This book seemed very promising but it did not deliver. To start with the story seemed to be a continuation of something else because there was a lot of backstory before the first chapter which made me feel lost. I felt like i stepped into a movie half way through and it didn’t have a good rhythm. I wasn’t able to finish it because of this. It was overall disappointing to me.

3.5 stars! I was hooked from the first like: “if there was one commandment in life every man should honor, it’s thou shall not fuck your best friends baby sister” and then chapter 9’s plot twist WHAT that one threw me for a loop. there are a lot of twists and turns… a bit of miscommunication, and a cliffhanger at the end!

ARC Complimentary copy provided by NetGalley for an honest opinion. This book was pretty intense with stalker vibes with a dominant male. It wasn't my favorite storyline due to the limited character build up, and there was a lack of completion with any of the characters.

This was a hard book to continue reading because Kasey was just plain unlikable and rude.. I understand grieving, but she was so embarrassing and made the book unenjoyable.

I really enjoyed this book! It was fast paced and flowed nicely. The turn of events were done beautifully and the ending was terrific!

“Kasey is a drug I desperately need to quit.”

this was my first read in this series, probably should’ve read the books prior however i didn’t find it difficult to follow the story at all. will definitely read the rest of the devils of sun valley high series. the characters were likable, i like kaseys character she was cute in the way she acted & was not one of those arrogant girls, she showed vulnerability in her character. i also like Dominique’s character he played the possessive bf well (touch her & die). deacon was a likable character, how he reacted & help kasey with the predicament she was in near the end was just a true friend.

“Get ready. I’m picking you up, and that asshole can eat crow when he sees you as my date.”

the spicy scenes aligned & made sense it wasn’t just randomly thrown in the book & with repetitiveness.

Daniela Romero can do no wrong. She is a go to author for me. I just love getting lost in her words and happy to be back in this world

A mix of college dating, with grief and loss and coping with it in an adult world with consequences. It is hard to like Kasey, losing her mum was tough yet some of the choices she makes and things she says make you cringe and struggle to get on board. Dominique is trying to keep everything on the straight and narrow and be clean about what they mean to each other, but, as ever, things get really complicated. Some great sexy scenes, and a lot of characters thrown in the mix to keep things going.

Well I got all the way to the end before it was explained that this wasn’t a first book. Netgalley needs to start advertising which part of a book this is so authors aren’t left with negative reviews.

What did I like? I liked the relationship between Dom and Kasey. I hated the unisex version of his name. So I’ll just call him Dom.. I was a bit upset to learn this was a series. The idealism in the book was something unique and something I’ve never come across before.

Would I recommend or buy? Read the first three books first. Then read this one. I liked the book! Four stars! I wish I’d read them in order though.

Thanks to the publisher for allowing me an ARC to read and I voluntarily left this opinion!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this eARC to review.

First of all, this is book 4 in a series and with this couple, it is the second book that features them as the main couple. I did not know this so it was a little confusing when I started reading it.

This book focuses on Kasey who lost her mum two weeks previously and has been having sex with Dominique to sort of fill the void that the grief has given her. Dom is her brother's best friend and they also live together which makes it harder for the couple later within the book. The spice wasn't bad but the plot was boring and predictable.

Spoilers Below:

One thing I wasn't comfortable with was the discussion of race. I will preface this with the fact I am white and I believe the author is Latinx but the main female character is white and the main male character is Black. Within Kasey's internal dialogue, she says that she, a white woman, is the minority in the place they live which was an instant yikes. This internal dialogue was brought up when a character mentions that she and Dom will never happen because he comes from a "Prominant Black family" and the parents will only want him with a Black girl, not a white girl who they think will just want Dom for his money. This entire scene was giving me reverse racism.

While I do understand that some interacial couples may go through this sort of thing, it made me grimace because was this the author's story to tell?

This is the 4th book in this series and you at least need to read the 3rd book in the series before reading this one. If you don't read that book you will be missing out on a lot of character development. This book takes place right after the events on the book before. Also, ends on a cliffhanger sort of. But that just makes me want to read the next book in this series even more. I have read this whole series so far. This is one of my favorite books in the series. I loved the relationship between that characters. Lots of very spicy parts. I need the other book to come out ASAP. But I highly suggest this series.

The story is pretty addictive. I finished the entire thing in less than 24 hours.
I was hooked completely. The characters are deep, raw and realistic.
The writing... Amazing. Romero has a way with her words that just grab you!
Kasey and Dom, their chemistry was palpable and hit you right in the feels.
My first time reading a book by Romero and I truly enjoyed it.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Cruel Promise is book four in the series but appears to also be the second book in a trilogy with these particular characters, which I was not aware of going in. I still could follow along for the most part so it didn't take away from the story.

Kasey has just suffered a devastating loss and her choice of coping method happens to be her brother's best friend, Dom. Dominique is the school's star quarterback and though he has been attracted to Kasey for some time, he knows not to go there given his relationship with her brother. But, she is struggling and for some reason she is seeking solace in him and he gives in. Their chemistry is off the charts, as is their fighting, and while they entered into this arrangement to help Kasey's grief, over time things for both of them shift, and they both just might get a little more than they bargained for.

This book does end with a lot of unanswered questions and Kasey and Dom's story continues in book five. This was my first book by this author and I highly enjoyed it. The characters were great, as was the story line, and I look forward to going back and reading the earlier books in the series and continuing on to see what happens next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

It was okay. I didn't feel passionate about it and I didn't like the cliffhanger. Felt a little Romeo and Juliet esque.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Quick Summary: Secret love affair, extreme family drama, & an unknown future

My Review:
Cruel Promise by Daniela Romero is book four in the Devils of Sun Valley series. It is an enemies with benefits forbidden love story, featuring a hypersexual bad boy-good guy QB and a green, newly "nose opened" eighteen-year old hybrid high schooler-college freshman. This story is intense, angsty, and brutally intimate.

The Characters and the Conflict:
After losing a key figure in her life, K goes to extreme measures to numb herself and to avoid dealing with her grief. Her solace is found in the arms of her secret crush, the one person who only seems to see her as the younger sibling of his close friend. The problem is now that he's awakened her sexual appetite, all bets are off and she will take what she wants. Where is all of this frenemies with benefits leading?

D's hands off/no touching approach to dealing with K, his roommate's sister, worked well until it didn't. He has taken all of her firsts, and now he wants more. Can he have it? His answer is yes. Unfortunately, they had an agreement to stay on the low. What happens now that he's caught feelings?

The Family Drama:
D's parents want to run his life. They have always sought to force his hand, even if that meant going to extreme measures. They would never go for his relationship (if that's what it is) with K. What will they do when they find out about her?

K's brother has set some hard limits for what is good enough for his sister, and it isn't his friend. How dare D go behind his back and add his sister's name to his long list of conquests!

D's brother? Where does this guy get off trying to come for his girl?! Who does he think he is?

The Cliffhanger:
School? Football? Family? K? The future? What is it that D really wants? What is it that K really wants?

The Final Say: This book was totally raw. It dealt with a lot of issues and presented a friends to lovers dilemma that could lead to an unexpected end. Of course, readers won't find out what that end is until the next book in this couple's trilogy.

Rating: 3/5
Recommend: +/-
Audience: +/- NA
Warning: Sexual violence ("brutal intimacy")

A digital ARC of this title was made available to me by the author and publisher via NetGalley. The words I have shared are my own and have not been influenced by the aforementioned in any way.

* A review has been posted on Goodreads and at Amazon.com.