Have Mercy by Shelley Ann Clark

Have Mercy
by Shelley Ann Clark
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

My Review:
I had been nervous to read this one, knowing that I don't care for BDSM (read: pain and over-dominance) stories and seeing indications of that in the blurb, but I heard good things about it and I'm so glad I gave it a try. I felt like each time I picked up the book, I traveled outside space and time and just got lost in the story. I lost all track of what was going on around me and became completely immersed in these characters.

This book turned almost every gender stereotype on it's head. From the heroine telling the hero he was beautiful, to putting her in charge of the band, to having her be the dominant one in the relationship, to having the hero be more emotional. It made me stop and think all the time about how we look at stereotypes. So many things that you don't even recognize as identified “masculine” until you see it turned around.

The only thing I didn't like about the story, was that it ended. I wanted it to keep going for so much longer. It didn't end on a cliffhanger or anything, but many of the resolutions required the reader to infer what happened; there was no big reveal at the end where every loose end is tidily completed and explained. Don't get me wrong, the ending was perfect too, but I really wanted more.

In true gender-bending fashion, Tom had to learn to stand up for himself with his family. He was a passive character in his life choices and his relationship with Emme gave him the strength to make changes and take what he wanted from life. He did smoke for most of the book. It was sort of distracting for me because you never read books with smokers anymore.

I loved the music and togetherness – being in a van together, the camaraderie of playing side-by-side, the little quirks of musicians. It made me feel like I was a part of the band and Emme held everyone together. She had an undeniable presence and while she stayed true to herself, it took this story for her to accept that there was nothing to be ashamed of.

So, let's talk about the kinky sex. I think Ms. Clark handled it fantastically. This was a female dominant story and hoo-boy was it sexy. There was a lot of talk and teasing, but it never veered towards reluctant willingness. Both characters wanted exactly what was going on. There was a little bit of spanking and it gave hints of a desire to be kinkier, but mostly it was a woman power playing a man...which you see so rarely in romance. And not only that, but Tom really wanted what Emme was offering. It wasn't a matter of him letting her have fun until he could go back to the dominant role.

So, music? Check. Sexy? Check. Enthralling? Check. I will definitely read this story again and I can't wait for more books by this author. (Oh, and as a side note, this book has nothing to do with Uncle Jesse.)

I received a complementary ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.


**This review is archived on my blog: The Theory of Lieto Fine