Title: Waves of Mercy

Author: S.B. Roth

Genre: Christian Romance

 

In Waves of Mercy by S.B. Roth, Annalise marries Rex, the seemingly perfect man of her dreams, but just as they settle into their new life together, tragedy strikes, changing everything. Now, Annalise finds herself at a crossroads, where she must navigate an uncertain future involving mission trips and mysterious letters. All the while, though, she trusts in God as her guide.

Waves of Mercy is Christian Romance, which means it is clean and wholesome, which is often challenging to find among today’s publications. For readers seeking romance without too much heat, S.B. Roth’s novella is a good choice. In addition, it is on the shorter side, so it doesn’t require a long commitment and is a solid choice for a beach read or plane trip. Waves of Mercy will also resonate with Christians, as the author is open about faith and its importance in the lives of her characters. There is a beauty in this truth that is rare in twenty-first-century writing, like finding a jewel among sand.

The story is told with straightforward language and clean dialogue, interspersed with some playfulness and teasing, which is a fun backdrop to the more serious incidents. At first, the narrative feels almost too easy, like nothing is going wrong in Annalise’s life, but when tragedy strikes, it hits hard. Perhaps a hint earlier in the narrative or another incident that creates tension would bring more depth to Annalise’s relationship with Rex.

Although likable characters, because of the brevity of the narrative, we don’t get to know them as well as we could have if the story were fleshed out into a full-length novel. It’s like getting a taste of a decadent dessert and loving the flavor, wanting more, and realizing there is no more. That is, however, a compliment to the story itself.

Some of the time frames throughout the narrative are inconsistent, including how long Annalise is married to Rex, how far along she is in her pregnancy, and how much time has passed since her marriage ended. In addition, after the tragedy that shakes her very world, the narrative skips ahead a whole year, leaving the reader feeling like there was a missed opportunity to fully experience Annalise’s grief with her. Although there is no timeline for grief, it is often most raw and consuming early on, and because we only have 14,000 words of text to work with, the author hasn’t taken the reader as deep as she could have.

However, when Annalise begins to heal, her grief becomes apparent, often occurring when she least expects it. Annalise seems to run hot and cold with Cy, her new love interest, and sometimes it’s hard to discern whether this is due to her unprocessed grief or the need to develop the character more. The conversations between Annalise and Cy are often refreshing and hopeful, yet an unexpected wrong turn, the wrong word said, or the wrong implication renders their relationship to feel like it is jerking the reader along on a twisting roller coaster.

Waves of Mercy is a short, clean romance that lovers of the genre can easily enjoy. Roth excels at bringing her Christian faith to the page with her characters, sharing a niche category of romance in today’s market. For anyone seeking a different flavor of romance, try Waves of Mercy.

 

 

This Editorial Review was written by the Book Review Directory staff. To receive a similarly honest, professional review for one of your own books, click here.