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A review by perusing_pages
Promises of Forever by Nicky James
2.0
I'm so conflicted about how to rate this book, I've sat with it for a day since finishing it, and these are the conclusions I've come to...
I knew from reading the synopsis that this was meant to be a high angst read, and I wanted that, I wanted to be all in my feels, but this didn't deliver angst it delivered depression. Koa's character just bummed me out in all honesty, I wanted to go on a journey that took me through the pain and anguish the character/characters experience but I also wanted to experience at least some of their healing journey too but Koa doesn't deliver that.
This childhood friends to strangers to lovers story should have been right up my alley with both MMCs having gone through things in their pasts but eventually coming together to heal etc but Koa's walls are built so high and his views on life, love & relationships so pessimistic that without getting the detailed background into WHY he is the way he is till the last couple of chapters of the book I didn't connect with or understand him the way the author intended & Jersey our other MMC wasn't much better as he felt distanced as a character too.
However I do feel that Koa's character is a good representation of apathy and mental trauma/illness as he is so tragically morose, but without that context of why instead of being emotionally impactful it just felt draining to read. Jersey & Niles showing Koa unconditional support and love throughout was beautiful as it demonstrated that even if you are incapable of showing it to others, you are still worthy of love yourself. The romance in this was slow but because of the above I struggled to connect with this aspect of the story too, Koa was too closed off for too long with Jersey so them coming together towards the end felt clunky and rushed to me. Overall, I'm left conflicted about this book & it's characters and I wish i could articulate why better, but 🤷♀️. This was my first book by this author and I will definitely try more of her work to see if this just wasn't the particular book for me or of it's the writing style in general I don't vibe with.
I knew from reading the synopsis that this was meant to be a high angst read, and I wanted that, I wanted to be all in my feels, but this didn't deliver angst it delivered depression. Koa's character just bummed me out in all honesty, I wanted to go on a journey that took me through the pain and anguish the character/characters experience but I also wanted to experience at least some of their healing journey too but Koa doesn't deliver that.
This childhood friends to strangers to lovers story should have been right up my alley with both MMCs having gone through things in their pasts but eventually coming together to heal etc but Koa's walls are built so high and his views on life, love & relationships so pessimistic that without getting the detailed background into WHY he is the way he is till the last couple of chapters of the book I didn't connect with or understand him the way the author intended & Jersey our other MMC wasn't much better as he felt distanced as a character too.
However I do feel that Koa's character is a good representation of apathy and mental trauma/illness as he is so tragically morose, but without that context of why instead of being emotionally impactful it just felt draining to read. Jersey & Niles showing Koa unconditional support and love throughout was beautiful as it demonstrated that even if you are incapable of showing it to others, you are still worthy of love yourself. The romance in this was slow but because of the above I struggled to connect with this aspect of the story too, Koa was too closed off for too long with Jersey so them coming together towards the end felt clunky and rushed to me. Overall, I'm left conflicted about this book & it's characters and I wish i could articulate why better, but 🤷♀️. This was my first book by this author and I will definitely try more of her work to see if this just wasn't the particular book for me or of it's the writing style in general I don't vibe with.