Review: Promise Me This by Sarah Ashley Jones

Promise Me This by Sarah Ashley Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WARNING: This book is intended for readers 17+ due to strong language and sexual situations.

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?

This was a fantastic debut novel by Sarah Ashley Jones and I'm definitely looking forward to more of her work. When we first meet Charlie she's been sent to California to pack up her brother's belongings to bring back to Tennessee. Cameron wasn't only her brother, but her twin, so the pain of his death is nearly unbearable. Cameron was the independent twin. The twin that left their snooty small town and never looked back. He loved life and lived it to his fullest, regardless of what anyone else said. Charlie was the dutiful twin. She went to the college her parents wanted her to and chose the major that they wanted. She wasn't following her dreams, and Cameron constantly tried to get her to change her ways. To be true to herself, but she always resisted.

One night when visiting a nightclub that Cameron used to frequent, she meets his best friend, Jhett. She's thrown off because her brother never mentioned him, but Jhett makes it clear that he knows all about her and proves that he really did know Jhett. It's uncanny the things that Jhett knows, so it's obvious that Cameron loved to talk about his sister. Jhett and Charlie begin to spend more time together and soon she's agreeing to throw up the middle finger to her parents & everyone in Tennessee and decides to stay in California for the summer.

It's quickly obvious that Jhett and Charlie are burning for each other, and I loved their chemistry! They were so hot for each other and we didn't have to wait long for them to explode with lust. I was so glad that the author didn't take a long time having them dance around each other. Once they were not friends I loved watching their relationship grow. They were literally perfect for each other in every single way. And as a cherry on top, I loved that Charlie was able to be with someone who knew and loved Cameron as much as she did. There is very heartbreaking event that had me sobbing and clutching my Kindle to my chest, but in the end, I was left happy and satisfied.

Charlie was such a great female main character. I was afraid that she was going to be too timid with Jhett and what she wanted, but I couldn't have been more wrong. There must've been something in that California air, because when she wanted something, she went after it until she got it. She stood up for herself when necessary and told it like it is. And I loved every second of it. She's also a pretty damn funny drunk. I wouldn't mind splitting a twelve pack with her.

I've never seen you more beautiful than you are right now. You can do all those things, Charlie. I believe in you.

Sigh. Do you love Jhett already? I know I do!! He was awesome with Charlie, and just downright amazing in general. He pushed her to be herself, to let go of what everyone else wanted and go after what she wants. He's also an incredibly sexy, tatted up, former rocker who loves to cook. Ummm, does it get any better than that?!

All in all, I love Promise Me This. I laughed, I cried, I swooned. I'm going to be Twitter stalking Sarah Ashley Jones until book 2 comes out. And no worries, there isn't really a cliff hanger. As the author says, it's a "hopeful-hanger" and she's not lying.


ARC was kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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