Thanks so much to Libro.fm, Harper Audio and William Morrow Books for letting me listen and review this engrossing story.
I listened/read this story and finished a little while ago, but I've been thinking and digesting it for a while because I wasn't sure how to write my thoughts on this one, there are parts of this book that are a bit hard to read for me and I think for anyone but it was also a good book too.
This one was a bit of a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I had a hard time putting it down because it was very engrossing, engaging and interesting and on the other hand I didn't want to read it or finish it at times as well because it was hard to read parts of it, made me cringe and feel sick and then it was also a bit emotional as well so make of that what you will.
This book is about Mercy House or rather the people/characters and their stories that are behind Mercy House. In particular, it's about a nun, Sister Evelyn, who is one of the big forces behind keeping Mercy House up and running to help provide a safe haven for the abused and abandoned women.
Mercy House is in a Brooklyn neighborhood that has a drug problem as well and Sister Evelyn along with some fellow sisters runs this place as a safe house for women and girls that show up in the middle of the night to escape abusive boyfriends/family members, prostitutes, immigrants and other women who have all been broken and hurt by men. All of these women know what it's like to be abused and degraded by men even Sister Evelyn - those are hard things to read. I know they happen in real life, but they're still hard to hear about sometimes even in stories that are fiction because I know they could be based on real-life stories and my heart hurts to read those things happening to others, it's not an easy topic in fiction or real life.
Sister Evelyn keeps going and helping others and never is thrown off by anything until one day when she is told that a Bishop is coming to check out and investigate Mercy House and the nuns and they don't want the church to find out everything they do/have done to aid these women because some of the ways they have provided help are forbidden by the Church. They're worried that if the Church finds out some of the things they've done to aid these women that the Church will want them to shut Mercy House down. Also, Sister Evelyn has dark secrets threatening to be uncovered and cause problems in connection with these things as well.
Sister Evelyn and the other sisters will do and end up doing whatever they possibly can to protect and keep Mercy House running and in the process, Sister Evelyn finds the power of mercy and grace bestowed upon her in her own life as well.
If you can handle reading some hard things, some language and such, then you might want to check this out, but be warned, this is not an easy, light-hearted fun read.
TW: Adult language/somewhat explicit nature of rape, abuse, shooting/guns, drugs, some profanity, a very heavy adult-themed story with Mercy House being a haven for abused/abandoned women, drugs, alcohol ( )

Great debut novel. ( )

Evelyn and her fellow nuns run Mercy House, a haven for abused and battered women. When the nuns receive word that they are to be investigated, Evelyn is shocked to discover that Bishop Hawkins, her old abuser, will be the inspector. Worried that he will discover the nuns unconventional and blasphemous practices, Evelyn is willing to do whatever it takes to save Mercy House.

I struggled a bit with this book. I did not particularly like Evelyn, and some of the girls in Mercy House were equally unlikeable. Evelyn continually blamed her family for her vocation, which I found to be hypocritical and off-putting. I am not going to spoil the book, but the ending left too many things unresolved. Overall, a bust. ( )

Sister Evelyn and two other nuns have operated a shelter for abused women in Brooklyn for over 25 years when they and their unconventional methods come under scrutiny from the Catholic Church. Their examiner is Bishop Robert Hawkins, a man with whom Sister Evelyn shares an unhappy history. Some of their practices, the women know, the church would not condone. Will the nuns’ forward-thinking approaches and the animosity between Sister Evelyn and Bishop Hawkins result in Mercy House being closed?

The novel focuses on Sister Evelyn, an elderly woman who has been a nun for 50 years. She is kind and compassionate and utterly courageous in defending those in her care. One of the residents of Mercy House tells her, “’Sister, you’re one badass bitch.’” This feisty woman is, however, not perfect. She has her flaws. In encounters with the bishop, for example, she becomes meek and mild. As she admits, she is guilty of the sin of pride, and her bitterness has tainted her relationships with her siblings.

Sister Evelyn is a dynamic character who learns about herself. She is older but proves to be capable of changing. For instance, she realizes that she has held on to grudges for so long that they’ve turned into resentment: “She’d opened Mercy House twenty-five years earlier, but was only just beginning to truly understand mercy and its value to the person who bestows it.”

I appreciate the non-stereotypical portrayal of nuns. They are shown to be real people. One of the sisters practices Reiki. They all have their indulgences. They even use profane language occasionally. One of them dares say, “’from my experience, the whole virginity thing is overstated.’” Besides learning about the nuns, the reader learns about the women who have taken shelter at Mercy House. Each of the current residents is given a chapter in which flashbacks reveal their backstories. The situations of these women illustrate why Mercy House is needed and why a singular focus on religious conversion, which the church wants, may not be sufficient.

The portrayal of Bishop Hawkins is problematic. He is beyond despicable. The nuns call him the Hawk, and Sister Evelyn describes him as “’a weasel, a mole man, a snake.’” One of the residents tells him, “’You may have more degrees than a thermometer, but you’re ugly as hell . . . you arrogant mother-fucker.’” He is too evil to be believable. He has not one redeeming quality.

Bishop Hawkins is used to criticize not Catholicism but the church. The book discusses how the church squanders funds. For instance, there is little respect for the lavish lifestyle of Pope Benedict: “Pope Benedict XVI wore red velvet capes with ermine fur trim. He commissioned his own cologne, which Evelyn called Pope-pourri. He was chauffeured around in a Mercedes. He had a personal library of more than twenty thousand books. It took two hundred architects and engineers to restore his Rome palace, and he resided in his other palace while the construction was underway.”

The book also focuses on abuse and the imbalance and misuse of power in the church: “The Vatican had swept three thousand cases of priest pedophilia under the rug, protecting those criminals at the cost of their own morality and worldwide respect, but when it came to nuns, they wanted blood.” The nuns are under the control of hypocritical priests who accuse nuns of immoral behaviour: “’You tempted me, damn you. . . . These cassocks will need cleaning. Consider it part of your penance.’”

The novel touches on very serious topics, but there are also touches of humour. When replying to a question about how her manner of dress bears witness to the dignity and simplicity of her vocation, Sister Evelyn replies, “I try to keep body glitter to a minimum. But I’m only human.” At the end, before she heads off to battle an injustice, Evelyn thinks, “Knights took their trusty steeds into battle. Evelyn would take a Honda Odyssey. But if an Odyssey was good enough for Homer, she supposed it would be good enough for her.”

This book would make a good movie. At different parts, it inspires tears, laughter, and out loud cheering.

Note: Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski). ( )

As with all big corporations, it starts out with an idea that needs to be taken to the next level but those that believe in this passion. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way greed, power and ego rear its ugly head and man takes over. In view of the recent troubles within the Catholic Church, I found this book compelling, well researched and extremely sad. Years ago, boys and girls entered the convent before they could figure out who they were or to squelch who they were, or put in the church due to too family obligations.

Mercy House is a safe house for battered and abandoned women, run by 3 nuns, headed by Sister Evelyn, a kick-ass renegade, who understands that the role is not back or white, but many shades of grey. I fell in love with these forward-thinking older women, so unlike the nuns I remember from my parochial school days. This debut novel is not for the faint-of-heart, or for those looking for a light read. It will evoke many emotions...anger, sadness, disgust, redemption. It held my attention from start to finish. Please read with an open mind! Born and raised Catholic, this story ripped my heart out. I am happy to say that I have not know anyone like the hierarchy in this book, but believe wholeheartedly these problems exist and are just now coming to light. I thought the Mother Superior was to point. I am a ambivalent about the ending, but you can decide for yourself.

Thanks to Harper Collins Publishing, William Morrow Paperbacks, Alena Dillon and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone. ( )