Review: Where Promises Die by R.C. Stephens

Note: This ARC was provided by the author via Enticing Journey Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Where Promises Die is my second R.C. Stephens read and while I loved my first read from her, this one left me somewhat torn. This was a second chance romance between Grace Roberts and Eisav Duncan. She's eleven and he's thirteen when they first meet, she suffering from the trauma of watching her mother murdered and then being brought into the devoutly Christian Duncan family, with Eisav's parents being named her guardians. They form a bond that has them becoming the best friends and then deepening into much more over the years. When Grace and Eisav are caught by Eisav's father being far more intimate than they should be--at least as far as Eisav's tyrannical father thinks--they're torn apart. It takes three years for them to see each other again. He's become a rock star and she's still lives in the Duncan home. Can Eisav make good on his promises to the only girl he's loved?

So, about the whole feeling torn thing. The story as a whole was good, especially with me having a soft spot for second chance romances. Eisav and Grace were, more or less, interesting as main characters, and yes, I do think that they had the kind of connection necessary for one or both of them to keep holding on to the love they once shared and are now willing to fight for. However, I do have two issues. The first one had to do with Eisav telling Grace that he thought she would come looking for him within the three years they were apart. Seriously? Erm, you were the one who left, dude. You went on to become some music superstar and had the means to check up on her, but did you? Nooooo. YOU expected HER to came after you. What. The. Hell?! I seriously wanted to knock him out. I mean, I didn't agree with her keeping secrets from him, but it's not as if the guy bothered to keep in touch at all.

My second issue had to do with what Grace endured with Father Joseph, who was the head of the fundamental Christian church the Duncan's belonged to. She was traumatized by her time with him and not only did she tell Eisav as much, but so did Jacob, Eisav's twin brother who spent all his time pining for Grace. Now, I get the trauma, but Grace didn't seem to have too much of a problem when she and Eisav were having sex again. Very little to no hesitation and she didn't exhibit any sort of remorse afterwards. In short, she enjoyed herself, and good for her! But see, that doesn't really jibe with what she said about being with Father Joseph. And because of these two aforementioned issues, I was waffling on the rating I was going to give Where Promises Die. There were twists and the love story itself was endearing, but my two issues did end up bringing my rating down. This garners three stars. ♥

Date Read: 24 February 2017

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