Mercy's Rain ~ Cindy K. Sproles ~ review

• File Size: 757 KB
• Print Length: 266 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 082544361X
• Publisher: Kregel Publications (February 5, 2015)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00T9QW73O

Purchase Mercy's Rain here.

Publication Date: January 27, 2015

When your life is built around a father's wrath, how can you trust in the love of Father God?

Mercy Roller knows her name is a lie: there has never been any mercy in her young life. Raised by a twisted and abusive father who called himself the Pastor, she was abandoned by the church community that should have stood together to protect her from his evil. Her mother, consumed by her own fear and hate, won't stand her ground to save Mercy either.

The Pastor has robbed Mercy of innocence and love, a husband and her child. Not a single person seems capable of standing up to the Pastor's unrestrained evil. So Mercy takes matters into her own hands.

Her heart was hardened to love long before she took on the role of judge, jury, and executioner of the Pastor. She just didn't realize the retribution she thought would save her, might turn her into the very thing she hated most.

>Sent away by her angry and grieving mother, Mercy's path is unclear until she meets a young preacher headed to counsel a pregnant couple. Sure that her calling is to protect the family, Mercy is drawn into a different life on the other side of the mountain where she slowly discovers true righteousness has nothing evil about it--and that there might be room for her own stained and shattered soul to find shelter. . . and even love.

Mercy's Rain is a remarkable historical novel set in 19th century Appalachia that traces the thorny path from bitterness to forgiveness and reveals the victory and strength that comes from simple faith.

My take on this book:

I was drawn to Mercy's Rain because of it's Appalachian setting and Cindy K. Sproles certainly creates characters and dialect that immediately made me feel like I had stepped back in time arriving in the community of Wadalow Mountain during 1897. The characters were richly created, and evoked a sense of realism for the time period and setting.  From the beginning sentences "married and widowed at thirteen, a mother and childless at fifteen" I could only imagine what sort of drama might play out within the pages of the story. I wasn't disappointed at all, instead this became a book I couldn't put down, because I had to know how the story would end!  While the author deals with some pretty tough topics such as abuse the positive messages balance  out the story very well. Overall one of the best books I have read so far this year!

A complimentary copy of this book was provided for review.