Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Mercy by Ian Haramaki

6 reviews

keioyana's review

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dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

* Stuck between a 4.25-4.5 star rating if I'm being honest !!

This was such an interesting experience! I would say that there are a lot of topics touched upon in this book that would be triggering to others -
Heavy descriptions of abuse from a heavily intoxicated mother, collective homophobia in a conservative community, corruption in religious organisations, etc, etc.


The writing is not too wordy or dense for it taking place in a more fantastical setting. I will say that the usage of modern lingo did throw me for a loop for a story that takes place in the 1920s, but I was alright with letting it slide under the guise of it being in a fantasy world far unlike our own. Who knows, maybe they're just more advanced in terms of language? Lol. 

Ilya and Danya's relationship was so... Domestic. They're so soft with one another that they just grew on me. I think that their contrasting personalities fit well together. I loved how much they showed care for one another, how their relationship blossomed as the story progressed... I think it's just so well-crafted. 

All in all, great read. It got me out of a depressive reading slump!! 
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rayneelee's review

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dark lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

Interesting concept- poor execution. The characterizations of the two main lead felt inconsistent and all over the place. The dialogue felt too modern and conflicted with the setting, which was underdeveloped and confusing. The main plot doesn’t really start until around 70% of the way through the book. Way too much telling instead of showing.
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maximauve's review

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emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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discarded_dust_jacket's review

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It’s not that I think the writing is necessarily bad, but this book would benefit from a few more rounds of editing. The author has definite potential, but this story needs some work, and I didn’t want to continue forcing myself to push through.

The anachronistic language took me out of the story every time. It’s supposed to be set in the 1920s but the characters use modern day colloquialisms. The dialogue in general just feels a bit odd and forced, sometimes even downright cringey.

The narrative pushes forward at a pretty quick pace right off the bat, but it isn’t really properly contextualized through any meaningful worldbuilding. I couldn’t get a solid grasp on the religion in particular. Who are the hunters? What and why are they hunting? Why does Ilya keep referencing a time when he “burnt out his eyes” as part of some ritual, without giving any further explanation?

Now granted, I did give up after only 45 pages so maybe these issues would have resolved themselves, but nothing about what I read thus far incentivized me to continue further.
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puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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atlastheninth's review

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I read this book because I loved the authors short story in "Devout" and I was not disappointed! 
This was the perfect book for me: A queer angel, pining, a bit of hurt/comfort and great character development. There even was a bit of plot, good plot! The ending was very satisfying, but still set up the story for the next book in this series and I will definitly read that too. 
 
While this is a romance book, the world-building (mostly religion-building I suppose) was nicely weaved into it. 
 
Now most of the book is told from Ilyas POV, but there are a few chapters told from Danyas. And I love both of them so much. Danya who just wants to protect Ilya, take car of him and show him how much he loves him. And Ilya who is hated by the whole village, who's never felt unconditional love, who thinks that he will die alone and unloved and who that he's not even worthy of love, let alone of Danyas. 
The pacing was great too. The slow change of Ilya from this to allowing himself to be loved was *chefs kiss*. 
Also splitting the books into two parts (a "before" and "after") and calling the first one "Night" and the second one "Day"? Genius, I love it. 
 
I have no notes. 
 
"They were both impossible men who had been hurt by so many things, trying to heal the other and find comfort in them. [...] They would come out of this together, stronger together, happier together." 
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