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A review by muffinamy
The Promise You Made by A.J. McDine
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
The book was alright for the most part, though I knew Eloise was the big bad from the introduction. Pretty predictable plot in that regard.
I wish the Theo storyline was more embarked upon. It felt like the author kept forgetting she included that part and had to keep jamming a little bit of plot in there to remind us he’s still in there and still being held hostage, while Rose spent the entire rest of her time without a second thought about the man she has tied up in a bunker. That wound me up a bit. What do you mean you keep forgetting about him? How could he not be at the forefront of ur thoughts 24/7???? U literally kidnapped a man. Also Theo implied that Eloise was crazy and abusive and I wish we could’ve delved into that more. We went through an entire description of Theo being worse than scum bc of what he was doing to Eloise, but when we find out she was lying and actually it was the other way around it was totally glossed over.
Finally, the ending was stupid. I thought Rose was really quite annoying throughout the book with her creepy obsession over her best friend that we were meant to think is cute and nice bc she’s a closeted gay. Her standing and letting Dan die would’ve been way more satisfying if she had an actual reason for wanting him dead (ie he was hitting Juliet ? Or Eloise ?? Him trying to r*pe her seemed like a last minute add in to justify why Rose thought murdering this man was an acceptable thing to do. But idk having an actual reason like Dan hitting Juliet and her letting him die to protect her best friend could’ve explained why she got so super involved about Eloise and Theo, agreeing to literally bury a corpse for a little girl she’s never had any interest in knowing or loving, and why she’s so invested in her helpline charity after so long etc.) rather than ‘oh ur dating my bestie and i fancy her so now ur gona die’. Super immature and unlikeable character moment, which is annoying since we’re meant to root for her.
The worst part about the book was the stupid implication of her murdering her work buddy at the end just bc she doesn’t rly get on with her. Like girl is PSYCHO. I genuinely think if that one ridiculous paragraph was left off the end I would’ve given this book 3 stars. She’s just SO stupid ??? bc Eloise reported that she was involved in her father’s death, standing by while he had an asthma attack. Yeh it was ruled out but it can still be used as evidence ?!? Ur really telling me she hasn’t considered that being involved in yet another standing by and letting someone die from an asthma attack incident isn’t going to raise some red flags ????? Especially since she’s allergic to bird dust of all things, they’re gona catch on honey. And then ur gona go down for both murders and Eloise wins. Good job for doing such a bad job! Moronic. Especially considering I had absolutely no reason at all to dislike Nora and be happy that there’s a potential Rose could bin her off. Girl was just doing her job, u got the promotion, she got grief for being the last person that lassie spoke to before she killed herself, and I think she was mentioned all of 5 times, implied to be the bad guy, then we find out she did nothing wrong ?? Why am I meant to be ok with her being potentially killed ?? Idk I know it was just added for the sake of a final shock value but I don’t get it . I’m for sure on her side, she ain’t do nothing to deserve to die ??? Bad book
I wish the Theo storyline was more embarked upon. It felt like the author kept forgetting she included that part and had to keep jamming a little bit of plot in there to remind us he’s still in there and still being held hostage, while Rose spent the entire rest of her time without a second thought about the man she has tied up in a bunker. That wound me up a bit. What do you mean you keep forgetting about him? How could he not be at the forefront of ur thoughts 24/7???? U literally kidnapped a man. Also Theo implied that Eloise was crazy and abusive and I wish we could’ve delved into that more. We went through an entire description of Theo being worse than scum bc of what he was doing to Eloise, but when we find out she was lying and actually it was the other way around it was totally glossed over.
Finally, the ending was stupid. I thought Rose was really quite annoying throughout the book with her creepy obsession over her best friend that we were meant to think is cute and nice bc she’s a closeted gay. Her
The worst part about the book was the stupid implication of her murdering her work buddy at the end just bc she doesn’t rly get on with her. Like girl is PSYCHO. I genuinely think if that one ridiculous paragraph was left off the end I would’ve given this book 3 stars. She’s just SO stupid ??? bc Eloise reported that she was involved in her father’s death, standing by while he had an asthma attack. Yeh it was ruled out but it can still be used as evidence ?!? Ur really telling me she hasn’t considered that being involved in yet another standing by and letting someone die from an asthma attack incident isn’t going to raise some red flags ????? Especially since she’s allergic to bird dust of all things, they’re gona catch on honey. And then ur gona go down for both murders and Eloise wins. Good job for doing such a bad job! Moronic. Especially considering I had absolutely no reason at all to dislike Nora and be happy that there’s a potential Rose could bin her off. Girl was just doing her job, u got the promotion, she got grief for being the last person that lassie spoke to before she killed herself, and I think she was mentioned all of 5 times, implied to be the bad guy, then we find out she did nothing wrong ?? Why am I meant to be ok with her being potentially killed ?? Idk I know it was just added for the sake of a final shock value but I don’t get it . I’m for sure on her side, she ain’t do nothing to deserve to die ??? Bad book