Reviewed by Morgan
Title: Believing Rory
Author: S.C. Wynne
Heroes: Lane Graham/Baron MacDonald
Genre: MM/NA Contemporary
Length: 200 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: April 29, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: Will Rory bring them together or stand between them?
Eighteen-year-old Lane Graham has always relied on his braver, more confident buddy, Rory. But Rory’s sudden suicide blindsides Lane and sends him into an emotional tailspin. How’s he supposed to start college in a few months feeling this damaged?
Baron MacDonald knew Rory from playing League of Legends together. He was always intrigued by Lane’s online presence, and Rory had promised to set them up. Now that Rory’s gone, Baron has to approach Lane on his own.
On the surface, Baron and Lane couldn’t seem more different. Baron is confident and serious, and Lane is guarded and uncertain. But it’s the pain beneath the flesh that binds these two souls together like barbed wire and cement.
Review: Lane is in his last days of high school when his best friend, Rory, kills himself. He had no idea and the loss of his friend is only a little worse than the feeling that he didn’t really know him or the feeling that he couldn’t save him.
At the funeral for Rory, Lane meets Baron. Baron and Lane and Rory all attended the same high school but Lane has never met Baron. Baron knew Rory through an on-line game and had asked Rory to set him up on a date with Lane because Lane intrigued him. Before Rory could do that, he died.
Though Lane is immensely leery, he agrees to meet and talk with Baron. After hearing Baron’s own attempt at suicide and why, Lane feels a bond with him and they begin as friends.
But… Baron has plans to move across the country for college in a few months and Lane is not stable enough emotionally to have yet another person he loves leave him, so he does everything he can to give Baron the brush off. But… Baron’s current crisis calls to him and he can’t leave Baron alone to deal with it.
**
I’m having a hard time evaluating this. For one, it’s a young adult/new adult title and that kinda gives it different rules. So… if you put it in that category, I think it really does a great job of speaking to that age group about pain, loss, suicide and the bonds of friendship.
As a romance, it’s kind of all over the place. The boys are dealing with SO MUCH that the romance – though vital – is sort of secondary to the entire story line.
I found it easy to fall into and was captivated to keep reading in one sitting. I really liked Lane and though I knew him less well, Baron was intriguing, too.
I guess I wanted their story to go beyond the summer they got together so I could see them heal and see them as a functioning couple for longer. It left me just a little dissatisfied with where they left off.
I was also scratching my head at Rory. Part of the whole thing is that nobody saw it coming but we never even really get to speculate why he killed himself and that bugged me.
But… I think the book really did a good job of representing some of the anguish and pain surrounding suicide and I appreciated how honest these young men were with one another in handling their emotions.
So, overall, I think this is a good book if you’re in the mind-set of a young adult/new adult novel. It’s chock full of angst but brimming with hope and young love.
Overall Impression: I really liked it
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for a fair and honest review.*
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