Review--The Merciless by Danielle Vega

Forgive us, Father, for we have sinned

Brooklyn Stevens sits in a pool of her own blood, tied up and gagged. No one outside of these dank basement walls knows she’s here. No one can hear her scream.

Sofia Flores knows she shouldn’t have gotten involved. When she befriended Riley, Grace, and Alexis on her first day at school, she admired them, with their perfect hair and their good-girl ways. They said they wanted to save Brooklyn. They wanted to help her. Sofia didn’t realize they believed Brooklyn was possessed.

Now, Riley and the girls are performing an exorcism on Brooklyn—but their idea of an exorcism is closer to torture than salvation. All Sofia wants is to get out of this house. But there is no way out. Sofia can’t go against the other girls . . . unless she wants to be next. . . .

In this chilling debut, Danielle Vega delivers blood-curdling suspense and terror on every page. By the shockingly twisted end, readers will be faced with the most haunting question of all: Is there evil in all of us?

Danielle Vega brings a delightfully chilling tale with The Merciless! Not only was it creep and downright terrifying, it went way beyond my expectations of the story as it moved forward!

Sofia is an army brat, she's moved countless times and she's hoping that this next one will be better than the last move which had some bad memories. Sofia is quickly brought into the fold of the popular girl, Riley and her friends. Sofia thinks everything is going great, her new friends are awesome. But then suddenly, Riley asks for a favor; to befriend Brooklyn, who she believes needs to be saved. Riley wants Sofia to get to know her, so they can figure out what to do to help this "poor girl".

Brooklyn isn't quite a goth, but she is sort of a troublemaker. But Sofia finds her fun and a possible great friend to have. Then one night, Sofia gets a call to come to Riley's secret hideout. What she finds is Riley, her friends, and Brooklyn tied to a chair. Riley plan to exorcise the evil out of Brooklyn. She has it set in her mind that Brooklyn is just pure evil, but she can be saved.

And so begins a long night filled with terror and pain and blood. Because, what's an exorcism without a little blood?

Yeah, things get freaking creepy! Sofia seems to be the only sane one in the bunch, because she believes what Riley and the others want to do is just wrong. She's determined to help Brooklyn escape this madhouse with whatever it takes. Even if it means going against, Riley. Which...yeah, we don't go against Riley!

The Merciless, while a quick read, was still a terrifying one. Brooklyn is no delicate flower and she plays upon the fears of Riley and her posse. But I think the most surprising aspect of the book is what comes after the main event. I wasn't expecting there to be so many pages after said event, but wow. And the book itself is less than 300 pages, so it's a quick read. It's definitely not for the faint of heart!

The ending was even more unexpected. So shocking and sort of abrupt. But yet...it's sooo fitting for the tone of this book. Danielle Vega's debut definitely makes a stand in a genre that's steep with paranormal goodness. Though The Merciless takes it to a different level and will basically leave you shocked and scared out of your mind! A delightfully creepy and perfect read...even for Halloween! ;)


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars