Review: A Disappointing Book by a Great Author
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 07 10, 2014
Kristen Ashley has written many great romance novels (Rock Chick Series, Dream Man Series, The Gamble and The Golden Dynasty) where the reader is swept into an exciting story that is impossible to put down.  A number of the stories are over the top, but are written in such an exciting way that the reader willingly suspends disbelief to enter Ashley`s world.  She has long been on my "automatic buy" list.This is the reason that the The Promise was such a shock.  At Peace, the novel leading up to The Promise was a fantastic book with fabulous characters.  Ironically, the best parts of The Promise are when Vi and Cal from At Peace are featured.  There are many problems with The Promise that are difficult to ignore.1.  Too Much Talk and Too Little Plot:At least half the book is taken up with conversations between Frankie and Benny.  The conversations center on why Benny is so great, how screwed up Frankie`s family is, and why Frankie doesn`t feel she deserves Benny.  VERY few of these conversations advance the plot and end up being tedious when the same point is belabored.  Ashley must have been aware of this as she was writing it, because even the characters say things like "He`s my dead boyfriends`s brother," I said for the millionth time in less than two days."One phone call with her sister takes up seven pages of dialogue. two pages are devoted to whether she should wear a jacket in a garage and there is a one page discussion on whether she should be allowed to have a drink while taking medication.  Sigh....There are many examples of conversations that involve "No, I`m not. Yes, you are."  "Am not.  Absolutely Are."  There are also a dozen instances where Frankie learns to come (not the good kind) and to sit and stay.  "Come here, he ordered. I`m good here, I said.  Frankie, come here, he repeated.  This goes back and forth twenty times in ONE conversation.2.  Characters That Are Difficult to Understand and Like:Vi and Cal from At Peace are two of Ashley`s most interesting lead characters.  Both have fascinating back stories, their relationship is complicated in a believable way, and as a reader I spent the whole book cheering for them to get together.  There is a lot missing from the background stories of Frankie and Benny.How did Frankie have the ability to become such a fantastic sales person that she would be in charge of all the sales reps for a pharmaceutical company for the eastern half of the United States?  How does Benny, growing up in the restaurant business,  become a gun slinging action figure?It is hard to dismiss the ugly side of Benny that we are introduced to in At Peace.  Reread Chapter 20 in that book.  There is nothing remotely attractive about how he talks to the woman he is in bed with when Frankie shows up at his door.  There is something schizophrenic in the way Ashley portrays Benny.  We are supposed to believe that the man who has hated Frankie for seven years following the death of his brother has also kept tabs on her during all this time while having sex with hundreds of women.When Frankie arrives at hisdoor, Benny`s first reaction is to shove the b@tch down the stairs."  "Say what you gotta say, b.. and get the f.. outta my space."  He refers to her as a "stupid, greedy sl.t."  "Not going to give you the chance to wrap your golden c.nt around my c.ck.."  I get that Benny and his family are angry, but we are supposed to believe that Benny`s epiphany happens twelve hours later when she is shot and within a week (with no intervening conversations between Benny and Frankie) he is madly in love with her and taking her to his home.In order to resolve the issue that Benny may not be so likable, we have ten pages at the beginning of At Peace describing how HOT Benny is and then he morphs into "let me give you everything in the world" Benny.Frankie spends most of her conversations snarling at Benny while he is being his fabulous self and complaining while he is doing nice things for her.  This is the "bust his chops" relationship that he has been longing for.  I get a man not wanting someone to be a pushover, but other than Frankie looks great in a tight dress and instantly forgives his family for seven years of undeserved hatred, I don`t understand the attraction.3.  A Writing Style that Features One Word REPEATEDLY in the SAME Paragraph:Ashley`s heroes often talk in a wordy, convaluted way.  It is something that the reader gets used to.  In The Promise, there is a new quirk."I loved it there.  I loved the Wrigley Building, I loved the Sears Tower.  I loved Marshal Field`s.  I loved the lakefront,  I loved the Berghoff... followed by four more loved sentences."Old Lady Zambino lived across the street.  Old lady Zambino was Italian. Old lady Zambino was nosy.  And if she knew anyone referred to her as "old lady Zambino," she would hire a hit on them."4.  Lack of Storyline:There is nothing resembling a plot until half way into the book.  Unfortunately it is not a storyline worth waiting for.  There is a totally artificial feeling to how Frankie`s twinges that something seems odd or that her boss is a d.ck leads to a major scenario.  I am willing to suspend my disbelief with the best of them, but could`t buy into this part of the plot.  I`m not sure if it was Ms. Ashley or her editor who decided that Luke Stark should be thrown into the story late in the book to add some much needed interest. It`s kind of like putting a picture on a wall to hide the hole underneath it.5.  Sal the Mafia Kingpin:Frankie met Sal when her boyfriend, Vinnie Jr. became a made man.  When Benny and his family threw Frankie under the bus, she maintained this relationship.  It`s a bit of a stretch that when your boyfriend is murdered, you would still be friendly with his mobster boss, but I was willing to go along with that.  What is not believable is what happens in the last ten percent of the book.  I know people love Kristen`s epilogues, but the Sal element makes the HEA much less believable.I`m not of Italian heritage, but wonder if the Italian Defamation League (which protested Jersey Shore) would be up in arms at the portrayal of the characters in this book.  Stereotypes abound.  I am sure some people will recognize their Italian families in these characters, but wonder if the book was written about a different minority group whether it would be so acceptable.It gives me no joy to write a negative review.  I thought a lot about the distinction between two and three stars, but since I have no desire to ever read this book again, it is worth two stars in my opinion.  People who love Kristen Ashley (like me) will probably buy the book anyway.I`m disappointed that Ms. Ashley put out a book with one of the weakest storylines she has ever produced and can`t believe that an editor didn`t help cut out at least a hundred pages of filler.I`m glad that some people loved the book.  For those readers who have felt uneasy with some Ashley books (Jagged, Fantasyland), then maybe it would be worthwhile to look at all the reviews before automatically purchasing this book or future books.