fuzzywilson's review
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Alcohol, Cursing, and Mass/school shootings
xanthe87's review against another edition
4.0
So the 3rd book in the Skins series from Garrett Leigh. I'm a huge fan of their writing and this series though this one wasn't my favourite but it's hard to explain why. I don't think it had as much impact on me and moved at quite a pace considering how much time the MC's actually spent together.
Rhys is the brother of Harry from book 2 and friend to Dylan and Angelo from book 1. He's a flight paramedic, spending his shifts in helicopters en route to sometimes extremely serious accidents/events. Rhys has slowly come to the conclusion he's lonely and no longer enjoying the hookups he's done for so long. The night he decides no more he walks into a pub and meets Jevon at the bar.
Jevon is back in the country for a few weeks, time off from his job as a play therapist in camps abroad on borders and in war zones. He's having a drink alone and about to leave when Rhys sits next to him and their connection is made. Jevon has never acted on his attraction to men but has no choice when it comes to Rhys, being pulled to him like no other.
With Jevon's inexperience they take it slow and steady but his leaving for work takes a toll on them both but takes a whole to accept why. I love how gentle and caring Rhys is with him, knowing how hard a first gay experience is.
Both men have family and friends around but Rhys is stubborn and withdrawn, finding it hard to talk to others about anything really. There are hints and a small discussion about his childhood and father but there wasn't as much as I thought considering what happened.
Jevon is a new character for this series and is interesting, different and involving. I live the work he does and how he approaches life though I would have liked a bit more on his family/history. His dad especially sounds like a hoot!
The characters are well written and the story is easy to get drawn into. Both mens work is important and necessary but at what cost to personal health and relationships?
The event at the end is heartbreaking but extremely well written by Garrett. Its gives the MC's a chance to think and involves friends and family, relying on them for help but also accepting it!
I would just like to say thank you so much to all of our service personnel for such amazing work that they do on a daily basis, but especially on days like that.
I'd recommend this book, especially if read book 1 and 2 as you're invested in Rhys' story. It's not necessary to have read them but it would help with connections and a little back story.
I received an ARC and am happily giving a review
Rhys is the brother of Harry from book 2 and friend to Dylan and Angelo from book 1. He's a flight paramedic, spending his shifts in helicopters en route to sometimes extremely serious accidents/events. Rhys has slowly come to the conclusion he's lonely and no longer enjoying the hookups he's done for so long. The night he decides no more he walks into a pub and meets Jevon at the bar.
Jevon is back in the country for a few weeks, time off from his job as a play therapist in camps abroad on borders and in war zones. He's having a drink alone and about to leave when Rhys sits next to him and their connection is made. Jevon has never acted on his attraction to men but has no choice when it comes to Rhys, being pulled to him like no other.
With Jevon's inexperience they take it slow and steady but his leaving for work takes a toll on them both but takes a whole to accept why. I love how gentle and caring Rhys is with him, knowing how hard a first gay experience is.
Both men have family and friends around but Rhys is stubborn and withdrawn, finding it hard to talk to others about anything really. There are hints and a small discussion about his childhood and father but there wasn't as much as I thought considering what happened.
Jevon is a new character for this series and is interesting, different and involving. I live the work he does and how he approaches life though I would have liked a bit more on his family/history. His dad especially sounds like a hoot!
The characters are well written and the story is easy to get drawn into. Both mens work is important and necessary but at what cost to personal health and relationships?
The event at the end is heartbreaking but extremely well written by Garrett. Its gives the MC's a chance to think and involves friends and family, relying on them for help but also accepting it!
I would just like to say thank you so much to all of our service personnel for such amazing work that they do on a daily basis, but especially on days like that.
I'd recommend this book, especially if read book 1 and 2 as you're invested in Rhys' story. It's not necessary to have read them but it would help with connections and a little back story.
I received an ARC and am happily giving a review
mrnnprsns's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
wendylynnm's review
3.0
3.5
Oh how I wanted to love this book but I didn't feel a great connection between Rhys and Jevon, I do think it was a well written book. I liked Rhys from the beginning of the series, I liked his snarky attitude that only got better when he talked to his brother. Even though the two men worked well together I felt it was closer to a "Bromance"(with sex) than a relationship.
Bringing in all the other guys from the first two books made it better for me.
Oh how I wanted to love this book but I didn't feel a great connection between Rhys and Jevon, I do think it was a well written book. I liked Rhys from the beginning of the series, I liked his snarky attitude that only got better when he talked to his brother. Even though the two men worked well together I felt it was closer to a "Bromance"(with sex) than a relationship.
Bringing in all the other guys from the first two books made it better for me.
coconutlavender's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
stella_r's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
the_novel_approach's review
5.0
Ok, I loved it, just going to throw that out there right from the get go. This is book three in the Skins series and while each is absolutely a standalone, if you are familiar with Leigh’s writing at all, you know she likes to keep all her stories “in the family”, so to speak. So, while you can read this one all by itself, you actually won’t get the full picture unless you read the first two books also. Believe features Harry and Joe from Whisper (as Harry is Rhys brother), and it has Angelo and Dylan from Dream; it also has Marc from Soul to Keep and Efe from the Urban Souls works.
Rhys is at a crossroads. His life has become monotonous and his drug of choice—anonymous sex—just isn’t working to take him out of his head for a while anymore. When we met Rhys in the other books in the series, he seemed like a likable guy, a sex positive guy, but there were hints that all wasn’t right with him. Boy, were those hints right. Growing up in an abusive home has left some deep psychological scars on him. His easygoing nature masks an emotionally introverted man whose shadows often overpower him. The sexual extrovert we see in previous books all of a sudden has new meaning, and all the playing he does is now a cause for worry. Rhys has trouble with the word happy. He’s just not. But he’s trying so hard to move forward and find a place where if he’s not happy, at least he is content. He’s quit the sex club and is trying to be a better brother. He’s joined the air ambulance and is working to make a difference with those he rescues. And then he finds Jevon, a man comfortable in his own skin with a penchant for saving small children all alone in the world, and Rhys finally discovers what he has been searching for—if he will let himself believe.
“…he had no idea what to do with the ever-growing, bone-deep affection he felt every time Jevon crossed his mind. Every time they touched.
Kissed.
More.
I can’t do this.
But I need him.”
I will interject here a comment about Rhys’ past: it was pretty horrific, and you won’t find that explanation in this book. To understand Rhys past and know why he has such deep shadows, you have to get the full story from Harry’s book, Whisper. I wish that the story had been laid out in this book like it was for Harry. We get a vague few sentences, a paragraph at most, about Rhys and Harry’s father and their home life. I feel like Jevon needed to know this about Rhys, because it goes a long way toward explaining who Rhys was before he met Jevon, and the reason he is trying so hard to reinvent himself into a better man when he and Jevon meet. I do understand that this book is about who Rhys is today, though, not who he has been. I just wish it had been explained in greater detail in this book.
Jevon has found a calling, and it is a calling. It’s his life’s work. Being a play therapist and making children smile isn’t just a passion; it is why he gets up every day in internment camps around the globe, puts on a silly hat and let’s children who have been affected by war and genocide just be children for a few stolen days, hours, or minutes. Being bisexual isn’t something he has had the time to explore, but he has always felt that a part of himself was missing and would continue to be unless he owned up to it and learned to embrace it. A chance meeting with a really great guy in a bar leads to his first male sexual encounter, and while Jevon would like to get the guy’s number, he knows that he will be out of the country for an extended time and just doesn’t see how it could work. So, he walks away. Fast forward three months, and Jevon is called in on a tragedy once again. Only he doesn’t expect to see Rhys, who has bonded with a small girl whose story will break your heart. The spark is lit between the two, however, and now it’s about making the time and making the connection. Jevon see’s the shadows in Rhys and his inner therapist can’t help but want to heal him, to make Rhys smile so that it hits his eyes.
This book is a bit of a departure for Leigh in that there are extraneous influences all around our main characters, which keep them occupied and away from each other for good portions of the story. What that means is that when they do get together, it holds a great deal more meaning for the MCs and, by extension, the reader. The sex has a purpose in this book; it pushes the storyline forward with Jevon exploring his newfound bisexuality and Rhys discovering the difference between gratuitous sex and true intimacy with someone he cares for. And absences aside, the chemistry between these two men is there right from the get-go. You feel the connections, the threads that form and that bring them together. Reading about these men and the lives they lead, the weight of the good they are trying to accomplish, invests you in their love story as much as in their lives in general.
It’s hard to confront the realities that these men share. From Syrian refugees to a terror attack in London, Leigh gives us glimpses of these tragedies from the eyes of two men who fictionally live them. Jevon sees firsthand the overwhelming migrant situation in Lesbos, Greece, and Rhys is caught in the Tower of London stabbings. Both men come out of the story stronger and more able to handle the devastation around them because they have the foundation of their relationship to draw strength from.
Can you tell I loved it? I did. This is an insta-love story, but I didn’t even realize that until I reflected on the book after I finished it. I am a big fan of this series, mainly because each of these books has been so different from the one before it. Even though the characters overlap, each of the books has been as individual as the men inside them. That takes talent and Garrett Leigh has that in spades.
Reviewed by Carrie for The Novel Approach
Rhys is at a crossroads. His life has become monotonous and his drug of choice—anonymous sex—just isn’t working to take him out of his head for a while anymore. When we met Rhys in the other books in the series, he seemed like a likable guy, a sex positive guy, but there were hints that all wasn’t right with him. Boy, were those hints right. Growing up in an abusive home has left some deep psychological scars on him. His easygoing nature masks an emotionally introverted man whose shadows often overpower him. The sexual extrovert we see in previous books all of a sudden has new meaning, and all the playing he does is now a cause for worry. Rhys has trouble with the word happy. He’s just not. But he’s trying so hard to move forward and find a place where if he’s not happy, at least he is content. He’s quit the sex club and is trying to be a better brother. He’s joined the air ambulance and is working to make a difference with those he rescues. And then he finds Jevon, a man comfortable in his own skin with a penchant for saving small children all alone in the world, and Rhys finally discovers what he has been searching for—if he will let himself believe.
“…he had no idea what to do with the ever-growing, bone-deep affection he felt every time Jevon crossed his mind. Every time they touched.
Kissed.
More.
I can’t do this.
But I need him.”
I will interject here a comment about Rhys’ past: it was pretty horrific, and you won’t find that explanation in this book. To understand Rhys past and know why he has such deep shadows, you have to get the full story from Harry’s book, Whisper. I wish that the story had been laid out in this book like it was for Harry. We get a vague few sentences, a paragraph at most, about Rhys and Harry’s father and their home life. I feel like Jevon needed to know this about Rhys, because it goes a long way toward explaining who Rhys was before he met Jevon, and the reason he is trying so hard to reinvent himself into a better man when he and Jevon meet. I do understand that this book is about who Rhys is today, though, not who he has been. I just wish it had been explained in greater detail in this book.
Jevon has found a calling, and it is a calling. It’s his life’s work. Being a play therapist and making children smile isn’t just a passion; it is why he gets up every day in internment camps around the globe, puts on a silly hat and let’s children who have been affected by war and genocide just be children for a few stolen days, hours, or minutes. Being bisexual isn’t something he has had the time to explore, but he has always felt that a part of himself was missing and would continue to be unless he owned up to it and learned to embrace it. A chance meeting with a really great guy in a bar leads to his first male sexual encounter, and while Jevon would like to get the guy’s number, he knows that he will be out of the country for an extended time and just doesn’t see how it could work. So, he walks away. Fast forward three months, and Jevon is called in on a tragedy once again. Only he doesn’t expect to see Rhys, who has bonded with a small girl whose story will break your heart. The spark is lit between the two, however, and now it’s about making the time and making the connection. Jevon see’s the shadows in Rhys and his inner therapist can’t help but want to heal him, to make Rhys smile so that it hits his eyes.
This book is a bit of a departure for Leigh in that there are extraneous influences all around our main characters, which keep them occupied and away from each other for good portions of the story. What that means is that when they do get together, it holds a great deal more meaning for the MCs and, by extension, the reader. The sex has a purpose in this book; it pushes the storyline forward with Jevon exploring his newfound bisexuality and Rhys discovering the difference between gratuitous sex and true intimacy with someone he cares for. And absences aside, the chemistry between these two men is there right from the get-go. You feel the connections, the threads that form and that bring them together. Reading about these men and the lives they lead, the weight of the good they are trying to accomplish, invests you in their love story as much as in their lives in general.
It’s hard to confront the realities that these men share. From Syrian refugees to a terror attack in London, Leigh gives us glimpses of these tragedies from the eyes of two men who fictionally live them. Jevon sees firsthand the overwhelming migrant situation in Lesbos, Greece, and Rhys is caught in the Tower of London stabbings. Both men come out of the story stronger and more able to handle the devastation around them because they have the foundation of their relationship to draw strength from.
Can you tell I loved it? I did. This is an insta-love story, but I didn’t even realize that until I reflected on the book after I finished it. I am a big fan of this series, mainly because each of these books has been so different from the one before it. Even though the characters overlap, each of the books has been as individual as the men inside them. That takes talent and Garrett Leigh has that in spades.
Reviewed by Carrie for The Novel Approach
suzy76's review
5.0
I didn't think I could love a Foster brother more than I loved Harry but I was wrong. Rhys was amazing, he was so lost but at the same time put together that I just fell head over heart for him. Jevon was amazing too, I thought it would be Rhys sorting him out but Garrett spun that notion on its head. Garrett has been an automatic auto-buy for a while now and I don't see that changing any time soon.
knrt_17's review
5.0
Easy five star book. What a beautiful mm contemporary story. Love is never simple but it does find a way. Love this series and author. Auto buy for me.
codyjames's review
5.0
Book 3 in the “Skin” series, “Believe” follows the brother of Harry,who the story of “Whisper” centered around, Rhys. We also saw Rhys in “Dream” book 1 in the series, where he is someone Angelo and Dylan play with at their club. In “Believe” we see Rhys being effected by the happy couples around him. Seeing his brother fall head over heels has skewed his view on his activities in the club, and also his involvement as an add on to Angelo and Dylan’s sex life, and he’s decided to take a step back. As a paramedic, he throws himself into work. When he decides to go out for a drink he meets Jevon and is immediately drawn in. Jevon is a “play therapist” who travels to different camps around the world to entertain and distract the children of the awfulness around them. The pair go home together, but it’s quickly revealed that Jevon is a virgin. This is a running theme throughout the book as Jevon becomes more comfortable with himself and his sexuality and allows himself to explore it with Rhys. The two are torn apart from each other by their respective jobs frequently, so there’s a lot of angst in this book. There’s also a...idk I guess it’s a twist?...at seemingly came out of nowhere but propelled the two to the eventual solution to the problem of being together while both are immersed in their work. This twist finds the pair at Joe’s farm, and we get to see Joe and Harry from “Whisper” Angelo and Dylan from “Dream” and Toby from “The Sex Coach”. Rhys faces his jealousy of Harry, and their traumatic past at the hands of their father, while Jevon gets used to being surrounded by attractive queer men. A cute fun addition to this series.