Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Mercy by HelenKay Dimon Series: Holton Woods #1
Published by Berkley on May 6, 2014
Genres: Romantic Suspense, Erotica
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads
Amazon, Barnes & Noble
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.
ICYMI is a post from my early days of blogging at Yummy Men & KickAss Chicks. You can see the original review here.
Yummy Man – Jarrett Holt
Kick Ass Chick – Becca Ford
Mercy by HelenKay Dimon turned out to be more romantic suspense than contemporary romance, which is great because it’s a favorite genre of mine. This author was new to me but I was very happy with this book. One of the most important things for me is the characters. I want them to seem real. The more I care about them, the more I like the book. While they may not be completely realistic here (hey this is fiction!), I cared about them.
You should know this is also an erotic book. There is a LOT of sex; both male / female and some male / male. I normally only read male / female (and with just two people), but all the sex in this story was very hot, very exciting. I was surprised how arousing this story was.
I am happy to see that this is the first book in a new Holton Woods series as I would love more of this story. I’d like to know what happens to these characters and some storylines were left a bit open.
Becca has a horrible past. She works for the government, now on a black ops team. Something has gone wrong and now someone is trying to kill her. She goes back to the man she lived with as part of an undercover sting. He was the target. She is very smart and strong and controls herself well. She is honest with herself and with Jarrett.
I don’t want to spoil the story here so I’ll just say Becca has reasons for going back to Jarrett. She also has reasons for loving him but not believing their love has a chance.
Jarrett has also had a horrible past. He has overcome and made his way in the world but he has to always watch his back. He knows he loved Becca and thinks now he will get his revenge for her betrayal.
But things don’t work out quite that way. I like that he knows himself, doesn’t lie to himself. He may not be happy with things but he doesn’t pretend things are different.
The villain is a shadowy figure and we never really get to see this character or know them. The suspense in the story adds to the sexual tension and the uncertainty of the relationships.
The friendship of Jarrett and Wade is great but I’m not sure about the introduction of Wade’s sister. That was kind of abrupt and didn’t do anything for me. Yes I understand that she is the heroine in the next book, Only, which releases October 7th of this year, but the way she was introduced still seemed a bit forced.
I would say my reasons for enjoying this book are more emotional than logical. It’s not especially a tightly woven plot with smart details; it’s more a relationship story with intimate conversations and developing feelings between people. It has their thoughts and feelings which aren’t always rational. That seems more realistic to me.
The situation itself is out there, beyond normal day-to-day. The people with horrible pasts, the violence, the money, the government agency, are all not very real or average. But I could believe the relationship and how fast they were together since the relationship had been built over time in the past. Becca and Jarrett had been separated by his arrest but now they are together again. So the sex is fast but that is because there is already the relationship. So it wasn’t really fast, they just picked up where they were before.
If you like books where the relationship and its progress are more of the plot with some suspense and tension coming from outside forces, and erotic sex, you should try Mercy.
About HelenKay Dimon
HelenKay Dimon is a former divorce lawyer turned bestselling author of more than 40 Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, and Erotic Romance books and novellas. Her books have been featured in various national and international venues and she has had two books named Red-Hot Reads in Cosmo magazine. She is a four-time RITA® Award finalist in romantic suspense (for Mr. and Mr. Smith, Facing Fire, Guarding Mr. Fine and The Fixer) and is 2018 RITA® Award winner for The Fixer. She’s also a Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award winner in romantic suspense for The Fixer. In addition to writing, HelenKay is the president-elect of the Romance Writers of America and frequently teaches workshops and classes on fiction writing and romance writing. She lives in San Diego where she is (or should be) working on her next series but might be streaming a show on Netflix.
Just in case you were wondering…HelenKay is her real name. Yes, that’s a capital K in the middle, all one word and no space (blame her two grandmothers – Helen and Kay). Dimon is pronounced Die-Mon.
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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It has been years since I read one of her books. I really enjoyed this one, too, but I don’t think I kept going with the series.
I read a few of them. I’m not sure I read them all. I liked them though, obviously.
A brilliant review – it’s not my cup of tea, but I really enjoyed reading your thoughts about it:)
Thank you! I try to write reviews which have my thoughts but don’t spoil the story. I have become more concise over the years. This is from my very first year of blogging.
I’ve never read this author and this one sounds fun. Terrific review, Anne?
Thanks Jonetta! I enjoyed these. I read more romance in those days I think. But this would still be on my radar because of the suspense aspects.
Like the sound of this. Great review.
Thank you!
I have read a couple of Helenkay Dimon’s books and enjoyed them. I do want to read more of her work but haven’t heard of this one before.
This is the only one of her series I think I have read but I really liked it.