A review by fairyelle
Believe Me by Tahereh Mafi

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The ending makes me wanna give it 5 stars but over all I’m a bit upset about how this one played out. I wanted way more of a reconciliation between Aaron and Kenji much much earlier though the end had me in my feels :’) While I liked Jules personality shining, it bothered me what she put Aaron through when she knows he hates surprises and even Kenji is aware of it and concerned with Aaron having panic attacks towards the end. And just the fact that she abandoned him for the surprising him and knew he wasn’t doing well alone and that he hates surprises it was just like wtf. Also expected even a little Aaron x his brothers bonding more than we received. Instead we mostly ended up with Nouria and Sam treating him like shit, blowing up on him, essentially telling him he’s worthless. Aaron being mean to Kenji until the last chapter (hated how their relationship disintegrated in the last two books) and Aaron literally spiraling the entire time. AND ALMSOT ZERO QUEEN NAZEERA CONTENT which I’m so pressed about. Idk it could’ve been a lot more development of Aaron’s relationships with people, at least more than just in the last 2 chapters. Definitely going to miss these characters though, it’s weird it’s over.