A good book as a standalone, although i recommend reading the four books in the series before it, especially book number 2.

DNF
I did not realize when I requested this book that it was a part of a series. Do to that and feeling like I did not understand everything going on, I DNFed it.

Fantastic. Another winner for this amazing writer. Who knew superheroes could be sexy and badass equally.

I got this from netgalley which in no way influenced my review. I didn't know (I really wish this stuff would be better marked) that this is a sequel. Technically it's book five in a series (though I can't tell if it's just an umbrella 'anthology' style based on lesbian superheroes or if it's a shared world).

Either way this is a direct sequel of book two and as such I felt a little lost but not so much so that I couldn't follow along and enjoy it for the most part. Mai Redstone is a superhero that can affect her body hardening it etc, saving humans as Mercy. Her lover, Xochitl, is an enforcer which seems to be a superhuman who works with a group (the enforcers) that seem to deal with malicious superhumans but is also a revenge killer who pretty much hates Mai's family (who are extremely powerful, cold and in her mind abusive not to mention one of Mai's relatives murdered Xochitl's sister) All of that was in the first book I assume and at the end of that they're lovers.

It opens with them in a relationship awaiting for Mai's relative to be charge and convicted. Things however go sideways. In one incidence trying to protect Mai Xochitl steps over a line and the strain is almost too much and things go down hill from there.

The action is good in this (though the world building assumes you've read the other book. Took to mid book for me to learn the Enforcers can teleport (though I assumed it) and I can't figure out how their super powers work and the divide between human and superhuman. That's the problem with sequels, it's hard to read as a stand alone which is why I wished Netgalley marked them better).

It's really Xochitl's book, told from her point of view so it was hard as I didn't quite warm up to her. I couldn't figure out why she's so convinced Mai needs constant protecting (and the cover art of both books isn't helping since Mai has superhero muscle). I also thought they were back together a bit easily after the things said when it was on the rocks.

It was entertaining.

A Lover's Mercy is a page-turner of a book and an entertaining read. I only wish I knew it was a sequel.

Beautifully written and a real page-turner. I fell in love with this story and the characters. Couldn't put it down and was so invested into it. Hope it gets the hype it deserves upon release.

This is an interesting story, but I didn't realize when I requested it that it was actually a direct sequel to another book in this series so I did feel like I was missing things a lot of the time. You can definitely piece together the big picture details of book from context clues, but I feel like I would have probably enjoyed this book more if I had read the previous one. Still, the world building seems interesting from what I could make out here, and I liked the general plot. Also who doesn't love lesbian superheroes? I would recommend this book but don't be like me, make sure you read the story in order!

Representation matters, so I really wish I liked this book - which features lots of non-white characters and has a queer couple at its heart - more than I did. Unfortunately I found the narrator quite unlikable and wasn't compelled by the plot. Mind you, the narrator didn't seem to care about the plot either, showing a distinct lack of curiosity or proactive engagement toward the events going on around her..

I thought from the cover of this book that it was a graphic novel which was the initial reason that I requested to read and review this, but I was wrong about that. I am so glad that I accidentally picked this book because it was fantastic! I didn't know that it was the fifth and final book in a series when I picked it up and honestly for the most part I couldn't tell. I will one hundred percent be going back to read the other four books in this series though and I can't wait to do that. I started reading this around 10 at night after work one day fully intending only to read a few chapters just to get started and read until 2:30am. I didn't want to stop reading but I needed to get *some* sleep.

I really liked this book for multiple reasons. The story was fantastic. I felt like I was reading an amazing movie with badass female characters and a fast paced plot. The characters felt like they were fleshed out really good and they all were fully formed people with plenty of flaws. There was no part of this book that I skimmed or skipped over because I really wanted to read every little bit of it. I may have gotten a tad teary eyed when it ended. I fully wish that Mai and Xochitl were real people so that I could hang out with them (although I'm pretty sure Xochitl would terrify me at first). I would highly, highly recommend this book. If you are a fan of X-Men or superhero type books then I think this would be right up your alley. If I could give it higher than five stars I 100% would.

I'm actually a bit surprised, because fantasy isn't normally my favorite genre, but I really enjoyed this one! Even more so than the first in the set, Power of Mercy. If you're thinking about picking this one up, I highly suggest that you read Power of Mercy first though, since there's a LOT that you'd miss if you skipped it. You don't need to read all the books in the Superheroine Collection to understand, but don't skip Power or you'll really miss out on greatness.

All in all, I enjoyed the change to Xochitl's POV for this installment, and thought it was a well done second book in the set. Will I read it again? No, but again, I'm not a huge fantasy fan. I have a feeling that others who enjoy the genre more will really love this one. For me, 3.75 stars.

One of the coolest things about this series is that Ylva has a Kickstarter going to turn this into a graphic comic in honor of Apr 28th's National Superhero's Day. I'll be donating, and hope you can help support them by going here too - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ylva-publishing/the-power-of-mercy

**Many thanks to Ylva for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.**