If I learned anything from this book, it's DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER, NO MATTER HOW CUTE THE COVER IS!Now I know what you’re thinking. Does this book live up to its distinctive promise? I’ll get to that later. But before I could rip this book apart, it is only fair for me to mention that this is the author’s first novel, as stated in the book jacket, so the book baring many flaws should not come off as a surprise and should be excused at times. The book jacket also did not mention what college or university she went to get any degree in literature or creative writing. I’m sure some of you book worms have noticed that any book where it mentions in the book jacket that the author has studied concept, the book turns our flawless and fantastic. Authors choosing to study literature and(or) creative writing does make a difference in their books. But then again, it mentions in the Twilight book jacket that Stephanie Meyer went to a university to gain a degree in literature and look how Twilight turned out. I should also mention that this book falls into the category as Instalove, despite it proclaiming contemporary, Instalove and contemporary are not book themes that usually clash together in novels so this was definitely something noted in other reviews. I’ll start with the sugarcoating to numb it out. In the beginning, I admired Wren’s personality, the way she processed thoughts and emotions were realistic, however that escalates towards the end but I won’t indulge. Overall, her character was fairly well written. Onto Grayson, at first his sudden infatuation towards Wren comes off cute and charming but as it progressed, it definitely started to come off unrealistic and cheesy. You’d think the Instalove feeling would be portrayed in Wren’s perspective (yes, this is one of those books that contain more than one point of view throughout chapters) but nope, it’s mostly Gray. It was a little uncanny or ironic since apparently at first he was some sort of macho, cool guy/womanizer but then the moment he lays eyes on Wren, suddenly he must get serious with her and stop acting so foolish. Um, that’s not how teenage boys operate but okay? I must admit, the Wrayson (hope you don’t mind the ship name) relationship was very cutesy and fun to read about... at first. The author did write the more erotic scenes pretty well, actually. The supporting characters weren’t bad either. Then comes the middle. Some time reaching the end, Wren starts making decisions that have me bewildered. For instance, there’s a scene where Grayson looks like he’s clearly flirting with a girl. Like any girl in a relationship, Wren get’s angry but what made me raise an eyebrow was when Grayson followed her into a dressing room stall to apologize and in an instant, Wren immediately accepted and the two started hooking up. If that was a real life scenario, there would have been more retorts coming from Wren and possibly silent treatment, or even splitsville. Now onto the antagonist, Grayson’s bad-influence friend, Luke Dobson. At first, I actually thought he was a pretty good antagonist. I found it a bit entertaining at how determined he was to damage Wren and Grayson’s relationship and gain the “old Grayson” back. But then some time towards the end that desire somehow get’s thrown away. He just didn't get the consequence(s) he deserved! There were other moments where it looked liked that to make the story seem more contemporary, the author had to squeeze in some family drama in the character’s lives. The scenes sort of reminded me of when I need to add an event into my story at the last minute so I cram in some subplot and find and replace names and wallah! I honestly felt like this novel wasn’t meant to be a contemporary story but rather some cutesy, romantic fan fiction that you’d find on Wattpad. I got the clue reading in the book jacket that Constantine found interest in dreaming up romance stories (who doesn’t though?) I feel like it only occurred to the author that the story had to be contemporary when submitting the first manuscript to her editor and reading the editor’s critiques. Back to discussing the actual story. I won’t indulge exactly what happened obviously but something major (something I feel like would occur during a season finale for a show on The CW) happens and the story somehow wraps up way too nicely despite the occurrence. Overall? It’s cute and if you’re in a good, fuzzy mood, this book will turn out to be a fun read, if you're a cynical, picky, and blunt Tumblr blogger, your head will throb from rolling your eyes so much at the cheesiness and unrealism. When I first read this novel, I was given no warnings and I read it blindly. I didn’t come across reviews until I was almost done with it. "The Promise of Amazing" is not absolutely terrible and is good enough to make it to the end but I will not say it completely fulfilled its promise. Yeah, I don’t think the title choice was very wise. A bias title like that is pretty dangerous and is just begging to be made fun of. From what I’ve seen, the main reason why people chose to read this book was the adorable cover (I mean look at it). But I think some have learned a lesson, a re-packaged lesson to be more precise. Don’t judge a book by its cover. Even if the cover is attractive, make sure to read the bio and reviews before flipping to the first page. Obyčajný príbeh, ale zaujímavý prípad - lásky na prvý pohľad. Prezradím vám, že v tom budú párky a že to vôbec nebude pekné.Inak neviem čo si mám o tejto knihe myslieť. Nebola to totálna katastrofa, ale zase som z nej ani nepadla na zadok. Jednoduché, tiché, slušné dievča + tajomný, vysoký nabijak s piercingom v obočí = trochu doťahovania, mojkania, bitiek a samozrejme lásky s veľkým, nepochopiteľným L.Možno keby som to čítala vo svojich 13/15 rokoch, tak by som si povedala, aká zlatá kniha, no teraz to je len "okej kniha". :D Neviem či chápete moje myšlienkové pochody. :D Jednoducho žiadne veľdielo, ale zase si ani nebude chcieť počas čítania vraziť vidličku do oka. Môžeme to teda pokladať za vydarenú knihu...? Ani srnky netušia.
What do You think about The Promise Of Amazing (2013)?
Quick read- not so sure I buy into the easy dismissal and acceptance of the teenage felon's history.
—Jess
Such a cute love story. Lots of plot twist and secrets. Each chapter leaving you wanting more.
—lovablenene
The most amazing book I have read in a long time!
—bookworm101
This book did not live up to its title.
—Peters6028
