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Boys of Avix #1
Say You Swear
A College Romance...
For years, I’ve dreamt of what college life could bring and while some things changed, there was always one constant.
It didn’t matter how wild I allowed my imagination to run, it always led me to the same place in the end.
It led me to him.
My future was clear, and he was it.
Until suddenly ... he wasn’t.
Now I’m a shell of who I was, on a path too blurry to follow, and I see no way out.
No way up.
They say first loves last forever.
That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.
For years, I’ve dreamt of what college life could bring and while some things changed, there was always one constant.
It didn’t matter how wild I allowed my imagination to run, it always led me to the same place in the end.
It led me to him.
My future was clear, and he was it.
Until suddenly ... he wasn’t.
Now I’m a shell of who I was, on a path too blurry to follow, and I see no way out.
No way up.
They say first loves last forever.
That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.
681 pages, Paperback
First published February 16, 2022
24.7k people are currently reading
271k people want to read
About the author
Meagan Brandy
46 books15.4k followersUSA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Meagan Brandy writes New Adult romance books with a twist. She is a candy crazed, jukebox junkie who tends to speak in lyrics. Born and raised in California, she is a married mother of three crazy boys who keep her bouncing from one sports field to another, depending on the season, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Starbucks is her best friend and words are her sanity.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 26,553 reviews
February 21, 2022
2.5🌟
Spoilers ahead.
Since i haven't read one review mentioning this, let me tell you the premise of the story is in fact a FREAKING LOVE TRIANGLE.
i kept reading reviews and wondering why i can't find the H's name and when i got past the first 10 chapters i realized why is that. It's bc the h's first in love with one guy whose name is CHASE and then falls in love with the H whose name is NOAH.
The plot goes like this.
she's in love with her brother's best friend. They have sex and then he says it was a mistake and leaves her. She is hurt and depressed. Then she meets Noah who was the biggest sweetheart, like literally he was so thoughful, patient, swoonworthy the perfect book bf and the only reason for my 2 star rating😭😩 they start as friends and then they fall in love. they were so sickeningly cute🥺 ..until the drama started.
the other guy comes and professes his love saying it was not a mistake, he wants her back and kisses her. She gets angry at him tells him it's over goes back to Noah and tells him the truth. He tells her to make up her mind and when she does she'll find him. ...until she gets hit by a car, loses her baby(apparently she was pregnant) and doesn't remember the last few months.
What in Casi Angeles when mar lost her memories and didn't recognize thiago is this plot?
Honestly 500+ pages were too much for this storyline. The plot just dragged and the "love triangle" was too drawn out imo. The end ruined this for me with the unnecessarry drama. It was pain to read those last chapters. The back and forth with her memories, Chase being the biggest asshole stringing the poor girl with no memory, no one telling her the truth, poor Noah losing his mom and his love, damn it was way too much angst squeezed in the last few chapters.
Spoilers ahead.
Since i haven't read one review mentioning this, let me tell you the premise of the story is in fact a FREAKING LOVE TRIANGLE.
i kept reading reviews and wondering why i can't find the H's name and when i got past the first 10 chapters i realized why is that. It's bc the h's first in love with one guy whose name is CHASE and then falls in love with the H whose name is NOAH.
The plot goes like this.
she's in love with her brother's best friend. They have sex and then he says it was a mistake and leaves her. She is hurt and depressed. Then she meets Noah who was the biggest sweetheart, like literally he was so thoughful, patient, swoonworthy the perfect book bf and the only reason for my 2 star rating😭😩 they start as friends and then they fall in love. they were so sickeningly cute🥺 ..until the drama started.
the other guy comes and professes his love saying it was not a mistake, he wants her back and kisses her. She gets angry at him tells him it's over goes back to Noah and tells him the truth. He tells her to make up her mind and when she does she'll find him. ...until she gets hit by a car, loses her baby(apparently she was pregnant) and doesn't remember the last few months.
What in Casi Angeles when mar lost her memories and didn't recognize thiago is this plot?
Honestly 500+ pages were too much for this storyline. The plot just dragged and the "love triangle" was too drawn out imo. The end ruined this for me with the unnecessarry drama. It was pain to read those last chapters. The back and forth with her memories, Chase being the biggest asshole stringing the poor girl with no memory, no one telling her the truth, poor Noah losing his mom and his love, damn it was way too much angst squeezed in the last few chapters.
March 24, 2022
OMFG, this book is awful! How the hell does it have a 4.6 rating?! The dialogue is choppy and very immature and sounds like a tween girl wrote it. There’s zero emotion and I’m not feeling any chemistry between the protagonists. She’s been in love with this guy Chase for six years, but from what we get to see of him, I can’t figure out why. He’s a wimp and an ass. I keep having to go back and reread sentences because the author jumps from one scene to the next with no lead in and I keep thinking I’m missing something. There are way too many side characters to keep straight and the twin brother is obsessive and creepy. A lot of reviews talk about how awesome Noah is, but I’m 135 pages into the book and he’s only appeared in two pages of the story so far. I’m done. I have zero interest in these characters or what happens to them. Once again, I hate myself for getting sucked in by the hype. Books about teenagers and their over-the-top, ridiculous, angsty problems are not for me.
June 10, 2022
♾/10 ⭐️ no words could do this book justice. the only thing wrong with it is it had the audacity to end.
i’m an empty mess now that it’s done. don’t call or text. im in denial. did I really finish if I just pretend I didn’t?
“say you swear”
“I swear”
i’m an empty mess now that it’s done. don’t call or text. im in denial. did I really finish if I just pretend I didn’t?
“say you swear”
“I swear”
September 28, 2024
I did not expect to love this book this much. I feel like I read 3 books in 1. So much happened by the end! This book encapsulates everything I love about college romances + so much more.
I loved the friend group, the campus setting, following Arianna starting college, etc. but I've never read an emotional & heartbreaking college romance before😭💔 & I loved it.
The last third caught me so off guard. We were just following Arianna trying to let go of her first love & start something new with Noah and then bam so many unexpected things happened that just kept tearing up my heart. I loved reading about the happy moments, the heartbreaking moments, & the much-needed healing moments.
I loved the friend group, the campus setting, following Arianna starting college, etc. but I've never read an emotional & heartbreaking college romance before😭💔 & I loved it.
The last third caught me so off guard. We were just following Arianna trying to let go of her first love & start something new with Noah and then bam so many unexpected things happened that just kept tearing up my heart. I loved reading about the happy moments, the heartbreaking moments, & the much-needed healing moments.
February 20, 2022
3.5 what is up with authors thinking naked men on covers is desirable
October 25, 2024
5 stars
I’ll be honest, I was shocked with how much I loved this book. It’s a long read and I read it in two days because I could not put it down. My only other experience with this author was reading the first Brayshaw book, and I didn’t love it… but wow, this one was great.
Arianna is getting ready to start her first year of college and she hopes this is the year she can finally be with the man of her dreams. Chase. Her brother’s best friend. But things with Chase do not go as planned. Ari is in a close knit, family like friend group that consists of Ari, Cameron (Ari’s BFF), Mason (Ari’s twin brother), Brady and Chase. It puts a strain on the friend group at first, but things start to normalize.
When she meets Noah they become friends first. He teaches her to cook, talks with her and truly gets to know her. Noah is a gem of a man. QB of the football team, devoted son, and all around good guy. You can’t help but root for him. He’s not pushy with Ari, he knows she had feelings for someone else she’s getting over and he takes his time with her.
I’m not always a fan of love triangles, but what really bothers me about them is the cheating. This book didn’t have that so even though it was angsty there wasn’t cheating. Also, Noah was the perfect hero. I mean, seriously perfect. So swoony. I’m also not always a fan of high angst books but for some reason, this one just really worked for me. I debated on 4 and 5 stars for some time but ultimately decided on 5 because it was unputdownable and even though it had a few heart-wrenching moments, I can see myself rereading in the future!
I want someone’s all. I want someone’s all and absolutely nothing less.
I’ll be honest, I was shocked with how much I loved this book. It’s a long read and I read it in two days because I could not put it down. My only other experience with this author was reading the first Brayshaw book, and I didn’t love it… but wow, this one was great.
Arianna is getting ready to start her first year of college and she hopes this is the year she can finally be with the man of her dreams. Chase. Her brother’s best friend. But things with Chase do not go as planned. Ari is in a close knit, family like friend group that consists of Ari, Cameron (Ari’s BFF), Mason (Ari’s twin brother), Brady and Chase. It puts a strain on the friend group at first, but things start to normalize.
When she meets Noah they become friends first. He teaches her to cook, talks with her and truly gets to know her. Noah is a gem of a man. QB of the football team, devoted son, and all around good guy. You can’t help but root for him. He’s not pushy with Ari, he knows she had feelings for someone else she’s getting over and he takes his time with her.
I’m not always a fan of love triangles, but what really bothers me about them is the cheating. This book didn’t have that so even though it was angsty there wasn’t cheating. Also, Noah was the perfect hero. I mean, seriously perfect. So swoony. I’m also not always a fan of high angst books but for some reason, this one just really worked for me. I debated on 4 and 5 stars for some time but ultimately decided on 5 because it was unputdownable and even though it had a few heart-wrenching moments, I can see myself rereading in the future!
February 7, 2025
~ 4.5 ☆
I'm shitting mascara. I’ll be reading this author’s entire backlist before I die. Magan Brandy, please start counting your fucking days!! because my therapist and lawyer say I'm owed emotional compensation.‼️
i didn't expect to love this book as much as i do or the twists and turns it took 😣💕, especially because love triangles and brother's best friends are usually not my cup of tea. BUT THIS?! the love triangle could never have been written better. it's got all the tropes and college romance vibes i crave and more. the friend group was absolute goals, the campus setting was on point, and arianna’s college journey? a whole mood. by the time i reached the end of the second half, it felt like my heart almost gave out. if there's one thing i go feral for, it's a broken man in love becoming unbroken because of a girl. i will always eat that shit up
one of my favorite things about this book was the well-rounded characters—so layered, nuanced, real, and raw. the way i’d move mountains for ariana and noah is insane. i love them to pieces as individuals and as a couple. ariana and noah were tangible from the first day they met. another thing i appreciated about this story was how complex it was. i loved the found family, the side characters, the mother—ughhh, my heart was aching for these characters. i liked how this book had a more realistic and emotion-filled approach even with the excitement of college life and the intricacies of relationships.. i was fucking feral, y'all! i’m talking wringing out the mattress, foaming at the mouth, biting my nails—feral. I usually don't like love triangles like i said, but I didn't totally hate Chase in this one. He was just a complicated character, and his feelings actually felt real.
i'm telling you right now, Noah is just the definition of a perfect fictional man. he's so attentive, kind, selfless, caring, thoughtful, loving, and courageous. he's got everything down pat, and it quite frankly makes me want to light myself on fire!! because i know a man like him will never exist. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT HE IS NOT REAL AND THAT I’M SIMPLY EXPECTED TO MOVE ON WITH MY LIFE!! 😖💔
these two have the kind of love i would move heaven and earth for. their dynamic is chef's kiss, and their chemistry was literally sizzling and popping through the pages. i would go to the ends of the earth to support them. they truly are perfect together!
Reading through Noah’s pov was literally riveting. like this man is desperately IN LOVE!!😭
the way this man would move the heavens and the earth for his girl! i need him biblically
also, the mother-son relationship between him and his mother was literally so wholesome to read about. it melted my heart in ways i didn't know it could melt. you know a man is an instant green flag if he has a amazing relationship with his mother. (in my opinion)
It didn't give me a 5 star feeling and some parts of the story were predictable, while others came out of nowhere, but I laughed, cried, i threw up, threw myself down the stairs, and ended the book with the biggest smile on my face. I’m so glad they got the happy ending they deserve. If you look closely at the end of the book, you can see them stepping over my dead body
I'm shitting mascara. I’ll be reading this author’s entire backlist before I die. Magan Brandy, please start counting your fucking days!! because my therapist and lawyer say I'm owed emotional compensation.‼️
i didn't expect to love this book as much as i do or the twists and turns it took 😣💕, especially because love triangles and brother's best friends are usually not my cup of tea. BUT THIS?! the love triangle could never have been written better. it's got all the tropes and college romance vibes i crave and more. the friend group was absolute goals, the campus setting was on point, and arianna’s college journey? a whole mood. by the time i reached the end of the second half, it felt like my heart almost gave out. if there's one thing i go feral for, it's a broken man in love becoming unbroken because of a girl. i will always eat that shit up
one of my favorite things about this book was the well-rounded characters—so layered, nuanced, real, and raw. the way i’d move mountains for ariana and noah is insane. i love them to pieces as individuals and as a couple. ariana and noah were tangible from the first day they met. another thing i appreciated about this story was how complex it was. i loved the found family, the side characters, the mother—ughhh, my heart was aching for these characters. i liked how this book had a more realistic and emotion-filled approach even with the excitement of college life and the intricacies of relationships.. i was fucking feral, y'all! i’m talking wringing out the mattress, foaming at the mouth, biting my nails—feral. I usually don't like love triangles like i said, but I didn't totally hate Chase in this one. He was just a complicated character, and his feelings actually felt real.
i'm telling you right now, Noah is just the definition of a perfect fictional man. he's so attentive, kind, selfless, caring, thoughtful, loving, and courageous. he's got everything down pat, and it quite frankly makes me want to light myself on fire!! because i know a man like him will never exist. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT HE IS NOT REAL AND THAT I’M SIMPLY EXPECTED TO MOVE ON WITH MY LIFE!! 😖💔
these two have the kind of love i would move heaven and earth for. their dynamic is chef's kiss, and their chemistry was literally sizzling and popping through the pages. i would go to the ends of the earth to support them. they truly are perfect together!
Reading through Noah’s pov was literally riveting. like this man is desperately IN LOVE!!😭
''‘I’ve known that girl was worth the world since the moment I met her’’
''‘I want you, Arianna Johnson, like no man has ever wanted a woman before. I’m sure of it. I want to give you the life you dreamed of, the one you shared with me.’’
''‘I want my girl back. I want the future I dared to dream about. I want her.’’
the way this man would move the heavens and the earth for his girl! i need him biblically
also, the mother-son relationship between him and his mother was literally so wholesome to read about. it melted my heart in ways i didn't know it could melt. you know a man is an instant green flag if he has a amazing relationship with his mother. (in my opinion)
It didn't give me a 5 star feeling and some parts of the story were predictable, while others came out of nowhere, but I laughed, cried, i threw up, threw myself down the stairs, and ended the book with the biggest smile on my face. I’m so glad they got the happy ending they deserve. If you look closely at the end of the book, you can see them stepping over my dead body
July 12, 2022
0 stars I dont make the rules.. it's just the way it is. 💁♀️
October 27, 2024
dnf at pg. 206, chapter 19.
y'all can't say i'm a judgemental bitch when i unwillingly dragged my ass through 200 pages of crappy dialogue, gen z slangs, reckless teenagers acting stupid, an overprotective brother who makes my skin crawl— like dude monitors her to the extent where he barges in the room when she's about to screw someone, doesn't let her step a foot outside alone, orders her to go to her room like she's a goddamn child. THEY ARE TWINS!!
P.S. i found the perfect yt short to summarize this book 😭
welcome to my short and sweet review ofthe summer i turned pretty sorry my life with the walter boys sorry the kissing booth uh my bad, SAY YOU SWEAR BY MEAGAN BRANDY!
let me present you the all too original characters 🥰🥰
~Belly sorry Jackie uh Elle nopes ARIANNA: the girl torn between choosing two boys. a beach house with no parental surveillance to hold them back. pages of drinking, partying, clubbing and what not and one last summer for these group of friends to enjoy their life to the fullest, before they part to leave for their respective colleges.
~ and now the C for coward cunts:Conrad uh Cole my bad CHASE: the broody, grumpy wimp with no personality, who is too much of a looser to neither work on his feelings nor to let the girl go. the fmc is blindly in love with this asshole and none of us can see why.
~Jeremiah sorry Alex uh my brain is rotting Marco nahh NOAH: the sunshine, sweet, sunny, chirpy boy, who happens to have every quality a woman looks for in a man, who is always emotionally supportive to the girl, who very obviously should be the only choice but the author always saves him for some drama.
the romance genre is tiring me.
y'all can't say i'm a judgemental bitch when i unwillingly dragged my ass through 200 pages of crappy dialogue, gen z slangs, reckless teenagers acting stupid, an overprotective brother who makes my skin crawl— like dude monitors her to the extent where he barges in the room when she's about to screw someone, doesn't let her step a foot outside alone, orders her to go to her room like she's a goddamn child. THEY ARE TWINS!!
P.S. i found the perfect yt short to summarize this book 😭
welcome to my short and sweet review of
let me present you the all too original characters 🥰🥰
~
~ and now the C for coward cunts:
~
the romance genre is tiring me.
February 19, 2022
Honestly, I don't really like the author's writing. And the story and characters are just totally unrealistic; it's clear that the author writes from a list of plot points she wants to hit without truly doing any world or character building. Just like an actor takes on a role and has to understand the nuances for how characters would behave in certain instances, author's also need to do this work to bring their characters and worlds to life.
For example, when the heroine is telling us (lots of telling in this book) about her twin brother and his two best friends, we get:
Like this is really not a great way to start. It's so cliche to already have a trio of super-hot guys that are all friends. But then the author tells us they're all also super smart, super athletic, and bad boys. Later we also learn that they're similar heights. So the only difference is their hair color I guess...
Anyways, the book didn't get better from there. Not to mention that this novel is clearly part of a series even though it doesn't say so; it's interconnected with other books the author has written. I could tell because the author was going on and on about random characters and side events for no reason at all...so I looked up the characters and sure enough, she had written other books about them (Tender Hearts series). I really like starting books fresh with completely different characters, so I really wish it was indicated that this book was related to another series. The stuff she was talking about I either didn't care about or was confusing to me. And honestly, I think the author would benefit from starting from scratch to get her creative juices flowing again.
For example, when the heroine is telling us (lots of telling in this book) about her twin brother and his two best friends, we get:
...I sat back, forced to watch as the jocks of junior high became the hotties of high school.
Every girl wanted a bite, but who could blame them? They were model students, star athletes, and undercover bad boys. No matter a girl’s type, one of the three was sure to fit the bill.
Like this is really not a great way to start. It's so cliche to already have a trio of super-hot guys that are all friends. But then the author tells us they're all also super smart, super athletic, and bad boys. Later we also learn that they're similar heights. So the only difference is their hair color I guess...
Anyways, the book didn't get better from there. Not to mention that this novel is clearly part of a series even though it doesn't say so; it's interconnected with other books the author has written. I could tell because the author was going on and on about random characters and side events for no reason at all...so I looked up the characters and sure enough, she had written other books about them (Tender Hearts series). I really like starting books fresh with completely different characters, so I really wish it was indicated that this book was related to another series. The stuff she was talking about I either didn't care about or was confusing to me. And honestly, I think the author would benefit from starting from scratch to get her creative juices flowing again.
January 15, 2024
·˚*୨୧꒰ 5 stars ꒱୨୧*˚·
if she isn't mine in the end, I'll still be hers.
Okay I don't know how to start this, but let me tell you, this has been a 5 star read after so so much time. Well, actually it was a 4.5 stars, but the way this book made me feel🦋🦋
I added Noah (the mmc) to my book boyfriend list and I'm actually proud, if all men were like him, problems wouldn't exist in this doomed world☹️☹️ literally let me tell you:
1) he cooks for her, he "teaches" her how to cook, okay it was an excuse to pass time together but hehe you know what I mean, that shit hot🫦 but literally he just enjoys her company and wants to make her happy. My mann. WHY. CAN'T. EVERYONE. BE. LIKE. HIM🤺🤺
"Baby, you beat out every woman everywhere, even in your sleep"
2) he reads her like an open book, I remember how she didn't even talk and he was answering her thoughts. Shit was crazy, I thought he was a mind-reader lmaoao. And even the smut scenes weren't cringey bc of how boyfriend Noah was😈🙏🏼
"Falling in love with me didn't mean she fell out of love with him.
It meant she loved us both.
I just want her to love me more."
3) okay, I could make the list longer that the additives in your food, but I fear I'd spoiler something😤✋🏼
"I understood the power of obsession, and mine started the minute I laid eyes on him"
𝄞 playlist ๋࣭ ⭑⚝
♡ call me maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen
♡ mercy - Shawn Mendes
♡ all I want - Olivia Rodrigo
♡ don't start now - Dua Lipa
♡ dangerously - Charlie Puth
♡ memories - Maroon 5
♡ arcade - Duncan Laurence
Stop I get reminded by them in every song I listen to, this is not okay☹️☹️how am I going to move on??
plot
honestly at first it was a little 🤏🏼 slow, and there were scenes that made me mad, but that's part of the experience of reading this book, so it's okay😌 yes, I'm totally okay rn *happy tears fall*
the pace was very fast so I didn't even feel like I was reading a 500+ pages book.
A thing I loved is how, because of a kind of inside joke, my babies were calling each other Romeo and Juliet, the way I giggled every time🤭 (yes, it's time to finally read my first Shakespearean novel ever)
THE ICONIC DIALOGUE IN QUESTION
A smile crosses his lips. "Bye, Juliet".
"Juliet?" I question.
His grin grows impossibly bright. "If I'm Romeo, then you've got to be Juliet".
"You know that was a tragic love story, right?" I shout, smiling all the same.
"Epic." He turns, walking backward. "It was an epic love story!"
Noah Riley disappears into the darkness, and I stand there watching him go.
Last thing before I stop annoying y'all is THE TITLE, yes it has a meaning and it's not three words put together casually because Meagan Brandy was out of time to pay rent😔
the moment you realize what it means>>>
AAAAAH I just loved it so much🌷
tropes
⤷brother's best friend
⤷friends to lovers
⤷love triangle
⤷college
⤷slow burn
⤷dual pov
⤷football captain
TW
some mentions of grief, death and unrequited love. Personally, I didn't find anything triggering in my reading experience for this book and it was pretty okay.
overall
okay no way you read this till now and didn't go to pick up this book😠jail time for you🫵🏼jkjk.
But yeah this book ACTUALLY made me feel something in a long time, I smiled, I giggled, I sneezed, I wanted to cry, I felt sad and I was happy again😣 for anyone who will read this or has an intention to, I genuinely hope you'll love this🫶🏼💐I love y'all, mwah 💋
Well no, I actually have a complaint about this book: why can't I have someone like Noah in my life?? nu uh, the audacity🙄✋🏼men irl should learn from him.
if she isn't mine in the end, I'll still be hers.
Okay I don't know how to start this, but let me tell you, this has been a 5 star read after so so much time. Well, actually it was a 4.5 stars, but the way this book made me feel🦋🦋
I added Noah (the mmc) to my book boyfriend list and I'm actually proud, if all men were like him, problems wouldn't exist in this doomed world☹️☹️ literally let me tell you:
1) he cooks for her, he "teaches" her how to cook, okay it was an excuse to pass time together but hehe you know what I mean, that shit hot🫦 but literally he just enjoys her company and wants to make her happy. My mann. WHY. CAN'T. EVERYONE. BE. LIKE. HIM🤺🤺
"Baby, you beat out every woman everywhere, even in your sleep"
2) he reads her like an open book, I remember how she didn't even talk and he was answering her thoughts. Shit was crazy, I thought he was a mind-reader lmaoao. And even the smut scenes weren't cringey bc of how boyfriend Noah was😈🙏🏼
"Falling in love with me didn't mean she fell out of love with him.
It meant she loved us both.
I just want her to love me more."
3) okay, I could make the list longer that the additives in your food, but I fear I'd spoiler something😤✋🏼
"I understood the power of obsession, and mine started the minute I laid eyes on him"
𝄞 playlist ๋࣭ ⭑⚝
♡ call me maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen
♡ mercy - Shawn Mendes
♡ all I want - Olivia Rodrigo
♡ don't start now - Dua Lipa
♡ dangerously - Charlie Puth
♡ memories - Maroon 5
♡ arcade - Duncan Laurence
Stop I get reminded by them in every song I listen to, this is not okay☹️☹️how am I going to move on??
plot
honestly at first it was a little 🤏🏼 slow, and there were scenes that made me mad, but that's part of the experience of reading this book, so it's okay😌 yes, I'm totally okay rn *happy tears fall*
the pace was very fast so I didn't even feel like I was reading a 500+ pages book.
A thing I loved is how, because of a kind of inside joke, my babies were calling each other Romeo and Juliet, the way I giggled every time🤭 (yes, it's time to finally read my first Shakespearean novel ever)
THE ICONIC DIALOGUE IN QUESTION
A smile crosses his lips. "Bye, Juliet".
"Juliet?" I question.
His grin grows impossibly bright. "If I'm Romeo, then you've got to be Juliet".
"You know that was a tragic love story, right?" I shout, smiling all the same.
"Epic." He turns, walking backward. "It was an epic love story!"
Noah Riley disappears into the darkness, and I stand there watching him go.
Last thing before I stop annoying y'all is THE TITLE, yes it has a meaning and it's not three words put together casually because Meagan Brandy was out of time to pay rent😔
the moment you realize what it means>>>
AAAAAH I just loved it so much🌷
tropes
⤷brother's best friend
⤷friends to lovers
⤷love triangle
⤷college
⤷slow burn
⤷dual pov
⤷football captain
TW
some mentions of grief, death and unrequited love. Personally, I didn't find anything triggering in my reading experience for this book and it was pretty okay.
overall
okay no way you read this till now and didn't go to pick up this book😠jail time for you🫵🏼jkjk.
But yeah this book ACTUALLY made me feel something in a long time, I smiled, I giggled, I sneezed, I wanted to cry, I felt sad and I was happy again😣 for anyone who will read this or has an intention to, I genuinely hope you'll love this🫶🏼💐I love y'all, mwah 💋
Well no, I actually have a complaint about this book: why can't I have someone like Noah in my life?? nu uh, the audacity🙄✋🏼men irl should learn from him.
July 24, 2022
2 stars
I mostly skimmed this after a certain point - I just wanted to get to the end and be done with it.
It was too long, it was bad. I didn’t like anything about it. - that’s my review.
I loved the idea of love triangle, and of a heroine who moves on from who she thought was the one only to meet someone who truly is the one. This is my favourite type of love triangle. Needless to say, I didn’t like how this book progressed that plot.
Also, can I just add a more general observation. This is not particular to this book only, I’ve seen this done 100 times before and that’s the overprotective brother routine.
It makes me so uncomfortable and most times it actually angers me to see the way the older brother or twin brother relationship to his sister is portrayed. It kinda perpetuates this patronising, patriarchal and condescending idea that women need someone to keep them from making the wrong decisions in terms of who they date and what they wear, where they go etc. It makes my skin crawl to read scenarios where the brother looks at his sister dressed in a form fitting dress (or something similar) and just looking good overall - and making comments like fuck, do you really want me to get into fights tonight because you look like that - and that’s not the worst of it. There’s this line which leads into creepy and gross and uncomfortable which always gets crossed. Not to mention they always sabotage situations for their sisters and how is that being protective? It’s like they don’t respect the sister to make any decisions or to be able to navigate the world without their approval. It’s disturbing.
I mostly skimmed this after a certain point - I just wanted to get to the end and be done with it.
It was too long, it was bad. I didn’t like anything about it. - that’s my review.
I loved the idea of love triangle, and of a heroine who moves on from who she thought was the one only to meet someone who truly is the one. This is my favourite type of love triangle. Needless to say, I didn’t like how this book progressed that plot.
Also, can I just add a more general observation. This is not particular to this book only, I’ve seen this done 100 times before and that’s the overprotective brother routine.
It makes me so uncomfortable and most times it actually angers me to see the way the older brother or twin brother relationship to his sister is portrayed. It kinda perpetuates this patronising, patriarchal and condescending idea that women need someone to keep them from making the wrong decisions in terms of who they date and what they wear, where they go etc. It makes my skin crawl to read scenarios where the brother looks at his sister dressed in a form fitting dress (or something similar) and just looking good overall - and making comments like fuck, do you really want me to get into fights tonight because you look like that - and that’s not the worst of it. There’s this line which leads into creepy and gross and uncomfortable which always gets crossed. Not to mention they always sabotage situations for their sisters and how is that being protective? It’s like they don’t respect the sister to make any decisions or to be able to navigate the world without their approval. It’s disturbing.
February 16, 2022
Holy crap, I'm flabbergasted, this is probably one of my top favourites by this author.
The angst was insane, my heart got shot to smithereens more times than once, but amongst all the emotional angst was such a profound feeling of love for our hero, he was everything I seek in my book characters, steady, hot, caring, he went above and beyond for our heroine.
All these characters pulled on my heart strings, I never wanted to let them go, this was such a slow burn which got its hooks into me from the get go. Straight away I was pulled in, reading until the words started blurring, cursing the author every so often for the unfairness thrown my way, more times than once wanting to just pick up something and throw it, the author played with my heart like target practice.
I want to go back to this world, I need the side characters stories, just so I can spend more time with them all. Loved this book. But hated what it did to my head and heart.
April 7, 2023
can we make more than infinity stars possible? because that’s what this book is to me. i literally want to live in this book forever. i’m scared to pick up another book because i just don’t know how i’ll find the feeling that this book gave me…i know it will happen, but in this moment i fear that it’s impossible. i want meagan brandy to know how much this book means to me…i will cherish this book forever. noah riley and arianna johnson have my entire fucking heart. i adore them with my entire soul. noah fucking riley i literally don’t even know where to begin with you or where to even end with you because i could go on and on about how perfect this man truly is. and arianna…i can literally say the same thing about you boo😭🫶🏼you’re exactly how noah’s momma described you “sweet girl”🥹fuck ok i’m crying😩 *getting shit together to continue* y’all…if you haven’t already read this book, you need to make it a high priority bestie because i put this book off for SOOOO long and yes i have regrets because i could’ve fallen in love with noah riley sooner, i knew he was hyped about literally everywhere on booktube and booktok so i was afraid he wouldn’t live up to the hype but guys please trust me when i tell you that this man exceeded my expectations. this book is just so precious, so so fucking precious. i was smiling, i was giggling, i was laughing, i was crying, i was ugly sobbing…guys i was feeling it ALL and to go back to the beginning and read this book for very first time again will forever be a dream. the characters in this book….absolutely flawless, i love them all …except for one as you guys know😭chase….SIDE EYE💀i will never move on from this book, this is the standard that i will hold all my future books i read to. like there’s just no going back, i’m completely consumed by this masterpiece. “say you swear” “i swear”😩😩😩the love that these two share is just🤭🦋🫶🏼ugh please take me back to the beginning😭i’m ALREADY daydreaming about this book. please please please go read this book, you will not regret it.
SPOILER WARNING besties stop now if you haven’t read the book🫶🏼🫶🏼
i hate chase with everything i have. it’s the way noah said that it took YEARS for chase to realize ari was everything and it took noah the first time he ever laid eyes on her😭😭😭HE IS SO PERFECT I SIMPLY CANNOT. their first encounter with each other when noah missed the catch and the ball hit ari in the back of the head. noah literally had my fucking heart right away same with ari’s. the first half of this book omg i absolutely ate that shit up…i could not stop smiling guys my face STILL hurts. noah was really there for her and read her like his favorite fucking book since the very beginning it had me all giddy😭🫶🏼he was literally just stating everything that was going on with her, not really asking her a single fucking question😭 ”you slept with him” “he hurt you” like😭😭😭he just KNEW. when they started doing EVERYTHING together…that was my favorite stuff to read about i swear. it’s the way he cooked for her using his mom’s recipes and then he taught her how to cook those same recipes. he literally took so much care of her and treated her heart like it was his own ugh i’m still fucking swooning. when ari told noah she was embarrassed to tell him what she wanted to be in life and then she finally told him and said she wanted to be a mother and he said that it wasn’t embarrassing at all…MY HEART GUYS. every time noah would swoop in and save ari from having to hang around chase omg 😮💨🤭🦋chase ahhhhh ik you were so mad. when he wrote his number on a napkin for ari and chase saw it ahhhhhhh i was screaming. also just the way they called each other romeo and juliet…ari described the story as tragic and noah described it as epic……omgg😭🫶🏼i absolutely loved it when she asked noah to go camping with her and the group…ugh it was so cute everything about that was cute and then oooooo the spice guys it was perfect. and the way she wore all of his clothes🤭🦋so fucking cute. and when noah took her to meet his mom for the first time…my heart was so fucking full, the pictures they took together because his mom wanted pictures of them😭🫶🏼his mom calling ari “sweet girl” i couldn’t get enough. my sweet noah and all he went through with his sweet momma🥹🥹GUYS THE WAY ARI’S BROTHER MASON WAS SO FOR NOAH DATING HIS SISTER🥺🥺🥺🥺and when mason got hurt in his football game i was so sick but he’s ok hehe also meagan brandy described mason as a body stunt double for theo james…i loved him since that was said lmao. GUYS when noah and ari were watching the office, superbad, and grownups….literally some of my favorite things to watch. the beauty and the beast reference was everything when cam said ari was belle and noah was the beast😮💨👀🦋when ari would think of a song and relate it to something that was said and noah fucking loved it and said he’d stump her one day and he fucking did in the epilogue🫶🏼it was so frustrating that chase was literally sabotaging what ari and noah had started with each other i was sooooooo mad, i knew the story would pivot at that point and my jaw dropped to the floor when ari was about to tell noah she loves him and she chooses him only for her to get hit by a fucking car and lose her memory of falling in love with noah…i was so fucking sick to my stomach guys i wasn’t expecting that i truly wasn’t because of how blind i went into this book. the only thing i knew about this book was that noah riley is the perfect book bf. and then when we find out that ari was pregnant with hers and noah’s baby and they lost their baby :( i was so fucking sick i wanted to throw up and then ari thinking that the baby was chase’s cuz she had no recollection of noah after they met for the first time😭i literally cried so much. and then reading up until she finally remembers noah was just absolute torture. i hated chase even more because he literally took ari getting hit by a car and turned that into his second chance like that just made me sick. sorry excuse for a fucking man. it literally hurt so bad when noah’s mom died idk what i was expecting but it wasn’t for her to die :( especially not before ari remembered her. just so sad. but i got my happy ending hehe it was literally the perfect fucking ending ever…i wish we got a glimpse of them having kids in the epilogue but that’s okay because i know that happened with ari and noah, i don’t need to read about it, but i just know it would’ve been cute. it hurt so much that noah had to mourn his baby’s loss by himself until the end when ari finally remembered everything about noah. this book was beyond perfect. the spicy scene in the epilogue was everything hehe and then spending christmas, new years, and the gala together was everything because that was what they missed together when she still was suffering from her amnesia. i knew it would be something about noah’s mom that would bring her back to noah and remember, but i just didn’t know it’d be through a letter and some words written in a different language😭😭😭that letter made me fucking sobbbb. and the cute little white fluffy football noah had in honor of their baby they lost😭sooooo fucking cute. i will never let myself forget this book, i will be thinking about this book religiously forever. ari and noah i love you both forever🫶🏼
SPOILER WARNING besties stop now if you haven’t read the book🫶🏼🫶🏼
i hate chase with everything i have. it’s the way noah said that it took YEARS for chase to realize ari was everything and it took noah the first time he ever laid eyes on her😭😭😭HE IS SO PERFECT I SIMPLY CANNOT. their first encounter with each other when noah missed the catch and the ball hit ari in the back of the head. noah literally had my fucking heart right away same with ari’s. the first half of this book omg i absolutely ate that shit up…i could not stop smiling guys my face STILL hurts. noah was really there for her and read her like his favorite fucking book since the very beginning it had me all giddy😭🫶🏼he was literally just stating everything that was going on with her, not really asking her a single fucking question😭 ”you slept with him” “he hurt you” like😭😭😭he just KNEW. when they started doing EVERYTHING together…that was my favorite stuff to read about i swear. it’s the way he cooked for her using his mom’s recipes and then he taught her how to cook those same recipes. he literally took so much care of her and treated her heart like it was his own ugh i’m still fucking swooning. when ari told noah she was embarrassed to tell him what she wanted to be in life and then she finally told him and said she wanted to be a mother and he said that it wasn’t embarrassing at all…MY HEART GUYS. every time noah would swoop in and save ari from having to hang around chase omg 😮💨🤭🦋chase ahhhhh ik you were so mad. when he wrote his number on a napkin for ari and chase saw it ahhhhhhh i was screaming. also just the way they called each other romeo and juliet…ari described the story as tragic and noah described it as epic……omgg😭🫶🏼i absolutely loved it when she asked noah to go camping with her and the group…ugh it was so cute everything about that was cute and then oooooo the spice guys it was perfect. and the way she wore all of his clothes🤭🦋so fucking cute. and when noah took her to meet his mom for the first time…my heart was so fucking full, the pictures they took together because his mom wanted pictures of them😭🫶🏼his mom calling ari “sweet girl” i couldn’t get enough. my sweet noah and all he went through with his sweet momma🥹🥹GUYS THE WAY ARI’S BROTHER MASON WAS SO FOR NOAH DATING HIS SISTER🥺🥺🥺🥺and when mason got hurt in his football game i was so sick but he’s ok hehe also meagan brandy described mason as a body stunt double for theo james…i loved him since that was said lmao. GUYS when noah and ari were watching the office, superbad, and grownups….literally some of my favorite things to watch. the beauty and the beast reference was everything when cam said ari was belle and noah was the beast😮💨👀🦋when ari would think of a song and relate it to something that was said and noah fucking loved it and said he’d stump her one day and he fucking did in the epilogue🫶🏼it was so frustrating that chase was literally sabotaging what ari and noah had started with each other i was sooooooo mad, i knew the story would pivot at that point and my jaw dropped to the floor when ari was about to tell noah she loves him and she chooses him only for her to get hit by a fucking car and lose her memory of falling in love with noah…i was so fucking sick to my stomach guys i wasn’t expecting that i truly wasn’t because of how blind i went into this book. the only thing i knew about this book was that noah riley is the perfect book bf. and then when we find out that ari was pregnant with hers and noah’s baby and they lost their baby :( i was so fucking sick i wanted to throw up and then ari thinking that the baby was chase’s cuz she had no recollection of noah after they met for the first time😭i literally cried so much. and then reading up until she finally remembers noah was just absolute torture. i hated chase even more because he literally took ari getting hit by a car and turned that into his second chance like that just made me sick. sorry excuse for a fucking man. it literally hurt so bad when noah’s mom died idk what i was expecting but it wasn’t for her to die :( especially not before ari remembered her. just so sad. but i got my happy ending hehe it was literally the perfect fucking ending ever…i wish we got a glimpse of them having kids in the epilogue but that’s okay because i know that happened with ari and noah, i don’t need to read about it, but i just know it would’ve been cute. it hurt so much that noah had to mourn his baby’s loss by himself until the end when ari finally remembered everything about noah. this book was beyond perfect. the spicy scene in the epilogue was everything hehe and then spending christmas, new years, and the gala together was everything because that was what they missed together when she still was suffering from her amnesia. i knew it would be something about noah’s mom that would bring her back to noah and remember, but i just didn’t know it’d be through a letter and some words written in a different language😭😭😭that letter made me fucking sobbbb. and the cute little white fluffy football noah had in honor of their baby they lost😭sooooo fucking cute. i will never let myself forget this book, i will be thinking about this book religiously forever. ari and noah i love you both forever🫶🏼
Shelved as 'soft-dnf'
November 17, 2024soft-dnf / on pause page 45
I have to be honest I forgot about this book after I started it a month ago, now I’m not in the mood anymore to read it🫣 I’ll come back to it one day tho
ᝰ.ᐟ pre-read: ᯓᡣ𐭩୭˚.
Some people hate it, some people love it. Curious to know what’s the deal with this book🙂↕️
I have to be honest I forgot about this book after I started it a month ago, now I’m not in the mood anymore to read it🫣 I’ll come back to it one day tho
ᝰ.ᐟ pre-read: ᯓᡣ𐭩୭˚.
Some people hate it, some people love it. Curious to know what’s the deal with this book🙂↕️
May 1, 2023
noah riley the man that you are
October 10, 2023
DNF’d @ 31%
Me asf the entire time: 😴😴😴😴😴😴😴😴
The writing was juvenile and the inner monologue was never ending. Everyone in here had no personality except Noah. That man single handedly carried every conversation. But he just wasn’t enough to make me suffer thru till the end.
And to think I was gna buy the paperback 🤡
Edit: I just read the spoilers 💀💀💀 I am so fucking GLAD I didn’t read any more of this 👹
Me asf the entire time: 😴😴😴😴😴😴😴😴
The writing was juvenile and the inner monologue was never ending. Everyone in here had no personality except Noah. That man single handedly carried every conversation. But he just wasn’t enough to make me suffer thru till the end.
And to think I was gna buy the paperback 🤡
Edit: I just read the spoilers 💀💀💀 I am so fucking GLAD I didn’t read any more of this 👹
April 24, 2025
Noah Reilly please be mine.
I lowered the rating from 4 to 3 For a reason.
4/5 stars for me means a perfect book and I enjoyed this book so much, it drew so much emotions out of me, the ending stabbed me 🤧 and I LOVE The MMC But it wasn’t perfect. So here’s why not 4 stars anymore after I thought about it:
➸ 4/5 stars reads for me means I love both MCs. And as I said I love Noah but I didn’t enjoy Ariana, I don’t think she was explored the way Noah was. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t connect to her?
➸ the monologue nearly killed me from how unnecessarily long and detailed it was. It’s literally 70% of the book I couldn’t turn a blind eye to that.
rec by ken 🤭 yes I didn’t give four stars but I devoured it.
I lowered the rating from 4 to 3 For a reason.
4/5 stars for me means a perfect book and I enjoyed this book so much, it drew so much emotions out of me, the ending stabbed me 🤧 and I LOVE The MMC But it wasn’t perfect. So here’s why not 4 stars anymore after I thought about it:
➸ 4/5 stars reads for me means I love both MCs. And as I said I love Noah but I didn’t enjoy Ariana, I don’t think she was explored the way Noah was. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t connect to her?
➸ the monologue nearly killed me from how unnecessarily long and detailed it was. It’s literally 70% of the book I couldn’t turn a blind eye to that.
rec by ken 🤭 yes I didn’t give four stars but I devoured it.
April 5, 2023
4,75/5⭐️
This. Was. EVERYTHING!!!!
The hype was sooooo real about this book. It definitely did not disappoint one bit. Istg this books had me crying, kicking my feet, blushing, throwing my phone against the wall and more!!
I just love when a book makes you feel so many emotions throughout the process of reading it and this book did just that and more!!
I absolutely fell in love with Ari and Noah. They are literally so fucking perfect and healthy!! I just love reading about a healthy love story where the characters actually communicate, support one another’s decisions no matter what and love each other unconditionally! And this is exactly what these two did. Istg I want a love like theirs. It was just so wholesome and well paced!! Their relationship was just to die for and I’m so so happy that things turned out perfect for them!
Noah is also auch an amazing boyfriend… I want a man like him!!! He was always there for Ari, supported her and made sure that she felt loved and that there were also no misunderstandings between them!! He’s just too perfect for his own good!
Ari is a real cutie. I loved her character and I’m just so glad that she got what she deserved after having gotten treated so badly by Chase.
Talking about Chase… I hate this dude with a passion… LIKE HOW BLIND AND STUPID CAN SOMEONE BE?!?! Read the fucking room and take a hint istfg he got on my last nerves. He’s also the reason why I can not give this book a full on 5 stars because he just kept coming back and back and talking shit every single time he appeared. I swear I wanted to punch him soooo badly!!! He’s literally the biggest red flag I’ve ever seen in a book and most definitely NOT in a good way. He’s the guy your parents warn you, to stay away from. I could honestly write a whole essay about how much I despise this man lmao.
Anyway… other than that minor inconvenience, the book was perfection! I loved every second of it! And I noticed that Meagan Brandy’s writing style has improved a lot since the last time I’ve read a book of hers and I’m very proud of her for that!!
I do gotta say though that some of the things certain characters (such as Cam and Brady) said were a bit cringe imo but not that bad that I had to look away lol.
Nonetheless, the pacing of the book was very well done and I loved how character-driven it was. Do gotta say there isn’t much of a plot but the characters made up for it! (Except for Chase lmao)
Overall, I really really enjoyed this book and it definitely met my expectations for it! Highly recommend if you love romance, friends to lovers, unexpected plot twists and amazing characters!
This. Was. EVERYTHING!!!!
The hype was sooooo real about this book. It definitely did not disappoint one bit. Istg this books had me crying, kicking my feet, blushing, throwing my phone against the wall and more!!
I just love when a book makes you feel so many emotions throughout the process of reading it and this book did just that and more!!
I absolutely fell in love with Ari and Noah. They are literally so fucking perfect and healthy!! I just love reading about a healthy love story where the characters actually communicate, support one another’s decisions no matter what and love each other unconditionally! And this is exactly what these two did. Istg I want a love like theirs. It was just so wholesome and well paced!! Their relationship was just to die for and I’m so so happy that things turned out perfect for them!
Noah is also auch an amazing boyfriend… I want a man like him!!! He was always there for Ari, supported her and made sure that she felt loved and that there were also no misunderstandings between them!! He’s just too perfect for his own good!
Ari is a real cutie. I loved her character and I’m just so glad that she got what she deserved after having gotten treated so badly by Chase.
Talking about Chase… I hate this dude with a passion… LIKE HOW BLIND AND STUPID CAN SOMEONE BE?!?! Read the fucking room and take a hint istfg he got on my last nerves. He’s also the reason why I can not give this book a full on 5 stars because he just kept coming back and back and talking shit every single time he appeared. I swear I wanted to punch him soooo badly!!! He’s literally the biggest red flag I’ve ever seen in a book and most definitely NOT in a good way. He’s the guy your parents warn you, to stay away from. I could honestly write a whole essay about how much I despise this man lmao.
Anyway… other than that minor inconvenience, the book was perfection! I loved every second of it! And I noticed that Meagan Brandy’s writing style has improved a lot since the last time I’ve read a book of hers and I’m very proud of her for that!!
I do gotta say though that some of the things certain characters (such as Cam and Brady) said were a bit cringe imo but not that bad that I had to look away lol.
Nonetheless, the pacing of the book was very well done and I loved how character-driven it was. Do gotta say there isn’t much of a plot but the characters made up for it! (Except for Chase lmao)
Overall, I really really enjoyed this book and it definitely met my expectations for it! Highly recommend if you love romance, friends to lovers, unexpected plot twists and amazing characters!
May 2, 2023
noah riley, my man. i'm WRECKED. the last 30% of the book, I SOBBED UGH. what the actual fuck.
Read
May 8, 2024i really wanted to like this because i'm nothing if not a whore for a forbidden romance (in this case brother's best friend with a slight age gap) but good lord the writing was not it for me. it wasn't bad, i just really did not connect with how the heroine and her bestie talked to each other. was a touch cringe for me.
i've heard it becomes a love triangle, which again, am a hoe for. but i don't want to slog thru to get there.
i've heard it becomes a love triangle, which again, am a hoe for. but i don't want to slog thru to get there.
April 8, 2025
I'M FINALLY FREE!!!!!
I've read many bad books, but Say You Swear takes the cake as the most awful book I've ever read in my entire life. I dragged myself through 500+ pages of this book, and it was such terrible drivel that it literally sent me straight into a reading slump. Characters are boring and one-dimensional, the writing is the worst I've ever seen, the tropes are straight out of a bad 2013 teenage movie, and it reads like a poorly thought-out Wattpad fanfiction. In fact, that's doing it too much justice. It's even worse than the Wattpad fanfic I read when I was twelve, and I can't even imagine enduring that now. How is this, I quote, "an unforgettable tiktok sensation"???
After The Spanish Love Deception and If He Had Been With Me, this is the third recommendation I’ve taken from booktok. Both the earlier books I read turned out to be huge misses, and I thought maybe third time’s the charm right? NOOOOO. This book wasn’t even bad – it was just plain garbage. I wouldn’t even use it as toilet paper.
The only explanation I can think of is that girlies on booktok really hype up absolute trash nowadays. One girl’s trash is another’s treasure and all that. Well I’ve learned my lesson; after getting burned by booktok one too many times this is the last straw. Clearly our tastes are vastly different and so I’m never, ever going to take a booktok recommendation ever again 😭😭
My paperback was 514 pages. FIVE HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN, of which half of it was absolutely useless and could have been removed from the story. But the author felt the need to spend the longest time waxing about little trivial details like what exactly they ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She also constantly listed what they did the entire day (slept, ate, went to the pool, played catch, took a nap, had dinner, gathered around a bonfire etc.) many times, even though none of it had any significance, link or relevance to the overall plot. Reading the chapters was like reading a senile person’s ramblings about their youth.
But the worst was the dialogue. It's VERY stilted and choppy, and it's so immature and full of awkward slang that I kept cringing. At least 70% of the scenes were them talking about nonsense that doesn't progress the story at all. Banter, fun and inside jokes between friends is normal, expected and included but not when it takes up almost 50% of a book, ruining the entire flow. I wanted to know what was going on between Ari/Chase/Noah, not 5 pages of two characters joking around about unimportant shit.
Don't even get me started on the grammar. Brandy frequently writes this about her characters' lines: '"[sentence]", she shares.' WHAT THE HELL IS THAT??? Like I'm not sure if Brandy's writing is just bad or her editor wasn't doing their job properly, but simple English tells you that the sentence is grammatically wrong because sharing something = saying something, meaning that both carry the same implication. It's repetitive and the verb doesn't add any value to the sentence. She could've done so much better with "she exclaims", "she gasps", "she murmurs", etc etc. But unfortunately, the writing is just so bad that this only scrapes the surface of it. The author kept randomly jumping from scene to scene, each paragraph didn't lead to the next at all and I kept having to reread the prior sentences to try to find the link.
Oh, and her terrible writing meant that the book was the biggest show not tell fest ever. I don't even want to go into that, otherwise I might write another 5 pages of rant out of annoyance.
Another gripe is that she dragged the ending way past its expiry date. It should've just ended with the HEA when Ari woke up in the hospital. Instead I had to sit through another 200 pages of shit and unnecessary drama. Like amnesia where she just conveniently forgets the mmc but still remembers the other guy??? Be so for fucking real. I was almost clawing my eyes out with frustration by then, because everything felt so contrived. You could tell the author just continued the story for the sake of creating more love triangle angst and shock value, rather than caring about spinning a genuinely interesting plot.
Which brings me to my next point. It's a fucking love triangle!!!! You could never have guessed this from the synopsis. I thought it was a situation where she was pining over her ex and then meets a new, swoony guy. But nooooo, the other guy stays in the story, is an asshole and creates all the drama. Like without him, there wouldn't be a book. And I don't even know what the fmc sees in him. We're just told that she's loved him forever since she was young, blah blah blah, but not WHY. And I guarantee you she can't even think of a good reason because the guy is the most toxic, controlling, narcissistic red flag ever. There's no way the author could have made him lovable. So she just decided to tell the reader that fmc has loved him forever, end of story. Again, sloppy writing.
Tldr: it's so bad I would give a zero if I could, but sadly I can't so I have to give it a one. But please know I regret every cent of my money I spent on this book, and that I don't usually write hate reviews but I'm making an exception because this book was just so atrocious. Honestly, Brandy should consider a new career path.
🎧✩˖°🌷✨ PRE-REVIEW ♡ | I wish there were a zero-star button because this book deserves it..... it was so so SO BAD I needed literally a month to finish it and it still put me in a reading slump 😭😭 I'm never trusting booktok recommendations again I haven't found a single decent book on there
🐋🐚☾⋆⁺₊ PRE-READ ♡ | Hoping that I can make a dent in my physical tbr this year rather than just reading ebooks 🤭
I've read many bad books, but Say You Swear takes the cake as the most awful book I've ever read in my entire life. I dragged myself through 500+ pages of this book, and it was such terrible drivel that it literally sent me straight into a reading slump. Characters are boring and one-dimensional, the writing is the worst I've ever seen, the tropes are straight out of a bad 2013 teenage movie, and it reads like a poorly thought-out Wattpad fanfiction. In fact, that's doing it too much justice. It's even worse than the Wattpad fanfic I read when I was twelve, and I can't even imagine enduring that now. How is this, I quote, "an unforgettable tiktok sensation"???
After The Spanish Love Deception and If He Had Been With Me, this is the third recommendation I’ve taken from booktok. Both the earlier books I read turned out to be huge misses, and I thought maybe third time’s the charm right? NOOOOO. This book wasn’t even bad – it was just plain garbage. I wouldn’t even use it as toilet paper.
The only explanation I can think of is that girlies on booktok really hype up absolute trash nowadays. One girl’s trash is another’s treasure and all that. Well I’ve learned my lesson; after getting burned by booktok one too many times this is the last straw. Clearly our tastes are vastly different and so I’m never, ever going to take a booktok recommendation ever again 😭😭
My paperback was 514 pages. FIVE HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN, of which half of it was absolutely useless and could have been removed from the story. But the author felt the need to spend the longest time waxing about little trivial details like what exactly they ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She also constantly listed what they did the entire day (slept, ate, went to the pool, played catch, took a nap, had dinner, gathered around a bonfire etc.) many times, even though none of it had any significance, link or relevance to the overall plot. Reading the chapters was like reading a senile person’s ramblings about their youth.
But the worst was the dialogue. It's VERY stilted and choppy, and it's so immature and full of awkward slang that I kept cringing. At least 70% of the scenes were them talking about nonsense that doesn't progress the story at all. Banter, fun and inside jokes between friends is normal, expected and included but not when it takes up almost 50% of a book, ruining the entire flow. I wanted to know what was going on between Ari/Chase/Noah, not 5 pages of two characters joking around about unimportant shit.
Don't even get me started on the grammar. Brandy frequently writes this about her characters' lines: '"[sentence]", she shares.' WHAT THE HELL IS THAT??? Like I'm not sure if Brandy's writing is just bad or her editor wasn't doing their job properly, but simple English tells you that the sentence is grammatically wrong because sharing something = saying something, meaning that both carry the same implication. It's repetitive and the verb doesn't add any value to the sentence. She could've done so much better with "she exclaims", "she gasps", "she murmurs", etc etc. But unfortunately, the writing is just so bad that this only scrapes the surface of it. The author kept randomly jumping from scene to scene, each paragraph didn't lead to the next at all and I kept having to reread the prior sentences to try to find the link.
Oh, and her terrible writing meant that the book was the biggest show not tell fest ever. I don't even want to go into that, otherwise I might write another 5 pages of rant out of annoyance.
Another gripe is that she dragged the ending way past its expiry date. It should've just ended with the HEA when Ari woke up in the hospital. Instead I had to sit through another 200 pages of shit and unnecessary drama. Like amnesia where she just conveniently forgets the mmc but still remembers the other guy??? Be so for fucking real. I was almost clawing my eyes out with frustration by then, because everything felt so contrived. You could tell the author just continued the story for the sake of creating more love triangle angst and shock value, rather than caring about spinning a genuinely interesting plot.
Which brings me to my next point. It's a fucking love triangle!!!! You could never have guessed this from the synopsis. I thought it was a situation where she was pining over her ex and then meets a new, swoony guy. But nooooo, the other guy stays in the story, is an asshole and creates all the drama. Like without him, there wouldn't be a book. And I don't even know what the fmc sees in him. We're just told that she's loved him forever since she was young, blah blah blah, but not WHY. And I guarantee you she can't even think of a good reason because the guy is the most toxic, controlling, narcissistic red flag ever. There's no way the author could have made him lovable. So she just decided to tell the reader that fmc has loved him forever, end of story. Again, sloppy writing.
Tldr: it's so bad I would give a zero if I could, but sadly I can't so I have to give it a one. But please know I regret every cent of my money I spent on this book, and that I don't usually write hate reviews but I'm making an exception because this book was just so atrocious. Honestly, Brandy should consider a new career path.
🎧✩˖°🌷✨ PRE-REVIEW ♡ | I wish there were a zero-star button because this book deserves it..... it was so so SO BAD I needed literally a month to finish it and it still put me in a reading slump 😭😭 I'm never trusting booktok recommendations again I haven't found a single decent book on there
🐋🐚☾⋆⁺₊ PRE-READ ♡ | Hoping that I can make a dent in my physical tbr this year rather than just reading ebooks 🤭
May 23, 2024
i finished this last night and I just know im never trusting booktok ever again 💀💀 (jk, I totally am)
it was too insta-lovey for me that may have been why
disappointed would really be an understatement.
im kinda stuck on a rating. 2.5-3.5 (??) stars ❤️🩹
it was too insta-lovey for me that may have been why
disappointed would really be an understatement.
im kinda stuck on a rating. 2.5-3.5 (??) stars ❤️🩹
May 13, 2023
2.5 star and only because Noah Riley is perfect
March 9, 2022
Ugh. I have so many thoughts. SPOILER WARNING!
I read this book for Romancing the Reader's Instagram book club, and I was really looking forward to it. I haven't read a sports romance before, so I was excited to get out of my comfort zone. Unfortunately, I think this book really wasn't for me.
My rating changed a lot as I read the book. Here's the timeline:
-First 150 pages = 2 stars. This book felt silly in a bad way. The characters felt like absurd college caricatures. Drunk literally all the time, speaking exclusively in 2021 slang, entirely sex-obsessed. The friend group is so unrealistic to begin with, and they act so weird. Ugh.
-Page 156-433 = 3-4 stars. Noah and Ari have their second "meet cute" in the club, and suddenly I'm interested. I like Noah. I love watching them become friends and then fall in love. The love triangle with Chase is annoying, but I'm here for Noah anyway.
-Last 240 pages = 1 star. I hated the tropey 3rd act breakup of Noah and Ari. I HATED the car crash and I utterly loathed the amnesia plot twist. I literally put down the book at the pregnancy loss reveal. I was so mad. Once I collected myself enough to continue, we got hit with the (fake) plot twist thinking Noah had ALSO died in a car crash... and I literally almost DNFed this book. UGHHHHH.
The ending was ok, but certainly did not make up for the hot mess that preceded it.
Also, there were no less than 30 typos / grammatical errors in my paperback copy, which immediately made this book feel really unprofessional.
Brandy's first line in the author's note was the final nail in the coffin for me:
"You made it to the end!!! How are you feeling?! LOL"
With all due respect, I feel like throwing up. I shouldn't have wasted my time reading these 700 pages.
I read this book for Romancing the Reader's Instagram book club, and I was really looking forward to it. I haven't read a sports romance before, so I was excited to get out of my comfort zone. Unfortunately, I think this book really wasn't for me.
My rating changed a lot as I read the book. Here's the timeline:
-First 150 pages = 2 stars. This book felt silly in a bad way. The characters felt like absurd college caricatures. Drunk literally all the time, speaking exclusively in 2021 slang, entirely sex-obsessed. The friend group is so unrealistic to begin with, and they act so weird. Ugh.
-Page 156-433 = 3-4 stars. Noah and Ari have their second "meet cute" in the club, and suddenly I'm interested. I like Noah. I love watching them become friends and then fall in love. The love triangle with Chase is annoying, but I'm here for Noah anyway.
-Last 240 pages = 1 star. I hated the tropey 3rd act breakup of Noah and Ari. I HATED the car crash and I utterly loathed the amnesia plot twist. I literally put down the book at the pregnancy loss reveal. I was so mad. Once I collected myself enough to continue, we got hit with the (fake) plot twist thinking Noah had ALSO died in a car crash... and I literally almost DNFed this book. UGHHHHH.
The ending was ok, but certainly did not make up for the hot mess that preceded it.
Also, there were no less than 30 typos / grammatical errors in my paperback copy, which immediately made this book feel really unprofessional.
Brandy's first line in the author's note was the final nail in the coffin for me:
"You made it to the end!!! How are you feeling?! LOL"
With all due respect, I feel like throwing up. I shouldn't have wasted my time reading these 700 pages.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2022
I'm obviously in the minority here.. but I couldn't. I DNFd @ 35%. If you want to read my rant about this book scrollllllll down. FYI I read the synopsis when adding this to my TBR before it was out. So of course when it came out, I saw all the gushing over it, and I went straight in not reading the synopsis since that TBR add.. so I really went in blind.. not to mention the synopsis did a crap job of explaining this book.
SPOILERS:
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Starting out I loved this book. I couldn't put it down! I love a good brother's best friend trope! The adventures their little group went on were fun and it was cool how close they were.
UNTIL I was lost with Payton..Parker? Nate? I did do a little research because I felt like I was missing something. Apparently, Nate and his girl (can't remember her name) are the main characters in another series by the author.
THEN Arianna gives up her virginity to Chase. They lay by a fire after. Her brother shows up..he gets upset because they are laying by each other..TOUCHING ARMS. Mason tells her to go inside and SHE DOES! BUT she gets upset because Chase told him nothing was going on..WHAT DID SHE EXPECT?! It's his best friend! He's in a totally terrible situation. GIVE THE GUY SOME SLACK! Now I know I didn't read the entirety of the book. My understanding is the author turns Chase into the villain of the story.
ONCE AGAIN I'm in the minority because I was rooting for Chase and Ari. The problem was THEY DIDN'T COMMUNICATE! NEITHER OF THEM! The author had me feeling like he cared about her but he was in this impossible situation. STUCK IN THE MIDDLE! ERRRR!
THEN WE GET NOAH>> sweet, caring, and do no wrong Noah. blah blah blah.. I'M STILL STUCK ON CHASE! I WANT HER TO BE WITH CHASE! Apparently, no one else does..BUT I DO! I wanted him to redeem himself and FINALLY show her he REALLY LOVES HER!
I'm not going to rate this book because it did bring out some emotions in me. I stewed in bed until I finally fell asleep and woke up still thinking about it. This is probably the longest review I've ever done. It probably makes zero sense because I am not a writer by any means.
I wanted to explain my DNF because apparently a lot of people loved the book. I couldn't get into it once she started ignoring her friend group and Noah came in the picture. I just couldn't get into it and I wasn't going to spend another 10 hours torturing myself.
SPOILERS:
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Starting out I loved this book. I couldn't put it down! I love a good brother's best friend trope! The adventures their little group went on were fun and it was cool how close they were.
UNTIL I was lost with Payton..Parker? Nate? I did do a little research because I felt like I was missing something. Apparently, Nate and his girl (can't remember her name) are the main characters in another series by the author.
THEN Arianna gives up her virginity to Chase. They lay by a fire after. Her brother shows up..he gets upset because they are laying by each other..TOUCHING ARMS. Mason tells her to go inside and SHE DOES! BUT she gets upset because Chase told him nothing was going on..WHAT DID SHE EXPECT?! It's his best friend! He's in a totally terrible situation. GIVE THE GUY SOME SLACK! Now I know I didn't read the entirety of the book. My understanding is the author turns Chase into the villain of the story.
ONCE AGAIN I'm in the minority because I was rooting for Chase and Ari. The problem was THEY DIDN'T COMMUNICATE! NEITHER OF THEM! The author had me feeling like he cared about her but he was in this impossible situation. STUCK IN THE MIDDLE! ERRRR!
THEN WE GET NOAH>> sweet, caring, and do no wrong Noah. blah blah blah.. I'M STILL STUCK ON CHASE! I WANT HER TO BE WITH CHASE! Apparently, no one else does..BUT I DO! I wanted him to redeem himself and FINALLY show her he REALLY LOVES HER!
I'm not going to rate this book because it did bring out some emotions in me. I stewed in bed until I finally fell asleep and woke up still thinking about it. This is probably the longest review I've ever done. It probably makes zero sense because I am not a writer by any means.
I wanted to explain my DNF because apparently a lot of people loved the book. I couldn't get into it once she started ignoring her friend group and Noah came in the picture. I just couldn't get into it and I wasn't going to spend another 10 hours torturing myself.
January 13, 2023
say you swear 🍲👼🏼✨🌷🕊️🏉👙💿💫
♾️ infinity ⭐️ stars for my favorite book!!
“say you swear?”
— “i swear.”
to get the best experience, go in blind. this is why my review won’t really give anything away besides how much i enjoyed this perfection of a book.
i have never felt such an array of emotions until reading this. it truly is the definition of an emotional rollercoaster 🎢 with an ending that is well worth the wait.
meagan’s writing has the ability to make you feel as if you are right there with each character as they go through everything. my favorite characters would have to be cameron and noah, the latter being my new number one book boyfriend (he cooks, is a golden retriever, and has a soft spot for his mom) 💌
for all the laughter, happiness, pain, sadness, shock, and anger i went through, this book will stay with me forever ❤️🩹💖
— the biggest thank you to meagan brandy for sending me a signed copy and completing my collection of the three say you swear editions 🤍
♾️ infinity ⭐️ stars for my favorite book!!
“say you swear?”
— “i swear.”
to get the best experience, go in blind. this is why my review won’t really give anything away besides how much i enjoyed this perfection of a book.
i have never felt such an array of emotions until reading this. it truly is the definition of an emotional rollercoaster 🎢 with an ending that is well worth the wait.
meagan’s writing has the ability to make you feel as if you are right there with each character as they go through everything. my favorite characters would have to be cameron and noah, the latter being my new number one book boyfriend (he cooks, is a golden retriever, and has a soft spot for his mom) 💌
for all the laughter, happiness, pain, sadness, shock, and anger i went through, this book will stay with me forever ❤️🩹💖
— the biggest thank you to meagan brandy for sending me a signed copy and completing my collection of the three say you swear editions 🤍
November 6, 2024
Arianna has always had feelings for Chase who is her twin brother Mason's best friend. They both danced around the idea but never crossed any lines. Arianna attempted to make a move on Chase but it didn't go as planned. For years Arianna has dreamt of what college life would bring and while some things changed, there was always one constant. It didn't matter how wild she allowed her imagination to run, it always led to the same end. It led her to him her future was clear and he was it. Until suddenly, he wasn't. Now there's a new man in her life Noah the captain and quarterback of the football team. Noah isn't afraid to go after what he wants, unlike Chase. What does Noah want? That's simple, he only has eyes on Arianna no matter the costs. They say first love lasts forever, what about the second?
All my reviews have the possibility of spoilers, be warned!
I am so shocked that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. It has all the tropes I wouldn't say I like it's a friend to lovers with a love triangle. Yet somehow, I ate this book up.
Ari and Noah’s friendship was so pure. It was obvious he did fancy her since the day he met her on the beach but the way he kept those feelings aside when he saw she was hurting and vulnerable to build a strong friendship where she could rely on him to heal. I was so obsessed with it Noah was such a green flag. One of the things I loved the most in their friendship was the reoccurring 'tell me something' while the other character would respond with 'everything'. It happened so many times between the characters it was so adorable.
"Sorry, I was rambling."
The corner of his mouth lifts. "Don't be. I kind of like the sound of your voice," he teases.
He beams pausing in place as a small, covert smile pulls at his lips. "Bye Juliet."
"Juliet?"
His grin grew impossibly bright. "If I'm Romeo, then you've got to be Juliet."
"He doesn't see me, Noah. Not like I wanted him to."
"He sees you." Noah's steady gaze floats across my face. "How could he not?"
Noah's relationship with his mum Lori was just too cute. It was a great representation of how respectful, selfless, and caring the man is.
"You and your mom, you're close." My tone is gentle.
"Yeah," he admits, "She's all I ever had."
"Here in Oceanside?"
His eyes find mine. "Anywhere."
I love Lori. She did everything in her power to benefit her son. She simply was amazing I was devastated about what happened to her character.
"Thank you for breathing life back into my boy. It's been a long time since I've witnessed all his shades of blue, but every visit lately, I've been gifted with a little more."
Noah. Oh, how I loved Noah. His flirting was top-tier. I was giggling and kicking my feet and I wasn't even the person he was talking to.
"I'm a smart man, Juliet. Only a fool would let you go once they had you where they wanted you."
"You kill me, you know that?" His chest heaves against mine, and I flatten my palm against it. "Fucking kill me." His lips glide along my cheek until he finds my mouth again. This time it's a single, soft, slow kiss.
"Careful, Juliet," he warns, steeling my hips with his large, firm hands. "I'm about to lose my gentleman's card here."
The last 200 pages did feel quite slower I wish the pace was picked up because I was slowly getting over it by then. However, it was emotion personally I did not cry but I do understand why people did. It was really touching towards the end quarter.
"If you still love him at all," he rasps. "If there's even the smallest of chances for you and him, I need you to let me go." The air whooshes from my lungs in a quick hiss, my heart beating out of control. "Noah."
"I need you to have mercy on me, Juliet and let me go."
Soon, I'd get to look into her eyes. I'd get to tell her how sorry I am for walking away, for questioning her feelings for me. I'd promised to never do it again and trust I was enough for her when I knew, deep down, she was more than any man could ever deserve, especially a simple man like me.
I watch, waiting for my world to start spinning again, as my girl ever so slowly opens her eyes. A half laugh, half cry wooshes its way out of my chest, and my forehead falls to her stomach. My body shakes with relief, and I pinch my eyes to try and calm myself, if only for a second.
"Did she ask for me?"
"Does she have to for you to know she needs you?" His words are a sharp insult wrapped in glass, cutting as deep as he intended, because no. She doesn't. That was part of the beauty of us. Her pain was mine as mine was hers. We never needed words to know the other was hurting but she doesn't remember that.
"She doesn't remember me, Mom." I look at her, her face blurry from the mess my eyes threaten to make. "She woke up, but woke up to a world I wasn't part of."
It took all I had not to go to her, to drop to my knees beside her and kiss her. To kiss the spot that would soon grow with our child if the world had been kinder.
I did this. I tried to do the right thing, laid on the damn sword because that's what she asked for, that's what she needed, and being any and everything she needs is all I've ever wanted. It's all I'll ever want.
"I don't want to hide from myself anymore, but I can't do this. Sometimes I want to swallow a handful of sleeping pills and hope when I wake, everything is different."
I knew when I met her, that she wasn't free to be mine, as I knew when I felt harder, the climb back up would be rugged, if possible, but the knowledge of how things might end wasn't enough for me to turn back. The path to the three-way junction is one I'd take ten times over, no matter where it leads because loving Arianna Johnson is worth the risk. Being loved by her is priceless.
"If my mother was here, she'd thank you for coming but not for her, not even on a day that's meant to remember her. She'd thank you for me, so I want to do what she never would ask, I want to ask you to think about her for a moment. Not me."
"You can blame me. Anything you want to blame me for, do it. Please." His tone is shattered, helpless, and the ache bleeds into my own veins. "I'll carry that weight, gladly. Happily, if it takes any away from you. I don't want to hurt you."
"What did I give you?" I whisper.
"Purpose, Juliet," he whispered back, "You gave me a purpose when I wasn't so sure I had one."
I've loved her in secret, but I'm not so sure how much of a secret it was. I think she knew. I hope I showed her what she meant to me. What she'll forever mean to me. If she isn't mine in the end, I'll still be hers.
He fell in love with you, Arianna, maybe even the day he met you. You were hurting, and he yearned to be the reason you healed. And he was sweet Arianna, my Noah became your Noah, and honey, he was your everything, just as you are his. You fell for him right back, and you never got up.
Love Lori, the mother forever in debt to the woman who loves her son.
Moisture clouds Noah's eyes, and without taking his eyes off me, he digs into his pocket and pulls out what he tried to hide. A football, but not just any football. A tiny white, fluffy one, no bigger than the palm of his hand. Taking it between my fingers, I spin around, and my throat grows thick. Stitched along the front, where the seam of the football should be, is a soft yellow threading that reads Little Riley. "This... this is for" I swallow, meeting his gaze. Noah's jaw is tight but he manages a nod.
"We didn't even get to love him. Her." My voice cracks, the tears dropping. "Not even for one day."
"Shh, baby, no." He swallows hard, shaking his head. "Don't be sorry. Never be sorry. You just had to find your way back." His eyes close. "I thought I lost you. Are you mine?" he worries, his voice lower than a trembling whisper. "Please say you're mine."
I nod rapidly, my hands gliding along his face. "Always. Forever."
A harsh breath pushes past his lips and he shakes. "Say it."
My eyes pop open, locking with his as I grip and hold him still, whispering. "I swear."
Noah doesn't hesitate. His mouth crushes mine.
The ending was perfection. I was rooting for Noah and Ari, I am so glad it worked out!
His kiss is hard and deep. It's devastating and awakening. It's claiming. His kiss is a promise from his soul to mine that no matter what happens, this is home. He is home.
"Say you swear?"
Placing my palm over his tattoo, I recite its meaning.
"Fear not the fall, but the life that comes from having never leapt at all." I smile through my tears. "I'll always leap if the jump leads me to you, Noah Riley. Always."
"And forever."
"I swear."
I cannot wait to read another Megan Brandy book!
All my reviews have the possibility of spoilers, be warned!
I am so shocked that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. It has all the tropes I wouldn't say I like it's a friend to lovers with a love triangle. Yet somehow, I ate this book up.
Ari and Noah’s friendship was so pure. It was obvious he did fancy her since the day he met her on the beach but the way he kept those feelings aside when he saw she was hurting and vulnerable to build a strong friendship where she could rely on him to heal. I was so obsessed with it Noah was such a green flag. One of the things I loved the most in their friendship was the reoccurring 'tell me something' while the other character would respond with 'everything'. It happened so many times between the characters it was so adorable.
"Sorry, I was rambling."
The corner of his mouth lifts. "Don't be. I kind of like the sound of your voice," he teases.
He beams pausing in place as a small, covert smile pulls at his lips. "Bye Juliet."
"Juliet?"
His grin grew impossibly bright. "If I'm Romeo, then you've got to be Juliet."
"He doesn't see me, Noah. Not like I wanted him to."
"He sees you." Noah's steady gaze floats across my face. "How could he not?"
Noah's relationship with his mum Lori was just too cute. It was a great representation of how respectful, selfless, and caring the man is.
"You and your mom, you're close." My tone is gentle.
"Yeah," he admits, "She's all I ever had."
"Here in Oceanside?"
His eyes find mine. "Anywhere."
I love Lori. She did everything in her power to benefit her son. She simply was amazing I was devastated about what happened to her character.
"Thank you for breathing life back into my boy. It's been a long time since I've witnessed all his shades of blue, but every visit lately, I've been gifted with a little more."
Noah. Oh, how I loved Noah. His flirting was top-tier. I was giggling and kicking my feet and I wasn't even the person he was talking to.
"I'm a smart man, Juliet. Only a fool would let you go once they had you where they wanted you."
"You kill me, you know that?" His chest heaves against mine, and I flatten my palm against it. "Fucking kill me." His lips glide along my cheek until he finds my mouth again. This time it's a single, soft, slow kiss.
"Careful, Juliet," he warns, steeling my hips with his large, firm hands. "I'm about to lose my gentleman's card here."
The last 200 pages did feel quite slower I wish the pace was picked up because I was slowly getting over it by then. However, it was emotion personally I did not cry but I do understand why people did. It was really touching towards the end quarter.
"If you still love him at all," he rasps. "If there's even the smallest of chances for you and him, I need you to let me go." The air whooshes from my lungs in a quick hiss, my heart beating out of control. "Noah."
"I need you to have mercy on me, Juliet and let me go."
Soon, I'd get to look into her eyes. I'd get to tell her how sorry I am for walking away, for questioning her feelings for me. I'd promised to never do it again and trust I was enough for her when I knew, deep down, she was more than any man could ever deserve, especially a simple man like me.
I watch, waiting for my world to start spinning again, as my girl ever so slowly opens her eyes. A half laugh, half cry wooshes its way out of my chest, and my forehead falls to her stomach. My body shakes with relief, and I pinch my eyes to try and calm myself, if only for a second.
"Did she ask for me?"
"Does she have to for you to know she needs you?" His words are a sharp insult wrapped in glass, cutting as deep as he intended, because no. She doesn't. That was part of the beauty of us. Her pain was mine as mine was hers. We never needed words to know the other was hurting but she doesn't remember that.
"She doesn't remember me, Mom." I look at her, her face blurry from the mess my eyes threaten to make. "She woke up, but woke up to a world I wasn't part of."
It took all I had not to go to her, to drop to my knees beside her and kiss her. To kiss the spot that would soon grow with our child if the world had been kinder.
I did this. I tried to do the right thing, laid on the damn sword because that's what she asked for, that's what she needed, and being any and everything she needs is all I've ever wanted. It's all I'll ever want.
"I don't want to hide from myself anymore, but I can't do this. Sometimes I want to swallow a handful of sleeping pills and hope when I wake, everything is different."
I knew when I met her, that she wasn't free to be mine, as I knew when I felt harder, the climb back up would be rugged, if possible, but the knowledge of how things might end wasn't enough for me to turn back. The path to the three-way junction is one I'd take ten times over, no matter where it leads because loving Arianna Johnson is worth the risk. Being loved by her is priceless.
"If my mother was here, she'd thank you for coming but not for her, not even on a day that's meant to remember her. She'd thank you for me, so I want to do what she never would ask, I want to ask you to think about her for a moment. Not me."
"You can blame me. Anything you want to blame me for, do it. Please." His tone is shattered, helpless, and the ache bleeds into my own veins. "I'll carry that weight, gladly. Happily, if it takes any away from you. I don't want to hurt you."
"What did I give you?" I whisper.
"Purpose, Juliet," he whispered back, "You gave me a purpose when I wasn't so sure I had one."
I've loved her in secret, but I'm not so sure how much of a secret it was. I think she knew. I hope I showed her what she meant to me. What she'll forever mean to me. If she isn't mine in the end, I'll still be hers.
He fell in love with you, Arianna, maybe even the day he met you. You were hurting, and he yearned to be the reason you healed. And he was sweet Arianna, my Noah became your Noah, and honey, he was your everything, just as you are his. You fell for him right back, and you never got up.
Love Lori, the mother forever in debt to the woman who loves her son.
Moisture clouds Noah's eyes, and without taking his eyes off me, he digs into his pocket and pulls out what he tried to hide. A football, but not just any football. A tiny white, fluffy one, no bigger than the palm of his hand. Taking it between my fingers, I spin around, and my throat grows thick. Stitched along the front, where the seam of the football should be, is a soft yellow threading that reads Little Riley. "This... this is for" I swallow, meeting his gaze. Noah's jaw is tight but he manages a nod.
"We didn't even get to love him. Her." My voice cracks, the tears dropping. "Not even for one day."
"Shh, baby, no." He swallows hard, shaking his head. "Don't be sorry. Never be sorry. You just had to find your way back." His eyes close. "I thought I lost you. Are you mine?" he worries, his voice lower than a trembling whisper. "Please say you're mine."
I nod rapidly, my hands gliding along his face. "Always. Forever."
A harsh breath pushes past his lips and he shakes. "Say it."
My eyes pop open, locking with his as I grip and hold him still, whispering. "I swear."
Noah doesn't hesitate. His mouth crushes mine.
The ending was perfection. I was rooting for Noah and Ari, I am so glad it worked out!
His kiss is hard and deep. It's devastating and awakening. It's claiming. His kiss is a promise from his soul to mine that no matter what happens, this is home. He is home.
"Say you swear?"
Placing my palm over his tattoo, I recite its meaning.
"Fear not the fall, but the life that comes from having never leapt at all." I smile through my tears. "I'll always leap if the jump leads me to you, Noah Riley. Always."
"And forever."
"I swear."
I cannot wait to read another Megan Brandy book!
March 28, 2024
So. Freaking. Good. Literally loved everything about this book. Definitely made me cry a couple times which is generally hard to do. Noah Riley is my baby. If you're on the fence about reading this and wanting to cry about something, READ IT.
June 27, 2022
Ugh. THIS BOOK!!! Turn back now if you’re even thinking of reading it. So overhyped.
It’s a max 300 page story that’s bloated at 600 pages. The writing is just so bad. The cringe “hip” dialogue and cliche drunken times at the beach house I could almost forgive. But there’s SO many scenes throughout the whole book that just abruptly end accomplishing nothing plot wise. I kept looking for missing pages. The author unnecessarily strings things out when we could’ve had a few well written scenes instead. I think the author thinks she’s creating tension and suspense by doing this but I was just continually frustrated.
There’s smorgasbords of telling not showing. We’re expected to believe the main character has a close relationship/friendship with Chase for years but we only hear about their past times in passing. Chase for the record was such a f*ckboy and never even stood a chance despite the constant back and forth with him throughout the whole book. If you’re going to write a love triangle at least make both legs stand. Chase was not the least bit desirable. All we had to go on was that Ariana loved him her whole life. Why?? We don’t know.
The author expected you to just “get” stuff and kept things very vague at times despite using so many words. Her writing style was so confusing I kept having to back track thinking I missed something. There’s pages and pages of Ariana and Chase sharing looks at each other and we’re supposed to understand what they mean without words. Do people really remember sneaking looks at other people that much?
Also the song lyric thing with Ariana was just annoying. She didn’t even tell us what songs half the time.
I also didn’t like that there were so many pages wasted on extraneous characters from the author’s previous books despite this being advertised as a “standalone.” A note in the book with a recommended reading order of other books related to this one would’ve been nice.
Noah was completely selfless and had the patience of a saint. He also had no personality outside of loving Ari and football. I was starting to think he was religious and wouldn’t touch Ari but it was really because he was waiting for her to make the first move and be over Chase. This is after pages and pages wasted on describing their friend dates and every single thing they cooked during them.
The smut doesn’t start until about 50% in. It really disturbed me that he didn’t wear a condom or even discuss birth control with Ari yet he supposedly cared about her. They’re 18 and 21. They weren’t ready for a baby yet.
Also Ari’s brother and his two friends were strangely protective of Ari and her best girl friend’s honor or something and wouldn’t even let a guy look at or talk to them. Who acts like this unless they are religious?
Don’t even get me started on the surprise pregnancy and miscarriage. Completely pointless plot point. And the amnesia?? Why is this so common in books and soap operas and never in real life traumatic brain injuries? Also I cracked up when the doctor brushed over her traumatic aortic injury but said a punctured lung was what would’ve really killed her. It’s so hard for me to look past medical inaccuracies in books. Plus the fact that the entire friend gang was able to stay in her ICU room for days on end.
I was practically screaming at Noah at the end of the book to just tell her about their relationship. Completely ridiculous to give Chase a second chance.
It’s a max 300 page story that’s bloated at 600 pages. The writing is just so bad. The cringe “hip” dialogue and cliche drunken times at the beach house I could almost forgive. But there’s SO many scenes throughout the whole book that just abruptly end accomplishing nothing plot wise. I kept looking for missing pages. The author unnecessarily strings things out when we could’ve had a few well written scenes instead. I think the author thinks she’s creating tension and suspense by doing this but I was just continually frustrated.
There’s smorgasbords of telling not showing. We’re expected to believe the main character has a close relationship/friendship with Chase for years but we only hear about their past times in passing. Chase for the record was such a f*ckboy and never even stood a chance despite the constant back and forth with him throughout the whole book. If you’re going to write a love triangle at least make both legs stand. Chase was not the least bit desirable. All we had to go on was that Ariana loved him her whole life. Why?? We don’t know.
The author expected you to just “get” stuff and kept things very vague at times despite using so many words. Her writing style was so confusing I kept having to back track thinking I missed something. There’s pages and pages of Ariana and Chase sharing looks at each other and we’re supposed to understand what they mean without words. Do people really remember sneaking looks at other people that much?
Also the song lyric thing with Ariana was just annoying. She didn’t even tell us what songs half the time.
I also didn’t like that there were so many pages wasted on extraneous characters from the author’s previous books despite this being advertised as a “standalone.” A note in the book with a recommended reading order of other books related to this one would’ve been nice.
Noah was completely selfless and had the patience of a saint. He also had no personality outside of loving Ari and football. I was starting to think he was religious and wouldn’t touch Ari but it was really because he was waiting for her to make the first move and be over Chase. This is after pages and pages wasted on describing their friend dates and every single thing they cooked during them.
The smut doesn’t start until about 50% in. It really disturbed me that he didn’t wear a condom or even discuss birth control with Ari yet he supposedly cared about her. They’re 18 and 21. They weren’t ready for a baby yet.
Also Ari’s brother and his two friends were strangely protective of Ari and her best girl friend’s honor or something and wouldn’t even let a guy look at or talk to them. Who acts like this unless they are religious?
Don’t even get me started on the surprise pregnancy and miscarriage. Completely pointless plot point. And the amnesia?? Why is this so common in books and soap operas and never in real life traumatic brain injuries? Also I cracked up when the doctor brushed over her traumatic aortic injury but said a punctured lung was what would’ve really killed her. It’s so hard for me to look past medical inaccuracies in books. Plus the fact that the entire friend gang was able to stay in her ICU room for days on end.
I was practically screaming at Noah at the end of the book to just tell her about their relationship. Completely ridiculous to give Chase a second chance.
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