MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK 

Eve welcomes the chance to leave their home in Minnesota and move back to Ohio. Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge sounds like just the fun place to be, with working there with the uncle. But what will they find when they get there.

With characters that play their parts so well in Sweet Mercy, Ann Tatlock gives readers an intriguing read that will stay with them for a while. I like Eve, her personality is fun and she wants to make sure everything is OK with their uncle and his running his company. I admire her for wanting to expose the people she loved for not doing the right thing. Sometimes that has to happen. Eve just wants to be away from illegal things like moonshinning, bootlegging and other things that are on the wrong side of the law. She has a decision to make, but what will happen with her decision. That’s what you will find out in this book by Ann Tatlock. It has been a few years since this book was written but it’s just as good today as it was then. I encourage you to check this book out.

A special thanks to the author/publisher for a copy of this book. I am not required to write a positive review, the opinions here are mine alone. I am disclosing this with my review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Eve Marryat is thrilled to be leaving crime laden St. Paul, Minnesota, when her father loses his job working for the Ford Motor Company during the Great Depression, and headed for her Uncle Cy's vacation resort in Ohio to work. She quickly makes friends among the people who work for her uncle or live on the island, unaware that her new home might now be the safe haven she believes it to be.



Eve considers herself a good and moral person, she likes to see things in black and white, she find herself challenged by what she sees and learns on the island. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, as well as a compassionate heart for her step-cousin Jones, and other newfound friends.



Eve's parents are people who live their faith, and have instilled their values in their daughter. Her father is dyslexic and has always struggled with feeling like a failure in comparison to his more successful brothers, he has strong convictions and makes choices that are good for him family.



Overall, a compelling coming-of-age tale set during the Great Depression and the height of Prohibition. I like how Eve is challenged by what she sees, and is forced to re-examine her beliefs. Link and Jones challenge her to see that things aren't always what they seem, and that "good people" do bad things. A well-written read, the desperation of the Depression, as well as the glamour of the gangster era, well worth the read.



I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Where is the line between good and bad? Can a person be both? When should you mind your own business or get involved in something you witness? These are the questions Eve is forced to confront one summer when her life is turned upside down. Eve is a supporter of Prohibition, even while she reluctantly acknowledges how badly the law has failed. For her, it’s a clear cut issue. Her definition of a good person is, “Someone who keeps the law,” and, therefore, all bootleggers and moonshiners are bad people who deserve to be in prison. It doesn’t matter if, in a time of the Great Depression, a person has turned to bootlegging in order to provide for their family. There are no shades of gray. No one can be both good and bad.

To be honest, I found Eve a difficult character to like. At times, she came across as terribly naïve while at others she sounded very self-righteous. When she said that good person was someone who kept the law, she reminded me of the Pharisees in the New Testament. But at seventeen – an age where many were finding their independence – she still went running to her parents like a child for so many things. That image wasn’t helped by the book cover, which looks like a young girl paddling in the water. I don’t want to say she’s a “goody-two-shoes,” but she’s certainly close to it. It’s apparent, to me at least, that she got this from her father. When she tells her father about an illegal bootlegging act she’s witnessed, he insists on taking it not only to his brother, but also the local chief of police. It soon becomes evident to both father and daughter that people aren’t always as they appear and it’s difficult to know who you can trust.

Sweet Mercy raises interesting questions and subjects that will make you think. Besides the good and bad issue, it also covers issues such as race and congenital disorders. There’s also a visit to a ‘Hooverville,’ where Eve learns what it’s like for some of the local homeless. Given my thoughts on Eve, you might conclude I wasn’t fond of this book. But sometimes, you don’t realize the impact a book can have you on until the end. That’s what I discovered when I got to the end of the book and the tears began rolling down my cheeks. This book had an emotional impact on me that I didn’t expect. That gives it high marks in my opinion.

Thank you to Bethany House for my free copy of Sweet Mercy, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly did not know what to expect when reading this book. The synopsis sounded interesting but I thought this is not something I will like. I read this book because I enjoy stepping out side my normal reading genre. This book was more than I expected. It surpassed everything I thought it might be and show me everything I loved about reading.

My brief opinion on the description. Eve's father is laid-off during the great depression. Eve actually thought they were moving to a crime free, safe area in Ohio. What Eve did not realize is that people would do anything for alcohol, make it in bathtubs, steal, kill, find a way to get that drink. When everything comes crashing around Eve, she learns that everything is not as it seems, what appears to be true is a fabricated and what is fabricated my possibility be the truth.

I know my brief description does not even give even to make me want to read the book. This was actually an amazing coming-of-age story. Tatlock takes readers back to a time that we have read about in history books. Heard our grandparents talk about how horrible living conditions during the depression, Tatlock allowed this reader a glimpse into what I have only imagined.

This was not a forced read, but for the first few chapters I honestly could not get into the book. However everything quickly became very interesting. I highly recommend this book to everyone. It is a wonderful clean read.

Thanks for a wonderful read Ann.

The bunnies and I give this book 5 carrots

Sweet Mercy is definitely an historical novel set among the days of the Great Depression and Prohibition. The danger, despair and the desperation of the times comes through. But this novel is so much more — a novel of a young woman trying desperately to be good — to live up to what she perceives as the expectations of her parents and God.

Eve Marryat has grown up in Minneapolis, a city that is a haven for the country’s criminals, where corruption and deceit are the norm. Her older sister has succumbed to the allure of the speakeasy, so when her parents decide to move to the small resort her uncle owns in Mercy, Ohio, Eve senses she will at last have the peace and safety she has longed for. Surely, Mercy will be a place where people will follow the law and keep the peace. But Prohibition and the many unemployed have created an atmosphere for bootleggers to flourish. Eve is staunchly anti-alcohol and is determined to shun those who think differently.

The story begins at the now closed Inn; Eve and her grandson are back to retrieve a long-lost treasure before the building is torn down. Eve tells her grandson of the summer she spent in Mercy and the lessons she learned.

Eve lives her life to the letter of the law, yet the spirit is somewhat elusive to her. She cannot understand why people can’t be good, since it is so easy for her. But through her experiences that summer, the words of a small town preacher, and the actions of those around her, Eve learns what God’s mercy looks like and everyone’s need for it.

I liked everything about this book — the setting, the characters, the easy writing style. I also liked the historical context and facts that Tatlock weaves throughout the story. There is an interesting and little known story about Al Capone told at the end that the reader should not miss. All in all, Sweet Mercy is a recommended read.

Recommended.

Sweet Mercy is one of those books that you can read quickly because it takes you on such a wonderful ride that you don’t want to put it down. From the very first sentence I was caught up in the story. “No one has been this way for years, but as I step up to the porch of the old abandoned lodge I’m certain I can hear music.” It’s beautiful and mysterious and makes you wonder what happened in that old abandoned lodge.

Eve is a grandmother now and tells her ten year old grandson just what went on at the lodge that summer she was 17. So we, along with her grandson, get to enjoy her mesmerizing story. It is a coming of age story in that Eve experiences things that summer (and previously) that change her forever. She meets a cousin she never knew existed. Her idealized view of her uncle is forever altered. She finds herself caught up in criminal activity. It is a whirlwind of a summer!

The characters in Sweet Mercy are so well-developed, and the reader can truly connect with them. I love how Eve was so dogmatic about her views. At 17 aren’t we all that way? We know what is right and no one can change us. Then we experience the real world, and realize that sometimes things fall in the gray area. We realize that sometimes, to protect our families, we can’t reveal everything we know. I love the bond that Eve has with her parents though she sometimes can’t see how much they truly love her. Again, this is something that at 17 you never fully appreciate.

I really enjoyed the development of Eve’s sense of morality. How her naivety and staunch sense of right were challenged was perfectly executed in the story. Though she holds strongly to her faith in God, she loses some of her faith in the law. She finds that the law isn’t always right. Though the motives may be pure, the outcome is not always ideal.

The descriptive settings are ones I really enjoyed. Life seemed so idyllic on the island and at the lodge. Even the small time moonshiners seemed to fit. The story of how Eve came to own her ivory elephant was so easy to imagine. It was such an eye-opener for Eve.

This story is really one worth reading. It will take you on a wonderful trip back to 1931 and leave you wishing that the book hadn’t ended. I give it 5 stars and 2 thumbs up.