Review: To Buy A Vow by Chencia C. Higgins
To Buy A Vow by Chencia C. Higgins on March 9, 2018
Pages: 197
Format: eBook
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What if we could buy a vow to right our wrongs?
For Nedra Phillips, the strain of portraying a strong Black woman to outsiders is finally taking its toll on her. Her marriage to her college sweetheart has begun to fizzle out, with conversations dwindling down to nothing and intimacy becoming sporadic at best. Unwilling to endure the stigma of being a 30-something divorcee, she does everything in her power to hold onto her marriage, but Chris isn't just on a different page, he's in a whole other book entirely. Despite their disconnect, her vows meant something to her and marriage is supposed to be forever. When all seems lost, she makes a last-ditch effort in hopes of generating results, but what exactly does a Hail Mary look like between friends and lovers?
Jermaine Hawkins is nearing the end of a prominent career playing professional basketball and is ready to put his retirement plan into action. That plan includes many things but most important on the list is putting an end to his status as a hermit and starting a family. A chance encounter with a firecracker of a woman makes him think he's found his capital F. But whether that F is for "future" or "frustrating" is to be determined. Can Jermaine convince Nedra that everything happens for a reason while also getting her to give him a chance at something real?
“I’ve made a career out of rescuing something that has hit a backboard, which is often an event there is no coming back from.”
Who says that your rebound person can’t also be your happily ever after? In To Buy A Vow, Nedra Phillips finds herself blindsided by her husband’s divorce request. After fighting to no avail to save her marriage, she tries to let loose and almost convinces herself she’s done with feelings and won’t fall in love again. Fate has different plans though and Nedra’s new plans involve NBA superstar Jermaine Hawkins.
Hawk, as he is affectionately known, is ready to retire and after years of successfully dodging goal diggers and women who want the spotlight, he’s ready for a family. During All-Star weekend he meets Nedra and knows instantly that she’s the one. Convincing her of that though proves to be quite the challenge. His skills as a rebound leader prove to be quite effective. Nedra might think he’s just a rebound but Hawk knows that she’s the endgame for him.
Hawk won me over pretty quickly. He was a grown ass man who wasn’t into any games and let Nedra know where he stood from the beginning.
To Buy A Vow had a good balance of emotions for me; I felt Nedra’s pain, laughed at (and with) Ashton and wanted to put my foot on Chris’s (the ex-husband) neck multiple times! Anytime an author can get me to feel this way about a book, it’s a winner. I was also fully invested in the secondary characters and am hoping we can hear more from them. Jermaine’s brother, Jeremiah, should have an interesting story and I want to know the real tea on Ashton and Fred.
To Buy A Vow was my first read by Chencia C. Higgins, but it won’t be my last. I will definitely be reading more of her work.
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.
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