Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Review: End of Mercy (The Mercy Series #3) by C.C. Marks @CherieMarks


End of Mercy
The Mercy Series #3
by C.C. Marks
Published July 14th 2015
Genre: Dystopian, Apocalyptic, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult

BLURB:

After a treacherous journey, Charlie is finally safe behind the walls of The Mercy Research Hospital. Yet, even as she’s relieved to be free of danger, things aren’t all they seem inside this secure world. Revelations about the research conducted in The Dead Forest and the role she played flips her world on its head and makes her question everything she knows as truth.

Once again, with much against her, Charlie must take action for Star, Thomas, and all those she’s come to care about in order to prevent the plan to wipe out everything…and everyone…remaining in the forest. And even as Charlie allows herself to relax, she meets Dr. Drake, the medical researcher who insists she’s creating a better world. Of course, once you’ve fought off Draghoul and all the stuff of nightmares, a doctor with unclear motives is just one more challenge to meet.


Purchase:


Other Books in the Series:
Read my Review of Edge of Mercy



Read my Review of Heart of Mercy


Read my Review of Mercy



Read my Review of Range of Mercy


EXCERPT:

As we walked freely down the open road, I realized I’d forgotten the crisp smell of cold air and the security of sunshine on the top of your head. Being outside without worrying about running for your life was beyond fantastic, and I couldn’t erase the smile from my face as we walked in a small group together. Nervous energy filled my abdomen at the thought of no shelter once night began to fall, but in the fading light, we walked on.

As we traveled along the two-lane, paved road, we passed several houses. All seemed completely abandoned. A large, faded-red barn loomed ahead as I took everything in. The closer we walked toward the barn though, the stranger its appearance became.

The road veered to the left away from the barn in a field to the right. The rest of the group walked on, but I stopped and stared. A message had been painted onto the side facing the road, and my mouth dropped.

TURN BACK! YOU WILL DIE!

The words were clear and the message unmistakable. Who had painted it? And why didn’t the others even pay attention to it? They passed by it like they’d done it a thousand times, and it no longer meant anything to them.

“Charlie, you coming?” Ben stood in the middle of the road, looking back at me.

With a slow jog, I caught up to him but threw another glance over my shoulder before keeping stride with him.

“What’s that about?” “What’s what about?” Such an evasive answer. He didn’t even look back.

I pointed to the area now behind us. “Um... the warning on the side of that barn.”

We’d caught up to the rest of the group by then. “Didn’t you know? Mercy’s a dangerous place. Better go somewhere else.” Tyson laughed as he met my gaze. “It was a well-executed public relations plan to keep people away. Too many people kept showing up at the hospital’s doorstep for help. Can’t help them all, so a few people went out and tried to find a way to keep people from coming any further.”

I glanced around the group. Everyone but Ben nodded. His jaw tightened noticeably as he avoided looking at anyone, and I got the feeling he knew something the others didn’t.

Rachelle added, “There’s another one up here that says, ‘Your children will be taken!’”

It did sound like scare tactics, but I still thought Ben was avoiding the subject for some reason. He knew something about the messages that he wasn’t sharing with the group. I was sure of it, but I just nodded and walked on.

Sure enough, we turned the next curve and another barn loomed beside the road. The words Rachelle said would be there were, but I couldn’t believe the sense of dread seeing the words gave me. When I thought back to the population of Mercy, it occurred to me that there were very few adults. Though there certainly were a handful of adults, they were young, maybe in their twenties but barely out of their teens. Much of the population were children. I’d thought it was odd but figured many of their parents had been lost to the Dead Forest. What if something else entirely were going on?

My Review:

Charlie Little and her baby sister Star have finally made it to the safety of Mercy Research Facility. When Charlie finally steps foot in the halls of Mercy she believes that she will now find the answers to all of her questions and she does have a lot. She soon learns that the answers that she has been seeking for so long just might not becoming her way after all or will they? It would seem that Mercy may not be the place Charlie thought it was. There is just something that is slightly off about the place. You know something that is just not quite right. Whatever it Charlie is just the person to find out. When Charlie sets her head to do something she usually does it.

Dr. Drake is just the person to give her all the answers she is wants but Dr. Drake is not one to spill all of her secrets at once. She will only give as much information as is needed at the time or as much is needed to get someone to do what she requires of them. The answers she has for Charlie though are probably not want Charlie has been looking for after all. But they are the only answers there is. Charlie has survived The Dead Forest and the Draghoul among other things so one more obstacle in her way is not going to stop her from keeping Star and all of her friends back at the Community safe. Charlie will do whatever it takes to keep Star safe and find her way back to Thomas.

Thomas has known since the beginning that Charlie was not a boy but he has kept her secret all this time. Thomas, Peter and the rest of the people at the Community have run into a little trouble of their own. Someone in the Community is trying to sabotage them and put them all in danger and without a safe place to live. But Thomas is not going to let anyone else die if it is in his power to stop it. Thomas must find a way to get everyone out and find a safe place for them before it is too late. After saving everyone at the Community Thomas has plans to go find Charlie and Star so they can be together again. Thomas also has no intentions of letting anyone else on his watch die. He is determined to find out who is sabotaging them and put a stop to all of their shenanigans.

I have read all of the books in The Mercy Series and loved them all. I love the new twist that Cherie has put on what we would probably call zombies or undead but what she calls the Draghoul. Draghoul are people that have changed with claw fingernails and razor sharp teeth. A bit or a scratch will change a human into one of these monsters. I have enjoyed following along with Charlie, Thomas, Peter, Star and all of the other characters fighting and just trying to survive in a world that has been overcome by Draghoul or undead. Each of the characters has a story of their own and loved ones that they have lost in one way or another. They all have had their own heartache. I can’t wait to read more of Charlie, Star and Thomas’ journeys and following along with them wherever they end up.


If you have not read End of Mercy then I strongly recommend that you do. Warning it may keep you up at night. Not because it will scare the living daylights out of you but of course it might. No not that no but because you won’t be able to put it down. But I do suggest that you read book #1 Edge of Mercy first and then go on to the second book. Oh and don’t forget about the book that started it all the short story Mercy. There is also a shot story Range of Mercy from Thomas’ pov you will want to check out as well.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

It all started with an old fashioned typewriter. When my family brought it home, I knew what I wanted to do. All those stories rolling around in my head could finally get out. The press and click of the keys were satisfying in their own right, but when I pulled out a finished page, I knew this was for me. Since then, I’ve graduated to a laptop, but the stories still find a way out.

I’m a breast cancer survivor, a teacher, a wife, a mother, and from the very beginning—a storyteller. Always a hint humorous and honest to a fault, I love to make people laugh, smile, and have “a-ha” moments. My goal in life is to achieve tact and stop procrastinating. The battle wages on.

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