Review: Mercy

Mercy by Rebecca Lim

Synopsis (From Goodreads): Mercy ‘wakes’ on a school bus bound for Paradise, a small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business… or thinks they do. But Mercy has a secret life. She is an angel, doomed to return repeatedly to Earth, taking on a new ‘persona’ each time she does, in an effort to resolve a cataclysmic rift between heavenly beings. The first of a brilliant new series sees Mercy meeting Ryan, an eighteen-year-old whose sister was kidnapped two years ago and is presumed dead. When another girl is also kidnapped, Mercy knows she has to act quickly and use extraordinary powers to rescue her, even if it means exposing her true identity. Ages 13+

Mercy is an angel who doesn't know what she's done to be living in this limbo called her life. She is doomed to return to earth repeatedly, sliding into someone else's life in order to fix a problem. Mercy doesn't remember much of the previous lives, all she knows is that the girl's she leaves have ended up in a better place.

When Mercy wakes up on a school bus bound for a small town called paradise where Carmen, the girl she's taking over is participating in a combined school choir she doesn't know what she's in for. The family taking her in while she's in the town has a sad past. Two years ago their daughter was kidnapped without any trace. Almost everyone has given up on finding her alive, except for her eighteen year old brother, Ryan. Mercy knows she has to do something, that this is the reason for her being placed in this life. But can Mercy find the missing girl without putting Carmen in danger or making her life worse for when she wakes up?

Rebecca Lim has created a very unique angel story. Mercy is very confused about who she is and why she has been placed in this life, but she is also a strong and believable character. And as Mercy fumbles to get a grip on this new charge and understand everything about Carmen, this allows the reader to get even closer to her as it really feels like she's experiencing everything for the first time.

There is enough twists and turns to keep the pages turning and heart racing as Mercy discovers more secrets and lies that the family and town has. This book not only has one mystery about the missing girl, but also the mystery surrounding Mercy's past. She is searching for her soulmate and answers as to why she's living these girls lives, and it's hinted throughout the novel, but as the first mystery is solved there are still those questions that makes me want to read the next in the series just to find out more.

Mercy is a perfect book for any angel or paranormal fan. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Source: NetGalley

2011 Aussie Reading Challenge: #2 of 12
2011 YA Reading Challenge: #22 of 50