| Title: | Believe in Me (Strickland Sisters 2) | |
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| Author: | Alexandria House | |
| Publisher | Pink Cashmere Publishing | |
| Publication Date: | July 10, 2017 | |
| Publisher's Description | More than a year after leaving her unfaithful husband, Renee Mattison is ready to move on, but how can she move on from someone who refuses to let go? Lorenzo Higgs is handsome and magnetic with a past that would send most women running, not to mention a little emotional baggage. Renee knows she should be afraid of Lorenzo, but the only thing that frightens her is the possibility of another broken heart. The two share an electric attraction and a smoldering chemistry, but will they learn to truly believe in each other enough to build a lasting love? |
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| My rating: | **** | |
Believe in Me is another enjoyable Strickland sister novel, although I didn’t love it as much as I did Ryan and Angie’s story. Renee was a fun protagonist and while she was definitely wishy-washy, her motives were understandable. Zo was a great character, too. At times he seemed too perfect, and I enjoyed him most when he felt a little more human to me.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about this is how Ms. House uses the sisters’ family dynamics to contextualize their beliefs about romantic relationships. All of the Stricklands have been impacted by the way that the father and mother’s marriage unfolded, and it’s interesting to watch three intelligent women of means and resources try to understand relationships that are so different from their original frame of reference. On the one hand, I almost (almost) feel sorry for the men who have to prove themselves different from those who came before them, but on the other hand, it makes for a really good read. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
As usual, the secondary characters added a lot to this story. Nicky is still a total mess who I somehow like, regardless of her awful behavior; still, I simultaneously have no respect for her and yet can’t wait to see how she is redeemed in her own story. I already feel bad for poor Damon. I’d also feel bad for Travis but I feel pretty sure that there’s something off about him so I’ll save my sympathies until I have a better idea of whether they’re deserved. Mom and Dad Strickland are outchea wildin. For the love of god, nobody explain to me about the feathers. Ever. I’ve feel like they’ve already ventured beyond the pale, and I can’t even guess what kind of shenanigans they’ll get up to in the third outing in this series, but I look forward to reading it. I definitely recommend this series and suggest that you read these novels in order for maximum enjoyment.
In terms of the storyline, this book was a 4 star read. It wasn’t without flaws, but the author wrote a compelling religious romance that I didn’t hate (and I generally can’t stand religious romances). Zenetta was a great character, and I really loved Blue’s evolution. Blue’s Beauty was surprisingly funny and possessed an underlying sweetness that touched me and made me feel more invested in what was happening than I normally do when reading romance novels. While I am not usually a fan of closed door romances, the steamy scenes in this book almost seemed de trop; the novel seemed so full to me that the scenes that raised the sensuality level didn’t actually feel necessary.
