I just finished A Tangled Mercy by Joy Jordan-Lake. It was a very good book.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: After the sudden death of her troubled mother, struggling Harvard grad student Kate Drayton walks out on her lecture and her entire New England life. Haunted by unanswered questions and her own uncertain future, she flees to Charleston, South Carolina, the place where her parents met, convinced it holds the key to understanding her fractured family and saving her career in academia. Nearly two decades earlier, Tom Russell, a gifted blacksmith and slave, grappled with a terrible choice: arm the uprising spear headed by members of the fiercely independent African Methodist Episcopal Church or keep his own neck out of the noose and protect the woman he loves.

Review: This book is told in two alternating tales. We meet these characters at a turning point in their lives and journey with them as they make tough decisions that can determine the direction of their future. Without giving too many spoilers, some of the events of in this book will.make you angry or be triggering, but you have to remember this is how life was in Tom’s time. In Kate’s time, an event occurs that rocked her and rocked us when it happened in real life. The theme of this book to me is hope. Hope in the face of hellish circumstances. Hope after tragedy. Hope despite hate.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were relatable and I enjoyed looking up some of the events that were discussed in the book. There are some events that I had not previously heard of so I got to learn some new things. If you enjoy historical fiction, this book should certainly be on your list.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5 stars