ARC received from author in exchange for an honest review.
2.5*
Mercy reluctantly comes home, more than a decade after she escaped, in order to attend her best friend Liz’s wedding. There are two people she wants to avoid - Ian, her best friends brother / teenage crush and her father, the man she left town to get away from all those years ago.
This had all the components of a good story, there’s a bit of drama, there’s angst, there’s romance and deception but it somehow fell short. Mercy still holds a grunge against Ian for refusing to take her with him when he left for college but the fact is 1) they weren’t in a relationship. She had a crush on him, not the other way round and 2) she was 15! Why would a guy heading off to college take a young girl with him?! Her grudge is irrational. On top of that, she protests too much (but not for long) and does it badly. I was also a bit confused about why she wanted to get away from her father so badly in the first place.
Anyway, there’s some shocking surprises in store for Liz on her wedding day. As a result, Mercy hangs around a bit longer to support her friend. I was a bit shocked at Liz’s behaviour. I had a little ‘WTF?’ Moment when she makes her little erm ‘confession’ to Mercy. She clearly isn’t thinking properly. Seriously, where did that come from? - so random!
As expected, Mercy and Ian can’t keep their hands off each other despite her weak protestation but for me, the sex lost it’s intensity because she ran so hot and cold with him. Her mouth keeps telling him it’s temporary but her body says otherwise, whereas Ian makes it clear that he wants more. For once, it’s the man who comes across as a nice guy and the girl grates on your nerves. It has a happy ending and Mercy finally gets her act together. I suspect the next instalment will be about Liz, goodness knows, there’s plenty to say about her though.