Book Review of The Promise (The 'Burg #5) by Kristen Ashley
The Promise is the fifth book in the series The 'Burg.
Since his brother's death, Benny Bianchi has nursed a grudge against his brother's woman, Francesca Concetti--the woman he considers responsible for his brother's downfall. But Benny is pushing away his feelings for the strong and beautiful Frankie.
Then Frankie takes a bullet for his cousin Cal's woman, and Benny has to face what he feels. But Frankie is done with her penance for the Bianchi clan, and she's terrified of the promises of a good life Benny is making. Once she's well, she leaves Chicago for a new life—one that leads her straight to the 'Burg, where Benny has ties.
Frankie has demons she's facing, and Benny wants to stand beside her as she does.
This book hops back in the timeline of the series to just after book two ends, At Peace. Frankie took a bullet for Violet as they escaped their captors, running through the woods of Indiana.
I found it funny how Frankie attempted to avoid speaking to Benny and his family--Cal's family--who wanted to thank her. Benny had other things on his mind, as evidenced when he took her home with him instead of letting her take a cab to her apartment.
While I liked Frankie, she was probably my least favorite female main character in the series. She had a tough exterior and could be sassy, and at other times, she was very submissive. It was a contrast I didn't particularly like. She was also very intelligent and brave, yet acted in very fearful ways many times in the novel. It was very contradictory.
Benny I liked a lot. He reminded me of Cal, who I loved, but he was also an individual and his own character, not a copy of Cal. I liked that he was willing to admit he was wrong about Frankie and admit his feelings, but pushing so hard right at the beginning wasn't the best move. But what would a romance novel be without some mistakes? I like that Benny respects Frankie's decisions even if he doesn't like them, and he supports her emotionally as well as in the dangerous situation she finds herself.
I loved, loved, loved the crossover appearance of a minor group of characters from Kristen Ashley's Dream Man series, my second favorite series of hers since this one has taken over the number one spot. It shocked me when the company name popped up, and absolutely delighted. Crossovers like that are wonderful, and she does that one other time that I know of. The man who is attacked by Feb and Colt's stalker/serial killer in For You and lives is the male main character in the novel Jagged, book five in the Colorado Mountain series.
The plot was interesting, and I didn't expect it to go where it went as it approached the end. This book wasn't as thrilling as the others in the series, but the romance was good. Romantic suspense can be wildly different in levels of suspense and tension, so this isn't out of the realm of the ordinary for the genre.
Overall, this wasn't as good as the rest of the series, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
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