Beg For Mercy by Toni Andrews

My third book for Literary Escapism's Battle Royale Mini-Challenge is Toni Andrews's Beg for Mercy, the first book in the Mercy Hollings series.

To be totally honest, this was actually my second book of the challenge, but the book turned out to be something of an, erm, challenge.

I'm a mood reader. The things going on around me and in my life greatly affect my perception of everything I take in -- books, movies, music, everything. I have read books that I have enjoyed immensely, only to come back to them later and scratch my head wondering what I was thinking. On the flip side, I've had a bad day and been discouraged from books, only to return years later and find that it's become a favorite.

The cover copy for Beg for Mercy sort of led me to believe that it was going to be a much darker book than it actually turned out to be. Seeing as how I was actually in the mood for darker, the book ended up being a bit too cutesy for me at the time that I read it.

Mercy Hollings has a gift she calls "the press." By using her mind, she can press people to do her bidding. As a child, she unknowingly sent a young boy to his death. As an adult, she has learned to keep her ability secret and to use it under a very strict code of self-imposed guidelines. By using it only to encourage people to change themselves for the better, and under the guise of hypnotherapy, Mercy has been able to help those around her. But when her friend Sukey is left recovering from an accidental overdose, Mercy uses the press to send a drug dealer running. Now, his superiors want to know where he, and their drugs, have gone. Unfortunately, someone also knows about Mercy's ability. If she can't track down the drugs before it's too late, all of her friends could be in danger. But can Mercy save everyone and still keep her power secret from the ones she holds close? And just what does this gangster know about her?

If you're looking for a lighter, almost cozyish, paranormal mystery with a dash of romance, then the Mercy Hollings series is going to hit the spot. If you're looking for a dark paranormal read about an uncontrollable power that's unleashed when the heroine is pissed, keep looking.