Sunday 3 November 2013

ARC Review: The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine

The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine
Wren Caswell is average. Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she’s not popular, but not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet, “good” girl who's always done what she's supposed to—only now in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change, but doesn’t know how.

Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe’s. Star of the lacrosse team, top of his class, on a fast track to a brilliant future—until he was expelled for being a “term paper pimp.” Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change, but doesn’t know how. 

One fateful night their paths cross when Wren, working at her family’s Arthurian-themed catering hall, performs the Heimlich on Gray as he chokes on a cocktail weenie, saving his life literally and figuratively. What follows is the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are—and falling in love.
Title: The Promise of Amazing
Author: Robin Constantine
Series: None
Publisher: Balzer + Bray 
Publication Date: December 31st 2013

Rating: 2.5 or 3 stars (I'm not really sure)

Thoughts: 

The NHS made [being quiet] sound like a character flaw. Something I could improve. That's just not how it worked.
Since I know everyone's going to make some sort of joke with the title, I'll spare you that. When I first saw this awesomely cute and fluffy cover, I knew I had to read it. Sometimes I just really want something fluffy and light and funny. Ultimately, though, I was sort of... disappointed. The Promise of Amazing didn't live up to my expectations.

The Promise of Amazing mainly around the romance and Grayson's past. The romance was the thign that disappointed me most, to be honest. It's not exactly instant love, but it all goes a bit fast and I just didn't feel it. Wren and Grayson were cute, sure, and Grayson's admiration for Wren shines through. However, from the moment Wren saves Grayson's life they both feel this 'connection'. Unfortunately, I didn't feel that connection at all. Honestly, I thought it was a bit insta-lovey. From the moment they meet, pretty much all they do is think about the other. And even though they spend a lot of time together, I didn't feel like they really knew each other. So when they exchange their 'I love you's, I just didn't believe it. It was too much, too fast, and as a result I felt really disconnected from it. Because of that, I couldn't really ship them. I mean, they fit each other fine, but when they kissed my reaction was more towards the 'meh' side of things.

Another point that made me a little angry: Grayson's hotness excuses everything. The things he does (sort of but not really stalking, lying, etc.) were not right. If he had been ugly, Wren and her friends would've thought he was a creep. Now, everything he does is 'kinda hot'. Why? Because of his apparently flawless appearance. Now, I'm not saying that he was Edward Cullen-creepy, but let's just say that was no angel.  And I really wish his hotness didn't 'make up' for that.

Otherwise, Grayson's past was pretty interesting. The things he did were definitely not good, but interesting to read about. Throughout the book, he cares less and less about his old 'business' and his old friends (who are total jerks, by the way. Seriously.). This gradual change in him was executed well: things didn't go too fast, he makes a couple of mistakes and he learns from them. Although Wren sort of inspired this change in him, I did feel like he did it for himself and not for her.

I don't really have much to say about Wren. She was a nice girl, and I thought the change in her was well done. She starts off as silent and shy, but throughout the novel she dares to say more and is a bit more impulsive. Although she didn't necessarily good decisions, she was likeable enough. So were her friends: although they were the outgoing boy-crazy friend and the serious, studious one, they weren't stereotypical. They had a twist to their character that made them believable and different.

In all, this was a bit of a disappointment. Hardly the fluffy novel I was looking for, The Promise of Amazing deals with accepting your past mistakes and moving on. The characters were all likeable (except for Grayson's friends) and well developed. The romance, I felt, was underdeveloped and Wren and Grayson needed to know more about each other before thinking about love. Would I still recommend? Yes, because it wasn't bad at all. I had just expected it to be more.

8 comments:

  1. Ugh, I hate the sound of Grayson! I have this for tour-- it looks like I won't be enjoying this one :(

    Lovely review! <33

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    Replies
    1. He actually wasn't extremely bad, but I didn't like him that much either. I hope you'll enjoy this, though!

      Thank you <3

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  2. Oh that's a shame that you didn't get the light fluffy read you were looking for! Grayson's hotness excusing everything does kind of sound creepy lol. Great review!

    Jeann @ Happy Indulgence

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, I was really disappointed by that :( And yep, it annoyed me greatly!

      Thanks <3

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  3. I'm sorry this one disappointed you. I was quite excited about it before reading your review - cute title, awesome cover, fun synopsis. It's so annoying when YA novels rush 'love' - if an Adult romance can get it right, why can't they? :-( Hmm.

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    1. Yes, it's really disappointing. There are a lot of well-developed romances in the YA genre, but at times I really don't feel it at all. I'm sorry I ruined your excitement, haha :P

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  4. I'm going to start this one tonight! Like you, it was definitely the really fluffy cover that drew me in and made me request it with grabby hands. A little apprehensive now, sounds quite insta-lovey which I absolutely loathe. But great review, can definitely understand why it wasn't for you.

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    Replies
    1. I hope you'll like it better than I did! I wanted it to be the ultimate fluffy read and it wasn't, but I hope it works out for you :)

      Delete

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