Review: I loved Erin's story of starting over, secrets, but still honesty in a sweet relationship - LOVED Phoenix!!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 17, 2014
What is up with readers these days? Everyone is so flippin’ jaded, bent, and intent in comparing romance books to real life. I snuck a peek at the reviews for Erin McCarthy’s Believe, mostly looking at the ratings and I was kind of shocked at how middle of the road they were. I was surprised there weren’t more gushing reviews or readers plastering .gifs all over Goodreads. Remember, I don’t do this often… but I actually scanned a few reviews to see what the problem was. Mostly to see what the heck MY problem is. Turns out, I like jail bait. Let me explain…First, let me tell you about Robin, because her, I get! Robin is in college and she spends a good bit of it partying and drunk out of her gourd. Early in the summer after her sophomore year, she ends up so wasted that she wakes up in bed with her best friend Kylie’s boyfriend and almost no memory of how she got there. This ends up being her wake up call, quite literally. A heavy veil of shame and guilt forms and hangs over her the entire summer. She completely withdraws from her friends and life in general.It’s at the end of this dark summer that Robin meets Phoenix. Two of Robin’s other best friends, Jessica and Rory, are dating Phoenix’s cousins and Phoenix is crashing the cousin’s couch. Phoenix is two days out of jail and with absolutely no possessions because his crack-head mother abandoned his belongings in an apartment when she had to leave in a hurry. The best part about Phoenix is that he is completely clean: he doesn’t drink, smoke, or do any drugs. He doesn’t want to be his mom.Dang, I’m sorry, I’m rehashing quite a bit and I don’t mean to. But it really is a cool story. I love how Robin, with absolutely nothing to lose and feeling like she has no friends at all, just starts talking to Phoenix. He’s easy because she has no baggage with him and she’s being completely honest with him (for the most part) and not playing any games with him. She says exactly what she means, which girls are NOT known to do around guys, am I right? And I won’t give specifics but I loved what Phoenix thought about Robin and how he treated her!!!Now, here’s the part where I clarify my jailbait sentiment. Yes, Phoenix is just out of jail. But we meet him 5% into the story and it’s here that Jessica explains to Robin that Phoenix has just been in for five months. Jessica then goes on to not really care about explaining why Phoenix was in jail. I guess some of the reviewers I read were a little concerned about Robin falling for a guy just out of jail. Number one: he was only in jail five months. If he did any major crime like rape or murder, he’d be in a lot longer. Also, I doubt Jessica (and Phoenix’s cousin) would have allowed him in the house had he been a “major offender”. You eventually find out what he was in jail for but I think to Robin, she’s already figured out since everyone else trusts him, she will, too. Besides, there’s something to be said for intuition!!!Overall the story moved at a nice pace, I enjoyed Ms. McCarthy’s writing (because she’s good!), I loved the plot/story, and I appreciated the romance she wrote in to what could have ended up being a downer of a story. The ending, specifically, made me smile. Yep, I’m a fan and I will continue with the series.The next book in the series, Shatter, is expected September 2014 and is Kylie’s story. Oh, and go Bearcats!