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Prohibition….Gangsters….Bootleggers….Al Capone….and a 17-year-old girl named Eve Marryat who, in the tumultuous summer of 1931, learns the meaning of….
by Ann Tatlock
Paperback, 400 pages
Expected publication: May 1 2013 by Bethany House Publishers
Premise:
When Eve Marryat’s father is laid off from the Ford Motor Company in 1931, he is forced to support his family by leaving St. Paul, Minnesota, and moving back to his Ohio roots. Eve’s uncle Cyrus has invited the family to live and work at his Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge.
St. Paul seemed like a haven for gangsters, and Eve had grown fearful of living there. At seventeen, she considers her family to be “good people.” They aren’t lawbreakers and criminals like so many people in her old neighborhood. Thrilled to be moving to a “safe haven,” Eve is blissfully unaware that her uncle’s lodge is a transfer station for illegal liquor smuggled from Canada.
Eve settles in to work and makes new friends, including an enigmatic but affecting young man. But when the reality of her situation finally becomes clear, Eve is faced with a dilemma. How can she ignore what is happening right under their very noses? Yet can she risk everything by condemning the man whose love and generosity is keeping her and her family from ruin?
Ann Tatlock is the author of the Christy Award-winning novel Promises to Keep. She has also won the Midwest Independent Publishers Association “Book of the Year” in fiction for both All the Way Home and I’ll Watch the Moon.Her novel Things We Once Held Dear received a starred review from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly calls her “one of Christian fiction’s better wordsmiths, and her lovely prose reminds readers why it is a joy to savor her stories.” Ann lives with her husband and daughter in Asheville, North Carolina.
It was Prohibition that ushered in the Golden Age of Gangsters.
one of the most enjoyable things about Sweet Mercy is the authentic historical setting
When the need for money was so dire you’re willing to do just anything and rulers are not following the rules because they want something for themselves… The novel will show the reader a glimpse how life was back then…
Setting behind the Setting
Eve… finds that no place is perfect and that you can find sadness and happiness anywhere. She also starts to realize that everything isn’t as black and white as she would like to believe. She falls in love and has her heart broken for the first time.
I loved the character and world building in Sweet Mercy.
The story does a good job showing her heart changes throughout the process of the story. The verse quoted often is 1 Peter 4:8 – Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. The theme really is choosing love over legalism.
Facts About 1931
Average wage per year – $1,850.00 Average cost of new house – $6,790.00 Average cost for house rent – $18.00 per month Average cost of new car – $640.00 A gallon of gas – 10 cents A loaf of bread – 8 cents A pound of hamburger meat – 11 cents
Eve thinks she is leaving behind the lawbreakers and criminals of St.Paul
Taking a deep breath, I say, “Well, I’ll tell you what, had I known what was waiting for me in Mercy, Ohio, I might not have been so eager leave Minnesota….”
This book just found itself on my favorites list. It was awesome.
The town is small, quaint, and free of crime.. or at least Eve believes it. When she learns that the small town of Mercy is overrun with crime just as other parts of the world, her self righteousness shows through.
The history is rich, the characters fascinating, and the outcome beautiful. If you’re someone who likes a good coming of age story, you might want to take a peek inside Sweet Mercy and decide for yourself if you like the gangster-ridden cities of the thirties.
Giveaway:
2 Winners, USA only: Print copy of Sweet Mercy, Ghirardelli chocolate, book themed pen & notepad.
2 Winners, world-wide: eCopy of Sweet Mercy
Open only to those who can legally enter. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by Rafflecopter and announced on Rafflecopter and Grand Finale posts as well as emailed and the winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Burgandy Ice @ Colorimetry and Prism Book Tours and sponsored by Bethany House Publishers and Ann Tatlock. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.