Pain isn’t new to me.
I’ve been to hell only to find it never really leaves when you get back. It haunts me through nightmares, unrequited love, lies, broken hearts, and now death.
A monster almost took my life.My best friend carries half my soul a world away. My boyfriend broke my heart but refuses to let me go. And my father is dead.
I don’t believe in fate and I don’t believe in happily-ever-afters, but for some reason, I still hope.
Live, even with a tainted spirit.Long for my other half to come back to me. Risk another broken heart, just to feel loved again. And refuse to let another horror break me.
In the face of my most recent tragedy, I have to decide whether forgiveness is something I can give. But even if that’s an option, can I be forgiven?
Debut novel.
This is a debut novel.
I’ve said those words to myself at least fifteen times. I’ve tried to convince myself of each syllable every time they’ve passed my lips.
I still don’t believe them.
This book reads like it’s been penned by a seasoned author, someone who has worked years to perfect their craft. We’re talking novels worth of words. Victoria Klahr is a writer, and if you don’t know who she is, you should. You will. I’m making sure of that.
If you’re like me, angsty books are like crack or coffee or maybe Pringles. The ache in your chest. The beat of your heart as it cracks and splinters. Pleading with the characters as they make choice after choice that make you want to inflict bodily harm. (I may nor may not have threatened to remove baby making appendages.) The yearning for resolution…
The feels. All. The. Feels. That's what makes a book for me.
Life isn’t meant to be easy. It’s about the choices we make to shape us – about making our own happiness.
So I choose to live and move on… That’s a fucking promise.
That’s what That’s a Promise is. It’s one giant ball of angsty love triangle goodness.
Josie is in love with Seth, but trying not to be. She meets Blake, and he fills a void. He soothes an ache. He does his best to fit the Seth sized hole in her heart. And for the most part, he does. Kind of. When you’ve been through the things Josie has – with Seth by her side – putting her trust, her heart, in the hands of another man is scary, to say the least.
Lies are told.
People are hurt.
Lives are torn apart.
Then stitched back together before ultimately being torn apart again.
That’s a Promise is raw. It’s hard. It hurts. But most of all, it’s real. The author doesn’t wrap this love story in flowers and tie it with a bow. She leaves us hanging and wanting and longing for more, flip flopping between the past and the present. It’s poetic almost.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that Josie was raised by two men. She’s the product of two very loving, very gay men. I myself am the daughter of a gay man and fell in love with Victoria a little harder because of the way she portrayed the love between not only father and daughter, but father and father. She showed us just how capable two men are of loving a child, helping her grow, and allowing her to feel her way through life.
If you haven’t already read Victoria’s work, I implore you to pick this book up. Spend a few dollars to see life through Josie’s eyes.
1 comment
Wow... you're like the BEST reviewer I've ever had the privilege to read from.This book sounds AWESOME! I heard it was FREE too! Crazy Sauce!
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