Review: Sizzling...Believe It
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 14, 2010
With a length that skirts the boundaries between what I would consider a short story and novella, If You Believe introduces us to Aubrey Mathison, owner of the coffee shop Bean There, Done That, and Chief of Police Price Delacroix. Aubrey is still damaged from the betrayal of her now ex-husband, and since their divorce she doesn't have relationships with men. She dates and has sex. That's been working out well for her until her life takes a bit of a turn. Suddenly the homeless man across the street is spouting predictions that come true, her coffee shop goes up in flames, and Price Delacroix meets her, wants her, and refuses to be just one of her other men.There's no doubt that the heat between them is incendiary and the sex scenes smoking hot. The story is tightly compact, but due to the length, we get a much better idea of Aubrey as a character than we do Price, who never seems to develop much beyond superficial eye candy. I've read other novellas of this length that focused more on both character's definition, and realize that my preference lies in that area. I'm not criticizing this story, don't get me wrong. I think it was comprehensive, given length-constraints, in detailing Aubrey's character enough to lend her believability, and I enjoyed seeing her interact with her friend the hairdresser and the guardian angel. In fact, had Price's character been given just a bit more definition, I would have really liked this story. As it stands, I think it's better than okay, but just lacked a bit for me to make it truly enjoyable. The sex, though, was stellar. 3.5 Stars.