The Promise

The Promise Box set is by an indie author I have never read before, J. S. Donovan. It is listed as a paranormal mystery not my usual genre of paranormal romance. I was intrigue by the synopsis and decided to give it a try. The storyline that the author lays out in the first book, The Promise, is original. I found the mystery of a multiple murder that haunts a small town in Georgia, to be as riveting as promised, no pun intended. J.S. Donovan slowly weaves his characters and the world they inhabit, throughout book one. By the end, you have fallen in love with Clyde and Sarah , his main characters, and are wondering how the author can top what was done in Book one. I was totally absorbed as though I was an unobserved witness to the events unfolding as I read. I was in no hurry to leave the town of Hartwell and it’s quirky townspeople behind. Thank God it was a box set! I eagerly dived into book 2 , The Vow.
I was at first disappointed in Book 2 as I felt that the twists in Clyde’s life was not in character with who he had become in The Promise. I realized that this was simply a personal preference as I like to read about happily ever after, a fantasy world, far from real. Though J. S. Donovan writes from a more gritty reality then I usually get in paranormal fiction, it adds to the suspense. His characters, especially the hero, Clyde, go through several crisis of faith, creating some interesting twists in the story. To my thinking it was somewhat convoluted in the beginning. But as I continued to read, I could see how the author used this mechanism to create depth and greater awareness in his hero. Clyde became more human, and as readers, it was easier to relate to him. His struggle to come to grips with morals and the ethics of justice was not unlike what we struggle with on a daily basis. I recognized that my problems with the story were again not technical writing issues, but my desire to escape my troubled reality when I read. To someone else, it may not be a problem.
I was disappointed, also in the ending of The Vow. It felt rushed. The author seemed to run out of steam and just wanted to find an ending. So all the loose ends were quickly tied up and J. S. Donovan wrote “The End” I could almost hear the sigh of relief as I read the last sentence. However, I got my illusion of a happily ever after, so I really couldn’t complain…much.
I agree with some other reviewers that the author could have benefited from a better proof- reader. There were some typos and maybe a few more grammatical errors then there should be. I however, have one of those brains that easily fills in the context of a sentence, skipping over typos and grammar in order to keep the story flowing. And of course, it’s easy to see from my review, that I too have a tendency to override my editing program in favor of how I think things should sound!
Since my complaints about the novels boils down to personal preference, I think it is worth it for other readers to pick up this box set and see what they think. If your into mystery, suspense AND small town drama, The Promise Box set has that in abundance. While not a romance it has paranormal aspects that I think paranormal readers might find intriguing. If you are looking for something different than your usual genre, give this author a try. You might just find you like it. It’s worth the time.