REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Mercy

Mercy, by Helenkay Dimon
Published May 6, 2014
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Format: paperback, received from the publisher
Genre: adult suspense romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

 Rating: 3.5 STARS

(From Goodreads) After she infiltrated his business and betrayed his trust, a disavowed CIA agent must seek sanctuary in the bedroom of a man who will either help her, kill her, or bring her to her knees…

Becca Ford is on her own. Eight months after she headed up a sting operation to take down millionaire club owner Jarrett Holt, the other agents in her special ops team have been eliminated under odd circumstances, and she needs a place to hide.

Jarrett is a man who prefers darkness to light. He deals in the only truly valuable currency — information — and his supper club caters to an exclusive clientele. It was an uncharacteristic moment of weakness when he let a woman into his life. But it’s not luck that the criminal charges disappeared . . . as did the evidence.

When Becca returns to the club seeking his help, Jarrett doesn’t want to hear her story. But he does want her body, and demands that she give it to him. He’ll keep her safe — for now — but it’ll be in his bed and on his terms, until he says they’re done. 

I don't usually read suspense and crime romance novels. But, when Mercy showed up on a list from Berkley, there was something about it that piqued my interest. And, in the end, I decided that all the subterfuge and cloak and dagger stuff was really pretty cool and an exciting backdrop for a romance to grow. 

Becca is an undercover CIA agent whose target had been Jarrett Holt and his super secret club. Eight months earlier, he was taken down, but talked his way out of prison. Now, Becca's team is being murdered one by one, and the only place she can hide is Jarrett's place. He takes her in, but under his very strict terms. Becca doesn't really mind so much, but she does want to get to the bottom of who's trying to kill her. And, maybe she can make some amends along the way. 

I love a good mystery, and trying to figure out who is trying to kill Becca was fun. Likewise was reading about how Jarrett felt about the whole situation. Eight months earlier, he had been very much in love with her when he found out she was an undercover agent looking for any reason to take him and his club down. He seriously had every reason to hate her after that. But, she got under his skin. I loved that. Jarrett is this big, tough, hard businessman with a questionable background, and he is literally brought to his knees by this woman. 

And, as much as he wants to hate her, he can't. And, that really pisses him off. Jarrett tries to force the issue. He treats her like crap at first and has to remind himself that Becca violated his trust. He thinks he can get away with using her for really awesome sex. Silly man. 

We soon see that there is a lot more to the situation than what either Becca or Jarrett thought. Someone was pulling both their strings, and once Jarrett gets over his anger and Becca gets over her suspicion, they actually work pretty well together. 

I did have a hard time connecting with the characters, though for some reason. Although I wanted Becca and Jarrett to find their HEA, I didn't feel as invested in them as I would've liked. And I was kinda bummed that the entire book took place in one building. There was never a change of scenery, and although the reason for that is given within the context of the book, it still got old after awhile.  

Also, I kept thinking that perhaps I missed a book prior to this one that told the story of Becca and Jarrett eight months earlier. We did flash back to the events of that time through inner musings and retellings by both Becca and Jarrett. But, there were times when I was a bit confused by what happened when. 

There was a second romance within the book between Jarrett's second in command, Wade, and a member of Becca's team, Elijah, who also happens to be hiding out at Jarrett's place. The focus of the story remains on Becca and Jarrett, though, as it should, and the addition of Wade's and Elijah's involvement added an interesting layer. 

Mercy was told in dual POV. In this case, I'm SO glad, because Jarrett's and Becca's takes on the situation at hand and eight months prior, was very different. And, since they weren't exactly communicating with each other, getting inside their heads was interesting and kinda fun. 

Although I had a hard time connecting with the characters and was a bit confused at times, the romance and the sex between Becca and Jarrett was so super hot and fulfilling. 

Giveaway

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