hparminter's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sunnydee's review against another edition
5.0
Für mich ist die True Believers Reihe meine liebste New Adult Reihe. Band 1 ("Weil ich mich verliere") ist auch weiterhin mein absoluter Liebling, aber "Wohin du auch gehst" ist nur knapp dahinter.
Inhaltlich ist es natürlich vielen anderen Büchern dieses Genres sehr ähnlich. Es wird sich hauptsächlich auf die Liebesbeziehung konzentriert. Daher ist es besonders wichtig, dass die Autorin es schafft diese interessant und trotzdem authentisch zu gestalten. Das gelingt der Autorin. Man begleitet Robin und Phoenix hier sowohl bei ihrer ersten Begegnung als auch beim späteren Auf und Ab ihrer Beziehung. Ich finde das ganze wurde wirklich toll entwickelt. Hier ging mir nichts zu schnell. Beide Charaktere passten super zusammen. Interessant wurde es aber auch wieder durch die unterschiedlichen Familiengeschichten und die Freundschaften. Phoenix ist gerade erst aus dem Gefängnis entlassen worden und lebt übergangsweise bei Tyler (seinem Cousin) und seinen Brüdern. Er ist ein toller Charakter. Obwohl er nichts als die Klamotten, die er am Leib trägt, besitzt, wirkt er nicht verbittert. Er ist ein Kumpeltyp und seinen Cousins sehr dankbar dafür, ohne ihnen dafür die Füße zu küssen. Alles wirkt sehr natürlich. Robin kommt aus einem behüteten Elternhaus. Man lernt diese Familie aber nur kurz am Ende kennen. Da hätte ich gern noch etwas mehr von gehabt, denn diese Familie ist wirklich sehr nett und die Oma ist sehr speziell.
Spannend wird das ganze dadurch, dass Robin am Anfang einen sehr schlimmen Fehler begeht. Sie trinkt zu viel und landet mit dem Freund einer ihrer besten Freundinnen und Mitbewohnerin im Bett. Es wird sehr deutlich wie sehr sie das bereut und wie sie mit sich ringt, ob sie Kylie (die betrogene Freundin) das ganze gestehen soll oder nicht. Man wartet daher die ganze Zeit auf den Super-Gau und wenn er dann kommt überschlagen sich die Ereignisse. Ich fand es war genau die richtige Menge Drama. Ich konnte mitfühlen und mitfiebern.
Die Autorin schreibt abwechselnd aus der Ich-Perspektive von Robin und Phoenix. Das klappt wunderbar und gibt dem Leser die Möglichkeit verschiedenen Sichtweisen zu erleben. Die Autorin schafft hier auch immer schön den Sprung von einem zum anderen Charakter ohne das man Dinge doppelt liest oder das Gefühl hat etwas zu verpassen. Es liest sich wirklich sehr flüssig.
Emotional hat mich die Geschichte sehr angesprochen. Das lag sicher an den sympathischen Charakteren. Das Thema Fremdgehen ist immer ein heikles Thema, aber ich finde es wurde hier sehr gut eingebaut. Es wird nicht heruntergespielt und trotzdem bleibt einem Robin sehr sympathisch. Teilweise etwas too much war meines Erachtens das Thema Alkohol und Drogen bzw das Thema Abstinenz. Phoenix Aussagen wurden zwar versucht zu erklären (Familiärer Hintergrund) aber er kam mir manchmal doch etwas wie ein Moralapostel vor. Das waren aber die einzigen Momente wo ich im Lesefluss etwas aus dem Rhythmus kam.
Die erotischen Szenen sind toll geschrieben, aber nur sehr dezent im ganzen Text verteilt. Das gefällt mir sehr gut. Ich finde gerade im New Adult Bereich wird bei solchen Szenen von manchen Autorinnen wirklich über die Strenge geschlagen, sowohl bei der Häufigkeit der Szenen im Text als auch bei der Explizitheit. Hier war es aber perfekt und sehr angenehm. Einfach natürlich. Man hat das Gefühl eine Liebesgeschichte zu lesen bei der Sex natürlich dazugehört, aber eben kein Anreihen von erotischen Szenen mit ein wenig Handlung drumherum. Erin McCarthy schafft da eine ganz ausgewogene Mischung.
Grundidee 4,5/5
Schreibstil 5/5
Spannung 4/5
Emotionen 5/5
Charaktere 5/5
*Fazit:*
5 von 5 Sternen
Für mich gehört dieses Buch zu den Besten im New Adult Genre. Ich fand die Charaktere sehr sympathisch, die Liebesgeschichte authentisch entwickelt und ich konnte mich emotional auf die Charaktere einlassen. Eine wirklich tolle Liebesgeschichte!
Reihe:
Weil ich mich verliere
Weil dir mein Herz gehört
Wohin du auch gehst
Inhaltlich ist es natürlich vielen anderen Büchern dieses Genres sehr ähnlich. Es wird sich hauptsächlich auf die Liebesbeziehung konzentriert. Daher ist es besonders wichtig, dass die Autorin es schafft diese interessant und trotzdem authentisch zu gestalten. Das gelingt der Autorin. Man begleitet Robin und Phoenix hier sowohl bei ihrer ersten Begegnung als auch beim späteren Auf und Ab ihrer Beziehung. Ich finde das ganze wurde wirklich toll entwickelt. Hier ging mir nichts zu schnell. Beide Charaktere passten super zusammen. Interessant wurde es aber auch wieder durch die unterschiedlichen Familiengeschichten und die Freundschaften. Phoenix ist gerade erst aus dem Gefängnis entlassen worden und lebt übergangsweise bei Tyler (seinem Cousin) und seinen Brüdern. Er ist ein toller Charakter. Obwohl er nichts als die Klamotten, die er am Leib trägt, besitzt, wirkt er nicht verbittert. Er ist ein Kumpeltyp und seinen Cousins sehr dankbar dafür, ohne ihnen dafür die Füße zu küssen. Alles wirkt sehr natürlich. Robin kommt aus einem behüteten Elternhaus. Man lernt diese Familie aber nur kurz am Ende kennen. Da hätte ich gern noch etwas mehr von gehabt, denn diese Familie ist wirklich sehr nett und die Oma ist sehr speziell.
Spannend wird das ganze dadurch, dass Robin am Anfang einen sehr schlimmen Fehler begeht. Sie trinkt zu viel und landet mit dem Freund einer ihrer besten Freundinnen und Mitbewohnerin im Bett. Es wird sehr deutlich wie sehr sie das bereut und wie sie mit sich ringt, ob sie Kylie (die betrogene Freundin) das ganze gestehen soll oder nicht. Man wartet daher die ganze Zeit auf den Super-Gau und wenn er dann kommt überschlagen sich die Ereignisse. Ich fand es war genau die richtige Menge Drama. Ich konnte mitfühlen und mitfiebern.
Die Autorin schreibt abwechselnd aus der Ich-Perspektive von Robin und Phoenix. Das klappt wunderbar und gibt dem Leser die Möglichkeit verschiedenen Sichtweisen zu erleben. Die Autorin schafft hier auch immer schön den Sprung von einem zum anderen Charakter ohne das man Dinge doppelt liest oder das Gefühl hat etwas zu verpassen. Es liest sich wirklich sehr flüssig.
Emotional hat mich die Geschichte sehr angesprochen. Das lag sicher an den sympathischen Charakteren. Das Thema Fremdgehen ist immer ein heikles Thema, aber ich finde es wurde hier sehr gut eingebaut. Es wird nicht heruntergespielt und trotzdem bleibt einem Robin sehr sympathisch. Teilweise etwas too much war meines Erachtens das Thema Alkohol und Drogen bzw das Thema Abstinenz. Phoenix Aussagen wurden zwar versucht zu erklären (Familiärer Hintergrund) aber er kam mir manchmal doch etwas wie ein Moralapostel vor. Das waren aber die einzigen Momente wo ich im Lesefluss etwas aus dem Rhythmus kam.
Die erotischen Szenen sind toll geschrieben, aber nur sehr dezent im ganzen Text verteilt. Das gefällt mir sehr gut. Ich finde gerade im New Adult Bereich wird bei solchen Szenen von manchen Autorinnen wirklich über die Strenge geschlagen, sowohl bei der Häufigkeit der Szenen im Text als auch bei der Explizitheit. Hier war es aber perfekt und sehr angenehm. Einfach natürlich. Man hat das Gefühl eine Liebesgeschichte zu lesen bei der Sex natürlich dazugehört, aber eben kein Anreihen von erotischen Szenen mit ein wenig Handlung drumherum. Erin McCarthy schafft da eine ganz ausgewogene Mischung.
Grundidee 4,5/5
Schreibstil 5/5
Spannung 4/5
Emotionen 5/5
Charaktere 5/5
*Fazit:*
5 von 5 Sternen
Für mich gehört dieses Buch zu den Besten im New Adult Genre. Ich fand die Charaktere sehr sympathisch, die Liebesgeschichte authentisch entwickelt und ich konnte mich emotional auf die Charaktere einlassen. Eine wirklich tolle Liebesgeschichte!
Reihe:
Weil ich mich verliere
Weil dir mein Herz gehört
Wohin du auch gehst
donttakemybooks's review against another edition
2.0
Somewhere between a 2 and 3 on this one. I liked it for the most part, but some of it was a little too silly for me to deal with. Phoenix and Robin fall in love waaaaaaay too quickly for how messed up they are supposed to be. Phoenix is way too nice and mostly well-adjusted for the bad boy with an anger problem. And Phoenix tattoos Robin's face on his body. Like a month after meeting her. Not cute, INSANE. I do like Erin McCarthy's writing, but I'm finding I am beginning to prefer grittier and less tropey romances. This was not one of those.
sandylovesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book even though it is the third in a series and I haven't read the other two. But it was so good that I want to read the others. I did see a few typos that irritated me, yes, I am a grammar-nazi. I can understand it more from a new author who isn't coming through an established publisher but this is Erin McCarthy and it seems that proofreading would be more important. But it wasn't enough for me to not like the story. I, also, liked the way the main characters were younger and not so "alpha" in their attitudes. It seems like most romances have the alpha male, with his alpha male attitude. This is a nice change of pace, plus they had to deal with certain issues in their lives (anger and alcohol) and since they were younger they have to learn the best way for dealing with these issues. I love series books and I think the authors Fast Track series is one of the best series out there, so I think the True Believers series will be good as well.
eslismyjam's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
I'm just not sure what to make of this book. I don't think it's a bad book. In fact, I think a lot of people will probably like it. There were just a lot of things that didn't work for me.
I read this book because it was on sale, had a catchy synopsis, and a compelling cover. It's NA and I've been on a winning streak lately with NA, reading pretty good stuff which is sort of unusual for this genre.
The streak is now officially over and I have to blame Believe. Like I said, I think a lot of others will like this. For me, it was too fast, too superficial and too inconsistent.
We are told that Robin was a party girl in the first few pages. She literally tells us. Explaining that she spent most of college going to parties, making out with random guys and getting drunk. A few pages in and she sleeps with her best-friend's boyfriend while black out drunk. Post-sleeping-with-boy-disaster she's a hot mess. She feels terrible, and naturally friend's boyfriend turns out to be a total creeper.
The problem for me here was that she tells us that she used to be a party girl, but we never get to see it, so it's hard to believe that it is part of her character. Telling just isn't as effective as showing. Yes, we see that she slept with her friends guy, but that's all. That isn't enough to establish her as a reckless and out of control character, which is what the rest of the book is predicated upon.
Robin does a completely 180 after her mistake. The Robin the reader actually gets to know is reclusive, unconcerned about her looks, and depressed. The opposite of a party-girl. That's all we see for the rest of the book.
When Phoenix steps into the picture, fresh out of jail, I got back on board. So what if the heroine is tepid? A hot bad boy is all a story really needs. He was attractive and interesting. Nothing like a bad boy with tattoos to spice a book up. So we find out he's had a hard life (haven't they all?) and of course he and Robin hit off immediately. I do mean IMMEDIATELY. Within days of knowing each other, really within seconds of kissing each other, Robin is ready to go all the way. That's also fine, if that worked for her character, but it just didn't resonant with me. They moved too fast. Sex doesn't always equal love, but since the premise of the book is that these two characters are falling in love, I didn't think leaping into bed was the way to do it. Especially since Robin had just freaked about her latest sexual escapade. Also, they declare their love for each other WITHIN PAGES. Insta-love really only works when it is in a paranormal and the supernatural beings are not suppose to follow normal human emotional patterns. Even then it gets dicey. So I was annoyed. Insta-love is no bueno.
Oh and lest I forget, to add to the insta-love ridiculousness, Phoenix is a tattoo artist (because that is what bad boys do these days) and he decides, in the tradition of Maddox from Beautiful Disaster by Jamie Maguire, to get a tattoo. Not just any tattoo, but you guessed it! a portrait of his one-true-love (well at least his true love of the last three days) on his ribs.
(Don't worry, Robin ALSO gets a tattoo-- of a blue bird. Because her name is Robin and in Phoenix's tattoo of her she is wearing a blue bird necklace that she doesn't actually possessed. So this was clearly the right choice for Robin to get on her to represent Phoenix on her body. Yes, I'm confused too. And enough with H and hs getting tattooed for each other! It's forever! Forever.
Moving on, Phoenix and Robin are in love and want to be together. Then comes the baggage. They've each got a lot things to deal with emotional and they have to get over it-- together. So that's all fine too, it was the most profound thing ever, but it was fine.
The next thing that didn't work for me was that Phoenix and Robin are both clean. Phoenix has always been drug and alcohol free because of his junkie mom. Okay, I can buy that. It seems logical. But he came off sounding like a public service announcement at times, even though the obligatory, "you can do what you want, it doesn't bother me, I just have chosen to live my life this way," comments were thrown in.
Then we're expected to believe that Robin has also gone clean and now essentially considers herself an alcoholic (a consequence of her party-girl life style). Again, that's fine, maybe she was making poor choices with alcohol and I applaud her decision not to drink, but it got a little over the top. Are all college party-girls doomed to become alcoholics?
SPOILER ALERT:
By the end, Robin, in a her darkest moment, basically chugs a bottle of tequila and winds up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. Then she decides she IS an addict and goes to rehab?! I'm just not sure how this series of events occurred. One minute she had made some bad choices and needed to cut back, and the next she is sitting alone in her apartment chugging straight from a bottle?! A lot of disconnect going on here. She somehow got to the lowest place an addict can go within the span of like, an hour? There was no gradual downhill slide, there was just fine and then-- REALLY NOT FINE.
Is the message that if you ever make a bad choice with alcohol then you have a problem with it? Even in college when kids are likely to make a lot of really bad choices before they wise up and make good ones? I think not. I think she could probably have just called it quits for a bit, rehab was overkill. Phoenix freaking and deciding she was near death and needed help was over the top. Really the whole thing just seemed like overkill.
All that just overshadowed the idea of the love story and the hot bad boy, for me.
I'm just not sure what to make of this book. I don't think it's a bad book. In fact, I think a lot of people will probably like it. There were just a lot of things that didn't work for me.
I read this book because it was on sale, had a catchy synopsis, and a compelling cover. It's NA and I've been on a winning streak lately with NA, reading pretty good stuff which is sort of unusual for this genre.
The streak is now officially over and I have to blame Believe. Like I said, I think a lot of others will like this. For me, it was too fast, too superficial and too inconsistent.
We are told that Robin was a party girl in the first few pages. She literally tells us. Explaining that she spent most of college going to parties, making out with random guys and getting drunk. A few pages in and she sleeps with her best-friend's boyfriend while black out drunk. Post-sleeping-with-boy-disaster she's a hot mess. She feels terrible, and naturally friend's boyfriend turns out to be a total creeper.
The problem for me here was that she tells us that she used to be a party girl, but we never get to see it, so it's hard to believe that it is part of her character. Telling just isn't as effective as showing. Yes, we see that she slept with her friends guy, but that's all. That isn't enough to establish her as a reckless and out of control character, which is what the rest of the book is predicated upon.
Robin does a completely 180 after her mistake. The Robin the reader actually gets to know is reclusive, unconcerned about her looks, and depressed. The opposite of a party-girl. That's all we see for the rest of the book.
When Phoenix steps into the picture, fresh out of jail, I got back on board. So what if the heroine is tepid? A hot bad boy is all a story really needs. He was attractive and interesting. Nothing like a bad boy with tattoos to spice a book up. So we find out he's had a hard life (haven't they all?) and of course he and Robin hit off immediately. I do mean IMMEDIATELY. Within days of knowing each other, really within seconds of kissing each other, Robin is ready to go all the way. That's also fine, if that worked for her character, but it just didn't resonant with me. They moved too fast. Sex doesn't always equal love, but since the premise of the book is that these two characters are falling in love, I didn't think leaping into bed was the way to do it. Especially since Robin had just freaked about her latest sexual escapade. Also, they declare their love for each other WITHIN PAGES. Insta-love really only works when it is in a paranormal and the supernatural beings are not suppose to follow normal human emotional patterns. Even then it gets dicey. So I was annoyed. Insta-love is no bueno.
Oh and lest I forget, to add to the insta-love ridiculousness, Phoenix is a tattoo artist (because that is what bad boys do these days) and he decides, in the tradition of Maddox from Beautiful Disaster by Jamie Maguire, to get a tattoo. Not just any tattoo, but you guessed it! a portrait of his one-true-love (well at least his true love of the last three days) on his ribs.
(Don't worry, Robin ALSO gets a tattoo-- of a blue bird. Because her name is Robin and in Phoenix's tattoo of her she is wearing a blue bird necklace that she doesn't actually possessed. So this was clearly the right choice for Robin to get on her to represent Phoenix on her body. Yes, I'm confused too. And enough with H and hs getting tattooed for each other! It's forever! Forever.
Moving on, Phoenix and Robin are in love and want to be together. Then comes the baggage. They've each got a lot things to deal with emotional and they have to get over it-- together. So that's all fine too, it was the most profound thing ever, but it was fine.
The next thing that didn't work for me was that Phoenix and Robin are both clean. Phoenix has always been drug and alcohol free because of his junkie mom. Okay, I can buy that. It seems logical. But he came off sounding like a public service announcement at times, even though the obligatory, "you can do what you want, it doesn't bother me, I just have chosen to live my life this way," comments were thrown in.
Then we're expected to believe that Robin has also gone clean and now essentially considers herself an alcoholic (a consequence of her party-girl life style). Again, that's fine, maybe she was making poor choices with alcohol and I applaud her decision not to drink, but it got a little over the top. Are all college party-girls doomed to become alcoholics?
SPOILER ALERT:
By the end, Robin, in a her darkest moment, basically chugs a bottle of tequila and winds up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. Then she decides she IS an addict and goes to rehab?! I'm just not sure how this series of events occurred. One minute she had made some bad choices and needed to cut back, and the next she is sitting alone in her apartment chugging straight from a bottle?! A lot of disconnect going on here. She somehow got to the lowest place an addict can go within the span of like, an hour? There was no gradual downhill slide, there was just fine and then-- REALLY NOT FINE.
Is the message that if you ever make a bad choice with alcohol then you have a problem with it? Even in college when kids are likely to make a lot of really bad choices before they wise up and make good ones? I think not. I think she could probably have just called it quits for a bit, rehab was overkill. Phoenix freaking and deciding she was near death and needed help was over the top. Really the whole thing just seemed like overkill.
All that just overshadowed the idea of the love story and the hot bad boy, for me.
losetimereading's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 Stars!
I have zero idea why I waited so long after reading Sweet to pick up Believe. I did the same thing between True and Sweet and I JUST DON’T KNOW WHY! This weekend I was in one of the mystifying moods where I had “nothing” to read and was completely clueless where to start. And so I decided to dive back into the True Believers series.
Oh, why did I put you down? I was immediately drawn back into this series that I love, with familiar old characters that I adored from the beginning.
I really liked Robin, a lot in fact. I didn’t really get much of a feel for her in the previous book so I was interested in learning more about her. I thought she was an honest character and very realistic. She felt terrible about what she did to Kylie and made no excuses for her actions, which I appreciated. I also really liked the fact that she knew that she had a problem with alcohol, and that is where her bad decision-making spawned from and chose to let that be a thing of her past. She was definitely flawed, but I enjoyed her tremendously. And then there was Phoenix. Hello! He was so incredibly sexy, and like the other guys in this series, had a ‘bad’ exterior but was all warm inside. I of course also loved that the previous characters were featured so heavily in Believe as well, Jessica, Rory, Riley, Tyler and, of course, the younger Mann brothers. Even the romances are fabulous, the part that keeps me coming back to this series is by far the wonderful characters.
The romance was not my favorite of the bunch, but I still really enjoyed it and loved Robin and Phoenix together. This was definitely instalove, but the thing about it was that they didn’t deny that they fell head over heels for each other so quickly which makes it more realistic to me that they both acknowledge it. There is, of course, some bumps in the road, which is the pattern for this series (and most New Adult romances) but I like the way Erin McCarthy handles these sometimes tough topics with her characters. One point that is definitely noteworthy for me, was the way that Phoenix handled Robin’s “secret”. He cast no judgement upon her and was incredibly kind. I really, really enjoyed how that was handled.
I finished Believe and immediately started on Shatter, which I’m nearly done. That is the way I should have been reading this series, not this lazy pace that I have been because I adore the girls, the sexy boys, the stories, the instalove, the sexy times… ALL OF IT.
I definitely recommend this series, which I’ve said after each book but seriously… if you love New Adult romance, give these books a try!
I have zero idea why I waited so long after reading Sweet to pick up Believe. I did the same thing between True and Sweet and I JUST DON’T KNOW WHY! This weekend I was in one of the mystifying moods where I had “nothing” to read and was completely clueless where to start. And so I decided to dive back into the True Believers series.
Oh, why did I put you down? I was immediately drawn back into this series that I love, with familiar old characters that I adored from the beginning.
I really liked Robin, a lot in fact. I didn’t really get much of a feel for her in the previous book so I was interested in learning more about her. I thought she was an honest character and very realistic. She felt terrible about what she did to Kylie and made no excuses for her actions, which I appreciated. I also really liked the fact that she knew that she had a problem with alcohol, and that is where her bad decision-making spawned from and chose to let that be a thing of her past. She was definitely flawed, but I enjoyed her tremendously. And then there was Phoenix. Hello! He was so incredibly sexy, and like the other guys in this series, had a ‘bad’ exterior but was all warm inside. I of course also loved that the previous characters were featured so heavily in Believe as well, Jessica, Rory, Riley, Tyler and, of course, the younger Mann brothers. Even the romances are fabulous, the part that keeps me coming back to this series is by far the wonderful characters.
The romance was not my favorite of the bunch, but I still really enjoyed it and loved Robin and Phoenix together. This was definitely instalove, but the thing about it was that they didn’t deny that they fell head over heels for each other so quickly which makes it more realistic to me that they both acknowledge it. There is, of course, some bumps in the road, which is the pattern for this series (and most New Adult romances) but I like the way Erin McCarthy handles these sometimes tough topics with her characters. One point that is definitely noteworthy for me, was the way that Phoenix handled Robin’s “secret”. He cast no judgement upon her and was incredibly kind. I really, really enjoyed how that was handled.
I finished Believe and immediately started on Shatter, which I’m nearly done. That is the way I should have been reading this series, not this lazy pace that I have been because I adore the girls, the sexy boys, the stories, the instalove, the sexy times… ALL OF IT.
I definitely recommend this series, which I’ve said after each book but seriously… if you love New Adult romance, give these books a try!
merlin_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Former party girl Robin changes her ways after a night of partying finds her in bed with her best friend, Kylies, boyfriend. Having no memory of what happened or how she got there, Robin swears off drinking and partying. Loaded down with guilt, she decides to move out of the house she’s sharing with her friends, including Kylie. She just wants to forget what happened and hide it away.
Phoenix is fresh out of his 5 month stay in prison and crashing on his cousin’s couch. He has no money, no clothes, and no job. His girlfriend cheated on him while he was away and his mother disappeared. His life is going nowhere fast unless he can change it. Then he meets Robin.
This is the third book in the True series and while I enjoy McCarthy’s writing, something about this series just isn’t connecting with me. In Believe, McCarthy finally moves away from the recycled plot lines that were apparent in both the first and second installments. She changed it up and I was pleasantly surprised. This is still a series where I find that I enjoy the males more than the females because I feel they are better written. Phoenix was a very intriguing character right from the start. I wanted to know his past and it was nice that he wasn’t the typical ‘bad guy with the rep’. He was actually clean – more clean than anyone else in the series. And once again, the dynamics between the brothers rate high on my scale.
But despite the good, there were still issues that I couldn’t look over. One thing being the reoccurring theme of rape and rage in NA books. When Robin sleeps with Nathan, she’s obviously not in the right state of mind to be making any decision and Nathan takes advantage of that. I’m sorry, but if someone is too drunk to even give you their name, they can’t give you consent. End of discussion. And then there’s Phoenix’s rage. So many NA books feature the guy with uncontrollable rage – beating up other guys, punching walls, etc. – this is not attractive and I don’t feel like it should be viewed as such. At least McCarthy showed that Robin felt fearful of Phoenix when he was like that, but the issue itself was never really dealt with. He completely destroyed someone’s car and nothing happened. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think we should romanticize fighting.
Insta love also seems to happen a lot. And most of the time, it’s extremely unbelievable. Believe wasn’t BAM I love you, but Phoenix getting a tattoo of Robin’s face on his ribs less than a month after meeting her is a little extreme.
Another issue I have with this series is the drama that’s not needed. What was the point of Phoenix’s prison friend? He was introduced fairly early on then not brought back until the very end for some pointless drama that ended up being dealt with on the next page. Like what? It was this huge buildup and then done. Poof. The whole ending felt really rushed to me and everything was just tidied up so prettily that the realism was hard to grasp. Overall, an okay read and a definite improvement from the previous installment.
I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Phoenix is fresh out of his 5 month stay in prison and crashing on his cousin’s couch. He has no money, no clothes, and no job. His girlfriend cheated on him while he was away and his mother disappeared. His life is going nowhere fast unless he can change it. Then he meets Robin.
This is the third book in the True series and while I enjoy McCarthy’s writing, something about this series just isn’t connecting with me. In Believe, McCarthy finally moves away from the recycled plot lines that were apparent in both the first and second installments. She changed it up and I was pleasantly surprised. This is still a series where I find that I enjoy the males more than the females because I feel they are better written. Phoenix was a very intriguing character right from the start. I wanted to know his past and it was nice that he wasn’t the typical ‘bad guy with the rep’. He was actually clean – more clean than anyone else in the series. And once again, the dynamics between the brothers rate high on my scale.
But despite the good, there were still issues that I couldn’t look over. One thing being the reoccurring theme of rape and rage in NA books. When Robin sleeps with Nathan, she’s obviously not in the right state of mind to be making any decision and Nathan takes advantage of that. I’m sorry, but if someone is too drunk to even give you their name, they can’t give you consent. End of discussion. And then there’s Phoenix’s rage. So many NA books feature the guy with uncontrollable rage – beating up other guys, punching walls, etc. – this is not attractive and I don’t feel like it should be viewed as such. At least McCarthy showed that Robin felt fearful of Phoenix when he was like that, but the issue itself was never really dealt with. He completely destroyed someone’s car and nothing happened. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think we should romanticize fighting.
Insta love also seems to happen a lot. And most of the time, it’s extremely unbelievable. Believe wasn’t BAM I love you, but Phoenix getting a tattoo of Robin’s face on his ribs less than a month after meeting her is a little extreme.
Another issue I have with this series is the drama that’s not needed. What was the point of Phoenix’s prison friend? He was introduced fairly early on then not brought back until the very end for some pointless drama that ended up being dealt with on the next page. Like what? It was this huge buildup and then done. Poof. The whole ending felt really rushed to me and everything was just tidied up so prettily that the realism was hard to grasp. Overall, an okay read and a definite improvement from the previous installment.
I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
tmjbooks's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
4.75
booklovinmamas's review against another edition
4.0
Full Review posted on Book Lovin' Mamas
Erin McCarthy did a great job on introducing two characters together that needed each other. Robin and Phoenix were meant to meet each other. They both were into art, and they both enjoyed each other's company when life was crumbling around them. They helped each other get over their past and present digressions.
I give this book 4 full moons and recommend it to New Adult readers out there. You will want to read the first two books though, to find out more about the previous characters. The previous characters are in Believe, which is a plus for me. I love knowing what is happening to the other characters. =)
Erin McCarthy did a great job on introducing two characters together that needed each other. Robin and Phoenix were meant to meet each other. They both were into art, and they both enjoyed each other's company when life was crumbling around them. They helped each other get over their past and present digressions.
I give this book 4 full moons and recommend it to New Adult readers out there. You will want to read the first two books though, to find out more about the previous characters. The previous characters are in Believe, which is a plus for me. I love knowing what is happening to the other characters. =)
poorashleu's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted here
This series gets better and better. Honestly it does. While I was wading through bad New Adult this series was the gem in the rough. When I finished book two in the series, I quickly went to my public library overdrive account, borrowed this book and then read it in one sitting. What was fascinating to me was how not only did McCarthy weave together these characters and this story, but also how much I started to care. I’m not saying that these are amazing stories that will change the world, because they aren’t. But in the NA genre, they are that true gem in the rough, and let me tell you there is a lot of rough.
This is the story of Robin, a girlfriend from the first two books who started to go further into the background and we quickly found out why. She slept with one of the other three girls boyfriends. She is traumatized, heartbroken and decides to change her ways. Without telling anyone why, which leads all of her friends to worry about her. One of the only people who doesn’t worry about Robin, is Phoenix, who meets Robin at his cousin’s home. Where this story begins to differ from the previous two is that it is told from dual perspectives. It was interesting to not only get in the head of the girl, but also the boy. Particularly because Phoenix has an equally fucked up background as his cousins.
Phoenix spends most of the novel not only falling in love with Robin, but also helping Robin work through her problems. And while they work well together, they also work well separately. That is one aspect I’m enjoying from NA novels is the fact that authors are working on creating characters that stand alone. They don’t need someone else to survive, although it makes everything easier, of course. Phoenix has had a fairly horrible life and has anger issues and Robin had drinking issues that she is currently working with. Everything is fine with the two and they are figuring out the relationship waters and then everything comes to ahead and it goes BOOM!
McCarthy however throughout the whole novel spends a lot of time making them human and making everything work, even the small details that don’t seem to matter in the moment. While the series has problematic aspects, I was able to overlook most of them, because when I was reading the genre, there were so many other problematic aspects I was sick of reading about.
This series gets better and better. Honestly it does. While I was wading through bad New Adult this series was the gem in the rough. When I finished book two in the series, I quickly went to my public library overdrive account, borrowed this book and then read it in one sitting. What was fascinating to me was how not only did McCarthy weave together these characters and this story, but also how much I started to care. I’m not saying that these are amazing stories that will change the world, because they aren’t. But in the NA genre, they are that true gem in the rough, and let me tell you there is a lot of rough.
This is the story of Robin, a girlfriend from the first two books who started to go further into the background and we quickly found out why. She slept with one of the other three girls boyfriends. She is traumatized, heartbroken and decides to change her ways. Without telling anyone why, which leads all of her friends to worry about her. One of the only people who doesn’t worry about Robin, is Phoenix, who meets Robin at his cousin’s home. Where this story begins to differ from the previous two is that it is told from dual perspectives. It was interesting to not only get in the head of the girl, but also the boy. Particularly because Phoenix has an equally fucked up background as his cousins.
Phoenix spends most of the novel not only falling in love with Robin, but also helping Robin work through her problems. And while they work well together, they also work well separately. That is one aspect I’m enjoying from NA novels is the fact that authors are working on creating characters that stand alone. They don’t need someone else to survive, although it makes everything easier, of course. Phoenix has had a fairly horrible life and has anger issues and Robin had drinking issues that she is currently working with. Everything is fine with the two and they are figuring out the relationship waters and then everything comes to ahead and it goes BOOM!
McCarthy however throughout the whole novel spends a lot of time making them human and making everything work, even the small details that don’t seem to matter in the moment. While the series has problematic aspects, I was able to overlook most of them, because when I was reading the genre, there were so many other problematic aspects I was sick of reading about.