Book description from Book Bub:
“When captured rebel Scotsman Alex MacKinnon is granted the king’s mercy–exile to the Colony of North Carolina–he’s indentured to Englishman Edmund Carey as a blacksmith. Against his will Alex is drawn into the struggles of Carey’s slaves–and those of his stepdaughter, Joanna Carey. A mistress with a servant’s heart, Joanna is expected to wed her father’s overseer, Phineas Reeves, but finds herself drawn instead to the new blacksmith. As their unlikely relationship deepens, successive tragedies strike the Careys. When blame falls unfairly upon Alex he flees to the distant mountains where he encounters Reverend Pauling, itinerate preacher and friend of the Careys, now a prisoner of the Cherokees. Haunted by his abandoning of Joanna, Alex tries to settle into life with the Cherokees, until circumstances thwart yet another attempt to forge his freedom and he’s faced with the choice that’s long hounded him: continue down his rebellious path or embrace the faith of a man like Pauling, whose freedom in Christ no man can steal. But the price of such mercy is total surrender, and perhaps Alex’s very life.”
Publisher: Waterbrook
Release date: June 4, 2019
My Review:
As I write this review, I’m going to assume that you’ve read the publisher’s description of this book. I’m not going to repeat those details In this review. I want to move ahead and review other aspects of this story.
“Epic saga”. That’s the two words that came to my mind as I finished this book. Everything about this book—the characters; the description of the several settings in the book; the dialogue—is amazing. The characters of Alex and Joanna are complex. The supporting characters are, in their turn, as heart-tugging, charming, or evil as needed to keep me turning pages quickly as I was reading. The storyline is intense. If this book was a general fiction historical novel, the statements I’ve just made would be true.
But it’s the spiritual aspect of this story that holds my heart. The author has used as the basis of this absorbing story the book of Philemon in the Bible and placed it in an 18th century setting. As Alex’s story mirrored the true story of Onesimus in the book of Philemon, I was reminded once again that God works in our lives for our good in ways that we can’t understand. This is what happens in Alex and Joanna’s story. The title of the book, “The King’s Mercy” refers not only to an earthly king, but also to the way that our Heavenly King showers His mercy in our lives every day. The message of this book will stay with me for a long time.
This book has some difficult themes in it, such as slavery, discrimination, and child abuse. For that reason, I’d suggest this book be read by no younger than the young adult category. It is a clean book with no foul language or embarrassing scenes.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.