The Worst Kind of Promise

Riverside Reapers #2

by Celeste Briars

One summer. One forbidden romance. One secret to destroy them completely.

When Faye Hollings finds herself stranded at a gas station, the first person she thinks to call is the man she’s been secretly in love with for two years. The only problem? Kit Langley is one of her brother’s best friends, and completely off limits. After a traumatic encounter that has her fleeing to California, Faye finds herself in a whirlwind summer romance that tests boundaries, pool water, and how far their desires for one another stretch beneath beating hearts.

Star left defenseman and self-proclaimed ladies’ man, Kit Langley, isn’t fazed by much. But when he gets that life-changing call from his teammate’s little sister, and the one girl he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about, his whole world tilts on its axis. Kit juggles between staying loyal to his best friend, keeping an earth-shattering secret, and indulging in his own fantasies that involve a certain freckled brunette.

Faye and Kit have two months to figure out where they stand in each other’s lives. When summer starts to fade, so does the possibility of this budding relationship. With the clock counting down and their friends growing more suspicious, the two will have to decide whether to come clean or continue living a devastating lie.

Will loyalties remain unsevered, or will love blossom between two star-crossed lovers?

The Worst Kind of Promise is a hilarious summer romance featuring a lovesick hockey player, forbidden love, spice hot enough to make you question your religious values, and a not-so-foolproof scheme. It’s the second book in a series, but can be read as a standalone.

The Worst Kind of Promise is a brother's best friend, mutual pining, one bed, forced proximity, forbidden love, summer romance with no cheating, no third-act breakup, and a satisfying happily ever after.

Genres: Romance, Hockey, Sports Romance, Sports, Hockey Romance, Brothers Best Friend, Forced Proximity

364 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 19, 2023

About the author

Celeste Briars is an indie author who specializes in spicy hockey romances. She’s a UC Davis alumnus with a bachelor’s in psychology. She loves creating memorable meet-cutes and happily ever afters. When she’s not writing, you can find her binge-watching horror movies, playing with her cats, or dancing the night away with her friends. If you’re looking for books with spice hot enough to question your religious values and feel-good moments that make your heart sing, please cuddle up with a Reapers novel and stay a while!

You can keep in touch through Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/celestebria...) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@celestebriars...).

Reviews

[jaelyn]

hated the ending

[lei ❀]

⭐️⭐️ | this was actually quite terrible i’m ngl. these people are supposed to be adults but act like immature 16 year olds. the mmc’s hot and cold feelings for the fmc over a stupid comment from her brother was uncalled for. also what’s with this author and “painting tonsils with cum” bc i can’t take that seriously at all. i’m genuinely scared this and the first book might be putting me in a slump.

[melina :)]

i rly thought this was going to be better from all the prompt tiktoks i saw but i felt like they were rushed and not carried out that well... i didn't enjoy this book and the ending? no no no no no.

i had such high hopes but yea i guess that didn't work out 😭

[julia :)]

it was so bad, I want to give you a zero, but that's not possible, so I give you a one.

[eva (Taylor's version)]

don't even ask me why I read it

[Hannah]

Lacked depth. Started way too quickly. Characters were rushed.

[Milly Neve]

He annotated a book for her🥹. That’s it. That’s all I need to say.

[sage ౨ৎ]

3.75 <3

[Lua]

I waited for this book after seeing it on reels, and I am just so dissapointed to find out that the whole book is spead through. You don't get to saviour any moments because everything goes by too quickly. There is no longing, no connection that made me feel the need to continue reading. It felt as if three books where written to fit into the structure of one.

The MC talks about a very traumatic thing that happened to her and we dont get to see her overcome that. It was as if nothing happened because the love interest is introduced so harshly. Its too forced, sadly, becuase the concpet is incredible.

Maybe a less experienced reader will like this pace, but as someone who likes to read different genres, it isn't for me.

[nikkyireads]

Kit is Fayes brothers' best friend - and off-limits. She's had a crush on him since she met him. Kit feels the same way about Faye but has never acted on it. When Faye calls Kit for help, he jumps to help her. After learning her secret, he convinces her to spend the summer with him and her brother. But the push and pull the two share are undeniable, and they can't seem to stay away from one another.

This is book two of the Riverside Reapers series, but it can be read as a standalone. It is spicy and full of angst! Definitely check TW first. I liked the "secret" relationship and the "who hurt you" attitude Kit had. Some parts felt a little over the top and descriptive, but it's easy to look past. I enjoyed the groveling Kit had to endure, and I especially loved the ending even though it kind of leaves us hanging. 🙃 I'll definitely continue the series!

Tropes:
🏒 Forbidden
🏒 Brothers Best Friend
🏒 Secret Relationship
🏒 Hockey Romance
🏒 One Bed
🏒 No 3rd Act Breakup
🏒 Past Trauma
🏒 HE ANNOTATES A HOCKEY ROMANCE FOR HER 🥹
🏒 🌶🌶🌶

𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒉𝒆'𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆.

𝑰 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝑭𝒂𝒚𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆. 𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆'𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔, 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆'𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆'𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅. 𝑰 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒉𝒆𝒓.

[Cait]

What the heck was that ending?!

[꧁ღKaelaღ꧂]

"I’ve never felt more at peace than when
she’s in my arms. She’s my sun, and I’m the idiot orbiting around her"-Kit Langley

[Sam]

I should really stop reading this woman's books, all she does is disappoint me

[Heaven]

I am devastated that I didn't like this book. This book starts way too fast and ended up delivering no emotional payoff. I didn't know anything about these two characters so I ended up not caring about the "I can't date you because of you’re my brothers best-friend" or the "I can't date you because I'm a fuck boy" plot points.

For the amount of plot lines in this book, not even one interested me. Everything felt overwritten for nothing to happen. Conflict was introduced then it was gone 10 pages later, then a conflict was introduced for it to be gone 10 pages later. It felt like the conflicts were used to be able to write flowery quotes that would be marketable on social media but felt very jarring in book. It relied on telling us what every character was feeling rather than showing us. Dual POV can be great to give us complex inner dialogue but shouldn’t be used to replace shown emotion during a conflict. When the main characters are fighting, I want to be able to tell he is having conflicting emotions or is hurting we shouldn’t need a POV change to give it to us.

The overwritten nature of everything also translated into the sex scenes. Nothing turns me off more than the words "squelch" and "flaps" being used to describe a sex scene. The dirty talk was also so forced and out of place. Nothing in Kits character made his dirty talk feel authentic or hot. After the first scene I had to skim the rest because it wasn't even remotely enjoyable.

TW: SA mentioned in this paragraph.
Not even 10 hours after finding out she has PTSD related to being SAed he kisses her without asking. Yes, it didn't cause any harm to her, but I feel like it would be a perfect time for him to ask consent and allows us to see that the relationship is built off mutual respect and consent.

Don't get me started on the ending because it was a mess. It felt like robots were trying to act human. The book was telling us these strong emotions were being felt but it felt so forced. We are reading about how people are crying, and it isn’t translating into me feeling any emotions. Then the last few sentences had this big reveal that was so out of place. It was just another piece of added on plot that had no business being in the book other than to be shocking.

Edit: it seems like the ending was changed since I read it, so the comments on the ending may no longer hold true. I don't think the conflict was changed just the last page or two to get rid of the accidental pregnancy.

[Diana]

I'm charmed, I was bored. And I also noticed a scene that takes me back to another book and author.
The penalty box scene and her getting pregnant after it is a literal rip off from Sin-Bin by Anastasija White.
It's bad.

[nadareads]

Brother's best friend trop has never disappointed me 🤷‍♀️🤌🏻

[Kirsten | Bookish.kir]

Unfortunate DNF for me at 46%

[Hope Eden]

This was very cute, I do prefer the first book but I did still really enjoy this one

Again the terminology for body anatomy in the spicy scenes really puts me off

[•.~*Izzy*~.•]

okay yeah no i cant do this. maybe its the writing style or the plot choices but i just dont think its for me and i’d just be forcing myself to get through this book

[melissa ⋆˙⟡♡]

3.25 🌟

the sex was hot, banter was great, loved the couple but my god was the conflict exhausting. especially the initial party conflict. that hurt my damn head it was so foolish. very fun tho!! but i wanted an extra epilogue with kit's reaction to something iykyk (i read the original 1st edition that had a different ending so i get why i didn't get the extended epilogue i wanted but i'm still saltty about it)

[Abby McDougall]

i really liked this at first l, but it just went downhill v fast and it was rushed and this man’s name is kit which i just think about american girl dolls and i can’t handle while hes trying to riz a girl up

[soph watkins]

2.5 ⭐️
Wtf was that ending?!?!?

[Jaimie Carson]

Slay I guess

[Ethan Wilt]

In the name of transparency, I have been guilt tripped into displaying my reading list of the year. ABSOLUTELY NO JUDGMENT.

[Melissa]

4.75 stars

This was such a cute, spicy story. It follows Hayes younger sister Faye and Hayes best friend Kit. This story can be read as a standalone. You don't need to read The Best Kind of Forever before this one, but I highly recommend it!

Tropes include: friends to lovers, forbidden romance, hockey romance, force proximity, and brother's best friend.

Please make sure to check content warning before reading.

Faye goes through a horrible incident that leaves her stranded in the middle of nowhere. The incident triggers some past trauma so she calls Kit to come and get her. Kit suggests she stay with him over the summer while she is on break so she won't have to deal with everything by herself. It's a perfect opportunity for them to get to know eachother better.

I adored Faye. In some ways she was very similar to me. A book lover, romantic at heart and an overthinker. She was very relatable. I loved how she didn't let her past trauma define her as a person. I loved how she slowly became more confident in herself as the story progressed.

I loved Kit. He was charming, the jealous type and possessive. He wasn't what I expected at all. He surprised me in the best way. Some of his decisions I didn't like, but when it came to Faye I loved how he showed up for her. I loved how he wanted to learn everything about her. Her likes and dislikes. My favorite moment was when he gave her a book he annotated for her. It was so sweet. I loved seeing his caring and loving side. I thought Kit and Faye were perfect for eachother. I had so many fave scenes of them together. They were so cute! Plus the spice was so good. I loved Kit and Faye's love story. Highly recommend!

Release Date: Oct. 19, 2023

Thank you to the author for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Caitlin ♡]

This was a great read with some of my favourite tropes! had a great balance of sweet, spicy and funny moments.

There was a LOT of back and forth drama between the characters, which wasn’t my fave but I did really enjoy them together when they were happy😅 Faye was such a strong character and also very relatable. She didn’t let her past trauma define her and I loved seeing her slowly gain more confidence as the story went on. Kit wasn’t what I expected—in a good way. This man made me swoon! I mean he annotated a book for her…where can I find a man like this?! He was just so sweet and caring <3

I do feel like the ending left us hanging a little and I wish there was an epilogue to really wrap things up properly.

[Inês Costa]

3,5 ⭐️ or 3,25 ⭐️ not sure yet

[Carina Chilcott]

Got bored..

[Diana]

Felt like a chore to finish this I was pretty bored. In theory it shoulda had me kicking my feet giggling sliding down the wall but she did a bad job of selling bro to me. There were a bunch of cute moments like him annotating a book for her but the execution suuucked and also again not really impressed w male lead. ALSO btw the correct response to ur sister admitting she was raped is NOT to walk out of the room and ignore her for days.

[lo]

trigger warning for rape

i’m not gonna lie this was a very disappointing read for me. i wanted it to be a fun lil brothers-best-friend romance with some hidden relationship elements sprinkled in but instead was gifted an mmc with an underlying personality disorder, an overly-forgiving fmc, and absolutely RIDICULOUS plotlines. the arc of the main relationship was so tumultuous that by the end i was actually rooting against them (mainly against him). the initial romance happened very shortly after the onset of the book, and then is immediately broken off with the sentiment “noooo we cant do this to hayes (the brother/best friend)” but my thing is… you already did??? do that to hayes??? like at this point in the book you’ve already made out and shared a bed and its like page 50 you might as well keep it going. and then they get to la and theres this whole thing where they start fooling around again but then kit breaks it off with the fmc bc he’s not “good enough for her” but instead of being honest about his fears and insecurities he masks it as just “wanting a warm body to sleep with” which was actually disgusting and personally i found was forgiven WAY too easily (after like two chapters of measly apologies). then after that dilemma they’re on a lil romantic date on a boat where kit expresses his desire to be serious and be loyal and do long distance yadda yadda yadda and all of a sudden he sees his hockey buddies on an adjacent boat. you might think oh! what a lovely moment to expose their budding relationship to the people closest to him! nope. he PUSHES HER OFF OF THE BOAT. and then its just… never brought up again??? like hello this is the moment where you’re professing how you want to be serious and love her out loud but then the first semblance of public view comes out and you literally chuck her into the ocean like a crumpled up coke can. and this is like one chapter after they made up earlier. and then while out in public they see her rapist who is the main cause of internal conflict within the fmc as she deals with her trauma from that and she tells kit that she just wants to leave it in the past and let bygones be bygones or whatevs. he GOES BEHIND HER BACK, TRACKS HIM DOWN, AND BEATS HIM UP AND THEN GETS SURPRISED WHEN SHES UPSET??? absolute AUDACITY. and then theres this whole odd scenario where the brother finds out both about the relationship and his sisters rape and he gets incredibly mad that she hid her …. own…. rape…. from him??? he goes on this whole lil guilt trippy rant asking if hes like not there for her enough or something and honestly by this point i was TIRED. everytime the mmc does something slightly good (burnt breakfast in bed, e.g.) its overshadowed by the 5 horrid things he did earlier. instead of following the normal “plot rollercoaster” that most stories do where theres the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and then resolution; this plot feels more akin to a “plot euthanasia rollercoaster” in the sense that i literally could not take a breath. honestly gave me heart palpitations and not in a good way. overall just too much focus on the conflict and not enough focus on the resolution, i really cant say i wanted them together because honestly i think she deserves better. also side note; the names of the brother and sister are HAYES and FAYE (slant rhyme anyone?) which felt a little silly and easily avoidable and/or explainable if the author was truly set on keeping it.