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lambsbooks 's review for:
Embers of Mercy
by Brynn Ford
“I know I'll find myself in hell the next time I awaken, but I won't have to wait long for him to chase after me. I know I'll awaken to find him right there with me, prepared to suffer our damnation in tandem, and we'll burn together eternally.”
This book almost killed me.
In a good way.
I couldn’t put it down, my heart was racing, and my brain was misfiring.
“It’s like a rising tide washing away my strength in this moment, in this terror, in this living, waking nightmare.”
Embers of Mercy sees the conclusion in the Ember Glen series and, in my opinion, is the best of the trilogy. I’ll start off by saying read the trigger warnings, this book has them all. It’s dark, unforgiving, gritty, and sinful. It’s everything I want in a dark romance. As Arlo says in book 2:
"But what if I don't want to be saved? What if I want to be a sinner?"
Mild spoilers for book 1 and 2 below, they’re hard to avoid since this is book 3.
“Not a single man in this forest—in the entirety of Ember Glen—could withstand the impossible trial I just passed.”
There is no break for our main character, Mercy Madness, and we start the book off with her being buried alive and the death of another character, all within the first few chapters. But that’s the hook; after that, I couldn’t put it down and read it in less than 24 hours.
“We are all broken from this madness.”
This book had some twists and turns I didn’t see coming and when they arrived? I felt a little sick. The explanation we’ve all been waiting for was heartbreaking, sadistic, and cruel. And it was real.
“We know that whatever rules we were made to follow were arbitrary, made up by the original founders, who were doing nothing more than playing a game with money and power.”
It was so real that I 100% believe that men in power have this inside them. I 100% believe that the people who run this world are capable of atrocities that would give us nightmares. I 100% believe that some people have evil in them, and this book portrays that beautifully.
I had many thoughts about how this would end. How it began. I thought Ember Glen was created for a mostly harmless reason and their views got skewed (understatement) along the way. GOOD LORD was I wrong. It was fucked from the start and these poor women never stood a chance.
"This won't be the last time, Warden Rainn. They could end us both right this moment, and I'd only find you again in hell."
Mercy was strength. She was courage in the face of horror. She was their ruination. And boy did she burn beautifully.
“Sweet Mercy…what have we done to you?”
Arlo. I don’t even know what to say about him. His character growth was epic. I hated him in the first book, if you read this series (and you should) you’ll probably hate him too. But he grew on me, like a fungus. And now I love him.
"You're the sinner we all needed, starlight." Another step. "And you're the only one who can lead us out of hell."
And of course, there was the spice! It was spicy. Like a hot pepper. On fire. On the sun.
"I haven't spent nearly enough time with my face between your legs, and I won't be able to rectify that if you get yourself killed."
But their love for each other, their devotion, was the real winner of this story. This story of about girl who wouldn’t give in and a boy who learned from his mistakes.
"The simple answer is that I fell in love with a woman who refused to be silenced. She demanded to be heard, and somewhere along the line, I chose to listen. I should have listened long ago, and I've failed her in that way, but I won't fail her now. Hear me when I say she has my heart; I am in love with her."
And a random note, because fuck this man.
"Malo mori quam foedari." Death before dishonor.”
Thank you to the queen herself, Brynn, for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.