Review: Keeping Promises by C.E. Benson

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Keeping Promises Published by Written in Melanin on July 4, 2019
Genres: African American, Romance
Pages: 207
Format: ARC
Buy on Amazon
three-half-stars

I loved Jason. And he loved me back. That should have been enough. But some promises are just too hard to keep.

Your first love is definitely a memorable one. Whether good or bad, short-lived or long-lasting, there’s usually one hell of a story. It’s no different for Jason and Kamry in Keeping Promises by C.E. Benson.

When we first meet them, it’s been five years since they’d last been in contact yet we know that they are still very much in love. These two had been joined at the hip since second grade and we’re made privy to connection through a series of flashbacks.

I liked the flow of the story as we learned about this couple’s history. The emotional rollercoaster of young love was relatable. One minute you can feel so in love and on the top of the world and then the next minute, it’s like everything crashed and burned. Not saying that this only happens in young teenage relationships but whew! You feel things a lot differently in high school, at least I did! LOL. This was captured nicely in the novel. Towards the end though, I thought there were parts still left to be explored, I’m not sure whether it was intentional or not. I assumed we were building up to a big revealing hash-it-out moment that was never fully realized. It was a bit jarring as it seemed as if we were just about to hit our stride with this couple.

Keeping Promises is a nice tale of young love and possible second chances. This is C.E. Benson’s debut novel and I’ll be on the lookout for future projects.

Author
Recent Posts

Natalya

Natalya is an Account Manager by day and an editor and author's assistant to passionate creatives by night. When she is not adding to her enormous book collection or stationery supply, she is catching up on her favorite television shows.

Natalya is the author of All The Things I Never Said, a soul-stirring collection of short stories, prose and love letters for the soulful wanderers, the brokenhearted and the hopeless romantics.

You can follow her rantings and occasional sparks of brilliance on Twitter @NatalyaMuncuff.