The King's Mercy

While this is an excellent book, it isn't my favorite by Lori Benton. I think mainly what I'm missing is some of the deep spiritual lessons we got in her last few publications; I didn't cry over characters and I didn't feel like my heart was being ripped out alive.

Alex is a colorful character and I really enjoyed the scenes of getting to know him. It's not a common plot angle to have someone who's transported to the Colonies for treason, and the fate of the Jacobites has always fascinated me. Now when he finally comes to the place of repentance, it's a good scene but I didn't feel the tugging power of it to the extent that I know Benton can write.

Joanna is the sort of woman everyone would want to have for their friend, loyal and with a beautiful determination to do the right thing even in the face of danger or personal heartache.

I also had some issues with spoken phrases that pulled me out of the story a few times (such as the use of “throw a wrench in,” an 1800s term, and similar). Otherwise the research done was fabulous and showed a great picture of daily life in the 1740s in the Colonies.

Overall the story is beautiful and engaging. It's very different from normal Lori Benton fare but still had her trademark lush description and colorful characters. I personally would have preferred another 100 pages or so to show the many characters better, but I know most folks like novels to be of manageable length. This is a very good book, just not the best she's written.

Thanks to the publisher for a free reading copy. A positive review was not required.