The Promise is a sexy second chance, friends to lovers story.
Taylor and Cole were best friends nearly their whole childhoods, clear into high school. They dreamed of becoming famous rockstars and getting out of their small town. And then the day came when they had a big audition lined up, and Cole bailed, leaving Taylor with a shattered heart and the strength to go to the audition on her own. She ended up becoming a huge star and she left their small town and never looked back. Cole has spent the years since Taylor left in a state of numbness, just waiting for her to come back to town so he can claim her, even knowing she'll never come back because he broke her heart. But, when she comes back to town for her stepmother's funeral, he seizes his chance to make her his again.
I liked the premise of The Promise, I just didn't really connect to Cole and Taylor. I had a strange disconnect from them, and didn't care one way or another about them. I found their chemistry sexy, but their characters were pretty boring. Some of the wording was a bit strange, and it took me out of the story. I did end up liking the epilogue, though, and it saves this from a 2 star rating.
I received an ARC for an honest review.