Accepted Wisdom: Short Story Weekly #10- Stealing Promises by Brina Courtney

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Accepted Readers,

I signed up to be a tour host for Stealing Promises but held off on my review... so I'm here today to finally share my review and explain why I posted it after the tour.

If you want to see my full tour post, including an interview with Brina Courtney and exclusive teasers just click here.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Stealing Promises

Author: Brina Courtney

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance
Published: December 19th, 2013
# of Pages: 144
Buy Links: *Located below*

Promises are made to be kept, never stolen. But that’s exactly what happened to Victoria Blane and Levi Manor. Tragedy strikes their perfect relationship leaving Victoria struggling to overcome the darkness that threatens to bury her.

With Victoria’s life in tatters she decides that running away is easier than dealing with her troubles. But when a friend finds her on the floor in her kitchen, she knows it’s time for a change.

Brighton Hanley knows what it’s like to lose someone. He knows what it’s like to be haunted by things that can never change. When he meets Victoria he recognizes the pain she’s trying to bury deep in her eyes. He knows she’s trying to run away, but he also knows that you can’t run forever.

Victoria is drawn to Brighton in ways she never expected. He becomes her champion, her life line… her sunshine in the darkness. But is Victoria ready to let go of the past and grab on to her future? Or will she run away from Brighton before she can be hurt again?

MY REVIEW

The Reason for the delay posting:

I waited to post my review because while I enjoyed Stealing Promises, I didn't quite love it. I don't like to post reviews with mediocre ratings when I'm part of a tour because they are meant to promote the book positivity. I guess it comes down to a matter of respect in my opinion.

Writing Style:

Brina Courtney's writing is articulated well but vague at times. I feel the storyline progressed too quickly and lacked substance. The plot was far too predictable; it needed something unique to make it stand out from other books dealing in the same subject manner. The character development was quite good, possibly the best aspect of the writing.

My Opinion:

I felt like I've heard this story before. It's a classic tale of how to deal with the devastating loss of a loved one. Everything starts off too good to be true and falls apart all at once after the death. Stealing Promises had the potential to be outstanding, but due to the lack of details and originality it became rather boring at times.

What I enjoyed most about this book was the characters. Each stood apart from one another, each unique in their own way. I especially have a soft spot in my heart for Victoria. Her reaction to losing Levi was hard to digest and extremely believable. Her emotions were expressed beautifully. I just wish we could have seen more effort put into other aspects of the story in the same manner as the character's emotions... this book would have been AMAZING!

Overall, Stealing Promises was an okay and quick read. I say give it a chance, never judge a book by it's cover or just one mediocre review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brina Courtney is a young adult author obsessed with chocolate, crime shows, and fantasy movies. She's spent the last few years as an elementary teacher and a high school cheering coach. She lives in a small town in Pennsylvania with her husband and two very loud, small dogs.

Author Links:
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