Instead of doing Soon Saturday / Sunday this week, I’ve decided to do a Recently Read. I’ve already finished multiple books this year, so it just makes more sense. This Recently Read will feature two books – The Merciless II and III by Danielle Vega. I already have a review of this first book in this series, so if you’re interested in that one, I’ll link it here: https://aebbooks.wordpress.com/2017/11/19/soon-sunday-bn-black-friday-signed-books-plus-the-merciless-review/
Review for The Merciless II
I read this book about two weeks ago. I pretty much loved it, unlike The Merciless. It had a much better plot, I LOVED Sofia, and Jude made my heart flutter.
Basic Info:
(No Spoilers)
- Author – Danielle Vega
- Genre – YA Horror
- Age Range – Older YA readers from 14 and up
- Number of Pages – 320 pages
- My Goodreads Stars – 4 out of 5 stars (but closer to 4.5)
My Review
(Minor Spoilers)
Synopsis from Goodreads – Sofia is still processing the horrific truth of what happened when she and three friends performed an exorcism that spiraled horribly out of control. Ever since that night, Sofia has been haunted by bloody and demonic visions. Her therapist says they’re all in her head, but to Sofia they feel chillingly real. She just wants to get out of town, start fresh someplace else . . . until her mother dies suddenly, and Sofia gets her wish.
Sofia is sent to St. Mary’s, a creepy Catholic boarding school in Mississippi. There, seemingly everyone is doing penance for something, most of all the mysterious Jude, for whom Sofia can’t help feeling an unshakeable attraction. But when Sofia and Jude confide in each other about their pasts, something flips in him. He becomes convinced that Sofia is possessed by the devil. . . . Is an exorcism the only way to save her eternal soul?
Readers won’t be able to look away from this terrifying read full of twists and turns that will leave them wondering, Is there evil in all of us?
- Writing – The writing in this book was leagues better than the first one. It was still quick and easy, but it made sense. I enjoyed being able to read this book in a matter of a couple hours and still being able to enjoy an actual plot. Danielle Vega did a great job with this book.
- Characters – In the first book, I didn’t care about any of the characters, which caused a major disconnect between me and the novel. In this one, though, I LOVED all the characters. I felt for Sofia. I fell for Jude. This book was so good because the terrible things that happened actually hurt. I was crying and upset the entire time bad things happened because I was so invested.
- Plot – The plot was amazing. From start to end, I was engaged. There were things I didn’t see coming, foreshadowing, and an overall interesting storyline. There is never a dull chapter and everything connected wonderfully.
- Ending – The ending was heartbreaking. The only reason I didn’t give this book a 5 / 5 stars was because the ending was really predictable. I still enjoyed it overall, though.
- Enjoyability/Would I Recommend – I would definitely recommend this book. Although it isn’t scary, it’s kind of creepy (more like eerie). I don’t think you have to read The Merciless before reading II, but I would.
Review for The Merciless III
I finished this book a little bit over a week and a half ago. I enjoyed it more than The Merciless, but not as much as The Merciless II. This book serves a prequel to the first book, but you should read them in their order (I, II, III).
Basic Info:
(No Spoilers)
- Author – Danielle Vega
- Genre – YA Horror
- Age Range – Older YA readers from 14 and up
- Number of Pages – 304 pages
- My Goodreads Stars – 3 out of 5 stars (closer to 3.5 stars)
My Review
(Minor Spoilers)
Synopsis from Goodreads – Brooklyn knows that there’s no good without evil, no right without wrong. And when a helpless girl calls her teen helpline, whispering that someone is hurting her, Brooklyn knows that she needs to save her anonymous caller, even if it means doing something bad.
Her parents and friends assure her the call was probably a prank but Brooklyn has always had a tendency to take over, whether someone has asked for help or not.
She discovers the call came from Christ First Church and finds herself plunged into the cultish community of its youth group. She’s especially drawn to Gavin, the angelic yet tortured pastor’s son.
Torn between an unstoppable attraction to Gavin and her obsession with the truth, Brooklyn is forced to make a devastating choice to rid Christ Church of evil once and for all. . . . But the devil has plans for Brooklyn’s soul.
- Writing – The writing was on par with II. It was still super quick and easy. There wasn’t anything I thought that needed to be improved with it, so I was happy with how it flowed.
- Characters – I didn’t love the characters, but I liked several of them. I even liked Brooklyn, even after knowing what she would become. I never really liked Gavin, though, so his storyline didn’t really do anything for me. The same goes for Hope and Pastor Joe. On the other hand, I didn’t not like them, so their storylines made the book good but not great for me.
- Plot – The plot was really good, although there were some things mentioned in The Merciless that I REALLY wanted to happen in this book. For example, in The Merciless, Brooklyn is accused of killing one of the school’s teachers, but this isn’t even touched on in the III. I thought this was the perfect time to touch on things that Brooklyn was accused of in the previous books, but the author gave more of her backstory than after she became who she was in the other books.
- Ending – THE ENDING SAVED THE SUBPAR PLOT. I loved the ending and how it came full circle to the first book. I almost squealed with excitement when I saw the beginning of The Merciless at the end of III.
- Enjoyability/Would I Recommend – I would totally recommend this book. It was a pretty good installment in the series and will make you understand and maybe even sympathize with Brooklyn.
Thanks for reading! ❤
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