Exile
Rebecca Lim
HarperCollins
Published June 9, 2011
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As punishment for crimes she can’t remember, Mercy is exiled from the angel world, forced to live human lives, driven from one life to another in an endless cycle of suffering. This time, Mercy finds herself within the life of Lela, a dedicated young girl whose life revolves around caring for her terminally ill mother.
Mercy weaves through the day-to-day commitments of Lela’s small life, but her focus remains turned to the limited fragments she can piece together from the past. In dreams, Luc visits her, telling her of their great love for one another, begging her to find him, or to find the man who can lead Luc to her. This man, Ryan, also loved Mercy, but she struggles to fathom why anyone besides Luc would stir her heart the way Ryan seems to do. Could it be that Luc isn’t telling her the whole truth?
Finding Ryan turns out to be a relatively simple task thanks to the technology available in Lela’s world. He promises to meet Lela in a few days, and her heart soars. But to meet Ryan, Mercy must first survive the onslaught of evil that surrounds her.
The second book in Lim’s Mercy Series would be better enjoyed by readers who’ve experienced the first book. Without that foundation, it may be difficult to connect to Mercy’s struggle and to understand her somewhat calculated indifference to the life of the human whose body she inhabits. While this novel is based on a fascinating premise, much of this story seems to be devoted to setting the stage for the final scenes.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Profanities appear about a half-dozen times or so.
Sexual Content
None.
Spiritual Content
Mercy is an angel who has been exiled to the human world, however, God is not really mentioned in conjunction to either world – human or angel.
Violence
One character briefly discusses her career as an exotic dancer which is obviously part of a very difficult life for her. A woman is dragged through the street by her dangerous and abusive ex-boyfriend. Another man intervenes, saving her. Two hostage situations occur in which victims are threatened at gunpoint. One gunman commits a murder/suicide. Some details are given through the course of the scene.
Drug Content
Lela’s mother has advanced stage cancer and is very close to dying. Her palliative care team provide morphine and other medications to her.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
