Shades of Mercy by Anita Lustrea

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Shades of Mercy is a sweet coming of age story dealing with young love and racial prejudice. The love story is fairly sweet, though somewhat troublesome as there seemed to be little oversight of Mercy leading to her sneaking off to be with Mick whenever she could. The racial prejudice was dealt with honestly which is sometimes painful to read. As someone who has always been taught to judge someone by their actions and not their race or skin tone, it can be hard to read how very nasty people can be to those who do not share their own race. It is truth, however, and therefore a necessary part of the book.

That being said, I had a hard time engaging with the characters. I found myself putting to book down in the slower sections (of which there were many), and had to force myself to pick it back up and read some more so I could review it. That definitely dropped my rating for it.

If you want a simple, and sometimes slow story of young love coupled with racism, then check this book out. You might love it.

I received a copy of this book from River North Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.