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To the Yaguara, an ancient jaguar shape-shifting people living deep in the Amazon jungle, nothing matters more than strength. Iada is their champion; genetically pure, she has been trained since birth to fight. Her destiny is to become the next Queen of the Yaguara by winning the tournament of succession—a battle to the death. Her opponent is Gabriel, a half-blooded outcast whose mother was human. To everyone's shock, he defeats Iada but does not strike the death blow—instead, he extends mercy, thereby claiming her as his mate. Despite their enmity, the attraction between them is powerful, and soon they are mates in more than name only. Their mutual distrust serves only to fuel their passion—two champions bested only by their overpowering desire for each other. But Gabriel has an agenda that threatens the most basic tenets of Yaguara society—and that will force Iada to choose between her people or her King.
98 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 2, 2010
About the author
Eleri Stone
15 books221 followersEleri Stone is a RITA-nominated author of fantasy and paranormal romance. Born and raised in New Jersey, she now lives in Iowa with her husband and their three children. All of her stories have some element of speculative fiction to them and they all end with a happily-ever-after.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 7, 2010
Iada is the strongest warrior among the Yaguara, jaguar shape shifters that live in the Amazon jungle. The Yaguara king has died and a tournament is being held. Iada is poised to be the next queen. All she needs to do is beat the half blood outcast Gabriel and the crown is hers but to every one's surprise, Gabriel bests Iada and by sparing her life he makes her his queen.
It isn't long before Iada and Gabriel consummate their mating but their distrust of one another is ever present. With each encounter, some progress is made in their relationship but what Gabriel has in store as king will make Iada choose between her family and her mate.
Iada has been under the control of her uncles since her parents died. They wish to see her as queen so they have a puppet to make sure their agendas are taken care of. Iada knows what her uncles have in store for her but she has known nothing else. That is until Gabriel comes into the picture. Half breeds, half human half jaguar shape shifter, are seen abominations by the Yaguara and are casted out with no support what so ever. Gabriel has fought for the crown so he could change that but not many are happy about him being king. Iada's uncles have already began planning how to remove Gabriel from the crown permanently and Iada will be forced to pick a side.
I did not think of Iada as being weak because he uncles controlled and molded her to be what they wanted. She has known nothing else and has no other family besides her sister who was casted out for becoming pregnant by a human. I knew when it came down to making the decision between right and wrong, she would choose the right side. Iada and Gabriel have a difficult time when it comes to trusting each other because how they were raised. Iada thinks Gabriel has an ulterior motive because no one is that noble and caring. Gabriel thinks that Iada is nothing more than a heartless warrior who happily does what her uncles tell her to. Their physical relationship takes off right away but the trust takes a lot longer. I liked the relationship between these two because it doesn't come easy. Whenever they take one step forward to trusting each other, something pops into their head and they end up taking two steps back. Both have expect the other to be a certain way because of what they were taught be their people. Barriers are broken down between the two and I thought they made a really strong couple.
The Yaguara act as if the half breeds do not exists or don't even acknowledge them. The way these half breeds are treated is horrible and what Iada's uncles do to them made me wish that their own deaths would be drawn out and painful. The story switches off from being told by Iada and Gabriel but I wished we would have been able to seen through the eyes of the Yaguara and half breeds instead of just being told how they felt. I also would have liked to see what happened to Iada's uncles. They are just taken away and that is it. I wanted to know justice was served and not be left hanging.
Mercy is the debut work by author Eleri Stone and I thought it was a very enjoyable paranormal romance. It didn't take me long to get into and the story has a quick, steady pace to it. The relationship between Gabriel and Iada is both hot and emotional. Eleri has peeked my interest and I look forward to seeing what else she has to offer in the future. *fingers crossed for another shifter book*
~Stephanie
It isn't long before Iada and Gabriel consummate their mating but their distrust of one another is ever present. With each encounter, some progress is made in their relationship but what Gabriel has in store as king will make Iada choose between her family and her mate.
Iada has been under the control of her uncles since her parents died. They wish to see her as queen so they have a puppet to make sure their agendas are taken care of. Iada knows what her uncles have in store for her but she has known nothing else. That is until Gabriel comes into the picture. Half breeds, half human half jaguar shape shifter, are seen abominations by the Yaguara and are casted out with no support what so ever. Gabriel has fought for the crown so he could change that but not many are happy about him being king. Iada's uncles have already began planning how to remove Gabriel from the crown permanently and Iada will be forced to pick a side.
I did not think of Iada as being weak because he uncles controlled and molded her to be what they wanted. She has known nothing else and has no other family besides her sister who was casted out for becoming pregnant by a human. I knew when it came down to making the decision between right and wrong, she would choose the right side. Iada and Gabriel have a difficult time when it comes to trusting each other because how they were raised. Iada thinks Gabriel has an ulterior motive because no one is that noble and caring. Gabriel thinks that Iada is nothing more than a heartless warrior who happily does what her uncles tell her to. Their physical relationship takes off right away but the trust takes a lot longer. I liked the relationship between these two because it doesn't come easy. Whenever they take one step forward to trusting each other, something pops into their head and they end up taking two steps back. Both have expect the other to be a certain way because of what they were taught be their people. Barriers are broken down between the two and I thought they made a really strong couple.
The Yaguara act as if the half breeds do not exists or don't even acknowledge them. The way these half breeds are treated is horrible and what Iada's uncles do to them made me wish that their own deaths would be drawn out and painful. The story switches off from being told by Iada and Gabriel but I wished we would have been able to seen through the eyes of the Yaguara and half breeds instead of just being told how they felt. I also would have liked to see what happened to Iada's uncles. They are just taken away and that is it. I wanted to know justice was served and not be left hanging.
Mercy is the debut work by author Eleri Stone and I thought it was a very enjoyable paranormal romance. It didn't take me long to get into and the story has a quick, steady pace to it. The relationship between Gabriel and Iada is both hot and emotional. Eleri has peeked my interest and I look forward to seeing what else she has to offer in the future. *fingers crossed for another shifter book*
~Stephanie
November 20, 2010
Mercy has all the ingredients for a good shapeshifter romance: a cool setting, an entire culture that serves as the setting for the book, mystery, intrigue, chemistry, the works. Maybe it was because the book was only 96 pages or maybe it was because it took me a little while to warm up to the starring couple, but at the end of the day the overall effect of this book did not live up to my expectations.
As individuals, Iada and Gabrial are fine. Iada is trying to navigate an endless web of doublespeak, family betrayal, and violence, and that has made her not trust anyone any further than she can throw them. Gabriel is fanatically devoted to protecting half-bloods like himself, since under the current regime in Yaguara society they have less than no rights and are pretty much murdered on sight. When Gabriel enters the tournament to become king, and wins, he astounds everyone by not killing Iada, even though he could have; by showing her mercy, he claims her as his mate and queen.
That's all well and good, but "I didn't kill you so now you owe me" isn't really a good basis for a relationship. That shows as Gabriel and Iada don't trust or really like each other for about 95% of the book. They have great chemistry and can't keep their hands off each other, sure, but the trust, the connection, between the two of them isn't really there. When Gabriel isn't trying to seduce Iada, he's lecturing her about something, whether it be her uninformed attitude towards the half-bloods (referred to as mutants through most of the book), her life under the thumbs of her uncles who'd like nothing more than to usurp her throne, or something. I understand that Gabriel has a huge chip on his shoulder and that many people, including children, are relying on him and that he hopes to achieve great change as king of the Yaguara, but I don't think that belittling Iada was the way to go about it, especially once he realized how much danger she was in every day just from existing.
Easily my favorite character in the book was Enrique, Gabriel's grizzled old mentor. Enrique understands from the get go that trust and healing between Gabriel and Iada is the only thing that will bring about any positive change for the Yaguara people as a whole, full blooded or otherwise, and he also understands the precarious, dangerous, deadly position that Iada is in way better than Gabriel does right up until the end. I appreciated that, once Gabriel realized he'd been an epic ass and needed to make amends with Iada and asked Enrique for help, he still made Gabriel sweat it out, to teach him a lesson about appreciating good things before they're gone. The ending of the book was very satisfying.
I definitely think this story could have benefited from being a) longer and b) more detailed. The foundation for a solid story was definitely there, and I'm definitely interested in reading more about these characters and the Yaguara people, but as a stand alone book I was hoping for more character development, a better resolution to the conflict, and more authentic drama between the characters.
Overall Grade: C
Read more reviews and other good stuff at What Book is That?
As individuals, Iada and Gabrial are fine. Iada is trying to navigate an endless web of doublespeak, family betrayal, and violence, and that has made her not trust anyone any further than she can throw them. Gabriel is fanatically devoted to protecting half-bloods like himself, since under the current regime in Yaguara society they have less than no rights and are pretty much murdered on sight. When Gabriel enters the tournament to become king, and wins, he astounds everyone by not killing Iada, even though he could have; by showing her mercy, he claims her as his mate and queen.
That's all well and good, but "I didn't kill you so now you owe me" isn't really a good basis for a relationship. That shows as Gabriel and Iada don't trust or really like each other for about 95% of the book. They have great chemistry and can't keep their hands off each other, sure, but the trust, the connection, between the two of them isn't really there. When Gabriel isn't trying to seduce Iada, he's lecturing her about something, whether it be her uninformed attitude towards the half-bloods (referred to as mutants through most of the book), her life under the thumbs of her uncles who'd like nothing more than to usurp her throne, or something. I understand that Gabriel has a huge chip on his shoulder and that many people, including children, are relying on him and that he hopes to achieve great change as king of the Yaguara, but I don't think that belittling Iada was the way to go about it, especially once he realized how much danger she was in every day just from existing.
Easily my favorite character in the book was Enrique, Gabriel's grizzled old mentor. Enrique understands from the get go that trust and healing between Gabriel and Iada is the only thing that will bring about any positive change for the Yaguara people as a whole, full blooded or otherwise, and he also understands the precarious, dangerous, deadly position that Iada is in way better than Gabriel does right up until the end. I appreciated that, once Gabriel realized he'd been an epic ass and needed to make amends with Iada and asked Enrique for help, he still made Gabriel sweat it out, to teach him a lesson about appreciating good things before they're gone. The ending of the book was very satisfying.
I definitely think this story could have benefited from being a) longer and b) more detailed. The foundation for a solid story was definitely there, and I'm definitely interested in reading more about these characters and the Yaguara people, but as a stand alone book I was hoping for more character development, a better resolution to the conflict, and more authentic drama between the characters.
Overall Grade: C
Read more reviews and other good stuff at What Book is That?
November 9, 2010
Dangerously sensual, enthralling debut novel by Eleri Stone is sure to satisfy your reading taste buds.
The world setting of Mercy transplants readers from a cozy couch to deep in the jungle. It is the very place where the Yaguara (Shapeshifting Jaguars) thrive- among the lush greenery and powerful wild life.
Iada is the heroine that takes the cake for me. She is robust in heart, mind and body. The perfect trifecta. For years after the death of her parents, Iada had been trained as a lethal weapon to serve her selfish uncles desires like winning the throne. Future leader of the Yaguara society requires continuous battles and victories in the pit. Iada is an undefeated warrior whose special talent combined with mastered skill has her at the top of the food chain. Until Gabriel makes his way into the heart of the jungle.
Gabriel is strength, courage and dignity wrapped up in a corded muscle, chiseled chest, cocky grin and a sun-kissed skin package. Gabriel and others like him are considered an abomination to the fully born Jaguar shifters. Half-bloods or mutants and their families live in scattered safe houses in constant fear- ready to haul ass at a moments notice. As events transpire and life becomes more and more dangerous Gabriel sets out to create much needed change. The change brings him to the pit to face off with Iada.
The dangerous exchange of words and touchings between Gabriel and Iada is pure fire. Both harbor prejudices against the other- thus, tensions run high and confusion palpable. There is all kinds of fire occurring.
Eleri Stones succeeds in creating characters with vitality and I just wanted to absorb everything about them. But I believe there could have been more. Perhaps, more detail in the back story or a few more exchanges between the two characters? However, this did not stop me from whizzing right through- percentage after percentage. lol, ebooks have percentages instead of pages.
All in all Eleri Stone is a brilliant story teller. Her words are invigorating and sure to bring forth whatever it is she's writing to life. I would read Eleri's grocery list is how much I loved her writing. Plus, Mercy is my first read that headlines Jaguar shape shifters.
The world setting of Mercy transplants readers from a cozy couch to deep in the jungle. It is the very place where the Yaguara (Shapeshifting Jaguars) thrive- among the lush greenery and powerful wild life.
Iada is the heroine that takes the cake for me. She is robust in heart, mind and body. The perfect trifecta. For years after the death of her parents, Iada had been trained as a lethal weapon to serve her selfish uncles desires like winning the throne. Future leader of the Yaguara society requires continuous battles and victories in the pit. Iada is an undefeated warrior whose special talent combined with mastered skill has her at the top of the food chain. Until Gabriel makes his way into the heart of the jungle.
Gabriel is strength, courage and dignity wrapped up in a corded muscle, chiseled chest, cocky grin and a sun-kissed skin package. Gabriel and others like him are considered an abomination to the fully born Jaguar shifters. Half-bloods or mutants and their families live in scattered safe houses in constant fear- ready to haul ass at a moments notice. As events transpire and life becomes more and more dangerous Gabriel sets out to create much needed change. The change brings him to the pit to face off with Iada.
The dangerous exchange of words and touchings between Gabriel and Iada is pure fire. Both harbor prejudices against the other- thus, tensions run high and confusion palpable. There is all kinds of fire occurring.
Eleri Stones succeeds in creating characters with vitality and I just wanted to absorb everything about them. But I believe there could have been more. Perhaps, more detail in the back story or a few more exchanges between the two characters? However, this did not stop me from whizzing right through- percentage after percentage. lol, ebooks have percentages instead of pages.
All in all Eleri Stone is a brilliant story teller. Her words are invigorating and sure to bring forth whatever it is she's writing to life. I would read Eleri's grocery list is how much I loved her writing. Plus, Mercy is my first read that headlines Jaguar shape shifters.
August 26, 2010
My Thoughts: I picked up Mercy (besides its gorgeous and alluring cover) because the premise sounded interesting, and true to that promise, it was a good story with complex, layered characters. Both the main characters (Iada and Gabriel) as well as some supporting characters were interesting and 3D characters, showing great potential and depth, that unfortunately was not exploited as well as it could have been due to length limitations.
Maybe I'm s bit critical with Mercy, but only because after the first few paragraphs I expected the best of Eleri Stone's story. Her writing style did not disappoint, she proves that she is a great new author, whose writing style is fantastic: descriptive yet enthralling, the story had a few "holes" in it but I think most of them would be resolved by the opportunity of more length.
Eleri Stone shows great promise as her writing is fluent and entrancing. However, due to the shortness or rather length limitations of a novella, unfortunately neither the story nor the characters are developed in enough depth, but I have every confidence that with more length, Eleri Stone will iron out the smaller perplexing/confusing details and she will prove she is an author to watch.
I only give Mercy 3.5 stars because I see the potential that it could have been were it a regular length novel, so that Eleri Stone could have dwelt more on her story and characters and given them more substance.
Plot: 7/10
Characters: 7/10
Ending: 7/10
Writing: 8/10
Cover: 9/10
Maybe I'm s bit critical with Mercy, but only because after the first few paragraphs I expected the best of Eleri Stone's story. Her writing style did not disappoint, she proves that she is a great new author, whose writing style is fantastic: descriptive yet enthralling, the story had a few "holes" in it but I think most of them would be resolved by the opportunity of more length.
Eleri Stone shows great promise as her writing is fluent and entrancing. However, due to the shortness or rather length limitations of a novella, unfortunately neither the story nor the characters are developed in enough depth, but I have every confidence that with more length, Eleri Stone will iron out the smaller perplexing/confusing details and she will prove she is an author to watch.
I only give Mercy 3.5 stars because I see the potential that it could have been were it a regular length novel, so that Eleri Stone could have dwelt more on her story and characters and given them more substance.
Plot: 7/10
Characters: 7/10
Ending: 7/10
Writing: 8/10
Cover: 9/10
October 13, 2010
This book is going on my favorites pile. It was an amazing story. the dialogue was unique, suspenseful, erotic and exciting to read. It's a book that once you start you can't put it down. That is exactly what I did! It was a short story but it was entertaining all the way from the beginning to the end.
They have shape shifters who change into Jaguars. There's pure breed jaguars and half human jaguars called mutants. The mutants are the enemy. With the King dead, there's competition between Iada, a full bred jaguar and her opponent Gabriel, the half-breed to claim throne for the society. When one of them wins and claims the other as their mate, trust is the biggest concern for the both of them. Iada was raised by her uncles and has been secluded from society her entire life. All she knows is how to fight. Gabriel just wants one thing, his people to be taken care of and treated with respect. Can they overcome their trust issues? You'll have to read to find out! It's awesome I recommended this book to everyone older than 21 of course.
review link: http://www.onceuponatwilight.com/2010...
They have shape shifters who change into Jaguars. There's pure breed jaguars and half human jaguars called mutants. The mutants are the enemy. With the King dead, there's competition between Iada, a full bred jaguar and her opponent Gabriel, the half-breed to claim throne for the society. When one of them wins and claims the other as their mate, trust is the biggest concern for the both of them. Iada was raised by her uncles and has been secluded from society her entire life. All she knows is how to fight. Gabriel just wants one thing, his people to be taken care of and treated with respect. Can they overcome their trust issues? You'll have to read to find out! It's awesome I recommended this book to everyone older than 21 of course.
review link: http://www.onceuponatwilight.com/2010...
October 6, 2010
This book is going on my favorites pile. It is an amazing story. The dialogue was unique, suspenseful, erotic, and exciting to read. It's a book that once you read you can't put it down. Well, that's what i did. It was a short story but it was entetainment all the way from the beginning to the end.
They have shape shifters who change into Jaguars. There's pure bread jaguars and half human half jaguars called mutants, who are the enemy. With the king dead, there's a competition between Iada, a full bread jaguar and her oppenent Gabriel and half bread to claim throne for the society. When one of them wins and claims the other as thier mate, trust is the biggest concern for the both of them. Iada was raised by her uncles and has been sucluded from society her entire life. All she knows is how to fight. Gabriel just wants one thing, his people to be taken care of and treated with respect. Can they overcome thier trust issues? You'll have to read to find out! It's awesome i recommened this book to everyone, 21 years and older of course.
They have shape shifters who change into Jaguars. There's pure bread jaguars and half human half jaguars called mutants, who are the enemy. With the king dead, there's a competition between Iada, a full bread jaguar and her oppenent Gabriel and half bread to claim throne for the society. When one of them wins and claims the other as thier mate, trust is the biggest concern for the both of them. Iada was raised by her uncles and has been sucluded from society her entire life. All she knows is how to fight. Gabriel just wants one thing, his people to be taken care of and treated with respect. Can they overcome thier trust issues? You'll have to read to find out! It's awesome i recommened this book to everyone, 21 years and older of course.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 5, 2018
He fights her in the pit to become King and instead of killing her he claims her as mate and his Queen. She's been ultimate Warrior pawn for her uncles nad Gabriel helps free her from their control. Interesting and engaging.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 22, 2018
2.5 stars. Decent read for as short as it it, but I would have rather read a longer work that provided more set up and character development.
January 24, 2011
Mercy by Eleri Stone
* I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
Iada's parents were killed when she is younger and she was raised by her uncle's. She was trained to fight from a very young age so she would be ready to take her place as Queen of the Yaguara when the time came. She's really never been her own person or able to make her own decisions, she's always been her uncle's pawn.
Gabriel has been studying his Yaguara heritage with the help of a full blooded shifter that is living in one of his shelters. The Shifter takes him under his wing and trains him to defeat their champion. His people are under attack and the only way he can save them is to defeat Iada and become King of Yaguara.
He knows he won't be accepted as King because he and others like him are seen as mutants During the fight Gabriel decides to show mercy toward Iada rather than kill her. He offers her the chance to rule as his Queen. He expects her to pledge her alliance to him and give up her family, yet when she does, he questions her motives and doubts her sincerity.
Iada is really struggling with the things she has learned her uncle's have done since she has been secluded most of her life. Gabriel doesn't believe her at first but as the story progresses he realizes that he might have been wrong about her, until tragedy strikes their home.
Iada knows the only way to prove herself and her motives is to aide them in finding Michael. She manipulates the situation and in the end hurts Gabriel and herself in the process. She knows they fit together well as mates but she feels like he will never love her or trust her. She is torn because she doesn't understand what is going on in her heart. She is struggling to be her own person and for the first time not have someone telling depending on her to do something.
The sexual chemistry between these two is evident from the fight scene on. They complement each other as mates. Iada is tough and doesn't need anyone to take care of her but she does need someone to bring out her softer side. Gabriel is so busy taking care of others that he appreciates the fact that she is able to take care of herself. He doesn't understand why he saves her at the time but as the story progresses, it's obvious he needs a strong Queen who can stand beside him, not behind him.
Overall this story was very enjoyable and I'd love to see more of this story. I give Mercy 3 1/2 flaming hearts.
* I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
Iada's parents were killed when she is younger and she was raised by her uncle's. She was trained to fight from a very young age so she would be ready to take her place as Queen of the Yaguara when the time came. She's really never been her own person or able to make her own decisions, she's always been her uncle's pawn.
Gabriel has been studying his Yaguara heritage with the help of a full blooded shifter that is living in one of his shelters. The Shifter takes him under his wing and trains him to defeat their champion. His people are under attack and the only way he can save them is to defeat Iada and become King of Yaguara.
He knows he won't be accepted as King because he and others like him are seen as mutants During the fight Gabriel decides to show mercy toward Iada rather than kill her. He offers her the chance to rule as his Queen. He expects her to pledge her alliance to him and give up her family, yet when she does, he questions her motives and doubts her sincerity.
Iada is really struggling with the things she has learned her uncle's have done since she has been secluded most of her life. Gabriel doesn't believe her at first but as the story progresses he realizes that he might have been wrong about her, until tragedy strikes their home.
Iada knows the only way to prove herself and her motives is to aide them in finding Michael. She manipulates the situation and in the end hurts Gabriel and herself in the process. She knows they fit together well as mates but she feels like he will never love her or trust her. She is torn because she doesn't understand what is going on in her heart. She is struggling to be her own person and for the first time not have someone telling depending on her to do something.
The sexual chemistry between these two is evident from the fight scene on. They complement each other as mates. Iada is tough and doesn't need anyone to take care of her but she does need someone to bring out her softer side. Gabriel is so busy taking care of others that he appreciates the fact that she is able to take care of herself. He doesn't understand why he saves her at the time but as the story progresses, it's obvious he needs a strong Queen who can stand beside him, not behind him.
Overall this story was very enjoyable and I'd love to see more of this story. I give Mercy 3 1/2 flaming hearts.
October 25, 2010
Mercy opened with Iada preparing for what could be the fight of her life. The former king dead, Iada has been groomed since she was a little girl for the fight that would make her the next Queen of the Yaguara. The Yaguara are a secret tribe of shape-shifting jaguars in the Amazon jungle who value nothing as much as they do strength. To them, anyone other than a genetically pure shifter is not worth anything. Yaguara who mate with humans or mutants are exiled without a second thought. But Iada faces her opponent for the crown, a half-blooded "mutant" whose mother was human. To everyone's surprise, he defeats the previously undefeated Iada but doesn't deliver the death blow. Instead he claims his right to give her mercy AND make her his mate, his Queen. Iada's uncles, Vin and Arturo, who seemingly rule the Yaguara from behind the scenes, immediately plot to remove the outcast as their King, feeling no issue with using Iada to further their agenda. Coming from two totally different sides of their culture, Iada and Gabriel. distrust each other's motives throughout the story, causing no end of conflict.
The story was intriguing from the opening scene. At first, I was drawn to Iada as the strong and powerful warrior woman, but as the story developed, I found Gabriel to be the more relatable character with his softer, clearly more human side. In fact, I began to be annoyed with Iada for her willingness to submit to Gabriel sexually, despite her confusion about her choices. There were times when the sexuality between them seemed almost degrading to her as a woman. But as the story progressed, and I learned more about Iada's past and her upbringing, her behavior became more understandable. It also made her far more relatable as well. I think that the distance that the reader feels from Iada is necessary to fully develop her character, to allow the reader to understand how much her past affected her and her thoughts and her behavior. This was really an enjoyable novella, with some very interesting themes and conflicts between good and evil. I definately recommend it.
The story was intriguing from the opening scene. At first, I was drawn to Iada as the strong and powerful warrior woman, but as the story developed, I found Gabriel to be the more relatable character with his softer, clearly more human side. In fact, I began to be annoyed with Iada for her willingness to submit to Gabriel sexually, despite her confusion about her choices. There were times when the sexuality between them seemed almost degrading to her as a woman. But as the story progressed, and I learned more about Iada's past and her upbringing, her behavior became more understandable. It also made her far more relatable as well. I think that the distance that the reader feels from Iada is necessary to fully develop her character, to allow the reader to understand how much her past affected her and her thoughts and her behavior. This was really an enjoyable novella, with some very interesting themes and conflicts between good and evil. I definately recommend it.
February 5, 2011
It's more than ok, but I didn't like it unconditionally. I don't know.
There was so much promise here. An amazing world and excellent worldbuilding. I loved how the Yaguara weren't powerful, nor well-integrated, but were rather insular and conservative. How refreshing compared to all those shifter stories where those communities are always strong-knit and powerful and wealthy and so on. Not here. For instance, I really liked that the halfbleeds lived in the slums, such an incredible original twist.
I loved the genderbending, where Iada was the muscles and the brawn, who totally wasn't in the loop, and actually knew nothing. Nothing. I've never seen a heroine who was so incredibly ignorant and at the same time had such a high position/such a great warrior.
So there was some amazing stuff here (and lets not forget the cover. I really, really love the cover, and it's why this book drew my attention. I was so disappointed when I learned that this wasn't how they looked. I mean look at it, they are beautiful!), but unfortunately it didn't live up to it's promise.
There was an incredible conflict here, both on the political as on the personal level, and both were sold short. There was room for such big emotions (like with the reunion with Anna, or the confrontation with Iada's uncles). There was room for a wicked amount of action, but the first fight was really short, and the final conflict was over in a blink. Seriously, I think it was less than a paragraph.
I could have lived with all that, but alas, the same was true with the relationship. They had great chemistry, and the love scenes were quite hot. But there was almost no evolution in how they saw each other. The sex didn't lead to more trust or a stronger base (at least not on both sides). There just wasn't equal growth.
I think they fit beautifully well together, I just think they deserved a novel instead of a novella.
So yeah, in the end, while I loved the world and characters, I was left dissatisfied, and probably won't check out the sequel. It's a shame, because this could have been a true gem.
There was so much promise here. An amazing world and excellent worldbuilding. I loved how the Yaguara weren't powerful, nor well-integrated, but were rather insular and conservative. How refreshing compared to all those shifter stories where those communities are always strong-knit and powerful and wealthy and so on. Not here. For instance, I really liked that the halfbleeds lived in the slums, such an incredible original twist.
I loved the genderbending, where Iada was the muscles and the brawn, who totally wasn't in the loop, and actually knew nothing. Nothing. I've never seen a heroine who was so incredibly ignorant and at the same time had such a high position/such a great warrior.
So there was some amazing stuff here (and lets not forget the cover. I really, really love the cover, and it's why this book drew my attention. I was so disappointed when I learned that this wasn't how they looked. I mean look at it, they are beautiful!), but unfortunately it didn't live up to it's promise.
There was an incredible conflict here, both on the political as on the personal level, and both were sold short. There was room for such big emotions (like with the reunion with Anna, or the confrontation with Iada's uncles). There was room for a wicked amount of action, but the first fight was really short, and the final conflict was over in a blink. Seriously, I think it was less than a paragraph.
I could have lived with all that, but alas, the same was true with the relationship. They had great chemistry, and the love scenes were quite hot. But there was almost no evolution in how they saw each other. The sex didn't lead to more trust or a stronger base (at least not on both sides). There just wasn't equal growth.
I think they fit beautifully well together, I just think they deserved a novel instead of a novella.
So yeah, in the end, while I loved the world and characters, I was left dissatisfied, and probably won't check out the sequel. It's a shame, because this could have been a true gem.
August 13, 2010
This was a short, but entertaining read with an intriguing story line. In the Amazon jungle, there lives a secret society of shape shifters. They can go from human to jaguar and back. Iada is one of the most powerful of these jaguar people and her uncles have groomed her to take over the kingdom. When her uncles say, "jump," Iada asks, "how high?" They have her under control.. or think they do.
In order to obtain control of the kingdom, Iada must first win a fight. Until now she has been unbeatable. Her new opponent is what they call a mutant, half human, half jaguar. (Not just able to shape shift, but actually has a human biological parent.) His name is Gabriel. He spares Iada's life on one condition: she must be his bride and convince the rest of the shape shifting jaguar society to follow him, not her uncles.
What follows is an adventure in both the jungle and in human society. Iada must accept her new husband's people, her people must accept her husband, her uncles must be defeated and their control over her relinquished, and most important of all, Iada must learn to trust and possibly open her heart to love. She also discovers her exiled sister's whereabouts and aims to remedy things with her.
Really cool story and I wish there had been more of it. I'm fully aware this falls into the romance category, but about 25 percent of the book was sex and I would have preferred for it to go deeper into the plot. Thus, it doesn't hit the 5 star mark, but I did enjoy it.
In order to obtain control of the kingdom, Iada must first win a fight. Until now she has been unbeatable. Her new opponent is what they call a mutant, half human, half jaguar. (Not just able to shape shift, but actually has a human biological parent.) His name is Gabriel. He spares Iada's life on one condition: she must be his bride and convince the rest of the shape shifting jaguar society to follow him, not her uncles.
What follows is an adventure in both the jungle and in human society. Iada must accept her new husband's people, her people must accept her husband, her uncles must be defeated and their control over her relinquished, and most important of all, Iada must learn to trust and possibly open her heart to love. She also discovers her exiled sister's whereabouts and aims to remedy things with her.
Really cool story and I wish there had been more of it. I'm fully aware this falls into the romance category, but about 25 percent of the book was sex and I would have preferred for it to go deeper into the plot. Thus, it doesn't hit the 5 star mark, but I did enjoy it.
October 17, 2010
A surprisingly well rounded story for a novella. There's lots of hot, steamy romance, but the action storyline that frames this romance is well worked out as well. I liked that you got to see in both Gabriel's as Iada's thoughts so you can root for them both.
The whole Yaguara society sounds really cool, but as a large part of the story takes place outside of the Yaguara city it is only hinted at. So if I have one thing to say against this story it's that it makes me hungry for more Yaguara and their fascinating society and that I now have to hope that Stone will write more (and hopefully longer) stories set in this world.
The whole Yaguara society sounds really cool, but as a large part of the story takes place outside of the Yaguara city it is only hinted at. So if I have one thing to say against this story it's that it makes me hungry for more Yaguara and their fascinating society and that I now have to hope that Stone will write more (and hopefully longer) stories set in this world.
May 5, 2012
Devoured this one in an afternoon. Hot romance and strong, sympathetic characters. Iada was raised in the jaguar-shifter culture by her evil uncles and learned to be distrustful. Gabriel was raised human and is much warmer. The difference in cultures makes for strong tension on both the political/plot level and the romance level as they have to learn to trust each other. Added the sequel, Redemption, to my wish list.
September 17, 2010
The book starts with Iada, a highly trained fighter and jaguar shapeshifter, going into battle with half-breed outcast Gabriel for rule over the Yaguara. I won't give too much away but the enemies to lovers theme evolves well and I found this story to be one of the better novellas I read in quite a while.
June 21, 2011
I really enjoyed this short shifter story--although I wished it was longer in order to flesh out the world building and the characters histories some more. That was too interesting to fully appreciate in such a short piece. Even so it was well worth the read and I'll keep my eye out for more of Ms. Stone's work.
September 30, 2010
Complete Review Available At:
http://www.nightowlromance.com/nor/Re...
Review Excerpt:
Mercy by Eleri Stone is erotic in its encounters and sexually explosive in its intensity as a story of forbidden love and prejudice unfolds.
http://www.nightowlromance.com/nor/Re...
Review Excerpt:
Mercy by Eleri Stone is erotic in its encounters and sexually explosive in its intensity as a story of forbidden love and prejudice unfolds.
August 22, 2012
This one was short. I liked how Stone built the Yaguara world. I liked Gabriel. I was kind of annoyed my one big inconsistency between the beginning and the end of the story with Iada ability to heal. I may be tempted to read more of this series.
March 2, 2013
A good quick read
April 3, 2013
I really liked this story! Jumping in for second title in series now!
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