Promise Me Always by A.L. Jackson Book Review

Promise Me Always by A.L. Jackson Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the Disclosure here.

Blurb

I should know better than to let Tessa McDaniels pretend to be my fiancée.

I’m a dark, dangerous disaster who leaves destruction in his wake.

But when she offers to pretend to marry me to help me get my kids back, I can’t refuse. They are the one thing I have left to fight for.

Milo Hendricks found me at my lowest.

Battered and broken by my ex with no place to call home. When he insists I stay at his cabin with him, he sparks the feelings I’ve tried to suppress.

He’s only supposed to be my friend, but every time he comes in the room, he makes my knees weak.

This gorgeous, tatted, mountain-of-a-man who’s riddled with secrets.

Tessa is everything I crave but can’t have.

I shouldn’t touch her.

Shouldn’t make it real.

But she’s a red-headed flame I can’t resist, and I can’t help but take her to my bed.

Now we’re falling into an abyss of passion and need.

Loving her is easy.

Only we’re tied in ways we don’t know.

I’ll do anything to protect her, but it’s my past that might destroy her in the end…

Triggers

This is a dark romance as it is romantic suspense. Here is some of the potentially sensitive content:

  • Abusive relationship (not MCs)
  • Alcohol
  • Blood
  • Child custody battle
  • Death of a loved one
  • Financial Anxiety
  • Grief
  • Hostages
  • Kidnapping
  • Murder
  • Profanity
  • Sexually Explicit Scenes
  • Violence

Ratings

Add me as a friend on Goodreads! Click here.

There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

Overall Rating

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Promise Me Always is not a traditional romance where boy meets girl and they fall in love. It’s complicated and messy. The closer they get to each other the more dangerous their lives will be. The more they have to lose.

Tessa, the FMC, is in serious trouble but it’s not because of something selfish and petty. Her heart is so big! I relate to Tessa’s yearning for a home and self sacrificing tendencies for the happiness of others. It’s her compassion for others that made me like Tessa even more! Tessa, my little empath baby! I love her playful personality and easy-going nature. Throughout the series, Tessa has been the best friend and backbone to the friend group. I hoped and hoped for an HEA to come Tessa’s way because she is supportive and accommodating to everyone. I just wanted the best for her and Milo is definitely that person!

Milo is prime book bf material as far as I’m concerned. Tattoed, muscled and a protective af 😮‍💨🥹 I’ve never read a single parent romance where the MMC is fighting a custody battle for his kids. I was concerned that I wouldn’t like him much… But that was before I learned the story!! Milo had so much happen in his life and he has suffered so much. I don’t know how he was standing, how he hasn’t given up. The way he loved his kids and persecuted himself for the hand he was dealt… swoon! I couldn’t help it! Though he is the quietest MMC I’ve read from Amy, his narrative was so affectionate, protective and sweet. He was always trying to right his one wrong. And I was just trying to eat out of the palm of his hand!

Neither felt they deserved the other for many reasons but Milo and Tessa earn each others’ trust and honesty one day at a time! They become friends and we get to see them more clearly as they start to see each other so clearly. This story was beautiful!

The chemistry between Milo and Tessa was high! This book had spice and grit. There was a rawness to the connection between these two! Like the attraction these two had for each other was stripped back from all the innuendo and play. It was vulnerable but real. They communicated and talked about everything. I loved their openness even when they are nervous of the outcome for their honesty.

This book features dual POV which is amazing for a romantic suspense like this one! I love being able to see both sides of a story and with all the twists and turns and reveals in the second half of this book… Dual POV was my best friend! I loved both character’s narratives equally! Tessa and Milo have a special place in my heart!🫶🏽🥰

I actually cried for the last 15% of the book. It was just a stream of sadness I felt for these main characters and all they face! I was not ready yall! I had to do a full yoga class with the towel over my face. I couldn’t stop the tears. IYKYK!!

This was the perfect ending to an amazing series! I highly recommend Promise Me Always and the rest of the Redemption Hills Series!

Spice Rating

3/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️

There are several open door scenes and innuendo throughout!

Genre & Tropes

Genre

Romantic Suspense

Tropes

  • Small Town Romance
  • Friends to Lovers
  • Single Dad Romance
  • Close Proximity
  • Fake Dating/Engagement
Download an eBook today

Favorite Quotes

“Our gazes locked there, tangled with the twilight that seeped away, darkness pulling at the edges of the earth and preparing to take the day in its grasp. Had the urge to loop my arm around her waist and pull her close, rest her head back against my chest so we could watch the rest of the sun melt away and the stars blink to life in the sky. The music soft. A love song that’d just begun. Nothing but a fool’s game.”

“How are you, Little Dove? Are you having fun with your friends?” “Are you thinking about me, fiancé?” “I shouldn’t be, but I am.”

“Once I claim you, you’re pretty much stuck with me.” “You claimin’ me, Little Dove?”

“Make no mistake, Tessa. I’d burn the fucking world down before I let him get to you.”

“No, Tessa, don’t you get it yet, baby? It’s you who owns me.”

“Did you want to know what it’d be like if I took you? Owned you?”

“Are you eager, sweetness?”

“You’re worth it, Tessa. You’re worth everything. Every. Fucking. Thing.”

Intrigued?

Check out Promise Me Always on Amazon here.

Leave a Reply