You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by evelyn2015
Promises of Forever by Nicky James
3.0
3.5⭐️ I had a very difficult time with this book and I’m still on the fence as to whether I like it or not.
I found it quite beautiful in its own way, Nicky James is obviously very smart and a good writer, and I certainly appreciated parts of it. But it’s so tragically morose and depressing that I can’t really say I enjoyed myself. It felt like trudging through the swamp of sadness with the characters’ constant thoughts and discussions of the meaninglessness of life, paired with Koa’s intense apathy and mental illness.
I honestly had such a hard time connecting with Koa, but I think that was part of the point of the story. He’s so closed off and emotionally shut down due to his childhood trauma, and yet Jersey and his best friend, Niles, both loved him unconditionally—and there is beauty in that, in being worthy of love when you have absolutely nothing to give and are unable to reciprocate that love.
The romance was so very slow and there was just so much philosophical talk, which made sense since Koa was a philosophy professor, but it felt tedious at times. What kept me reading was the hope that Koa could turn things around and come to love Jersey in his own way, and also wanting to find out what actually happened to him in his past to cause so much debilitating trauma. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite feel satisfied with amount of romance we were given in exchange for all the hardship and sadness we had to slog through. Things didn’t really come together until 95% and I was left wanting more of them together and happy.
I will say, I did love Niles. He wins the award for the most supportive and selfless best friend, and I will definitely read his book.
I found it quite beautiful in its own way, Nicky James is obviously very smart and a good writer, and I certainly appreciated parts of it. But it’s so tragically morose and depressing that I can’t really say I enjoyed myself. It felt like trudging through the swamp of sadness with the characters’ constant thoughts and discussions of the meaninglessness of life, paired with Koa’s intense apathy and mental illness.
I honestly had such a hard time connecting with Koa, but I think that was part of the point of the story. He’s so closed off and emotionally shut down due to his childhood trauma, and yet Jersey and his best friend, Niles, both loved him unconditionally—and there is beauty in that, in being worthy of love when you have absolutely nothing to give and are unable to reciprocate that love.
The romance was so very slow and there was just so much philosophical talk, which made sense since Koa was a philosophy professor, but it felt tedious at times. What kept me reading was the hope that Koa could turn things around and come to love Jersey in his own way, and also wanting to find out what actually happened to him in his past to cause so much debilitating trauma. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite feel satisfied with amount of romance we were given in exchange for all the hardship and sadness we had to slog through. Things didn’t really come together until 95% and I was left wanting more of them together and happy.
I will say, I did love Niles. He wins the award for the most supportive and selfless best friend, and I will definitely read his book.