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A review by amanda_reads13
Promise Me Not by Meagan Brandy
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Mason has fallen for the one woman he can't have, Peyton. Peyton, his friend's sister, has suffered a devastating loss and is trying to survive as a young single mother.
This was an emotional rollercoaster. It is vastly different from Say You Swear (that tore out my heart), but it is still a really good story. This is a very slow paced romance full of angst and trauma. Both Mason and Peyton grow and change so much throughout this story as they learn who they want to be as individuals and as a couple. We get to see them both in the past and the present, so we get to see how their relationship grows and how their love develops.
Peyton grew up in a broken home, her father left her with an emotionally abusive mother. Her one escape was Deaton, the boy down the street. After running away from home and learning she was pregnant, tragedy strikes as Deaton is killed in a car accident. Now thrust into a life as very young single mother, she fights to keep her head above water. She was absolutely broken by her loss, but her friend banded together to support her in every way, especially Mason. Regarding Mason, her actions and decisions left me so frustrated at times. She was absolutely terrified of losing yet another person she loves, so she pushed Mason away. I wish she would have communicated her feelings, but given how young and traumatized she was, it is understandable that she would want to just escape and retreat into herself. I liked seeing her growth as she realized that her choices were not making anything easier, but denying her love was destroying her and Mason.
Mason won me over. He is absolutely devoted to Payton, even more so her son, Deaton. The bond and love Mason develops with Deaton is heartbreakingly beautiful. Their relationship stole the show in this book. We see a much softer side of Mason when he is around Peyton and Deaton. We see Mason mature and grow so much throughout the story. He becomes someone that Peyton and Deaton can lean on and rely on. That said, he was dragged through hell and back throughout this book. Peyton was giving major whiplash, she kept giving him false hope only to break him over and over. My heart broke for him.
I actually think that Chase has been redeemed in this book. I never actually thought that he had feelings or was trying to pursue Peyton. I think he feels genuinely guilty for his actions and is trying to make the effort to be a good friend.
A few things that I didn't love were the lack of communication, some cringy moments (like his nickname for her), the lack of an epilogue (ugh wtf!?), and the fact that they were SO young! I wish they had been slightly older. Also, I think it was quite repetitive. I think that my expectations were very high after Say You Swear.
Tropes: ๐๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ด ๐๐ช๐ณ๐ดt, ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏt, ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐บ, ๐๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ด, ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฃ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ/๐๐ง๐ง-๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ด, ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ'๐ด ๐ง๐ณ๐ช๐ฆnd, ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ, ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ, right person/wrong time
This was an emotional rollercoaster. It is vastly different from Say You Swear (that tore out my heart), but it is still a really good story. This is a very slow paced romance full of angst and trauma. Both Mason and Peyton grow and change so much throughout this story as they learn who they want to be as individuals and as a couple. We get to see them both in the past and the present, so we get to see how their relationship grows and how their love develops.
Peyton grew up in a broken home, her father left her with an emotionally abusive mother. Her one escape was Deaton, the boy down the street. After running away from home and learning she was pregnant, tragedy strikes as Deaton is killed in a car accident. Now thrust into a life as very young single mother, she fights to keep her head above water. She was absolutely broken by her loss, but her friend banded together to support her in every way, especially Mason. Regarding Mason, her actions and decisions left me so frustrated at times. She was absolutely terrified of losing yet another person she loves, so she pushed Mason away. I wish she would have communicated her feelings, but given how young and traumatized she was, it is understandable that she would want to just escape and retreat into herself. I liked seeing her growth as she realized that her choices were not making anything easier, but denying her love was destroying her and Mason.
Mason won me over. He is absolutely devoted to Payton, even more so her son, Deaton. The bond and love Mason develops with Deaton is heartbreakingly beautiful. Their relationship stole the show in this book. We see a much softer side of Mason when he is around Peyton and Deaton. We see Mason mature and grow so much throughout the story. He becomes someone that Peyton and Deaton can lean on and rely on. That said, he was dragged through hell and back throughout this book. Peyton was giving major whiplash, she kept giving him false hope only to break him over and over. My heart broke for him.
I actually think that Chase has been redeemed in this book. I never actually thought that he had feelings or was trying to pursue Peyton. I think he feels genuinely guilty for his actions and is trying to make the effort to be a good friend.
A few things that I didn't love were the lack of communication, some cringy moments (like his nickname for her), the lack of an epilogue (ugh wtf!?), and the fact that they were SO young! I wish they had been slightly older. Also, I think it was quite repetitive. I think that my expectations were very high after Say You Swear.
Tropes: ๐๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ด ๐๐ช๐ณ๐ดt, ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏt, ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐บ, ๐๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ด, ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฃ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ/๐๐ง๐ง-๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ด, ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ'๐ด ๐ง๐ณ๐ช๐ฆnd, ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ, ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ, right person/wrong time
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting