Fearless Read-Along: Unconditional

 

Tomorrow we move on to Chapter Three in our read-along, so get your final Chapter Two questions, comments, observations, etc. in at the FB discussion group (there's obviously not a real time limit, you can ask about anything at any time). 

Today's post - later than intended thanks to a storm and a ten-hour power outage, yikes! - isn't so much focused on Chapter Two as on Ava and Mercy in general. Y'all had some great observations this week, specifically with regard to the Valentine's post. 

I loved hearing which romance in the Dartmoor Series was everyone's favorite. Lots of Ava/Mercy votes, as expected, but a fair number of Ghost/Maggie, Michael/Holly, Walsh/Emmie, and Reese/Tenny, too. I love seeing that variation, because I've always sought to showcase different relationship dynamics and character archetypes throughout the series, knowing everyone has different tastes. But even so, Mercy and Ava's love story sticks out; it feels more "epic" and cinematic than some of the others, and I think - and y'all awesomely pointed out! - that that's down to the unlikely and unconditional nature of their romance. 

Mercy and Ava are rare in that they quite literally know everything about one another. In part because Mercy was around while Ava was growing up, but also because, in the back half of Fearless, Mercy entrusts Ava with the dark side of his family history. She of course already knows all about the dark things he's willing to do for the club, and for her. There's no secrets between them, and they're both very, very secure in one another's love and affection. They aren't hiding anything from one another. Neither of them thinks about being unfaithful or is otherwise tempted in any way.

Whatever else is happening around them, there's never any doubt that they'll do absolutely anything it takes for one another and their family. That's a rare thing in real life, I think, and it's what makes their relationship so special. 

It's also a perhaps more extreme echo of Ghost and Maggie's relationship. Ghost is gruff and unpoetic, and as a couple they're longer-established and less demonstrative than Mercy and Ava are in the beginning, but Maggie and Ghost are just as ride-or-die for one another, something Aidan's unpleasantly reminded of in Lord Have Mercy.