Promise Me This by Sarah Ashley Jones
Cover Design by Okay Creations.
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Synopsis:
Welcome to the South - where the tea is sweet and the accents are sweeter. This Southern way of life is all Charlie has ever known. It’s not until she loses the only person who pushed her to break free of the Southern Belle mold that she starts living the life she needs and not the life her parents forced on her.
Jhett has lived on the edge for as long as he could remember - constantly teetering back and forth between being a rock star and living a normal life. His rebellious and sometimes arrogant attitude is known to get him into trouble, especially with the girls who hang on his every move.
Charlie never thought that a trip to pack up her brother’s apartment would leave her feeling even more unsettled about the grainy details of her brother’s death. Her quest for information leads her straight to his old hangout and into arms of Jhett, who suspiciously knows more about her situation than he ever should.
Only a few questions remain - Can you trust someone based on their word alone? And if you make a promise, how far will you go to keep it?
My Review
5 of 5 Promise Me This
Lately I have had a great streak with reading some awesome books and this is just another one that I read. I have to say that right from the beginning I was hooked because I grew up between the north and the south really North Carolina and boy oh boy what a difference. I mean all year up here in the North where people don't say yes ma'am no ma'am yes sir no sir was a struggle because I would spend the entire summer down in North Carolina and it was shell shock the first week then I got into the swing of things. So when I started reading Promise Me This I was right at home.
Charlie and her brother Cameron are close sometimes closer than normal siblings because Charlie tells Cam everything and they even share some dreams together. Charlie is living the southern belle life going to Vanderbilt college and doing everything her parents say. She is sad when her brother Cam decides to move to California for some fun in the sun and the waves. But she visits him and they hang out and things are like the used to be. That is until one day they get the call that Cam is dead.
For Charlie her world is turned upside down and she is grieving hard. For her mother though she wants Charlie to do everything for her because she tells Charlie that Charlie knew what her brother liked and didn't. So hurting and alone Charlie returns to California to empty her brothers apartment and try and move on. But once she gets there she gets to see things differently and she wants answers and that leads her right into the arms of Jhett. Jhett knows more about Cam's death than he is letting on but one thing is clear he is starting to have feelings for Charlie. But will the secrets he holds end them even before they have begun? Will Charlie open up to Jhett and let him in? Will she find the answers she seeks?
EXCERPT #1
Music began to trickle through the backyard. Hannah found the outside stereo system and led me out into the grass. The backyard was strung with white lights that draped above us, which illuminated the trees that grew in the corners of the yard. Jhett watched from the porch while Hannah and I jumped around to the beats on the radio. I was fixated on him while I danced; he always seemed to draw me in, no matter how far apart we were.
“Thank you,” I mouthed to him. I knew Ginger wasn’t the only reason why Hannah had come.
“You love him, don’t you?” she whispered in my ear as our bodies still swayed in time to the beat.
Hannah’s question caused a fire to rise through my toes and up into my chest. I never thought about what loving Jhett would be like. I only knew that I didn’t want to find out what life was like without him.
“I knew it!” she accused me. My response was a short, knowing smile and nod in her direction. “He loves you, too, you know.”
I turned to Hannah and searched her eyes; I wanted to find the truth to her theory. There was a longing in them that told me she was envious, which made me wonder - was she right?
Goodreads:
EXCERPT #2
The faint sound of laughter drifted over me and I stretched my leg up and over Jhett’s. Reflexively, he wrapped me tighter in his arms, tucking me closer into him. I wasn’t ready to get up and have last night officially come to an end.
The laughter returned, only this time, it sounded as if it were right next to us. In an attempt to shield my eyes from the sun, I rolled over onto my elbow, using my other hand to block out the light. I saw two pairs of tiny, sandy feet before I looked up and took in the giggling little girls staring down at us.
“Holy Hell, Jhett! Wake up!” I flipped around, completely ignoring the girls. I clutched the top of my dress to my chest and tried to quickly tie the back into a messy knot before turning my attention to Jhett, shaking him in a panic. Jhett shot up like a bat out of hell, blinking the sleep from his eyes and startling the two girls, causing them to run away in a continued fit of laughter. What a show we must put on.
About The Author:
Sarah Ashley Jones was raised in San Diego, California, but currently wrangles her husband and four dogs in Clarksville, Tennessee. When she's not writing she works in a pottery studio and comes home covered in paint on a daily basis. She has a slightly unhealthy obsession with cupcakes and chapstick. She is an eternal optimist and can often be found dancing and singing to music at any given time. It's rare to see her not smiling or laughing, but if you do, just bring her a cupcake and it will cheer her up.
Promise Me This is her first novel and is a story that weaseled its way into her heart and wouldn't leave her alone until she typed it up on the computer. She already is hard at work on ideas for her next book and hopes that the
characters never stop coming to her. Her huge imagination was always in overdrive as a child and now she is beyond excited to put it to good use as an adult. She plans to write as long as she has stories that need to be told.
FIND ME ON
EXCERPT #3
“Oh my goodness, Jhett! What happened? Are you okay?” Her voice was ragged with worry as her hands inspected my knee; she tried her best to get a handle on the situation. The concern she showed for me started to border on panic, which almost made me feel bad about what I had done.
With one fast sweep of my arms I laid Charlie flat on her back again, this time right on the kitchen floor. Her moans of frustration only fueled my desire for her. “Hey, remember - I don’t get even, I get ahead,” I smirked as she crossed her arms in a last ditch attempt to try and get out of losing.
Her shoulders dropped in defeat. “Fiiiiine,” she sighed. I knew that I had her right where I wanted her. I sat back on my heels and waited for her to admit that I won.
Without warning, Charlie turned the tables and threw all her body weight against me as I tumbled backwards. It was her turn to straddle me; her bare legs falling on each side of my torso while her hands held my wrists against the cold floor, just as I did to her earlier. Her golden locks were a wavy mess; her braid never stood a chance. But there was a new fire burning behind her eyes that I never saw before. She enjoyed the sudden shift in dominance. In her eyes, she won our little game.
“Say it,” she demanded, only inches away from my face. “Say ‘Charlie’s the Queen’.” She was challenging me. I should have known to stop underestimating her. She never ceased to amaze me.
“You’re my Queen, Charlie,” I told her, my voice just above a whisper. It was worth it to give up;; it wasn’t often I got her riled up like this.
YOU CAN FIND PROMISE ME THIS ON
AMAZON | NOOK | GOODREADS
EXCERPT #4
Panic quickly spread throughout my body. Someone was in the house. It was my worst nightmare. Frantically, I searched the kitchen for the closest sharp object, producing a butcher knife from the block on the counter. I held my breath as I crept on my tiptoes down the hall.
Another boom caught me off guard. It came from ‘my’
room. I hadn’t spent much time in there since I moved in, because things with Jhett escalated pretty quickly. I reached for the doorknob with one hand and raised the knife above my head with the other. Squeezing my eyes shut with hope that I could figure out how to defend myself, I flung the door open with my shoulder.
“DON’T MOVE! I HAVE A KNIFE!” I shouted into the dim room. My adrenaline spiked so high, I could have been one of those people who tossed cars around with one hand. I scanned the room furiously before my eyes landed on a small, shadowy frame in the corner.
“Seriously? That’s what you would do if someone broke in? ‘Don’t move. I have a knife.’” Laughter spilled out from the mocking figure that stood in front of me. I was so scared and confused that it was difficult to focus. I just stood there stupidly with my mouth to the floor. “Okay, let’s just put this knife away before you hurt someone, Rambo.”
Thank you so much for being a part of my tour today and the lovely review. I so enjoy hearing that other's loved it as much I enjoyed writing it. <3
ReplyDeleteSuch an amazing review and great post! Thank you so much for being a part of the blog tour!
ReplyDeleteI loved the excerpts. I liked your review too, thanks for sharing this book.
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