Series: Promise Me #1
Author: Carrie Ann Ryan
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: June 23, 2020
ADD TO GOODREADS

 

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Carrie Ann Ryan comes a sexy new contemporary stand-alone series.

Hazel Noble has survived horrors she wouldn’t inflict on her worst enemy. Since then, she’s healed, found herself, and connected with a group of women she’s proud to call her friends. However, when they make a pact to start looking for love, Hazel finds herself not only up first but also forced to face a past she thought she’d escaped.

Cross Brady has no need for a relationship. As the oldest of five, he’s always been the one his family can rely on. Now, all he wants is to work in peace and live his life. His priorities shift dramatically, though, when Cross finds himself in Hazel’s path.

Though the two initially fight their connection, they soon learn that it’s safer to fall for each other than keep running from what’s holding them back—not to mention, who wants them dead

Hazel and her best friends are making a pact to get back into dating and find the one. Each of them will take her turn, with the others picking the perfect date. Through luck of the draw, Hazel is up first. She has picked up her life and recovered from a controlling, negative situation. Her first date is set with a friend of a friend, a man her friends think will be perfect for her, but at the last minute he cancels leaving her already waiting at the bar alone.

Cross thought he had everything he wanted, with his focus entirely on his business he runs with his best friend. But lately, he’s been noticing some odd things with his friend and he begins to question if their business is everything they had planned it to be. His suspicions are raised when his partner sends him to meet a client in the evening at a bar, rather than a more traditional business setting.

Both Hazel and Cross are at the bar expecting to meet someone, but through a case of initial mistaken identity (and that last minute cancellation), they end up spending the evening together. Things just click as they continue their conversation, but Hazel is still tentative.

The progression between these two was so much fun to watch. Hazel is hesitant. Though she has put herself back together, there is a part of her that is afraid history will repeat if she isn’t careful. As Cross learns more about Hazel, he learns that he will have to tread carefully, but that the patience is worth it. The chemistry between these two is fantastic. I loved the banter and development as they met each other’s friends or family (because those are not smooth transitions in all cases).

There are also a few darker threads rolling in the background as Cross tries to figure out what is going on with his business partner. And on top of that mess, the past Hazel thought was in her past is back, and she’s already put herself back together once, she doesn’t know if she can do it again.

I’ve read parts of the Montgomery series, but haven’t read the Boulder part of the family yet. Even so, the way this series is set up, each book stands alone. I loved getting to meet the women that make up Hazel’s circle and can’t wait for each of their stories to come to light!

CARRIE ANN RYAN
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Carrie Ann Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary, paranormal, and young adult romance. Her works include the Montgomery Ink, Redwood Pack, Fractured Connections, and Elements of Five series, which have sold over 3.0 million books worldwide. She started writing while in graduate school for her advanced degree in chemistry and hasn’t stopped since. Carrie Ann has written over seventy-five novels and novellas with more in the works. When she’s not losing herself in her emotional and action-packed worlds, she’s reading as much as she can while wrangling her clowder of cats who have more followers than she does.