kidisitor's review
5.0
Dark and desperate. Ember got herself into a life altering, and life threatening situation at no fault of her own. In fact, she's where she is more so because of who she is, or more precisely who her brother is. This is the third book in the Mercy series. Book one features Mercy/Nix, Ember's brother. Book two features his best friend/most trusted ally and partner in their business partner, Havoc/Animal. You do not need to read those to follow this book, but you will want to to better understand the characters and their mind set. The 'Hero' of this book, is a new character. He's young, and while he has a good heart, his family situation forces him to involve himself with some unsavory people. He hates what he has to do, but it brought him to Ember. A shining light in his life. There is a lot of bad that happens in this book. Lots of innocent (and some not so innocent) victims. Plenty of violence. The sexual content is limited, but there. This story is more about survival then anything else. What you are willing to do/risk and not only for your own survival, but that of your loved ones. There is some heartache, but not all from whom you'd expect. There are some twists and turns. Some good and some bad surprises. It's a well thought out story. Well written. It alternates between several POVs. A lot of heavy thoughts, that will have your mind running after you put the book down.
*I received an ARC of this book.
*I received an ARC of this book.
hannas_heas47's review
3.0
Doesn't measure up to the Poughkeepsie series but its a great idea, I'm just not sure that I loved it.
It says stand alone but I actually quit this book 50% in to go read Nox's story. It didn't really help but I understood some things....and there is a sequence of events.
It says stand alone but I actually quit this book 50% in to go read Nox's story. It didn't really help but I understood some things....and there is a sequence of events.
syndi3's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I like Mercy much better than Lock. Lock is bit immature due to age of the characters. The plot of sacrifice one self in order to save the loves one is getting to my nerve.
I do not even like Ember. She is weak, demanding and one dimensional. The only thing I give this book 3 stars is Lock. He is romantic at heart. His vulnerability is just cute.
Overall OK read. Not memorable as Mercy.
I do not even like Ember. She is weak, demanding and one dimensional. The only thing I give this book 3 stars is Lock. He is romantic at heart. His vulnerability is just cute.
Overall OK read. Not memorable as Mercy.
thewordslinger's review
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Not gonna lie, the first 1/3 of this book had me in DNF territory because it was so damned ridiculous. It's got some of the WORST instalove I have ever read. There's zero build up. Just OMG she's pretty I love her I'll die for her.
Really?
The ACTION bits of this story were good but not great. The world building is still spotty at best. And our guys from the previous books (Animal/Nix/T) who supposedly are all bad ass warriors in their own right are sidelined and reduced to doing internet research instead of BEING the badasses they were in their own books.
Ember got on my nerves sometimes, but not as much as Lock. He's got golden retriever energy and sort of read young. He's like 19, so I suppose it's sorta appropriate, but it wasn't cute, in my opinion. He triggered my second-hand embarrassment more than once with his rambling and awkwardness.
I've got quite a lot of other issues with this book--so I'm just leaving my chapter notes as explanation.
What happened to the 2 mafia-esque families that were present in Mercy and Havoc? Why not continue to use them rather than make up an entirely different crime syndicate? I said it in my review of Havoc--Debra's strength is NOT in world building. Instead of deepening connections and fleshing out existing organizations she just creates more shallowly described crap for every new scenario without tying anything together and making anything make sense. Would a place that has no less than 3 'mafia' like organizations allow not 1 gang but 2 to even exist?
Chapter 4: Ho-lee insta-love, batman. I've heard of love at first sight but this is ridiculous lol.
Chapter 6: Sherlock Sonnet? His name is SHERLOCK SONNET? Debra's just fucking playing with us now.
Chapter 7: I can't help but feel like there was a better way to get these two people in the same space. The way Lock's already decided she's <i>the one</i> is ridiculous. The way Ember's just googly eyed all over him is ridiculous. How he found her number is suspicious at best--he had NO information about her whatsoever. She could have been ANYBODY.
And with just a LITTLE more effort, this meeting and subsequent flirting could have been realistic and believable. If he were a student (maybe with a full ride scholarship for sports or some crap), or if he worked at a local place that she frequented. Maybe he works for one of the opposing organizations that were mentioned in Mercy and/or Havoc--that would have been awesome. Hell, she could even have been the girl to get in trouble at a college party and he was the one who got her out when her bodyguards couldn't (for whatever reason--maybe they were busy fighting off gang members?)
But no. Instead, he's just thrown through a window and they have this <i>serendipitous</i> encounter under a diner table before he passes out from blood loss. And now it's just a foregone conclusion that they're <i>destined</i> to be together?
I just handed you 4 different scenarios that would all have been better and it took me 5 minutes to come up with them.
So, I'm sorry--it's making it VERY difficult for me to get into this story when there's absolutely NOTHING to base the beginning of this relationship on. And I mean ANY relationship--not just a romantic one. The fact that he's somehow found her number and is buying her flowers and being all flirty with her like they freakin' know each other is just dumb. And rushed. And trying way too hard. This is the 3rd book in this series. I KNOW this author can do better than this... so why is she failing so hard now?
Chapter 9: The repetition about Merck's potential fatherhood is annoying. We know. We've known for 2 whole books. And already it's been mentioned almost with the exact same verbiage twice in this book. We're not even 10 chapters in yet.
Also HOW DOES LOCK KNOW WHERE SHE LIVES? HOW IS HE FINDING THIS INFORMATION ABOUT HER? Some random guy in admissions gives out info on students...really? 1st of all, that's illegal, 2nd, it's just a lame copout. Debra could have made him a stalker like Nix, or savvy with computers--could have given him contacts, or hell, as I said earlier could have made him a student, too. Sigh. I'm already against Lock and this relationship when I don't want to be. All because this is lazy as fuck writing.
Chapter 10: WE STILL DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT ANIMAL AND FENIX DO FOR A LIVING.
Chapter 14: Falling already? Really? After a single date in the library?
Ahah, we have vaguely connected the Cokes to the Feybi family. Thanks Debra, you're trying. The connection should be more substantial though, honestly. Tie this world together. Who controls the Pepsis then? C'mon, give me SOMETHING.
Chapter 16: Okay, so we finally get a little more information about how this whole crime-family situation works. Apparently Animal is ruling over the Feybis and the Kaleotos families. When did this happen, exactly? We barely heard ANYTHING about the Kaleotos family in Havoc--they were just another rival crime family invented to create drama that went absolutely nowhere. And they didn't exist AT ALL in Mercy. The Feybi family has at least been present since Mercy.
I just can't help the feeling that the author's trying for a real deep and fleshed out world and failing. The threads connecting all this crap together are so thin and tenuous. And we're being drip-fed information only when it's convenient for the author, not when we actually need it--which was 2 books ago.
Chapter 18: I really don't understand why the Pepsis paid the Cokes for...not killing their dudes? That doesn't really make any sense.
Chapter 19: Lock's such a ... little boy. Especially around Ember. But also other times--he's probably the worst gangster ever. He's stupidly ridiculous. And it's not attractive. I want the tatted murderer story back. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Chapter 25: Last name SONNET and doesn't know Shakespeare? Shameful.
Okay, positive: The way Lock is with his sister is <i>precious</i>. I like the rep in this book, and the way Rye is loved warms my heart.
Also okay fine, we finally have connections.
Chapter 26: I get that she's traumatized. But she's a fucking idiot if she can't figure out what is happening. You can't make me believe she's been SO sheltered she has no idea how any of this stuff works.
Chapter 27: This should sort of be called Havoc II. This is more about his business, just a story told through a third party POV.
Chapter 39: Cosmo's totally gay.
Chapter 53: Was I supposed to be taking notes? Whoops. Nothing worth talking about has happened so there's that.
Also Cosmo is gay as fuck. I've thought it from the first time he was mentioned. Every time he's described, it's just cemented more and more. He's too into fashion. Not enough into women. Never seen with women. Always with guys. I bet Felix is his lover.
Chapter 54: Told ya!
Chapter 61: Hhhh I actually want the plot of this story and not the sex. Can we move on please?
Also there's zero mention of protection--it's always been a thing before. She's not on the pill, there's no condoms... this is NOT the place for a baby.
Chapter 70: It's about goddamned time she realized that Animal, Nix and T are capable of taking care of their selves. Jesus.
Chapter 77: I gotta be honest. For all the hype Animal's little organization is given--I'm really disappointed that we don't get to see him, Nix, or T actually DO anything in this story. All their mafia-bossing happens off camera, or really--not at all. They're in a holding pattern for most of this book. Sitting around in a hotel room fiddling about on computers. Even Nix, who's this famous assassin, is relegated to being a glorified member of the Geek Squad. With all their talents and with how well they know Ember, they NEVER figure out that she's faking everything, deliberately trying to push them away. When Ember herself admits that she's a terrible actress and even after Lock gets a note to them telling them the truth--that she's been kidnapped and is playing a role in order to try and survive. It really makes them seem incompetent and useless.
I get that this is Lock and Ember's story--but if you're gonna include Nix and Animal and T in this, and tell the sort of tale that involves the machinations of criminal entities, then they should have been involved in the plot that took Olin down (not that Ember's mental break wasn't totally badass).
Epilogue: Even though this is cute as hell... is it a smart idea to bring babies and especially special needs kids into a life of crime?
Also what the fuck happened to the Pepsis? They just sort of fell off the face of the planet.
Really?
The ACTION bits of this story were good but not great. The world building is still spotty at best. And our guys from the previous books (Animal/Nix/T) who supposedly are all bad ass warriors in their own right are sidelined and reduced to doing internet research instead of BEING the badasses they were in their own books.
Ember got on my nerves sometimes, but not as much as Lock. He's got golden retriever energy and sort of read young. He's like 19, so I suppose it's sorta appropriate, but it wasn't cute, in my opinion. He triggered my second-hand embarrassment more than once with his rambling and awkwardness.
I've got quite a lot of other issues with this book--so I'm just leaving my chapter notes as explanation.
Spoiler
Chapter 2: I'm sorry... we have gangs called the COKES and the PEPSIS?????? Are you fucking for real? So badass. I haven't been this turned on since I heard about the lollipop guild.What happened to the 2 mafia-esque families that were present in Mercy and Havoc? Why not continue to use them rather than make up an entirely different crime syndicate? I said it in my review of Havoc--Debra's strength is NOT in world building. Instead of deepening connections and fleshing out existing organizations she just creates more shallowly described crap for every new scenario without tying anything together and making anything make sense. Would a place that has no less than 3 'mafia' like organizations allow not 1 gang but 2 to even exist?
Chapter 4: Ho-lee insta-love, batman. I've heard of love at first sight but this is ridiculous lol.
Chapter 6: Sherlock Sonnet? His name is SHERLOCK SONNET? Debra's just fucking playing with us now.
Chapter 7: I can't help but feel like there was a better way to get these two people in the same space. The way Lock's already decided she's <i>the one</i> is ridiculous. The way Ember's just googly eyed all over him is ridiculous. How he found her number is suspicious at best--he had NO information about her whatsoever. She could have been ANYBODY.
And with just a LITTLE more effort, this meeting and subsequent flirting could have been realistic and believable. If he were a student (maybe with a full ride scholarship for sports or some crap), or if he worked at a local place that she frequented. Maybe he works for one of the opposing organizations that were mentioned in Mercy and/or Havoc--that would have been awesome. Hell, she could even have been the girl to get in trouble at a college party and he was the one who got her out when her bodyguards couldn't (for whatever reason--maybe they were busy fighting off gang members?)
But no. Instead, he's just thrown through a window and they have this <i>serendipitous</i> encounter under a diner table before he passes out from blood loss. And now it's just a foregone conclusion that they're <i>destined</i> to be together?
I just handed you 4 different scenarios that would all have been better and it took me 5 minutes to come up with them.
So, I'm sorry--it's making it VERY difficult for me to get into this story when there's absolutely NOTHING to base the beginning of this relationship on. And I mean ANY relationship--not just a romantic one. The fact that he's somehow found her number and is buying her flowers and being all flirty with her like they freakin' know each other is just dumb. And rushed. And trying way too hard. This is the 3rd book in this series. I KNOW this author can do better than this... so why is she failing so hard now?
Chapter 9: The repetition about Merck's potential fatherhood is annoying. We know. We've known for 2 whole books. And already it's been mentioned almost with the exact same verbiage twice in this book. We're not even 10 chapters in yet.
Also HOW DOES LOCK KNOW WHERE SHE LIVES? HOW IS HE FINDING THIS INFORMATION ABOUT HER? Some random guy in admissions gives out info on students...really? 1st of all, that's illegal, 2nd, it's just a lame copout. Debra could have made him a stalker like Nix, or savvy with computers--could have given him contacts, or hell, as I said earlier could have made him a student, too. Sigh. I'm already against Lock and this relationship when I don't want to be. All because this is lazy as fuck writing.
Chapter 10: WE STILL DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT ANIMAL AND FENIX DO FOR A LIVING.
Chapter 14: Falling already? Really? After a single date in the library?
Ahah, we have vaguely connected the Cokes to the Feybi family. Thanks Debra, you're trying. The connection should be more substantial though, honestly. Tie this world together. Who controls the Pepsis then? C'mon, give me SOMETHING.
Chapter 16: Okay, so we finally get a little more information about how this whole crime-family situation works. Apparently Animal is ruling over the Feybis and the Kaleotos families. When did this happen, exactly? We barely heard ANYTHING about the Kaleotos family in Havoc--they were just another rival crime family invented to create drama that went absolutely nowhere. And they didn't exist AT ALL in Mercy. The Feybi family has at least been present since Mercy.
I just can't help the feeling that the author's trying for a real deep and fleshed out world and failing. The threads connecting all this crap together are so thin and tenuous. And we're being drip-fed information only when it's convenient for the author, not when we actually need it--which was 2 books ago.
Chapter 18: I really don't understand why the Pepsis paid the Cokes for...not killing their dudes? That doesn't really make any sense.
Chapter 19: Lock's such a ... little boy. Especially around Ember. But also other times--he's probably the worst gangster ever. He's stupidly ridiculous. And it's not attractive. I want the tatted murderer story back. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Chapter 25: Last name SONNET and doesn't know Shakespeare? Shameful.
Okay, positive: The way Lock is with his sister is <i>precious</i>. I like the rep in this book, and the way Rye is loved warms my heart.
Also okay fine, we finally have connections.
Chapter 26: I get that she's traumatized. But she's a fucking idiot if she can't figure out what is happening. You can't make me believe she's been SO sheltered she has no idea how any of this stuff works.
Chapter 27: This should sort of be called Havoc II. This is more about his business, just a story told through a third party POV.
Chapter 39: Cosmo's totally gay.
Chapter 53: Was I supposed to be taking notes? Whoops. Nothing worth talking about has happened so there's that.
Also Cosmo is gay as fuck. I've thought it from the first time he was mentioned. Every time he's described, it's just cemented more and more. He's too into fashion. Not enough into women. Never seen with women. Always with guys. I bet Felix is his lover.
Chapter 54: Told ya!
Chapter 61: Hhhh I actually want the plot of this story and not the sex. Can we move on please?
Also there's zero mention of protection--it's always been a thing before. She's not on the pill, there's no condoms... this is NOT the place for a baby.
Chapter 70: It's about goddamned time she realized that Animal, Nix and T are capable of taking care of their selves. Jesus.
Chapter 77: I gotta be honest. For all the hype Animal's little organization is given--I'm really disappointed that we don't get to see him, Nix, or T actually DO anything in this story. All their mafia-bossing happens off camera, or really--not at all. They're in a holding pattern for most of this book. Sitting around in a hotel room fiddling about on computers. Even Nix, who's this famous assassin, is relegated to being a glorified member of the Geek Squad. With all their talents and with how well they know Ember, they NEVER figure out that she's faking everything, deliberately trying to push them away. When Ember herself admits that she's a terrible actress and even after Lock gets a note to them telling them the truth--that she's been kidnapped and is playing a role in order to try and survive. It really makes them seem incompetent and useless.
I get that this is Lock and Ember's story--but if you're gonna include Nix and Animal and T in this, and tell the sort of tale that involves the machinations of criminal entities, then they should have been involved in the plot that took Olin down (not that Ember's mental break wasn't totally badass).
Epilogue: Even though this is cute as hell... is it a smart idea to bring babies and especially special needs kids into a life of crime?
Also what the fuck happened to the Pepsis? They just sort of fell off the face of the planet.
luetta's review against another edition
5.0
Ah, this book. I swear every story in this universe that Debra has created makes me love a new character more than the last somehow.
Debra writes in a way that brings humor and drama together, and leaves you wanting more.
I couldn't put down this story. I needed to know what would happen every step of the way. Lock, Ember, all the old characters, a all the new characters.. I needed to know.
Without a doubt, Lock is a one session book. Trust me. You'll be hooked.
Debra writes in a way that brings humor and drama together, and leaves you wanting more.
I couldn't put down this story. I needed to know what would happen every step of the way. Lock, Ember, all the old characters, a all the new characters.. I needed to know.
Without a doubt, Lock is a one session book. Trust me. You'll be hooked.
fsmeurinne's review against another edition
5.0
Lock is everything, I absolutely love the series, Mercy, Havoc and now Lock, but I must say Lock amd Ember's story got me. I was immersed in every page of the story. The bonus is that we get to see all the characters, when an unexpected turn of events have Ember in a complicated situation. They are a must read, they are so different and Debra got herself out done again. A 5 star definitely!
nic0lereads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
aylareve_reads's review
medium-paced
4.0
I have honestly loved this entire series and this book did not disappoint! Another top read for me and I cannot get enough do these characters.
Ember is the sister of Mercy, an assassin who will do anything to protect her. When she tell Mercy that she needs some space and wants to go to college, she never thought the boy who would capture her heart would be thrown through the window of the pizza shop she was eating at. Ember and Lock are immediately drawn to each other and realize what they feel for each other isn’t like any other relationship they’ve ever had.
When Ember’s life is out in danger, Lock knows that he has to do whatever he can to protect her, even reaching out to her brother for help.
I absolutely love Ember and Lock! Their relationship is so cute. Lock is pretty much obsessed with Ember from the get go and I love how far he goes to show her how much she means to him.
I liked the story line and how old enemies came back in this book. Nix and Animal are some of my faves so I was really excited to have them be in this book. I did enjoy having Animal’s POV in this.
This book had the right amount of spice and the right amount of story; perfectly balanced!
Ember is the sister of Mercy, an assassin who will do anything to protect her. When she tell Mercy that she needs some space and wants to go to college, she never thought the boy who would capture her heart would be thrown through the window of the pizza shop she was eating at. Ember and Lock are immediately drawn to each other and realize what they feel for each other isn’t like any other relationship they’ve ever had.
When Ember’s life is out in danger, Lock knows that he has to do whatever he can to protect her, even reaching out to her brother for help.
I absolutely love Ember and Lock! Their relationship is so cute. Lock is pretty much obsessed with Ember from the get go and I love how far he goes to show her how much she means to him.
I liked the story line and how old enemies came back in this book. Nix and Animal are some of my faves so I was really excited to have them be in this book. I did enjoy having Animal’s POV in this.
This book had the right amount of spice and the right amount of story; perfectly balanced!
tlwc50's review
5.0
This book definitely makes up for my slight disappointment in Havoc. There are some great plot twists for the reader! Good luck trying to figure out what happens next!