Danielle Vega

Ever since Sofia's involvement with an exorcism she has been haunted by bloody visions, and when her mother dies suddenly she is sent to a creepy Catholic boarding school in Mississippi where she meets the mysterious Jude who becomes convinced that Sofia is possessed by the devil.

The Merciless II: the Exorcism of Sofia Flores

Danielle Vega—YA’s answer to Stephen King—once again brings major scares in the spine-tingling sequel to horror hit The Merciless, which MTV calls “Mean Girls meets The Exorcist.” Sofia is still processing the horrific truth of what happened when she and three friends performed an exorcism that spiraled horribly out of control. Ever since that night, Sofia has been haunted by bloody and demonic visions. Her therapist says they’re all in her head, but to Sofia they feel chillingly real. She just wants to get out of town, start fresh someplace else . . . until her mother dies suddenly, and Sofia gets her wish. Sofia is sent to St. Mary’s, a creepy Catholic boarding school in Mississippi. There, seemingly everyone is doing penance for something, most of all the mysterious Jude, for whom Sofia can’t help feeling an unshakeable attraction. But when Sofia and Jude confide in each other about their pasts, something flips in him. He becomes convinced that Sofia is possessed by the devil. . . . Is an exorcism the only way to save her eternal soul? Readers won’t be able to look away from this terrifying read full of twists and turns that will leave them wondering, Is there evil in all of us?

The Merciless II: The Exorcism of Sofia Flores

Leticia Leal

This is the fourth book of Vega’s that I have read and I have been consistently underwhelmed EVERY SINGLE TIME. Yet, I continue to read her work. Maybe I am the one that is possessed by a demon that loves middling horror novels. I read this book in one sitting and will probably do the same with Merciless III. May the gods have mercy on my soul.

Lacy W

Is there evil in all of us?  

OMG! OMG! OMG! For real! Usually sequels are pretty iffy. They can really add to a story like  Harry Potter  (obviously) or they can just really diminish a good story like the  Ender's Game  (I have a lot of mixed reviews about that series but that will be saved for another time). 

The first  The Merciless  was good. It was really not what I was expecting but that was a good thing. My expectations were blown out of the water and I will forever regret. I was pleased with the direction it went and I was immensely glad that there was a second book to follow up on Sophia. 

This book starts basically a few months after what happened in the first book. Sophia is struggling to grasp what has happened. She struggles to understand what is real and what isn't. She is suffering from frequent panic attacks and lapses of reality. She's dealing with having no friends and all the neighbors moving away because of what her house has become. 

Then, to add insult to injury, Sophia's mom dies. Sophia is then sent to St. Mary's, which is a pretty strict Catholic school. There, Sophia hopes for a chance of normalcy and a chance to make new friends. But alas, it is not in the cards for Sophia. Jude, a boy she meets at the school, thinks the only way to save Sophia is an exorcism. That's about all I will say for the plot. I don't wanna spoil it for you guys.

It was just so crazy! I really am awful at expressing how I feel. I literally felt so bad for Sophia. She is trying so hard to be good and fix things in her life and it just all comes tumbling down. Danielle Vega truly is the Stephen King of YA. I am currently writing this in a dark home and I am ever so slightly freaked out because of how well she writes. 

The insta love was a bit off putting. But it contributed to the story in a very important way so I couldn't even be that mad about it. I love that this was also in first person. You truly get a sense of how scared Sophia is. You feel the pain that she feels. You struggle with her as she tries to chose the Light. 

I have to also rave about the cover. It is just so gorgeous! I read this from the hardback and ugh, it's so damn beautiful. The gold just really makes this book pop. It feels like a Bible, which is highly ironic considering what happens in this book. 

I really recommend this series to everybody but only if you can handle horror and violence. There is very detailed and graphic violence depicted in this book and in the first one. It makes you question everything you know about God, life, the Light side, the Dark side. It will make you wonder if there  is evil in all of us?

篠田美月

I have one question: who hurt this poor woman that she hates Catholic church so much and that she's so into torture porn? Please Danielle, just work out your kinks or traumas or possibly both somewhere else. 

Sometimes I judge myself for the choices I make.

Lauren Attaway

For me the problem with horror sequels is that the surprise is gone, and this book is no exception. It's fun to a point, but I missed the page-turning stay up late intensity of the original.

Fiona Coffey

** spoiler alert **
           I found this one to be much creepier than the first. Maybe because at this point in the series we know how bad it can get. I actually thought this was better written than the first book. Sophia is already established as a character, so I think that helps. The catholic school setting is very creepy, and the story relies a lot more on suspense, which I liked. I read this book in about an hour, I just couldn’t put it down. I do feel like the gore in this book went a little bit more over the top. The last book was still very gorey, but this one felt like it was trying to outdo it, going for shock horror. I was sufficiently horrified. 

I did enjoy reading the book, but I can’t tell if I liked it or if I was so horrified I couldn’t look away, because I had to know how things ended. 

There is graphic violence towards an animal in this book, which I really don’t like. I think I’m not giving this book 3 stars because it was bad, or worse than the others, but it was difficult for me to read. I’m probably going to keep reading the series though, I need to know how it ends.

Emily Perkovich

I wish the beginning set up for the climax was not so rushed. I enjoyed everything that happened before but there was no build up between events. Suddenly the main character is in love with someone she just met despite little to no interaction with said character. Not that that is different than most other YA. I just would have enjoyed more character and plot development to build the relationships and settings that were created.

Cassandra Litman

I wasn’t ready for the turn that Danielle Vega took with this second book in the series. Every page had me eager for the next. I can’t wait to dive into the third book!

Kenna Armstrong

Holy crap this book was amazing. It was creepy and trippy and just so good. I'm going to attempt to come up with a full review as soon as I can.

The Merciless II: the Exorcism of Sofia Flores

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