Rogue's Mercy

Alice Skye Series, Book 3

De: Taylor Aston White

Narrado por: Hannah Horton

A vengeful witch. A shattered family. A dark threat.

When Alice’s estranged brother, Kyle, unexpectedly reaches out, she’s determined to help him—even if it goes against everything she’s ever believed in. But as his dark past unravels, Alice uncovers a shocking truth: they’re both hunting the same man—the one who tore their family apart.

Riley Storm is relentless in his pursuit of Mason Storm. Exposing his father’s web of lies, and avenging the lives he'd destroyed. Thrown together by fate, Alice and Riley must join forces to bring Mason down. Yet their alliance is fragile, fractured by secrets and conflicting loyalties. After all, Riley has been trained to eliminate anything—and anyone—deemed dangerous. And her brother was dangerous.

In a deadly game of trust and betrayal, can Alice and Riley set aside their differences to stop Mason Storm?

Or will their divided loyalties destroy everything they’re fighting for?

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Rogue's Mercy is the third instalment of the dark & twisted urban fantasy series containing explicit content, graphic violence, profanity, and topics that may be sensitive to some listeners. Full details can be found listed inside the book.

Disclaimer: This novel is written in British English including spelling and grammar.

©2020 Taylor Aston White (P)2023 Taylor Aston White

Reseñas de la Crítica

"The book starts out strong and is pretty fast-paced, especially in the later chapters which kept me at the edge of my seat. The fights scenes are awesome and the author knows how to inject nail-biting tension into the story. Humour too, which is sprinkled throughout the story, and had me laughing out loud a few times. Alice is a very strong protagonist who is also a badass." - Chloe Grey

It’s complicated.

After an intense internal struggle, I decided to move onto Druid’s Storm despite being unsure if I could handle reading more about Alice. While she continued to be annoying, I really enjoyed the second installment, so even though the narration was still completely cringey, I went ahead and bought book three – Rogue’s Mercy.
In this book, Alice was totally committed to jumping aboard the hot mess express. She continued to bumble about – making deals with other magic users without fully understanding future repercussions and rushing cluelessly into dangerous situations without thinking of the impact on herself or others. She trusted random people for reasons that only she could understand, while not trusting those close to her. Her impulsivity nearly got her killed… again.
She kept asking stupid questions like “What’s that?” and “What’s happening?” when she should have just been sizing up situations for potential danger.
And yet…
I’m still invested in the supporting characters, and I need to know if Alice is ever going to get her shit together. Doubtful at this point, but one can hope.
And then the author had to end the book on a cliffhanger, and I hate cliffhanger endings with a ferocious fiery passion.
And finally, the narration.
It’s terrible. Truly dreadful. I mean, it was absolutely unbearable! The squeaky, shrieky, creaky sound of Alice’s voice made me understand why so many factions are out to kill or trap or use her. I don’t know how anybody could take this character seriously after hearing her speak one sentence. It seriously reminded me of what it would be like if Betty Boop and Minnie Mouse had a baby, and that baby grew up to narrate audiobooks… after sucking in helium. There were a few times I couldn’t focus on what Alice was saying beyond the record scratchy screechy horror that was her voice.
I know this review makes me sound like a toad, but I’ve never been so frustrated or conflicted while reading a series. Usually, if I feel this way, I stop reading after the first book, but there’s something about this series and these characters and this world that’s managed to suck me in in spite of everything.
So, yeah. If you can get past the obnoxious narration and the FMC’s questionable life choices and total lack of growth, you might want to move on to book four.
As for me, I’m not sure yet. It’s complicated.

too much soft porn for me

The story is fine, The soft porn is a major detractor. The main character is still determined to embrace ignorance and that makes her unlikeable.

The 10-12 year old voice used for the protagonist annoys me but it fits the maturity level of the supposed 20 yearish protag.

For the author, re-read Alan Dean Foster's Flynx [in flux] or Bujold's young adult work and study how the author expands his audience base using simple literary devices and plot. Specifically read it looking at which extemporaneous elements advance the plot and at those that convolute the plot then do the same for your series. I do not want you to believe that I do not like your story telling, I do. Nonetheless, there is enough to keep me from continuing. I will try any new work and sincerely hope for a main character that I can like and root for.