The King's Mercy
A Novel
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4.9 • 10 Ratings
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
For readers of Sara Donati and Diana Gabaldon, this epic historical romance tells of fateful love between an indentured Scotsman and a daughter of the 18th century colonial south.
When captured rebel Scotsman Alex MacKinnon is granted the king's mercy--exile to the Colony of North Carolina--he's indentured to Englishman Edmund Carey as a blacksmith. Against his will Alex is drawn into the struggles of Carey's slaves--and those of his stepdaughter, Joanna Carey. A mistress with a servant's heart, Joanna is expected to wed her father's overseer, Phineas Reeves, but finds herself drawn instead to the new blacksmith. As their unlikely relationship deepens, successive tragedies strike the Careys. When blame falls unfairly upon Alex he flees to the distant mountains where he encounters Reverend Pauling, itinerate preacher and friend of the Careys, now a prisoner of the Cherokees. Haunted by his abandoning of Joanna, Alex tries to settle into life with the Cherokees, until circumstances thwart yet another attempt to forge his freedom and he's faced with the choice that's long hounded him: continue down his rebellious path or embrace the faith of a man like Pauling, whose freedom in Christ no man can steal. But the price of such mercy is total surrender, and perhaps Alex's very life.
Customer Reviews
Great read
More twists and turns than I was expecting! A fabulous, well written novel. I love the many characters and plot lines.
Exciting from beginning to end
The King’s Mercy takes place in the mid 1700’s and is the story of Alex MacKinnon, a Scottish Jacobite who has been taken captive by the British and exiled to the American colonies as an indentured servant. He is to serve a retired British Navy captain for seven years as a blacksmith, but he longs for his freedom. Joanna Carey is the captain’s step-daughter who runs the household at the Severn plantation, but she’s unhappy — not just with her role as mistress of the plantation, but with the slave/owner relationship and with the constant drive her father has to build a bigger plantation and to have more. She yearns for a simpler life, for freedom for the slaves, and for freedom for herself. She finds an unlikely ally in the new blacksmith, but finding a way to make their shared vision happen seems unlikely, especially when a more suitable suitor has her step-father’s approval.
I loved every bit of The King’s Mercy. Alex was such an intense, magnetic character — an all-or-nothing, masculine, emotional man. I couldn’t help but like him from the beginning. Joanna was so relatable — a woman who, on the outside held everything and everyone together, but on the inside, she was screaming for someone to want what was best for her and to do for her what she constantly did for everyone else. I loved the progression of Alex’s faith throughout the story. I enjoyed the unpredictable turns the story took, and there was constant action — never a dull moment. The King’s Mercy was a complete pleasure to read from start to finish.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not obligated to give a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own.