Phobic - Book Review

By Michelle Irwin

Synopsis

Sometimes starting over is the only choice.

Broken-hearted and looking for revenge, Phoebe Reede heads back to the US to take up a new challenge. Only, when she discovers who her teammate and rival is, the challenge might prove too great.

While she knew life away from home wouldn’t be easy, she never expected to be faced with an unpleasant surprise from her ex-boyfriend, or to be as drawn to him as ever. She needs to remain professional and push aside her feelings for him, but will she let someone else steal her heart away instead?

What will it take to prove she’s not afraid to take the risk?

Review

PHOBIC continues on from the cliffhanger in PHASE, where Beau broke up with Phoebe before she could surprise him with the news that she was moving over to the US to race and to be with him. She decides to go over anyway, determined to race for the next fourteen months and do her best to move on from Beau.

I loved Beau in the first book, but I was so angry with him in this book and I had to keep reminding myself that he really was a nice guy who was just doing shitty things. I had a fair idea about why he broke up with Phoebe, but even knowing that, it was still hard listening to all the cruel and hurtful things he would say to⎯and about⎯her. I get it, he wanted to hurt her the way she had hurt him, but the way he lashed out at her and toyed with her emotions was terrible and my heart was breaking for her before I even hit the 5% mark.

Phoebe was very loud and in-your-face in the first book, and I noticed that her personality had toned down considerably in this book. Heartbreak made her a little softer in some ways, and I found I liked it. Don’t get me wrong, she was still tough when she needed to be. However, I was surprised that she didn’t go ape-shit when she and Beau discovered the truth about their breakup. But maybe that’s just me; I’d built up that scene so much in my head that nothing short of hell on earth would have satisfied me.

“I told you once that love can destroy you if you let it, and it has, Beau. It’s broken me.”

PHOBIC is told in only Phoebe’s POV and it cannot be read as a stand-alone; you have to read PHASE first. Michelle Irwin is one of those few authors that, when starting one of her books, I have to prepare for it. I have to make sure that my housework and blogging responsibilities are up-to-date because I know that once I start, I won’t be stopping. I only put this book down when I absolutely had to, and I ended up reading it in one day. Be prepared for tears and for a cliffhanger that comes out of nowhere; a cliffhanger that has me both desperate and terrified for BEASTLY, the next book in the series.

* Note: This book includes scenes of sexual harassment and sexual assault, which may be triggers for some people.