Promise Me Darkness
Okay, so I see where you guys were going with the “just stick with it, it totally changes” thing. I was reading along, and even put it down for a week, ’cause I wasn’t seeing anything different yet. I wasn’t “hooked”. I was almost at 30% and it just wasn’t different enough for me to get excited to the point of not putting it down. But so many LOVED it, so I was curious (and excited).
Good girl crushing on bad boy best friend. Bad boy friend is a total player and she “thinks” he sees her as his sister while it’s so obvious he’s bein’ all “MINE” over her. She has a “nice boy” boyfriend on the outside, who’s pretty “twisted” on the inside. Bad boy best friend defends her… bad decisions, he wants her, he doesn’t want her… you get the picture.
“… if we tried to make this work, I would just screw it up like I do everything else. Everything I touch turns to crap, Maddie. I can’t let that happen to us. No matter how much I want you, I’m not willing to lose you.”
And in theory, while I usually love the whole “bad boy is best friends with the good girl” college angst, I wasn’t sure I was in the mood for this theme, yet again. Unless something… anything… changed it up for me. Sometimes it’s simply in the writing. There’s just *something* about the author’s voice, or the character’s personal introspection and character interactions, that captures me. A raw honesty to it that I live with them. Even if I think I already know where it’s going, even if it has similar characteristics, I can still latch on and not let go. I can still love it, even if in theory, it’s similar to... (insert favorite book name here).
Or maybe, I have to space ’em out to really appreciate them. Yep. It’s possible I’ve been gulping down too many of these, lately. Apparently, too much of a sweet thing and/or guilty pleasure… gives me a stomach ache. I love chocolate. I love cupcakes (mmmmm … great. Now I want a cupcake so bad!!). 😉 I love bad boys. But too many in a row makes me cranky. Maybe I just wanted something completely different. Wholesome and deep to give me that “whole package” feel? Dystopian and dread to make me scared and ponder the what ifs…? But I still want the romance within all of that.
And that’s where, at 30% of this book, that comes in.
Janet: I just got through reading Promise Me Darkness by Paige Weaver and I wanted to share with you how AMAZING it was. Starts off similar to other plots we’ve read before, boy and girl are best friends and have feelings for each other but don’t want to ruin the friendship, yada yada. But then about 25% percent in there’s a major change in the direction of the book (I don’t want to say too much). The hero in the book is Ryder and talk about alpha male, major HOTNESS. If you have it on your TBR list I highly recommend that you move it up, I think you will love it.
Maryse: Cooooool!!! I know some were iffy about the start but am definitely interested in the plot change. Thanks Janet!!
Jen: That book really went places I wasn’t expecting and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Julie: Maryse, You are going to love Promise Me Darkness.
Andrea: I loved it…it was definitely out of the norm, but it pulled me in and hooked me
Barbara: PROMISE ME DARKNESS OMG I LOVED THAT BOOK CAN’T WAIT FOR BOOK 2.
I liked where it went. I liked the risk it took and the total switcheroo ’cause I was scared, curious and read it with interest.
“Go home, kids. Lock your doors and don’t leave. Something’s happening and it’s not good. Not good at all.”
An ominous warning that had my attention.
The dire circumstances were there. The painful detail of the immediate “aftermath” … where nobody really knew what was going on but it was obvious this was the start to something big… yep. It was there. Their lives were forever changed, in a bad way. Survival of the fittest and the need to adapt to social change (or more like societal collapse) was a must.
My mind went numb. This seemed too surreal, like something out of a sci-fi movie.
And I would have likely loved this book, if that was the focus. The romance too, YES (I must have the love!), but I think I would have appreciated it more with an almost “deeper” approach. A more mature feel to the theme that this book took on. Because what a huge subject matter it was, and the opportunities to explore it (and the issues to be faced) were taken, but I almost felt as if the “new adult angst” feel of the main characters was interfering with the depth potential.
This was not the time to play games, and while “new adult” insecurities aren’t just going to disappear in times of social anguish (of course I realize that crushes, and the need to connect will still be there, along with the fear of those feelings not being reciprocated), these characters took their mind-games too far, for me to truly connect to them. There was an obviousness to their feelings for one another (nobody needed to guess, here) and yet they still insisted the other didn’t… well. I’ll stop there. Let’s just say he was just a little too hot and cold, for me and she kept convincing herself that… okay, right. I’ll stop here. 😉
So there you have it. College student angst with a terrifying twist. And no worries. No spoilers here, ’cause at this point… ANYTHING could happen. Yes, you guessed it. Major cliffhanger.
Still though, it was a good twist at 30%, and it certainly kept me reading until the very end, once “that” kicked in.
P.S. THIS BOOK IS STEAMY!!!! I can’t put my finger on why this one seemed steamier than some, but there was a definite sizzle to some of the scenes. Affecting. Yes. 😉 *waggles eyebrows*
3.5 stars
Thank you for the review. I liked the book overall(minus the cliffhanger -as usual) but did have some mixed feelings that I agreed with on your review:). Happy Mother’s Day and hope you get in some reading time:)
I was waiting for your review on this to see if anyone would agree with me that this was 3-3.5. Now I know I am not crazy. Thanks Maryse.
Ok, Ok, Ok, I can see your point! 🙂 I think I was in a total book funk when I read this and was so enamored with the twist and the “different” vibe to it that I was blinded from the shallowness to the book. I am still very glad I read it and will read the next. But going back, you are exactly right.
Is it just me or is anyone else in a SEVERE BOOK LULL. I need some mega help, because nothing is tickling my fancy these day. <—that sounded bad. 😉
Hehe… You said tickling. 😉
I’m experiencing it, too. Reading good books but I can’t wait to find that one or those few that I can’t stop thinking about and I feel, deep in my stomach.
Oh and that twist was quite refreshing. Horrendously scary to think about, but it kept me reading!
Well I’m following your lead. I’m sure I’ll know when you find the next one that tickles! Looking forward to it!!
I completely agree with you! I have this book the same rating for exactly the same reasons. And I see so many great reviews, but I just wasn’t “feeling it.” Thank you for making me feel like I haven’t lost my mind.. Anyway, I do agree that the chemistry/sex was great!
The cliffhanger was not as bad as it could have been, but I did feel like I read half a book. And that’s never good. Thanks so much for the review and Happy Reading!
I loved this book. I read your review last night and was sucked in by the normal best friend scenario (my fave). Went to bed at 2 and woke up at 7…my fiance even asked me if I had gone to sleep at all. Beautiful Disaster has left me ruined for all other books and this is the closest I’ve gotten so far. You said you’ve been reading a lot of this type lately…could you recommend a few that have that similar best friend theme? That always sucks me in.