Believe (True Believers, #3)

by Erin Mccarthy

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

Moving through the social circle of previous characters, Believe follows Phoenix who is Tyler and Riley's cousin, and Robin who is Jessica and Rory's roommate. Phoenix is fresh out of prison and crashing on his cousins' couch, and Robin is considering moving out after she sleeps with her best friend, Kylie's, boyfriend while blackout drunk. She feels like she has no one until Phoenix asks her to hang out. He may have done a stint in prison, but he's not a bad guy at all. He doesn't drink, smoke, or do drugs, which is exactly what Robin is trying to avoid. She's new to the sober lifestyle, but it and Phoenix are the best thing for her.

I loved how Believe dealt with alcoholism. Robin is not an alcoholic, but she does have an alcohol problem. At first she figured she was just being a typical college student when she got drunk at parties. But after she does something she would never even consider doing while sober, and can't even remember doing it, she knows she needs to stop. Phoenix has always been clean, because his mother is an addict, and he doesn't want to head down that road. Being with Robin scares him, because he will not let him self get close to someone else who medicates with alcohol. Of course, Robin has to slip up at some point, upset Phoenix, and mess up their relationship, but I liked how it was handled. Robin eventually takes responsibility for her sobriety and Phoenix is there to support her.

There was one really interesting, and potentially exciting, plot thread in Believe that didn't get fully fleshed out, much to my disappointment. Phoenix and Robin run into someone who was in prison with Phoenix. Apparently Phoenix owes him, since he saved his life once. Phoenix gets really nervous over this, because he definitely doesn't want to do the job that this guy needs help with, and now he knows what Robin looks like and might use her as leverage. I was always waiting for something to come of this, but nothing does. The guy does turn up at the end, but it's over in a handful of pages. Then a super simple resolution comes about in the epilogue and that's that.

I really liked Believe, but it could have been better. It had a great set up for some tension and danger, but ultimately didn't go there. I did love how the author handled Robin's problems, and that she didn't make Phoenix a jailbird cliche. He may be tatted up and had been locked up for five months, but he's a good person. I also liked the few scenes of him and his mom at the end.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.