therefore we attempt to keep our reviews focused on content, genre and style. The rating is necessary to make use of Goodreads and Amazon. It reflects the reviewer’s own level of enjoyment, but the review is intended to be informative for the benefit of all readers.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alvettta Rolle tells a story of the church and how the secrets and drama within its walls affect the members. It's been years since Sofia has stepped foot in any church, especially Freedom Baptist. After being kicked out of her adopted mother's house, life for Sofia has not been the same. Sofia is living in sin by working the streets. She never knew that going to church service one night would have an affect on her. Is it enough to make her change her ways or will she always live her life in sin?

I truly enjoyed The Mercy Seat. It was a very good Christian fiction book that did not come across as preachy in any way. This story kept my attention from beginning to end. I could not wait to see how things would play out for the chracters and how they would handle their situations. I think I counted two errors throughout the entire book. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

[Valarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ms Ruth was my favorite character in this story. If only we could all a someone like her in our lives. Aunt Julia although flawed had her own issues so we came to see near the end why she was the way she was, but also we were given hope in change. Now the other main characters I'm not so sure if this marriage can survive. Even with him being a minister. Xaiver seemed like an undercover controller. He wanted to control what Felecia did but it was packaged under the loving disguise of true love. Not to say he didn't love her but he seemed to love her more when she was living her life the way he wanted. How easy was it for him to fall for Sofia when Felicia started to work and not be home like he wanted. They've got some work to do on themselves to make their marriage work. Even still, I'd read a sequel to see how Sofia used her life as a testimony, if her and Trent get together and how the marriage of Felecia and Xaz workout.

[Shelbia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful Story

The storyline was great and the writer kept my interest throughout. I loved all off the characters. The editing could have been better because the writer had some timing or consistency issues in some spots. In one instance we are told it has been a month since the kiss and that Sofia and Xav are acting differently around each other because they are uncomfortable about what happened. Then we find I it is only the next day or two and she hasn't been to work because he keeps giving her the. day off. There are several spots like that.It is not enough to ruin the story, but it is a bit distracting. I also think the messages get a little heavy at times. The epiphanies come a bit too suddenly for some of the characters. Overall,it is a good book and I would definitely like to read more from this author.

[Lena Neely · Rating 5 out of 5]

God's Love

I got this book for free and decided that I would read it just for the heck of it. I'm so glad I did. I laughed, cursed, cried and had a wonderful time knowing more about God's love. Sofia never knew love and wasn't sure about the love of God until she met a little woman that loved her unconditionally. I was a little upset with Xavier once he found out about Sofia, but he redeemed himself by continuing to support her in her endeavors. I'm still not quite sure of my feelings about Felicia. I look forward to the next book in this Trilogy.

[Dorel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 1st book I read by Alvetta Rolle. This book's storyline is very good & sad. I didn't like Julia & Felecia. I loved Sofia's character. I felt so sorry for Sofia. I loved the ending, even though I wish things were different. This was a great godly book to read & I wouldn't mind reading other books by this author.

[WANDA NASH · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was good from page one. I lok forward to reading this book. This book deals with people that sit in the churh andjudge other people. They use the churh as a hiding place . So please read this book.

[Shannan Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good story, even though one of the characters made me so mad I wanted to slap the taste out of her mouth. Another new author to put on my list

[Kimberly McCarter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Needed THIS!!!

This book was amazing. I loved how the storyline bounced back and forth between characters. I loved the scriptures it contained and how it showed us the true definition of unconditional love.

[Mandy Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

The characters were real and i got frustrated with their actions at times! It left me wanting more.

[Bonit Hemphill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Believable

The stories of forgiveness, deliverance and renewal of the marriage covenant were very convincing. It made me believe in forgiveness and the power of prayer.

[Jacquelin A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

One of my favorite reads. It was flavorful, related and refreshing. A must read. Make sure to grab a tea..

[Anna Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this has been sitting in my kindle for the longest time ever.

19-year-old Sofia Douglas has survived life on the streets by becoming a prostitute. A strange prompting makes her visit Freedom Baptist in a vague attempt to reconcile with her estranged adoptive mother. Instead, she finds herself a new mother figure in the form of Ruth Stills... and starts falling in love with her very handsome, very married son, Xavier Stills.

It's a Christian Romance, so you kind of know where the story has to end up (no spoilers if you can't already tell), but a slightly refreshing thing about this novel is that she does delve into very real problems and very real emotions, even if things are sometimes from happening in very deus ex machina ways. I can't fault that. God does do funny things in funny ways, in very Act of God ways.

[Joi Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read