Customer Reviews

Someone to Believe In (Berkley Sensation)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kathryn Shay's books are on my must-buy list for a reason: nobody does intense emotions better.

In Someone to Believe In, Bailey O'Neil and Senator Clay Wainwright have a real conflict. They've been public enemies for over a decade--ever since he sent her to prison for a year. She's known as The Street Angel for her work with kids in gangs. He's also concerned with youth gangs, but believes Bailey's going about it the wrong way, that she should leave things to the authorities, and that she shows a blatant disregard for her own safety.

The conflict doesn't go away just because these two fall in love. On the contrary, it makes their differences more important and painful. They make it in the end, of course--it is a romance, after all--but it's definitely not an easy journey.

The good:
The writing. Nobody does emotionally charged romance better than Kathryn Shay. The emotions of all the characters are right there on the page, and they're understandable.
The topic. Ms. Shay has done her research, making the problem of youth gangs real, and the differing opinions of how to deal with them clear.
The characters. Even the secondary characters--Bailey's son, brothers, co-workers, and Clay's son, and his political rival--are three-dimensional with clear motives and goals.

The bad:
I really had to agree with Clay: Bailey took too many stupid chances with her safety, particularly since she had a young son depending on her. It made me less able to connect with her as a character.
The final conflict went on a bit too long, and made me impatient.

The verdict:
This isn't a sweet, happy love story. It's painful and emotional, and you'll stay up way too late reading it to find out how Clay and Bailey manage to earn their happy-ever-after. But it's worth it.

This isn't my first book by Mrs. Shay and definitely won't be my last. Shay gets better with each book released. The story moves along extremely well and the characters seem to come alive right before your eyes.

Senator Clay Wainwright and Street Angel Bailey O'Neil (name given due to her reaching out and helping gangsters get out of their gangs and off the streets of death) are bitter adversaries in the press. Have been for over 10 years. He sent her to prison, and she persecutes him almost on a daily basis now that she's released and he's up for another term as senator.

The story starts out with Bailey's trial 11 years earlier, while Clay is still district attorney. We see the support Bailey has from the citizens of New York, even from the Judge and the Jury. Clay doesn't quite get why many support a woman who harbors young criminals and allows them to hide out from the law.

Only serving a one-year prison term, a much wiser and stronger Bailey is still up to her old tricks, with Clay, now a popular Senator up in Washington, still fighting against her unorthodox ways. Where he is much more conservative and upholds the law religiously, Bailey isn't against helping kids get out of gangs any way she can and still stay within legal grounds because someone close to her suffered because there was no one else to turn to for help.

Now with Congress dishing out over $400 million dollars to social agencies and women shelters, etc, Bailey wants to expand her shelter for gangsters ESCAPE and build a much bigger program GUARDIAN to house, educate, and protect those kids willing to leave their gangs behind. She needs this funding from Congress but there's a one-man roadblock preventing this: Clay Wainwright. He feels she breaks the law and that this money should go to kids who aren't thugs and abused women and schools that need it.

We see that Bailey doesn't break the law, in fact puts her very life on the line to help a young woman escape a dangerous life. Tazmania, the young woman, is a great secondary character who pulls you into her life and makes you understand how hard it is to leave her homies. Taz reminds Bailey so much of her sister who died from being in a gang and the bond that develops between these two are very touching.

Bailey's relationship with her parents and four brothers is also beautifully woven in and will make you want Aiden and Paddy to have their very own book. We also learn that even families with a lot of love make mistakes and can overcome them.

Clay also has problems with those close to him, but not having that same support from his family that Bailey has. He has a young son, Jon, who sides with his rival for his seat in Congress; an on-again-and-off-again relationship with Jane (a snooty, spoiled, rich society dame); an ex-wife who resents him for not having enough time for their marriage; parents forcing a relationship upon him he doesn't want; on top of growing feelings for the Street Angel and a governor wanting him and Bailey to drop their fued and team up on a new anti-crime task force.

What we get is Clay and Bailey fighting each other in the media but heating the sheets (or the stairs, elevators, and the walls) up with love making). Talk about a hot book filled with great dialogue and love scenes.

This book is a must. I cried, laughed, and stayed up very late into the night and morning reading this book. I didn't want it to end.

You'll be greatly moved by Bailey's love of these troubled young teens and her fear of committing to Clay, as well as her love for her brothers and young son Rory; Then there's Clay risking his image as a senator, learning what it means to be a father, and willing to protect Bailey at any cost, including death.

You'll also enjoy the political and personal side to Bailey and Clay's relationship. Watching them go from bitter enemies to protective lovers was awesome. The fact that they both had the same goals, but went at it with different approaches was greatly told by Katheyn Shay.

Also the secondary characters keep things very interesting! They are just as well written as the main characters.

Mrs. Shay thank you for an incredible read. Please hurry with the next book :)

This is a worthy book with a strong hero and heroine but the trouble was there was TOO much politics in it, and bickering. The story could have been condensed into a smaller time frame with a lot fewer pages.

I also found every single Irish cliche in the book really irritating after a while. Bailey is good hearted but foolish, Clay has his issues, they sparkle together but don't really scorch the pages because of all their bickering about the best ways to deal with gang violence, domestic abuse, and so on.

The author has really done her homework, I have to give her that, but it does not make for a sexy read. Also, with all of Bailey's brothers and family entanglements, I felt as though I was coming in at the end of a really loooong series of books, and yet when I looked at the ends for the author's other books, none of them seemed to be linked to this one. So it is good to have secondary supporting characters, but not to the point where it really detracts from the romance between the hero and heroine. It was hard to get involved with either character because their points of view were so extreme.

Finally, the ending was complete tell, not show, and very trite, and left me feeling fairly cheated after having read for sooo many pages.

Someone To Believe In by Kathryn Shay is an emotional, deeply sensual tale.

Bailey O'Neil is a woman on a mission to save teens from the deadly world of gang violence. She has a personal stake in it since she lost her younger sisters life to a gang. Bailey's family though close knit is forever worrying about the lengths she is willing to go to, to save these teens. Her methods put her at a cross purposes to Senator Clay Wainright.

Clay Wainright is an up and coming politician. Bailey O'Neil has been a thorn in his side since he sent her to jail for a year over ten years ago. Now as a Senator he is assigned with Bailey to the same task force to address gangs. Their views are as different as night and day. Sparks fly in their discussions on the task force. But an all-consuming passion erupts between them outside of those meetings.

This isn't an easy romance for either party, each has issues from the past not just their opposite views. Clay is determined to protect Bailey and Bailey is equally determined to save these teens at all cost.

Someone To Believe In grabs you and pulls you in. The issues are real and complex. I couldn't read this book fast enough. I hope Bailey's brothers get their own stories soon.

Ms. Shay has written a very complex and moving read with characters that simply jump off the pages! The conflict that she created between Bailey and Clay was so real that I felt as if I had stepped into someone elses life rather than picked up a book! Both of them were true to their belief's and as a result this was a push and pull read unlike any I've read in a while.

Bailey is known as "the Street Angel" and her mission in life...save as many kids as she can from gang violence. If this puts her in harms way so be it. She is surrounded by her large Irish family and even though they don't totally agree with her stance...they love her enough to support her. On the other side of this fence stands Senator Clayton Wainwright. He agrees that something must be done in order to change the realities of gang life but he thinks that Bailey's take is too radical. These two strong willed people pit themselves against each other in print and even at times in person. Than one night changes everything. Clay sees Bailey in a different light and same for Bailey. But is attraction enough to base a relationship on? What about their different viewpoints that work against each other?

Clay and Bailey are great characters! Their struggles are real and how they each handled the situation added to the telling of the story. Ms. Shay has done a very good job at portraying both sides of this very serious coin. This is the first time I've ever read Ms. Shay and I must say that I plan on looking for her backlist. This read offers it all romance, conflict, and resolution. This is a fast read and one that I highly recommend.

Official Reviewer for Romance Designs

The cover of this book made me think it would be a juvenile, prim and proper story. It was anything but with almost too many love scenes that were detailed to the point of "too much information."

However, this was an outstanding story with fabulous characters; an authentic "page-turner" from the get-go.

I thought the author balanced Clay's republican view and Bailey's democrat view very well, which couldn't have been easy. I'd have to side with the senator, though. Page 251 describes perfectly their differences. Bailey and Clay both supported the many shelters that helped 'regular law-abiding kids,' but since funds were limited, the kids didn't get much. Bailey wanted a separate shelter for 'gang kids' who would get job training so they could get the skills they'd need to succeed. Clay's point was that ALL the kids deserved the training, but Bailey didn't see it that way. Clay didn't feel the 'good kids' should get less of a chance than the 'bad kids,' most of whom were hardened criminals,and he was absolutely right.

DA Clay Wainwright felt bad when the jury handed down the guilty sentence to the "Street Angel" as Bailey O'Neil was referred when it was discovered that she harbored a fugitive gang member. For that she spent a year in jail. Fast forward 11 years - Clay is now a Senator and Bailey is still working to get kids out of gangs since her own half sister died when she was a teen.

Bailey and Clay clash in the papers and on just about every issue. After getting a tour of her facility and getting put on a task force with her, the two get to know each other and despite knowing that a relationship is out of the question, they fall in love. Bailey has four over protective brothers (you can just see a series in the making here... as Aidan's story is told in "Close to You"), as well as a young son; Clay has a 20 year old son from his marriage which ended when his wife took a lover. Despite their lack of common ground, the chemistry oozes off the pages (though readers will be annoyed with the lack of safe precautions the "street angel" takes).

Shay is a great storyteller - always providing sweeping stories that are so well plotted and characters so well developed that the reader feels like these are friends and neighbors. The O'Neil family fits that bill entirely. And Shay researched her topic - gang violence - knowing that there are no exact answers as to how to bring about change.

Eleven years after being sent to jail, Bailey O'Neil is known as the Street Angel, having formed a network to rescue kids from gangs. Her work brings Clay Wainwright back into her life. Once upon a time, the ambitious attorney sent her to jail, but things have changed. A strange attraction draws them together time and again, but his life is very public, and becoming more so. In contrast, hers must be hidden, for safety's sake. As they explore meshing two worlds, a horrendous crime threatens their love.

**** As always, Katherine Shay's compelling writing draws you into the scenario she creates. More about Bailey's past might have been good to know, but this does not really detract from the fast paced, yet warm plot in the least. Brava, Ms. Shay. ****

Amanda Killgore, Freelance Reviewer.

Eleven years before, dedicated anti-gang rescue worker was sent to prison for 1 year for hiding an accused gang member she was helping, with conservative Hero as her case's district attorney. Ever since then, she & Hero are known for their political opposition to each other. Now they finally meet face-to-face & have to work together in a political committee, often clashing with each other's views. Things become more complicated as they develop a romantic r/s that soon burgeons into a secret affair, which becomes harder to hide from their family & senator H's constituents.

Shay writes an unpredictable, realistic, & well-written romance. I didn't expect to like at much b/c I thought it would be heavy on the politics. Fortunately, the romance was the central focus & blended well with the political work & family relationships. I liked the realistic tone of the book as well. Everybody did not get a HEA(happily ever after). And hero & heroine had to struggle through their major differences & find ways to compromise to make their r/s work. The characters were portrayed with depth. Sexual chemistry was sizzling & love scenes were good & detailed enough.

Recommended.

I loved this series by Shay. I found out that Berekely isn't going to publish the other two Oneil books in this series to finish it because they didnt feel this book made enough money for them. What about what the readers want? I have emailed Berkely about their poor decision and asked them to please consider at least finishing this series. If you like Shay's books and this series why don't you write to Berkely too.