A review by jnowal
A Tangled Mercy by Joy Jordan-Lake

2.0

This could have been so much better. The core of the story is good, but the way it's told was disappointing to me. Most of the main characters are one-dimensional and implausible, and the minor characters come off as cringe-worthy caricatures rather than human beings. And although the author acknowledges both through her self-insert Kate and in the afterword that she is writing from a place of privilege, it doesn’t erase the bad taste of the story revolving around a white woman who is smart enough to be a Harvard grad student yet acts remarkably dumb throughout most of the book, and who tries to be stand-offish yet is adored at first sight by most of the other characters. The historical storyline is a little better, but I was bothered that the only black female character in the whole story exists solely for other characters - a black man and a white woman - to project their heroic impulses onto.