3 Stars

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Paperback

Date of publication: June 26th, 2018

Genre: Romance, Suspense

Trigger warning: Kidnapping, Torture

Series: Sons of Broad

Shattered Fear – Book 0.5

Hidden Fate – Book 0.6

Twisted End – Book 0.7

Darkest Night – Book 1 (review here)

Deadly Secret – Book 2

Broken Promise – Book 3

Where you can find Broken Promise: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

In this next novel in the explosive, brand-new romantic suspense Sons of Broad series from Tara Thomas comes a novel of deadly secrets and hidden danger. In the sultry streets of Charleston, one family, ruled by its powerful, take-no-prisoners sons, has risen to the top. But a merciless enemy is out to destroy them…and everyone they hold close…

Exclusive bonus content available only in the print edition!

SHE SWORE TO KEEP HER PROMISES. 

BUT CAN SHE KEEP THEM SAFE…AND PROTECT HER HEART?

Charleston Police Officer Alyssa Adams made a promise years ago to protect innocent women from harm. Now, she won’t rest until she can reunite every lost daughter with her family.Bring closure to every grieving husband. And, most of all, find out what happened the night her own sister disappeared, more than ten years ago…

As the eldest of the Benedict brothers, Kipling will stop at nothing to protect his family from a threat that aims to destroy them once and for all. But when a long-lost sibling is kidnapped by a powerful adversary, Alyssa is the only one he can turn to get her back.

As Alyssa and Kipling band together to find their lost siblings, a powerful attraction builds between them that they can’t ignore. As the truth comes to light, will one broken promise tear them apart?

My review:

I should keep a list of what I don’t like when reading a series. Everyone knows my extreme dislike of picking books up mid-series. But, that’s not the case here. This is a whole different dislike. I don’t like skipping books in a series. Like picking up books mid-series, I get lost. I miss a huge chunk of the story between book 1 and book 2. That wasn’t the case with Broken Promise. The author did a great job of explaining what happened in the last book without overwhelming this one.

Now, I betcha you all are wondering why I rated Broken Promise a 3. I couldn’t get into the book. Alyssa and Kipling’s relationship seemed forced. That, in turn, made the sex scenes a little uncomfortable to read. I didn’t like how Jade was treated by/her entire relationship with The Gentleman. And those are the reasons why I gave it a 3.

I did like some parts of the book, believe it or not. While I didn’t like them in a relationship, I did like Alyssa and Kipling. I also liked the relationship that Kipling had with his brothers. I also liked how Jade was tied to Alyssa. Actually, that part of the book was bittersweet.

What I didn’t like about the book:

I couldn’t get into the book. I must have some sort of connection to the plot in order for me to like it or dislike it. I couldn’t with this book. I know it was because of the tandem storylines that were going on. The Kipling/Alyssa storyline and the Jade/The Gentleman storyline.  Normally tandem storylines don’t bother me. But this one did.

I felt that Alyssa and Kipling’s relationship was forced. They went from battling each other about what was going on to magically falling in love while dealing with a serial killer. Not realistic at all. So, because I felt the relationship was forced, it made the sex scenes uncomfortable to read. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good sex scene. I also like a sex scene where the woman likes it rough, which Alyssa did. But I couldn’t get into it. Which made me sad.

Jade’s relationship with The Gentleman was beyond screwed up. He took an innocent 5-year-old and shaped her into a ninja killer (yes, you read that right). The abuse Jade suffered was barely scratched at but what was revealed was awful. Which brings us to why he did to Jade what he did. Let’s say that he was one disturbed dude. He also took his anger over Helen out the wrong way. I was surprised at who The Gentleman was, though. It was not who I thought it would be.

What I liked about the book

I loved Alyssa. She was a good cop. She was determined to solve her sister’s cold case. She had a feeling that her sister’s murder was tied to The Gentleman somehow. I did feel bad for her. Her family was horrible. Her stepfather was a bully and her mother allowed it. I was glad Kipling was there and stood her stepfather down. Because of that, they got a huge break in her sister’s case and what is going on with Kipling’s family.

I also liked Kipling. When The Gentleman contacted him with the news that he had Jade, Kipling jumped to action. No question. That was his sister and he was going to find her. Even though I found their relationship forced, he did look over Alyssa too.

I liked his relationship with his brothers. He worried about them and tried his best to protect them. But, in the end, it was his brothers that came to his rescue. That is the type of relationship that siblings should have.

I can’t discuss how Jade is tied to Alyssa. But I will say that it came as a huge surprise. I was as shocked as Alyssa was when she connected the dots. My exact words were “Dayum“. Talk about bittersweet. I also got beyond angry with certain other people in Alyssa’s life about that. Not cool, that they did.

So to recap…

What I disliked about Broken Promise:

A) Couldn’t get into the book

B) felt Alyssa and Kipling’s relationship was forced

C) Jade’s relationship with The Gentleman

What I disliked about Broken Promise:

A) Alyssa. Enjoyed her character

B) Kipling. Also enjoyed his character

C) How Jade is tied to Alyssa

I would give Broken Promise an Adult rating. There is explicit sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

There are trigger warnings in Broken Promise. They are kidnapping and torture.

I am on the fence about recommending Broken Promise to family and friends. I am also on the fence about rereading this book. I am willing to read more books by the author.

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Paperback, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Broken Promise.

All opinions stated in this review of Broken Promise are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**