Mar 242 min read

The Mercer Curse by Pepper Winters

The Mercer Curse

by Pepper Winters

Self-Published

Book 0.5 in The Jewelry Box Series

Q Mercer from Tears of Tess meets his half-brother Henri Ward from Ruby Tears for the first time...

I’ve fought a curse all my life.

A curse inherited by my sick father.

There is no cure.

No antidote for what I am.

For years, I existed alone. Fighting the urges, doing my best to stay good.

Until Esclave 58 entered my life and I didn’t have to fight so hard.

She makes me better, she makes me human, but then he arrives on my doorstep.

He says he’s my half-brother.

He shares my blood. Our father’s blood.

That makes him dangerous.

That makes him like me.

He wants me for his family?

First he has to prove he has control over his darkness.

If he does…fine.

If he doesn’t?

I’ll kill him.

Genre

#DarkRomance

#BDSM

Triggers

BDSM, Kidnapping, Noncon, Dubcon, Master & Slave, Bondage, explicit sexual acts, trafficking, bloodplay, breathplay

I love Pepper Winter's dark romances, so I would have gotten around to this series eventually, but when I got a chance to read the first book in the series as an arc, I knew I had to go into it with all the information, so I downloaded The Mercer Curse, which is a prequel short story to Ruby Tears.

I liked it. It's dark and gritty. I know now that this is a spinoff from another series, so I don't know how "Q" and his wife get together, but from what I can gleam, it's a dark and twisty road.

It's not important to read that series, first though.

I think it's a great set up to the series. Reading the first bit of Ruby Tears, you can obviously read it without reading the prequel first, but I think it adds a lot to the story.

I enjoyed the uniqueness of the plot, and of course, it was steamy.

The Mercer Curse - and Ruby Tears - is out now. Before you ask, I ended up not finishing Ruby Tears. Not because I didn't like it. Pepper Winters is a very talented writer, and the arc was unique and interesting.

It was just too dark for me.

I found my limit, I guess?

I genuinely think if you love really dark, taboo romance, and you read the triggers and make sure it's a safe read for you, you will enjoy the series. But I warn you - take those triggers seriously.