Review: Exile

Title: Exile

Author: Rebecca Lim

Release Date: April 28^th, 2011

Series: Mercy #2

Number of Pages: 289

Publisher: Harper Collins

Source: Bought

An electric combination of angels, mystery and romance, EXILE is the breathtaking sequel to MERCY in a major new paranormal romance series.

Mercy’s search continues ...

Mercy is an angel with a shattered memory, exiled from heaven for a crime she can’t remember committing.

So when she ‘wakes’ inside the body and life of eighteen-year-old Lela Neill, Mercy has only limited recall of her past life. Her strongest memories are of Ryan, the mortal boy who’d begun to fall for her – and she for him.

Mercy soon discovers that circumstances have forced Lela into waitressing at the Green Lantern, a busy city café frequented by suits, cab drivers, strippers, backpackers and the homeless, while caring for her terminally ill mother.

Just as Mercy is adjusting to Lela’s life, her beloved, Luc, reappears in her dreams, and she begins to glimpse her true nature and true feelings for Ryan. What she does not know is that her attempts to contact Ryan may have explosive consequences for everyone around her.

Meanwhile, ‘the Eight’ — the angelic beings responsible for her banishment — remain determined to keep Mercy and Luc apart, forever …

I’m really enjoying this series.  Because I enjoyed it, I was excited to read Exile. The thing is, event though I enjoyed it, I didn’t love it.

I couldn’t connect with Mercy in this one. One of the thing I enjoyed in the first was how selfless. She was trying to really trying to help people. Yet, in Exile, she is thinking more of herself than anything.

The other thing is how she presented Sulaiman and his religion. I felt like there were too many mistakes in how she presented his religion. (Since when do they talk while praying? Seriously?) They were so many stereotypes used through this book. As much as I wanted to love it, all those stereotypes got on my nerves.

Mercy ended up annoying me in this book. I don’t understand how she cannot realize how bad Luc is. Come on, what can Luc be a nickname for. It is kind of obvious. Plus, I hate that she seems able to just ignore the reason she is placed in Lena’s body. She doesn’t do much to help her. She is just obsessing with Luc and finding Ryan because of Luc.

One character I liked was Ryan in Mercy. I’m really sad that he isn’t more present. Okay, I don’t like the fact that he would be ready to give up everything for her when all she is thinking about is how Ryan will get her closer to Luc. Meh. Come on Mercy, can you remember one of he only great thing about your own life?

I enjoyed the writing, maybe a little less than in the first book, but it is still an enjoyable read, once you go past all the stereotypes used. 

Review: Mercy

Title: Mercy

Author: Rebecca Lim

Release Date: May 17^th, 2011

Series: Mercy #1

Number of Pages: 288

Publisher: Hyperion Book

Source: NetGalley

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Mercy in an exile from heaven with shattered memories of who she used to be. She's doomed to "wake" repeatedly on earth in a new body, each time assuming a new life. During the day she survives in the human world on instinct and at night her dreams are haunted by her lost love, who pleads with her to find him. 



But this time is different. When Mercy wakes up she meets Ryan, an eighteen-year-old reeling from the loss of his twin sister, Lauren, who was kidnapped two years ago. Only Mercy and Ryan believe his sister is still alive. For the first time since she can remember, Mercy has a purpose: she can help. So she doesn't understand why the man in her dreams cautions her not to interfere. But as Ryan and Mercy come closer to solving the mystery of Lauren's disappearance, danger looms just one step behind. 



Will Mercy be able to harness her extraordinary power in time?



The first in a dazzling new series, Mercy masterfully weaves romance, mystery and the supernatural into a spell-binding tale that readers will devour.

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I had heard little about this book, before picking it up and reading it. I was nicely surprised about this book, even thought it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.

The plot is interesting, but it has a slow pace. It wasn’t a bad thing. I enjoy taking the time to really get into the story, and by doing do, I was able to understand more of the character. The story may be about a heaven cast out, yet you can relate to her. After all, aren’t we as teenagers looking for who we really are? Mercy is seeking the truth about her identity, and she is tempted while doing so by the “dark side” (if you want to call it that).  The ending was beautiful and sad, but I loved it. I’m really excited about the sequel.

I loved Mercy. She really is my favorite character in this book. She is trying to do the best she can to help someone she doesn’t really know, even if the one “person” she knows and love tells her not to do so. She is looking for who she is, yet she isn’t tempted by the easy way out of everything. She is reading to fight for what she thing is right. I like that in a character. What I loved most about her is that she isn’t perfect. A perfect character really annoys me. She makes mistakes like everyone. Ryan is an amazing brother. He doesn’t want to give up on his sister, even if everyone has. If I had a brother, I wish he could be half as devoted to his sister as Ryan was.

Rebecca Lim has found in me a new fan of her books. I really can’t wait to get my hand on the sequel.

A perfect book if you’re looking for a beautiful and slow book. Sometime it is nice to enjoy a good story instead of just rushing through it to know the end.

4/5