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Mercy House

Alena Dillon (Goodreads Author)

4.05 · Rating details · 275 ratings · 165 reviews

A powerful debut novel of a refuge in Brooklyn for women in trouble—and the one woman who will risk all to protect them.

In the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn stands a century-old row house presided over by renegade, silver-haired Sister Evelyn. Gruff and indomitable on the surface, warm and wry underneath, Evelyn and her fellow sisters makes Mercy House a

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Paperback, 384 pages

Published February 11th 2020 by William Morrow Paperbacks

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Jan 12, 2020 Meredith rated it really liked it

Shelves: first-reads

Compulsively Readable!

Mercy House is a powerful story about three nuns who run a shelter for victims of domestic violence.

Nuns Sister Evelyn, Sister Josphine, and Sister Maria run Mercy House, a refuge for women who have suffered horrific physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of their partners, parents, and guardians. To help these women, the three nuns act in ways that go against the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Sister Evelyn is at the forefront of this story. In her role as Compulsively Readable!

Mercy House is a powerful story about three nuns who run a shelter for victims of domestic violence.

Nuns Sister Evelyn, Sister Josphine, and Sister Maria run Mercy House, a refuge for women who have suffered horrific physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of their partners, parents, and guardians. To help these women, the three nuns act in ways that go against the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Sister Evelyn is at the forefront of this story. In her role as protectress, she has taken down muggers, naysayers, and violent men in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Brooklyn. However, there is one man who incites fear in Sister Evelyn and that is Bishop Hawkins, who has come to investigate the happenings of Mercy House. Evelyn must confront this powerful man to protect the women she has come to deeply care for. To do so, she must face her past and come to terms with her dark secrets.

Sister Evelyn is the primary narrator, but the reader also gets some chapters from each of the current residents of Mercy House. I love Sister Evelyn--she is a wise-cracking, no-nonsense, badass 69-year-old nun!

Some areas might make this hard to read for some readers. There are parts of this book that detail sexual and physical abuse. A good portion of this book revolves around the Catholic Church and the Vatican. While this book heavily critiques the Catholic Church/Vatican, it does not critique Catholicism. Some other areas might ruffle certain political beliefs and/or personal values.

This is a refreshing and captivating read! Once I picked this book up, I couldn’t put it down. I found Sister Evelyn to be quite an entertaining character. She had me laughing out loud. At the same time, her emotions and struggles with her past were palpable. I got quite emotional and teary-eyed when she finally shared her story. Her character is well-developed, but I wish the other characters who play major roles could have been fleshed out a little more. I also wish the ending was a little stronger and that the reader got to see the aftermath of Sister Evelyn’s revelation.

Mercy House is Alena Dillon’s debut and she offers an insightful look into the life of nuns in the 21st century. She has a knack for writing strong, witty, and intelligent female characters. I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

I received a copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway!

...more

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Jan 04, 2020 Nilufer Ozmekik rated it really liked it

Wow! What an unconventional, soul crashing, vivid journey!

This is an incredible story about women’s unity and solidarity for fighting against abandonment, physical and mental abuse, harm, humiliation, neglecting. I enjoy the characters of this amazing house opening to their doors to those brave women suffered more than they could stand and who are adamant to leave their painful memories and wounded pasts behind, forming great friendships with each other.

I know that too many readers are ready to Wow! What an unconventional, soul crashing, vivid journey!

This is an incredible story about women’s unity and solidarity for fighting against abandonment, physical and mental abuse, harm, humiliation, neglecting. I enjoy the characters of this amazing house opening to their doors to those brave women suffered more than they could stand and who are adamant to leave their painful memories and wounded pasts behind, forming great friendships with each other.

I know that too many readers are ready to judge the book because of its contentious religious and political opinions because it gives us real questioning approach and addressing to the controversies that Catholic Church faces lately (when Spotlight won the best movie Oscar, those controversies were started to get discussed at so many platforms.) This story also discusses mistreatments to the nuns and evolution of Catholic Church throughout the years. So yes, we have so many heavy stuffs on our plate to absorb. If you need a fast and softer reading, you got the wrong book. Pick another one quickly.
And of course the parts about the inhabitants of the house’s back stories are also heart wrecking and
blood freezing. The sexual assault and domestic violence those women endured are told more realistic and harsher than I expected. So don’t expect to read some emotional, tear jerker sisterhood story. The women’s lives are shaking us to the cores and forcing us seeing wild and ugly face of abuse.
I didn’t question the book’s approach to the political and religious matters. I only focused on women’s stories who found themselves trapped in their lives and trying their best to gather their strength to stop to be physically and mentally harmed. They didn’t want to live like victims anymore. They wanted to build new lives for themselves.

And of course I loved sister Evelyn, tough cookie, brave, determined, witty, caring woman who is doing her best to fight against the inquisition kind of investigation conducted by Catholic Church. When assigned priest arrives to Mercy House to conduct his investigation, he startles when he meets with Evelyn. We understand that Evelyn has a history with this man which makes things more complicated and put her inappropriately hard situation. She needs to protect those women who trust her and use her own power to prevent the house’s shutting down. But she also keeps secret and she needs to protect her own self. That’s our story’s CATCH 22 part.

Overall: Writing is fast paced, captivating, intriguing.

Characters are easy to empathize with.

The controversial, compelling, brave and surprising approach is also bringing new soul and new realistic perspective makes us question our own beliefs and life views.

The ending was not powerful as I expected. I could say only “meh, okay, foreseeable!” But it still concluded appropriately because from the beginning of the book, the author gives us enough clues how she will end this story. So we’d better buy this.

I gave 3.5 stars and again rounded up to 4 because of the author’s bravery and straightforwardness.
Special thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins /William Morrow Paperback for sharing this powerful book’s ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review. ...more

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Feb 14, 2020 Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader rated it really liked it

Sister Evelyn runs Mercy House, a safe haven for abused women. She’s tough as nails for all appearances, but she has a warmth and heart of gold when it comes to women under her care.

Bishop Hawkins is scheduled to visit Mercy House, and the sisters are worried he may find out the extra ways they have helped the women, as in ways that are not allowed by the church.

Sister Evelyn is at the heart of Mercy House, and she will use all her might to protect and serve it. I loved her character. She was ...more

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Jan 18, 2020 Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews rated it it was amazing

Evelyn was never wanted. Her father even bargained with God to bring his son home from the war, and he would put Evelyn in a convent. Evelyn's brother did come home, and she did go to the convent.

Her time in the convent wasn't pleasant. Evelyn saw and endured unpleasant things.

After a few years, she and a few of her fellow nuns opened a shelter in Brooklyn that housed girls suffering from domestic abuse and abandonment.

The red door with the angel knocker was a welcome refuge for these girls.

...more

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Jan 26, 2020 Lisa rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley, kindle, 3-star-review, 2020, netgally-2020

Mercy House

A wrenching but hopeful story of women seeking shelter from abuse and the unconventional nun that ministers to them.

SUMMARY
MERCY HOUSE is story about Sister Evelyn, a feistyfeminist nun who runs a shelter for abused women in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn. When the Vatican sends Bishop Robert Hawkins to investigate American religious sisters as part of the Apostolic Visitation, convinced they are breaking Catholic doctrine, Sister Evelyn is distressed. When the Mercy House

A wrenching but hopeful story of women seeking shelter from abuse and the unconventional nun that ministers to them.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
MERCY HOUSE is story about Sister Evelyn, a feisty feminist nun who runs a shelter for abused women in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn. When the Vatican sends Bishop Robert Hawkins to investigate American religious sisters as part of the Apostolic Visitation, convinced they are breaking Catholic doctrine, Sister Evelyn is distressed. When the Bishop shows up early at Mercy House she is more than frazzled. Sister Evelyn had been sexually assaulted as a young novice by this very bishop conducting the investigation. She had told no one of this abuse. She is now forced to appeal to her assailant, and hide the forbidden practices of her shelter—including helping women obtain divorce, birth control, and abortions—all to protect the diverse and vibrant individuals under her care.

REVIEW
MERCY HOUSE is a wrenching tale involving a unconventional nun, a malicious bishop and a colorful group of abused women who seek shelter from the storm that is their life. The story is intriguing, but as a Catholic, I struggled with the authenticity of a few elements of story. The writing and the character development were both good.

I particularly liked Sister Evelyn’s flawed character. The story showed both her vulnerability, as well as her fierceness in protecting the women at Mercy House. I loved the part where she uses a can of Lysol and a lighter, to fend off a gang leader with a Glock. Her feistiness, creativity and courage were admirable. The backstories of the women staying in Mercy House—Lucia, Katrina, Desiree, Esther and Mei-LI—were vivid and heartbreaking and their ultimate camaraderie was inspiring.

Bishop Hawkins, on the other hand was so virulently evil, it was almost comical, particularly when he searched the bedrooms of the residents of Mercy House and gleefully confiscated all manner of paraphernalia to support his investigation.

I searched for and would have loved to read an author note or an interview with the author to find out more about her inspiration for the story, and her research. MERCY HOUSE is author ALENA DILLION’s debut novel. She has also written a humor collection I Thought We Agreed to Pee in the Ocean published in 2015. She teaches creative writing at Endicott College and St. Joseph’s College and lives on the beautiful north shore of Boston.

Thanks to Edelweiss for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher HarperCollins
Published February 12, 2020
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com ...more

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Feb 10, 2020 Nursebookie rated it it was amazing

Mercy House by Alena Dillon

What an amazing story and an amazing debut by Alena Dillon.

Jumping into this book, I was not sure I would be interested in reading about the Catholic Church and the religious cover up as part of its dark history. However, I was completely wrong. I loved the story of a renegade and badass nun unlike those I have had in my parochial school.

Sister Evelyn, our protagonist and once a nurse, runs the Mercy House, located in Brooklyn, a safe haven for the abused and ...more

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Jan 30, 2020 Fictionophile rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: literary-fiction, edelweiss-read, william-morrow, new-york, 2020-completed, 2020-edelweiss-rc

Mercy House, a women's shelter in Brooklyn, is run by three aging nuns. It opens its doors to all manner of woman, regardless of religion, race, or bias. It gives succor to women who have been abused, either mentally or emotionally by the very people who are supposed to love them...

Sister Evelyn - our protagonist, is sixty-nine years old. A nun for fifty years, she was essentially abandoned to the convent at a tender age by her Irish-American family. When still a novice, Evelyn suffered repeated ...more

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Feb 08, 2020 Jennifer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

4.5
Mercy house was place of refuge, a place of healing for broken girls. I saw an inside glimpse of the faithful ministry of nuns. They had gone through years of change and were committed to staying the course helping anyone who came to their door. They were brave, determined and not perfect. It was refreshing. It was also brutal and unfair. Life is like that isn’t it?
Some people will think this book is about the Catholic Church, but it was about abuse to women. And it also was about shame, ...more

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Sep 24, 2019 Amber rated it liked it

Shelves: digital-arcs, read-in-2019

Digital arc via Edelweiss.

I was really excited about this book’s potential, and it started out really strong. However, about halfway through, it started to feel like too many things were being tossed in the mix, and it started to get feel crowded. I appreciated the ending and will have plenty of people to recommend it to. However, I needed the plotline to be thinned just a bit for a full 5-star rating.

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Feb 07, 2020 Kristina rated it it was ok

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, netgalley, 2020-netgalley-books, 2020

Mercy House by Alena Dillon is not what I expected. The three nuns who run Mercy House are spunky and untraditional especially Sister Evelyn. I like that they are helping abused women. They work with the women to help them regain their confidence and begin a new life away from their abusers. The residents of Mercy House are diverse and colorful. Sister Evelyn is the primary narrator of the story with chapters featuring each of the girls living at Mercy House. Sister Evelyn is sixty-nine years Mercy House by Alena Dillon is not what I expected. The three nuns who run Mercy House are spunky and untraditional especially Sister Evelyn. I like that they are helping abused women. They work with the women to help them regain their confidence and begin a new life away from their abusers. The residents of Mercy House are diverse and colorful. Sister Evelyn is the primary narrator of the story with chapters featuring each of the girls living at Mercy House. Sister Evelyn is sixty-nine years old and her body is feeling its age (aches and pains). She is a no-nonsense type of woman who will protect the women under her care. Sister Evelyn is a familiar figure in her neighborhood where she a network of informants and does what she can to improve situations. What the women have endured including Sister Evelyn is detailed in the book. It may be hard for some people to read the details of the abuse. There is also a substantial amount of foul language (even the nuns use it). There is a significant focus on the Catholic Church and the injustices within it. It does not critique the faith, but how things are handled. The apostolic visitation mentioned in the book truly happened in the United States. The book is trying to show that while the Church is focusing on the sisters who do good work (though not always following Church doctrine), it should take a hard look at the priests and other church officials who commit terrible crimes. Mercy House contains good writing with a cast of unique characters. The detailed descriptions provide visual imagery, but they do slow down the pacing of the story. There is a lot going on in the book. I wish Mercy House had been about the three sisters, Mercy House and the women they helped. Mercy House is a graphic novel that did not appeal to me. Bishop Hawkins is a malicious man who descriptions seems almost a caricature. Unfortunately, I am sure that there are men like Bishop Hawkins in the Catholic Church. I am fortunate to have a kindly bishop overseeing my diocese. I felt like that author was picking on the Catholic Church. Events that are depicted in the book do happen and it is terrible. They should not be hidden or swept under the rug. But I read fiction to get away from the news and real life. The book contains a note from the author on her inspiration for Mercy House, an interview with Sister Suzanne Franck of St. Joseph’s College, and book discussion questions. Mercy House is not my type of book, but many others do find it compelling. Mercy House has a beastly bishop, a smart cracking sister, alarming abuse, sinful situations, and hair raising hijinks. ...more

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Nov 29, 2019 Karen M rated it really liked it

Shelves: ebooks, fiction, own-ebook, bookclubgirls

I know of someone who started to read the same ebook and she chose not to continue to read because she said she could see where the book was going, bashing the Catholic Church. I don’t feel the same and I wish she had finished the book.

I think this a book that each person who reads it will have a range of reactions and emotions because this is a story of tragedy and hope, secrets and how they damage those who hold them, how mistakes follow you through life and continue to affect you. It is also ...more

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Nov 23, 2019 Sandy rated it liked it

I have conflicting feelings about this book. As a reader, I like most of the characters, though I feel some of them are a little unnecessarily extreme. I like the humorous situations thrown in with the serious business of running this much-needed home. It has a good storyline. However, as a lifelong Catholic, I find the fictionalizing of many of the controversies in the church hard to swallow, even though many controversies do exist, and many are swept under the rug. I'm sure things like this ...more

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Dec 13, 2019 Donna Hines rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, netgalley

Dealing with abused & abandoned women and the mercy of faith...WOW!
A Catholic community based program known as Mercy House is being spearheaded by some amazing women and sisters who share a strong desire to help others in need.
That's until they get word that the Bishop wants to investigate their desires to help women; forbidden by the church.
Sister Evelyn is one tough cookie and stops at nothing to save the house and the women they are attempting to save.
It's a story of grace, of dignity, of ...more

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Jan 24, 2020 mindful.librarian ☀️ marked it as did-not-finish

Shelves: audiobooks, advanced-reader-copies, adult-reads

DNF the audiobook (free review copy from Libro.fm) at approximately 20% due to multiple graphic depictions of rape and sexual assault. I am not faulting the book or author for this but I have learned that I can’t listen to this content and can disassociate more easily when I experience it via text. I may try this book on paper when it releases.

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Feb 12, 2020 JP rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

4.5
I thought this was very good. ...more

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Feb 15, 2020 Renee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, audible-amazing-listens, 2020-reading-challenge

With Mercy House, Alena Dillon has crafted a poignant story that will touch many with an unforgettable feisty, flawed big-hearted character, Sister Evie, at the center of it all. It’s already predicted to be a book club top pick.

(Side note: Many of my Goodreads pals are fellow lovers of Christian, inspirational, and clean fiction. This is not that.)

There is much to applaud about a story that celebrates heroines in their late 60s. These ladies have spent their entire adult lives protecting the With Mercy House, Alena Dillon has crafted a poignant story that will touch many with an unforgettable feisty, flawed big-hearted character, Sister Evie, at the center of it all. It’s already predicted to be a book club top pick.

(Side note: Many of my Goodreads pals are fellow lovers of Christian, inspirational, and clean fiction. This is not that.)

There is much to applaud about a story that celebrates heroines in their late 60s. These ladies have spent their entire adult lives protecting the vulnerable, healing the broken, championing the despised. AND they still have a lot of life, joy, vitality, and spunk left in them! Brava to Ms. Dillon for portraying the kind of real people who create a safe haven for others & make a real difference in this world.

Also, I appreciate the focus on a faith that is lived out in action & the spotlight turned on the victims of violence and how our I-don’t-want-to-get-involved culture turns a blind eye instead of putting a stop to the cycle.

However, what’s always difficult for me to understand is how folks can uplift the vulnerable in one sphere to the exception of all others. So it’s tough for me to agree that when a girl becomes pregnant through violence or abuse, her only two choices are killing the child or living weighed down by the burdens of poverty and single motherhood.

Why can’t adoption figure into those choices?

Some of my most talented, vibrant students were brought into this world in similar circumstances, adopted out, and raised to become strong, compassionate, beautiful young women. They love life! They fight for life! They raise their voices to say ‘We are here!’

They would not have wanted to be denied their lives because of the wrongs and weaknesses of their biological parents.

So if I were in a book club that had read this book, those would be some of the thoughts I would share :)

Some big names have endorsed this title, so I wouldn’t be surprised to eventually see it in movie form. (Kathy Bates as Sister Evie?) Congrats, Ms. Dillon!

(Trigger warning for descriptions of rape & abuse. Strong, crude language & sexual references.)

...more

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Feb 02, 2020 Sue rated it really liked it

This compassionate novel is about a group of nuns who start a shelter for women who are victims of domestic violence. We get a look into the lives of the residents as well as the nuns who run the house. Much of the story is told by Sister Evelyn who has been a nun for over 50 years. She is a strong and compassionate woman who wants to protect everyone - the residents, her neighbors and her friends. She is feisty and will stand up to anyone - muggers, drug dealers or anyone who tries to take ...more

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Jan 17, 2020 Jen rated it it was amazing

The house on Chauncey Street with the angel knocker is a safe haven for abused women. Here at Mercy House, the women are nursed back to life by nuns. Sister Evelyn leads the pack, but she’s got secrets of her own.

This book is incredibly controversial and I absolutely cannot wait for everyone to read it so we can discuss! This is going to be a fantastic book club choice because there’s SO much to pick apart. People are going to fall into two camps- they are going to love it or they are going to ...more

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Jan 21, 2020 Basic B's Guide added it

Shelves: dnf

Dnf at 18%. This book took a very unfortunate turn that will only perpetuate stereotypes within the church. I’m disappointed as I had high hopes.

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Jan 19, 2020 Zoë ☆ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, 2020-releases, 2020-reads, 2020-audiobooks

This was such an interesting read about badass nuns! Unlike anything I’ve picked up before, but definitely worth the read ...more

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Oct 15, 2019 Laura rated it it was amazing

I loved this book! It was an ARC, due out in February. The story was believable, well paced and beautifully written. The characters and story lines felt real. Sister Evelyn was a crusader, human and flawed, but unshakable in her beliefs that she was doing the right thing for the women under her care despite church doctrine. I was not raised Catholic, but I feel that people like Evelyn (and I'm sure they do exist) embody the true meaning of their faith.
This is a powerful story of strength, ...more

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Feb 02, 2020 eyes.2c rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, contemporary-fiction

Victims and survivors! A stunning tribute!

Sister Evelyn runs a woman's shelter in Brooklyn along with her sister nuns. The work is challenging and often rewarding. Over the years Evelyn's concepts of Catholicism, her working faith have been confronted by the women's needs. This does lead her down a different path to that proscribed and opens up many questions. The crux however is that Sister Evelyn harbors a secret just as wretched as her charges. When the author of that secret, the vengeful ...more

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Feb 10, 2020 BookGypsy rated it it was amazing

In Bedford-Styvesant Brooklyn there is a house for abused women run by nuns. Mainly Sister Evelyn who is a force to reckon with. Evelyn holds secrets of her own . This seriously touches on sexual and physical abuse. As well as abuse in the Catholic church. This was emotional and thought provoking. I really liked Evelyn. Being raised Catholic she is unlike any nun I've ever met. I highly recommend this for book clubs. There are so many things in this to discuss. This is well written and ...more

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Nov 27, 2019 Amanda Selvam rated it did not like it

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was initially really excited to read this book after seeing the description. Once I got into the book, it was quickly evident that the author has an ax to grind with the Catholic Church and every negative cliche and stereotypewithin the Church was milked to its full extent. It is a somewhat heartwarming story wrapped in so many errors and gross misinterpretations of the Catholic Church and Religious Life. I was a ...more

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Feb 08, 2020 Stina rated it really liked it

Thank you to NetGalley for this digital ARC.

This debut novel is about three aging nuns who operate a safe house for abused women in Brooklyn, but the focus is on the story of Sister Evelyn. Her relationship with the Catholic Church has always been rocky, and when Mercy House and its sometimes nontraditional approaches to healing come under scrutiny by an unscrupulous bishop, everything she has believed in and worked for is threatened. More than a tale of this battle to save this one shelter, Thank you to NetGalley for this digital ARC.

This debut novel is about three aging nuns who operate a safe house for abused women in Brooklyn, but the focus is on the story of Sister Evelyn. Her relationship with the Catholic Church has always been rocky, and when Mercy House and its sometimes nontraditional approaches to healing come under scrutiny by an unscrupulous bishop, everything she has believed in and worked for is threatened. More than a tale of this battle to save this one shelter, this is about a crisis of faith and a lifelong search for identity.

This book does require some content warnings: sexual assault (mostly not graphic, but only mostly), domestic violence, and institutional corruption/conspiracy to commit abuse. Dillon relates the backgrounds of Mercy House's residents, and as you might expect, they are not pleasant. The presentation did not seem prurient or gratuitous, however, which can be a difficult balance to maintain when writing scenes meant to provoke outrage on behalf of their victims. That these victims are then made vulnerable to additional abuses by the patriarchal system to which they have turned for help then piles on layers of tension that make this a challenging yet worthwhile and moving read.

I questioned some of the narrative decisions that Dillon made. I would have chosen very differently, but, well, I'm an atheist. An atheist who was brought up in a Christian tradition and who still appreciates people who live their faith to the benefit of others, but an atheist all the same, and that made it difficult for me to accept some of the directions Dillon took her characters. On the other hand, this made me examine why I have made some of the decisions I have made in my own life, so that's pretty effective writing. I also think that casting the Church itself in the role of an abusive parent was a deliberate move and made everything else make a lot of sense.

I'm giving this only four stars because some of the pacing felt a little off to me and sometimes the internal consistency was lacking. For example, the whole Angel conflict had a strange story arc, and the much-touted secrecy of the Mercy House took a flying leap out the window at one point, never to return, and that was not addressed at all. I think I was also expecting more of a mystery subplot about Evelyn's "secrets." But that could be just me.

The ending was a little too neat in some ways, I thought, but it was balanced by some reasonably ambiguous loose threads. If you liked Sister Act but didn't think it was dark enough, and you're looking for a character study of a mature woman exploring what her faith means to her, and you can handle a narrative that often casts the Catholic Church in a negative light, you will probably like this. ...more

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Jan 25, 2020 Nancy Timmerman rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc-giveaway

I did enjoy this book by Alena Dillon, but the topic in “Mercy House” was a little troublesome for me to read in the beginning. The author really used her words perfectly, though, to make you want to see what happens next. It is so heartbreaking to know that society “turns the other way” and allows men to be so controlling over women. The women in the story had to endure so much abuse it sometimes just had my emotions going unhinged from being sad to getting angry at “why” is this happening? The ...more

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Jan 27, 2020 Julia (jaylamm.reads) rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc-reviewed, 2020, 2020-releases

Thank youWilliam Morrow for the free book. AndLibro.FM for the free audio book.

Mercy House by Alena Dillion #jaylammreads

A small group of nuns run Mercy House, a safe haven for those in their small community who need a place to stay and heal.

I couldn't put this book down. I alteredbetween the audio and the physical book becauseI was so swept up in the story. I really liked Sister Evelyn, she was an incredibly strong character. She is so soft hearted to those she meets in Mercy House, but she is ...more

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Feb 09, 2020 Crystal Zavala rated it really liked it

Shelves: tlcbooktours, librofm

Mercy House is a safe house for domestic violence victims in Brooklyn. Evelyn and the sisters of the local Catholic parish operate Mercy House with kindness and openness. Sister Evelyn has made herself well-known in the community by wearing casual clothing, giving out muffins, and getting to know all those she meets in the streets.
Evelyn has a pretty dark past, her Irish father gave her to the convent as a small child after he made a promise to God that he would do so if her older brother came ...more

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Jan 30, 2020 Kristen Doyle rated it really liked it

As reviewed on www.dineanddish.net

This is one of those books that is not for everyone and is definitely controversial, but I found it to be a compelling and thought-provoking read. (As a Catholic myself, a warning if you are easily offended even by works of fiction, this is not the book for you).It's also a book where the audio narration absolutely added to the story.

Sister Evelyn has experienced repeated sexual abuse at the hands of a well-respected priest...yet she is forced to stay quiet. She ...more

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Dec 20, 2019 Gina Maguire rated it it was amazing

Received this ARC for free from the publisher for an honest review. All the opinions are my own!

Regardless of ones religion, growing up you may have been taught about its traditions, sacraments, and religious leaders. These are things you are taught to trust and trust without question. As you get older, you begin to learn that traditions and sacraments are not always good and these religious leaders you have trusted are human with fatal flaws. This book encapsulates this knowledge. Sister Evelyn ...more

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Alena Dillon

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Alena Dillon is the author of Mercy House, forthcoming from William Morrow in 2020, and the humor collection, "I Thought We Agreed to Pee in the Ocean." Alena lives with her family in the north shore of Boston.

Books by Alena Dillon

I Thought We Agreed To Pee In The Ocean: And Other Amusings From A Girl Wearing Sweatpants

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Mercy House

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About Alena Dillon

Books by Alena Dillon

Trivia About Mercy House

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