The Merciless by Danielle Vega
Review by Lauren
Source: copy from library; all opinions are my own
Official Summary: Brooklyn Stevens sits
in a pool of her own blood, tied up and gagged. No one outside of these
dank basement walls knows she’s here. No one can hear her scream.
Sofia Flores knows she shouldn’t have gotten
involved. When she befriended Riley, Grace, and Alexis on her first day
at school, she admired them, with their perfect hair and their good-girl
ways. They said they wanted to save Brooklyn. They wanted to help her.
Sofia didn’t realize they believed Brooklyn was possessed.
Now, Riley and the girls are performing an
exorcism on Brooklyn—but their idea of an exorcism is closer to torture
than salvation. All Sofia wants is to get out of this house. But there
is no way out. Sofia can’t go against the other girls . . . unless she
wants to be next. . . .
Review: This book has been on my radar for
a long time, though I don’t remember reading any reviews. I guess I
just liked the look of the book (you’ll have to get a physical copy to
really know what I mean) and the summary had me hooked. This is not a
book for those that get faint thinking about blood and torture. This
book deals with both, and in exact, gruesome detail. I tend to find
reading about things much easier than watching it, so I didn’t have any
problems with The Merciless. Now if the book had been a film, that would
be a different story…
The summary does a great job explaining the plot
of this book, but to reiterate a bit, Sofia Flores is new to town and
ready to put her past behind her. She meets Brooklyn first, and finds
her a bit odd but overall, fairly nice. However, when Riley invites her
to eat lunch with her friends, Grace and Alexis, Sofia begins to learn
more about Brooklyn and how the girls believe her to be in need of
“saving.” Yes, religious saving. Think of the movie Saved but with a lot
of violence and anger and you sort of have The Merciless. Riley
believes Brooklyn is possessed and needs to be exorcised, but when she
kidnaps Brooklyn, Sofia soon realizes that Riley doesn’t truly want to
save Brooklyn.
If you are a very religious person, this might
not be the best book for you. There is a lot of talk about religious
things, especially God, though I still felt it was done well. It’s
ultimately up to the individual. This aspect of the book didn’t bother
me, though. I thought The Merciless was really well written, and for a
horror novel, I still felt like I got to know the characters fairly
well. The book did leave me wondering about some things, but that’s
mostly a sign of Vega’s good writing.
Vega's sophomore novel, Survive the Night, is released tomorrow. I can't wait to read it!
It's always difficult for me when we have a religious aspect in a book so I don't know but thanks for the discovery, it's the first time I hear about this one.
ReplyDeleteSeems like a great read.
ReplyDeleteNot a religious person, I'm actually attracted to books with a religious element so this sounds like my kind of read.
ReplyDeleteI don't always love religion in books but sometimes it works and it sounds like it worked for you in this one. It does sound super interesting. I'm not too squirmy when it comes to this kind of stuff usually so I might have to consider this one.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! :D
I received a copy of this book when it was first published - and I agree with you on aesthetics: it's a very intriguing looking book. That said, I am Catholic, so I found that I wasn't really comfortable with the use of religion mixed with so much brutality and violence, so I didn't read it. :/
ReplyDeletexx
I might try this one since I like a good horror story.
ReplyDeleteThe premise reminds me a little of the 90' movie The Craft. Remember that one? I don't mind books with religion in them, as long as it's not pushing a hidden agenda. This sounds like they are more so a religious cult actually, or hiding behind religion for 'cleansing' purposes. Scary stuff. Really looking forward to grabbing a copy Laure, fantastic review! <3
ReplyDeleteVery interesting twist on exorcism. I'll probably like it.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds interesting but a bit creepy. Hm... it looks a bit scary but you don't seem to see it that way. Might have to check it out!
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of something I read a while back maybe in the news? Where this family tried to exorcise this girl. They were of course, crazy. I have no problem with religious undertones. This actually sounds really good, but I'm worried about all the blood. I'm the same way where I can usually handle it in a book yet movies - nope. Nice review (:
ReplyDeleteBeen on mine too, this is the type of book that I don't mind religion being in, because obviously it would be, definitely my type of book. :)
ReplyDeleteThis book really scared the crap out of me when I first read it... Honestly the first YA Horror I had ever read. Despite that I still want to read more from this genre, if only because it makes me feel so exhilarated!
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
Marianne @ Boricuan Bookworms.
This book sounds very interesting. Unfortunately there are crazy people in our world. Some religious and some not. Nevertheless, this is a book that I would find intriguing. Wonderful Review Lauren :)
ReplyDeleteLindy@ A Bookish Escape