The Merciless

Merciless is a hard book to review.
I Really liked some aspects of it, but there are others that I just didn’t care for.

First I want to say I was initially drawn in by the looks of the book. I mean this is a hot pink hardcover and it is absolutely stunning. I love that there is no dust jacket and that it has this awesome canvas feel. The only thing that really gets me is the actual cover. I don’t like that there is a pentagram/or pentacle (whichever you want to call it) on the cover. I felt very wrong anytime I would close the book and see the front. That sounds weird, but I’m okay with sounding weird. I still haven’t decided whether or not I want to keep it on my shelves or not. But the color I love the color!

Another big issue I had is with the characters. Every single one of them was annoying and the only one I really liked ended up being the one I shouldn’t like. I have no idea what that says about me, but yeah. I did not like Sofia’s personality or the fact that she couldn’t seem to think for herself. Not an attractive thing for a MC. I felt she did whatever she needed to fit in, no matter how right or wrong. Even when she knew it was wrong and should go against it, she still did what Riley wanted her to do and That erked my nerves.

Riley, Grace, And Alexis were terrible. I felt like none of those girls had personalities. They were all very bland characters.

I did really enjoy the authors writing and her ability to tell a story and keep it interesting. Even with me not liking the characters, I was still interested and invested in the book itself. I didn’t feel it was scary like some did and I also didn’t think it was anything too Gory, but it was a good drama! Its reminds me a lot of Mean Girls meets The Craft. I for one LOVED Mean Girls so I don’t find that to be a bad thing.

This book was dark and twisted and haunting in all the best ways. It is everything it promises to be and more. It was a mix of the Craft and the Haunting of Molly Hartley in one. Just the right amount of gruesome acts and cruelness. I couldn't stop reading. I really love stores like this. I have mixed feelings about it being a series though. On one hand the next one sounds awesome but on the other this is the kind of book that is better as a stand alone. Like most horror movies, they always do better when it's just one to leave you with chills. If you like scares and books that deal with these subjects then you will like this. but if any of the subjects that are addressed in this book make you uncomfortable than I would pass on this one If I were you. It deals with satanic practices, religion, torture, exorcisms, demonic possession, and gruesome acts performed by teens. If you're cool with reading about these things then it's a must read.:)

The pages was put in the book upside down and backwards. And I order all 3 books. Book 2 is fine book 3 aint out yet. Just hope this don't happen to no one else. I aint ever had this happen to me before my books always new and no damage

In Danielle Vega’s horror debut, THE MERCILESS, high school student Sofia Flores moves to a new school every six months because of her mother’s military job and shares their home with her sickly grandmother who has not spoken since she suffered a stroke. On her first day at her new school in Mississippi, Sofia meets two very distinct people: Riley Howard and Brooklyn Stevens. They could not contrast each other more --- Riley is the pretty popular girl with the perfect home life while Brooklyn is the punk girl in the heavy black eyeliner with a laundry list of gruesome rumors attributed to her. Sofia gets taken in by Riley along with her two best friends, Alexis and Grace, who are just as pretty and perfect as their leader. Sofia slowly learns that the three girls are very religious, even going as far as baptizing her rather aggressively in the girls’ bathroom between class periods. Then, when Riley’s boyfriend cheats on her with Brooklyn, the three girls stage an intervention in the form of an exorcism in an abandoned house. Drawn into the debacle, Sofia watches the spectacle unfold into a nightmare beyond her imagination, and what follows pushes her to her limits and makes her question everything.

Vega quite prolifically keeps up the tense pace of the story in THE MERCILESS. Even if there were things I read that did not interest me as much, I still wanted to get to the next page just to see what was going to happen anyway. My pulse raised and my breath shortened as I read certain passages. As a self-described horror fan, Vega does her genre justice by spreading chilling tension throughout the story. I also appreciated the dilemma she set up for the readers near the end of the book: what do you do when a character is both right and wrong at the same time? It stood out to me, and combined with its specific circumstances, created a gripping ending to the book.

However, I found certain characters to be inconsistent without explanation at times throughout the story. One minute, a character would be supporting Sofia, and two pages later, they would completely forget the bond they had shared. At other times, reasons were buried so deep in subtext that they were difficult to uncover.

My other main issue was that I felt like Sofia had almost no agency as a protagonist. She hardly ever made decisions that were her original ideas. Except for in the first third of the book, Sofia’s decisions were usually suggested by somebody else, first. She also frequently thought about doing things that would have saved herself from her current situation, but she wouldn’t actually do them. I understood that at times fear stopped her, but every time? It became aggravating, and there were times that I found myself not rooting for her because I knew she wasn’t going to do anything to help herself. This doubly bothered me because overall, I did like Sofia as a character --- I enjoyed her voice and empathized with her at many points. But sometimes, it was like watching a horror movie where I just wanted to scream some sense and strength into the characters because I know they do have the ability to save themselves.

All in all, this was a solid read. I would definitely say that it was stronger near the beginning, and as more and more twists starting popping out of the woodwork, the ride started to get a little bit bumpy. But I do think that Vega has created a very unique story that ended with the glinting promise of a sequel or a series (but to be frank, given the state of things on the last page, I’m not sure how exactly that would work). THE MERCILESS is at its best with its heart-pounding pace, and it delivers a worthy horror story that I do recommend for someone who’s looking for a little something different in the demons and exorcisms department.

Reviewed by Corinne Fox.

It's not every day that I pick up a book that makes me squirm. I have a pretty tough stomach for creepiness and violence and all that good stuff. I love shows like Dexter, have been known to watch horror movies alone in the dark, and one of my fave films when I was in high school was The Craft. (Still love it, BTW.) THE MERCILESS by Danielle Vega made me a little barfy. And I think it was good barfy, if there's such a thing. It's a send-up to Mean Girls taken to an extreme, with a side of Bible thumping and a little exorcism for flavor.

Sofia is the new girl in town, and, since her mother is in the military, she's been the new girl a lot. Her past few experiences as the new girl have been pretty terrible, actually. She's used to being mercilessly bullied. And she's expecting about the same here, in this sweet southern suburb, until the queen bee Riley and her posse of popular girls take her under their collective wing. Sofia has also befriended outcast Brooklyn. And with all these new friends on her side, she thinks she's got it pretty sweet. But Riley has a serious hate-on for Brooklyn, who apparently used to be part of the cool crowd. She's changed -- so much that Riley has become convinced that she's possessed. And Riley's obsessed with Brooklyn is about to lead Sofia and her new friends down a dark, terrifying path. A path that leads to an abandoned house that once was their girlie hangout and has now become the place where Riley & Co. plan to exorcize "demons" from Brooklyn by any means necessary. And Sofia will have to either prove her loyalty or end up the next one tied up in the basement. THE MERCILESS is probably one of the most scary YA novels I've read in a while. It's not scary in the way that Nancy Holder is scary, or the way that Lois Duncan is scary. This is scary in the way that Stephen King at his goriest is scary . This is CARRIE on Steroids. Heathers meets Hostel. No punches are pulled. Nothing happens "off screen," and the reader isn't spared details. If you're looking to have your blood curdled anytime soon, this is the book for you.

The Merciless by Danielle Vega has been receiving a ton of hype in the book community since it was published this past summer and honestly, it's for good reason. As an avid horror reader I was skeptical that this novel would live up to the hype for me. But thankfully, I was proved wrong as I rated this a novel a 5/5.

Sofia is a new girl in school and is trying to make it through the next six months with no problems so that when she moves away again with her military family, she won't have any problems. After cutting her finger open in the lunchroom, a girl named Brooklyn approaches her and gives her a bandaid. Brooklyn seems nice enough and Sofia thinks she might actually have made a friend.

Riley inserted herself into Sofia's life with no input from Sofia on the first day of school. After Sofia discovered a dead cat behind the bleachers, Riley approaches her and informs her that Brooklyn is most likely responsible. Riley then introduces Sofia to her group of friends and proceeds to inform her that Brooklyn used to be friends with them but has since "changed".

Sofia is wrapped up in Riley's delusions about Brooklyn before she can get away. This novel has been compared to Mean Girls, but I honestly think Mean Girls seems like a kids movie compared to the brutality in this novel.

I felt myself cringing multiple times after reading the climax of the plot and enjoyed every second of it. Danielle Vega has entered the horror genre in a brilliant way and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

It's been a while since I really enjoyed a YA book. Somewhere along the lines I just got incredibly burnt out on them and after a while they all seemed to be the same book, just with a few differences. Same insta-love, same "but I'm QUIRKY" type of characters, and so on. If you've read YA fiction, you'll know what I mean by all of that. This book is fairly surprising in that while Vega does go for some of the typical tropes, she uses them in a pretty effective manner.

What makes this book work and seem a little more spooky is how easily much of this work could actually happen at any given point in time. Sure, sure, this book is obviously a work of fiction, but a look at the news shows us how a group of girls can try to commit a murder to please Slender Man and how various different people have caused murder sprees because they believed that it was God's will. There are other elements to this work, but the creepiest parts of Merciless tend to center upon how awful group mentality can sometimes be. It all depends on who is sitting in the driver's seat.

There's a bit of a twist at the end and die-hard readers of horror will likely see it coming, but knowing what is likely to happen doesn't really take away from the fun of reading the scenarios as they happen. If anything, picking up on it earlier on in the book helps make the little hints and foreshadowing all that much more creepy.

I do have to warn parents: if you aren't comfortable with acts of violence, some of which was done by a dangerously zealous Christian, then you might want to skip this read. Sex is mentioned, but the main thrust here is violence. It's a good stepping off point for discussing how religion can be the impetus for incredibly wonderful acts, but also incredibly awful ones. (Granted there is the twist, but it would make for an excellent way to spark a conversation.)

Overall, this is pretty effective and I can see where this would make for an excellent horror movie. I'd watch it, in any case.

Ok so I started this before going to bed and well that was not a good idea. I ended up having nightmares about demons haha. Woke up at 5am had to pee and made my husband get up and go with me to the potty!! Yes it freaked me out that bad!!

Ok so this one centers around Sophia who is in a military family and she moves around every 6 months. Well we don't know a lot about her and well it worked out really well in this story. She is befriended by some cool girls and thats where things start going weird. Like the description says they decide that another girl is possessed by a demon/devil and decide to to an exorcism.

This book was great but in a very creepy, very deranged, kinda way. I have to say that I read it in a few hours and I'm addicted. This book starts out light and fluffy but turns dark soon after!

I can't say much about it because it will give away the story! But if you like stories about good vs. evil then this is the book for you!

Go Into This One Knowing
Love Creepy Horror Films? Then Pick this one up!
16+ Only!

This book is a page-turner but just because you won't be able to tear yourself away from the gory and insane events it describes, not at all because it is well-written. I did finish it in one day because I had to know how things were going to shake out but the author definitely likes to shock just for the sake of being shocking. There are some undeniable plot holes and also it's badly copy edited. For what it's worth I don't regret reading the book, I enjoyed it. It's sort of in the same camp as Jawbreaker or Heathers but with an annoying religious twist. Check it out if you're into thrillers and don't mind a writing style that leaves something to be desired, avoid with your life if you can't stand extremely detailed accounts of violence and the "new girl breaks into popular clique and trouble ensues" cliche.

This book is effed up in the most amazing of ways. It is Mean Girls with a most diabolical twist.

Sofia is the new girl and has been befriended by Riley, Grace and Alexis. She's also befriended Brooklyn, an outcast who Riley and her group are determined to help. They are convinced that the strange things that habe been happening--like the dead cat at school--are the result of Brooklyn's evil ways.

Before Sofia knows it, she's trapped in a vacant house as Riley tries to perform an exorcism on Brooklyn. Riley's torturous methods are too extreme and Sofia is determined to find a way to help Brooklyn, without becoming Riley's next victim.

This book is full of very detailed violence so if that isn't something you're comfortable with you'll definitely want to avoid this. But if you're a fan of horror and love to be repulsed then grab a copy of this book right away.

I expected more intricate depth, a lot mote. Very superficial. Chilling? That's a stretch. Maybe more like gross. Maybe if I was given the chance to know the characters better I would be sympathetic enough to feel bad for them. The story jumped right in and not in a good way. The end was too quick and forced, and did not make sense. I was hoping this would be a unique rendition of something that has been done before, but nope, not here. Barely 2.75 stars out of 5.

This book was incredibly disappointing. The end was a total cop-out, it seemed rushed and nonsensical.

Sofia was likeable enough in the beginning, but that changed relatively quickly. She bought into friendship with the popular crowd entirely too quickly and allowed herself to be wrapped up in them and essentially controlled by them. It just happened too quickly.

The bulk of this book was graphic and disturbing, but not scary. It wasn't a "good" kind of disturbing. By that I mean the kind of disturbing you feel during a psychological thriller-type book. This was disturbing in the sense of teenage girls being the ones to perpetrate such violence and torture. I was surprised at how much the author was able to get away with for a YA novel. But violence and gore does not necessarily make a book good.

As i said, I was very disappointed in this book. I really wish I hadn't wasted my time on it.

Mean girls meet The Craft meets screwed up. I couldn't put this book down. We're torn between is Brooklyn is possessed or just a troubled girl. We'll surely get our answers before this book ends. Merciless is the perfect title for this book. That is what these girls are, merciless in their road to wanting to save Brooklyn's supposedly possessed soul. Sofia, Grace, Alexis, Riley and Brooklyn all have secrets their not telling. But who's holding the most scariest one?
I want to lock my daughter up and tell her no friends... ever. These girls are mean, vicious and calculating. You'll be cringing many times.

I saw this book floating around in a lot of book hauls and I knew that with it's bright pink naked cover that I needed it. I devoured this story in about an hour and a half, I could not put it down. This book was so messed up, but in a good way. It had my heart pounding the whole time I was reading it. I was definitely cringing at the shock value that's for sure. There were so many twists and secrets that I wasn't expecting. I can't wait for book two (well I hope there will be more). I was left with some unanswered questions. Where did Josh and Charlie disappear to? Will there end up being love interests? What will become of Brooklyn and Sofia? What about Sofia's grandma? Was Sofia's secret linked to what was revealed at the end of the book?
I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more by this amazingly good author. Fans of Supernatural will love this story. I would recommend this to those readers who do not get squeamish easily.

*4.5*
Although this was basically a Mean Girls story on steroids, with a twist of psycho, I pretty much loved it. And despite the highly disturbing moments, I couldn't put the book down and read it in just a few hours. What a trip! I wasn't sure how to feel at the end, except that I felt like I had gone on the crazy town rollercoaster and was still swaggering after it let me off the looney tune ride.

-UPDATE-
THIS BOOK IS NOT ABOUT WITCHES. OH MY GOD.
I just saw someone suggest this book to a friend because they said they wanted to read something about witches. As a responsible book reader, I feel it is my duty, however spoilery it may seem to people, to warn you that this book is 100% NOT ABOUT WITCHES.
THIS BOOK CAN BE FAIRLY VIOLENT, AND IS INTENDED FOR A MATURE AUDIENCE.

Please know that this IS YA HORROR. As much as it seems like it's about witches, it is NOT. Please, be aware that this book features very violent and-depending on your definition of graphic-very graphic descriptions.

I hope you read this book and enjoy it, but please go into it with the knowledge that, as innocent as it may seem, it is
NOT.
ABOUT.
WITCHES.

Also, a lot of my questions that the first book gave me have been answered in the second book, so I'm changing my rating to a full 5.
-end update-

Here's the thing.
It's not awful.
It's really not.
BUT.
It was kind of disappointing. I literally read this book in a day. I started it before work, read through about 5 chapters during my 45, and then came home and plowed through it. But like...I wanted...MORE. There was hinting at things that I feel like I didn't get answers on. I'd definitely read it again, but like...I don't know. I feel....Unfulfilled...But yeah. Go on and read it. It's not bad. Just.....meh.

Mean Girls meets The Craft in Danielle Vega's new teen thriller, The Merciless. Sofia wants to be popular, more than anything. Then the in-crowd gets a little too “bout dat Jesus lyf” and kidnap and torture the local goth, Brooklyn Stevens. On Wednesdays we burn witches.

The eerie atmosphere and captivating language make this a book you won't want to put down, even after you finish it at an astonishingly quick pace.

You guys, I think this book is possessed so we'll become obsessed with it. Better exorcise it to be sure.

Let me preface this by saying I DO NOT do horror. Reading the blurb on the inside cover, I was thinking like teenage suspense knock off of a hundred books like it. But it was on sale at B&N so I picked it up on a whim. Now it's 3am and I just read this cover to cover and good lawd almighty. Good luck getting to sleep for me. I wanted to put it down but it's fast paced and it kept me turning pages. Bet I'm gonna go get those sequels though.

I really had high hopes for this book. It had an interesting enough premise, new girl is torn between the popular girls and this outsider girl named Brooklyn. There was most certainly a Mean Girls vibe to it, down to the new girl spying on one group for the other. In the beginning, and for most of the book, it’s impossible to tell if there really is anything supernatural going on. You don’t know until the very end if it’s anything more than a petty high school battle between religious fanatics and some kind of Satanist.
The characters themselves were pretty lacking. Some pretty screwed things happen in the book and I didn’t really care. I felt almost no attachment to the characters at all. The descriptions of the scenery left a lot to be desired too. Everything in the story was flat and empty, like yeah you’re in the South, but you can describe some more scenery than that. Most of the story takes place in a house that was never finished being built, and the author loves to remind you about the billowing plastic on all the windows and doors, to the point where it gets a little annoying. The story itself seemed very long and drawn out, and I had a hard time reading every sentence. Even skipping a paragraph every once in a while, the story made sense and could easily have been condensed.
Spoilers!!! Most of the book is nothing more than descriptions of torture, and killing. It seemed like little attention was payed to the actual plot line, and the main goal of writing this was to write torture scenes. There is a plot twist at the end, but it’s honestly not so surprising once you read it, and it just kinda seemed like an excuse to include more gore in the story. End spoilers.
Overall I didn’t think it was a very good book. Like I said before it had an interesting enough premise, it just didn’t deliver like I wanted it to. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this to someone that is easily upset by torture or abuse, not that I would really recommend it all that much to begin with.

The synopsis of The Merciless got me curious, but it was the physical book that actually made me pick it up and read it as soon as I took it out of the packaging. It’s a hardback, without a dust jacket, bright pink and deckled edged – it practically screamed at me to open it, and once I did, I was pretty much hooked.

Sofia is an experienced new girl, and has perfected the art of slipping seamlessly into a new school. But she unexpectedly finds herself part of the popular crowd and although not completely comfortable, she’s so expert at not making waves she just goes along for the ride. I’m a little ambivalent as to how I feel about her as a character – I didn’t particularly like her, nor dislike her. The disadvantage of The Merciless is that there isn’t a massive amount of initial character development, so I wasn’t particularly invested in them.

What Ms. Vega does in The Merciless however, is write a pretty disturbing plot – it’s pretty damn scary and downright addictive, despite the fact that a few times even I, the gore loving horror addict, internally flinched at some of the things that go down inside the inside the house. In that respect, it’s a compelling plot, but it’s also one that I wasn’t entirely convinced of, especially at the end. It just felt like there should have been something MORE, but I can’t really elaborate without giving away major parts of the story.

However, the first thing I did when I finished was try and find out when the next book will be published, not just because it ends on the most horrible of cliffhangers, but I’m so intrigued with where the story goes next.

Overall The Merciless has a lot of great points for horror lovers, and it’s a very quick, engrossing read. Definitely not for the faint hearted but the storyline and Ms. Vega’s twisted imagination promise a lot more to come…

By now I should really know better than to get excited about a book that is creepy to so many people. I have such a high tolerance for creepy/gore/horror. In fact, I’m a huge fan of this stuff. Horror is by far my favorite genre.

This book was not creepy or terrifying or even remotely satisfying. I get that it’s creepy for some, I do. Like I said, I have a high tolerance for this stuff and stuff that usually creeps people out doesn’t work well on me. Usually. Stephen King is still the only author to scare me, and I have yet to find a movie that even comes close.

This book is basically about a bunch of girls torturing another girl in the name of religion and God (and mob mentality!). The girl in charge of this torture, Riley, claims it’s an exorcism. Sofia doesn’t want any part in it, but it unfortunately drawn into this mess.

But that’s all the book is. I am all for torture and gore and horror, but this was boring. I only kept reading because I wanted to see how it ended, and really it wasn’t all that surprising. The ending left me feeling unfulfilled. I needed something more than that.

This book just didn’t do anything for me. It started off promising and then I had trouble continuing my reading. I just don’t understand how it could have gotten so boring. It was an easy read though and didn’t take much time to finish. It just wasn’t for me.

As an avid reader of both YA and horror fiction, I was eager to dive right into The Merciless. The cover is intriguing, and what little I knew about it promised something big. Unfortunately, what I found between these bright pink covers was a hot pink mess. The plot is so thin it's a wonder this story holds together at all, and the character development is practically nonexistent. With dialogues that are in no way realistic, and horrific events that feel contrived, gratuitous and sometimes even nonsensical, this book has very little to offer fans looking for anything more than the most superficial of gore fests.

Teen readers will of course identify with Sofia, the new girl in town who finds herself once again starting over at a new school and trying to make friends. Throw in a group of popular girls, the class pariah, and a couple of boys to have crushes on and you get your pretty standard high school story. But wait! The popular girls are mean girls and devout Christians. The class pariah is in fact performing ritualistic animal tortures (or is she?), and the popular dudes, well they are just window dressing. The biggest part of this book consists of one long torture scene that is just ridiculous, because none of these people are in any way believable. The entire Christian vs. demon exorcism element seems to be just an afterthought to add yet another level of gratuitous sensationalism to a story that has absolutely no literary merit.

It's obvious that this book will find plenty of fans among teens hungry for the supernatural. The violence is graphic, but the lack of a well-developed plot and believable characters rob this book of much of the suspense. Readers will likely be shocked by the torture, death and mutilations that occur within these pages. Perhaps they will even be shocked enough to forget that there was actually no story here.

There are moments in this book that are in fact very cinematic. I won't be surprised if this one makes it to the big screen. For horror fans looking for a good story, my advice to you is to skip this one and wait for the movie. The book just isn't worth your time.

I was given this book to read for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. While I wouldn't really compare it to Carrie, it was still a good book. Very well written and kept me in wonder. I was hooked from the beginning. It is definitly geared more towards an older teen group. Topics such as bullying and teenage drama definately present.

When I sat down to start this novel I had I idea it would be finished in one sitting! A quick and easy read that had no problem keeping my interest. I agree with other customers who have stated that they felt no connection to the characters. That was my only problem with this book. I only hope the author continues writing but I seriously hope this isn't a new series.

I loved this book. It's action packed and it keeps you reading from start to finish.

For me - this most important thing to look for in a book is great characters, and a great plot - and the Merciless didn't disappoint. I also read most of it in 1 sitting - because I couldn't stop.

I heard they might make a movie out of it? Keeping my fingers crossed...

Honestly one of the best books i’ve read recently, super excited to read the other books Danielle has written. I enjoy her writing style and although some parts may be slow it’s a good build up! LOVE IT!

See more of my reviews on The YA Kitten! My copy was an ARC I received from the publisher.

Oh good lord, this novel. It made me feel so many things and bamboozled me so well at the end that the only reason I didn’t start stomping around and cursing is the fact I was at my ailing grandmother’s house at the time and I’m pretty sure my language would have sent her right to the afterlife. I wanted some YA horror in my life and that’s exactly what I got: some YA horror that bends the mind, gives you chills, and makes you angry. A little too angry, methinks.

One thing I really appreciate about the novel is its diversity. In this core group of five major female characters, two are something other than white (our narrator Sofia is Mexican and her new friend Grace is black). I’m not particularly fond of how Grace is described because you should never say a character has chocolate skin, but baby steps! Not good ones, but still! The group itself is pretty wild: Sofia the new girl trying to fit in with these girls who adopted her, Grace the wild card who wavers but generally falls in with the leaders, Alexis the follower, and Riley the leader. Then there’s their target: rebellious Brooklyn, former member of the group. Though not deeply characterized, watching these five fall apart in varying degrees is almost fun.

Perhaps the most irritating part of the novel is how it so completely fits the mold of horror and makes all the obvious mistakes. Making a plan to help Brooklyn escape? Oh, stab her in the leg even though injuring the leg is exactly what police officers and others are taught to do to keep someone from going anywhere! Going to investigate some suspicious noises and approaching it like you would a rabid dog or wild animal (almost exact words)? Don’t bother grabbing a weapon because it’s not like you’ll need it. I swear, common sense is the real enemy in horror media. Also, inconsistencies. One second, Sofia says enough of a characters finger was cut off that it rolls off a Bible and makes noise when it falls; other times, Sofia swears just a millimeter got cut off.

But if I put my rage aside, this is a pretty darn good horror novel. I had to split my reading into two sittings, but someone else could definitely read the entire novel in one sitting if they had the time to. I just wish it ventured out a little more. It’s not slasher horror with Freddy or Jason, nor is it like Carrie or the other five female-led horror movies in existence, but it doesn’t mess too much with the formula of general horror.

The ending. That ending is the source of so much of my confusion and rage and everything. One way or another, it’s going to get a reaction out of you because you’re either going to love getting your mind put through a paper shredder or you’re going to be angry at it screwing with you and saying what it does with its choices.

The book is currently being adapted for film–no surprise there since The Merciless is a product of Alloy Entertainment and whether it’s Pretty Little Liars or Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, their products make their way to movies and television easily–and it would make for a terrifying horror movie if it actually got that far. If you’re looking for some good YA horror that makes you wonder if there are really supernatural things going on, you’ll probably want this.

I was very excited to read this book, actually I was ready to be scared out of my mind... well I'm still waiting. The first half of the book was really good I rather enjoyed it. I wasn't able to put it down, I had to know what was going to happen. Well I hit the point where I was just over the girly teenage cat fight. This would be great for teens to read but as an adult I found the book to lack substance. The story just kind of fizzled for me half way through. I had to force myself to finish the book.

2 out of 5 stars, and strap in, Word Warriors. I've got a LOT to say!

Before I get into ANYTHING about this book's content, I absolutely HAVE to get it out there that I truly and thoroughly LOATHE first person present tense narrative. I ****ING HATE IT!!! There was zero reason to put this book into first person present tense for a few reasons. One of which is that it was BEGGING to be either third person past tense or first person past tense, but NOT present tense, and don't even get me started on how stupid that narrative is anyway. But before y'all come for me for hating on a gimmicky style of writing that everybody these days seems to think was a gift from the literary gods, take a step back and look at THIS book. This is written from the perspective of one girl. Because it's supposed to be only her perspective and is supposedly happening even as we read each word, you already know immediately that there's no reason to be concerned about her. You can't be narrating a story in present tense if you're going to die. And that's not a spoiler, because it doesn't take a nuclear physicist to figure that out. I mean, you have that problem with first person past tense, too, but present tense just drives that disconnect home even harder.

The gimmick of first person present tense is, for that reason alone, a really poor way to write a book, especially a horror story, and this one suffers badly on the count of it.

Why did I read it? Because the overall concept really appeals to me, so I struggled through that in hopes of finding a higher level of enjoyment for the story than I have hatred for that narrative, but I don't think that was the case in the end.

I can tell the author didn't do much research, either.

I've never heard of anyplace called Friend, Mississippi. There is a FriendSHIP, Mississippi, but we'll give the benefit of the doubt and assume the author decided to make up a backwoods crap-town in MS, which are a dime a dozen anyway. But, uh, if it's September in MS, it's not cold. Not even at night. Having the character complaining of the cold was really distracting, because I was born and grew up in MS, and it's hot AF there, humid AF, and there are biting insects all the time. The author likes to talk a lot about the cicadas, but she doesn't talk much about some of the real menaces of MS: mosquitoes, gnats, yellow flies, horse flies, etc. Cicadas are the least of anybody's worries in MS.

Also, household cockroaches don't hiss. I ought to know. I had enough of those nasty ****ers crawl all over me in my childhood.

Another issue that involves MS is basements. While there are a FEW homes in the Bog State that might have some form of a basement, I never knew anybody, of any financial status, that had a basement in their home. It's just too wet in MS for such a thing. Yet another distraction I couldn't get past.

Going back to that first person present tense... It really hinders any sort of character development. I'd have loved to have known some of those other characters a little better, but because we just HAD to be focused entirely on one girl the whole time, that wasn't possible. Sofia is cool and all, but what about her grandma? That woman had potential to be pretty bad***, but nope.

A little more history with the other girls would have been good, too. What was really motivating Riley? I mean, she was intense AF, but what pushed her to that? What was her history with Brooklyn? They obviously had some sort of past together, but what was it?

I wanted to really love this book, and if it had been that it was written in a more appropriate narrative and the author had done a bit more research on her setting and its native insects and had worked harder on some character development, I'd have found it scarier and a more exciting book.

I wish I didn't feel like it only deserved 2 stars, but in my opinion, that's all it should get.

This book was an easy read. It flows great. Some points in the writing I skipped, due to it being overly redundant at times. Hence why the 3 star rating. Other than it was a good book. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a nice, easy horror read. (The reading is nice and easy, not the horror part. It is horror after all. Nothing really nice about it.)

"The Merciless" is a fantastic read, and a great new entry in the teen horror genre. Vega takes a classic story -- new girl in town, trying to fit in -- and twists into something darker and much more disturbing. The characters are compelling and full of secrets, and the plot will keep you guessing at every turn.

Reminiscent of "The Craft" -- or "Mean Girls," if Regina George was really into exorcisms.

Vega's debut novel is an alarming, terrifying ride that will keep you guessing until the twist ending. The story takes high school girl insecurities to a very creepy new level. After the surprise ending, I would love to read a sequel to see what happens to Sofia Flores...

Great summer read!

Although there were many typo errors, this book was a wonderful read. I couldn't put it down and found myself finishing it in one sitting. I've never had a book make me feel as tense and nervous as some horror movies do when something is about to happen, but this book did it. I'm looking forward to this author's next book.

Vega's debut novel is an alarming, terrifying ride that will keep you guessing until the twist ending. The story takes high school girl insecurities to a very creepy new level. After the surprise ending, I would love to read a sequel to see what happens to Sofia Flores...

Great summer read!

Although there were many typo errors, this book was a wonderful read. I couldn't put it down and found myself finishing it in one sitting. I've never had a book make me feel as tense and nervous as some horror movies do when something is about to happen, but this book did it. I'm looking forward to this author's next book.

This is the worse book I have ever read. I do not say that lightly. The three twists were as about as shocking as vanilla ice cream. I laughed aloud with each big reveal. I hated each and every character, and regretted I couldn't kill them myself. Character motivation is vague at best. The author can't decide what denomination her Christians are, not that it really matters because the book couldn't even make me believe they were theists. The ending provided some enjoyment when every other sentence contradicted the one before it. The violence was more interesting than the characters, then the violence got boring. The dumb protagonist does the usual dumb things dumb characters do in dumb horror movies.

If Sofia had a cell phone, the whole middle of this book would not exist. There's at least three other reasons the whole exorcism part should've never happened.

All in all, I really wanted to like this book, only to end up as the worse book I've ever read. There's nothing interesting, nothing horrific, nothing scary in The Merciless. I'd hate this book but like I said, there's nothing interesting enough to hate.

This is the most satanic book ever . God is not pleased by these books I would advise you not to get this book . It will corrupt your mind and the demons and devils and evil spirits will be be inside you . The time is coming when will only have one book the Bible use that as your shield not a WITCH CRAFT BOOK . Believe me the time will come when God will judge and I would like to see you in that line not in hell with Satan . God Bless