Promises of Forever

De: Nicky James

Narrado por: Nick J. Russo

Duración: 10 h y 35 m

Resumen del Editor

Life can change on a dime.

Childhood tragedy left Koa Burgard with many scars. Reclusive and still healing, he is sent to summer camp, where the other kids tease and bully. All except the outgoing, popular boy from his cabin. A boy who dreams about being a hockey star. A tentative friendship forms. Every summer, they reconnect for adventure. Every winter, they write letters back and forth.

Promises are made, and promises are shattered.

Thirty years later, the sudden death of his parents brings Jersey Reid home. Rotten things keep happening. His life has been full of torment and pain, and he can’t remember a time when he was happy.

Will it ever stop?

Cleaning out his deceased parents’ house, he uncovers his and Koa’s pen pal letters. Can Jersey recapture the happiness and innocence of youth by reconnecting with the strange, quirky boy he befriended at camp so long ago? Or will the mistakes he made before be a barrier?

Although Koa is now a respectable English teacher at an elite boarding school, Jersey quickly learns that the boy with dark secrets from camp is more troubled than ever.

Koa has given up on happiness. His views on life are bleak and disturbing, and he’s learned it’s better to be alone in an unforgiving world.

Jersey’s return offsets Koa’s balance and brings the past back into focus. A past he’s spent a lifetime trying to forget.

But Jersey was his savior once. He was kind when no one else was. Jersey made him feel safe in an unsafe world.

Until he broke a promise.

And promises are supposed to be for forever.

** Promises of Forever is an angsty MM romance with the following themes. Second chance love, hurt / comfort, jock and nerd dynamic, opposites attract, mental health. **

©2024 Nicky James (P)2024 Nicky James

Second Chance Love

In Promises, we get to see past Koa and Jersey as their friendship begin through flashbacks and this gave more depth to the story and relationship reforming. The angst is ultimately resolved, although it hurts the heart along the way. But that makes the HEA all the sweeter. This book deals with some serious topics and Jersey's and Koa's struggles were deftly handled. Jersey's patience and Koa's hidden fears and vulnerabilities created characters that will stay with me. Nick Russo brings this excellent story to life and as always, he provides a fantastic performance. An great story elevated by wonderful narration, this is another winning Nick and Nicky collaboration.

Loved it!

Nick J. Russo does an amazing job of bringing Promises of Forever to life.
Promises of Forever is a powerfully emotional slow-burn second-chance romance. I was drawn into this story from the first page and didn't stop reading until I reached the last page.
The story is dual POV with flashbacks to the MCs' childhood at the camp where they met and became friends. I really loved getting to see both sides of this story.

In Promises of Forever, the past and present are interwoven so we get the history of Koa and Jersey's beginning and how they are reunited in the present.

These wounded men slowly begin to rebuild the bonds they shared in the past. Each has much to overcome and deal with. I loved seeing them be so supportive of each other.

Be prepared for plenty of angst and plenty of feels. This is a story that will stay with me long after reading the final page

💕 Beautiful & emotional 5 star second chance ⭐️

Promises of Forever exemplifies Nicky James’ true mastery at tackling mental health issues in her characters. Her ability to tell a beautiful story of friendship, acceptance, patience and love is also shown in this wonderful book.

This is the story of Koa, an unusual, very troubled loner that most people don’t understand, and Jersey, the one man determined to try… again. Through flashbacks we learn how, as kids, their near secret friendship began but fell apart. Three decades later Jersey returns, with troubles of his own, hoping to reconnect with the friend he lost.

Koa’s story both touched and intrigued me. Trying to unravel the mystery behind his unusual personality added an extra layer of interest to this moving second chance, hurt / comfort story. My heart ached for the pain both he and Jersey endured, individually and within their relationship. But as this is a Nicky James book, I was confident that all the angst and pain would be lovingly resolved and healed. I was not disappointed when I reached the well deserved, beautiful HEA.

Listening to this dual POV performance had me fully immersed in Koa’s world and Jersey’s desire to help him. Nick J Russo’s narration gave clear distinctions between characters, with convincing emotions, occasional touches of humor, and passionate steam. I never fail to be impressed by his ability to enact a story without ever seeming as if he’s reading.

It was a joy to listen to Russo narrate, and a joy to experience the depth and wonder of this treasure by James. I eagerly await the next book that brings both together again!

Love this story!

This book is amazing! It's emotional and features mental health in only the way Nicky James can do! These two characters tear at your heartstrings and you just have to clutch your tissues as you watch them reconnect and find their place for one another between everything they've been dealing with. Truly heartwrenching and emotional, this book is also beautifully written in a way only Nicky James can do. Not only that, but the narration was perfect and hit the emotional arcs just right that really immersed you into the story.

loved it!

I really loved this as an audiobook. Nick does such a great job bringing the emotion and struggle in it to life. I Highly recommend it.

The surprise ending of his trama

The patience of jersey and the blossoming love. ❤️❤️ the constant friendship past and present and how emotions can change your life

Huge five stars for both author and narrator.

Nick, Nick, Nick!!! What an amazing performance bringing my guys Jersey and Kao to life. I was hit by emotion and brought to tears while listening. AWESOME JOB…

Nicky James is back with the angst we all know and love. I need to protect Kao at all costs. Wrap him in bubble wrap and never let him out of my sight.

This is definitely slow burn and has one of my favorite tropes of best friends as children to lovers and throw in second chance. I absolutely love that these men are in their 40s. We don’t get enough books with characters my age or older.

Both these men have some heavy baggage. Jersey was injured as a pro-hockey player and suffered a loss of career including his family. Kao I am going to say suffered in everything in life. His childhood to present is so hard, it was difficult to read at times. I could not imagine what he went through.

I am so glad Jersey came back into Kai life and was so patient and m understanding with testing to break through Kao fortress. My heart hurt so bad for adult Kao too

We jump back and forth from present to past to see where it all started for them as children and where it went all wrong. Normally I’m not a fan of that, but in this book it totally worked.

Nicky knows how to give us a heart wrenching story that brings us back in the end with all the love in the world. This is a story I won’t forget

Huge five stars. I need more of them.

A return to beginnings. And nostalgia.

This book made me want for the time when I was a kid at summer camp!!! Wait I never did summer camp. Well never mind but still! The nostalgia.! The flashbacks. The heartache. Ugh a true hurt of my soul! Koa needs a nice warm robe. A hug. And a kiss on the head. He's so precious and must be protected... At all cost.
This is a amazing second chance romance. The "mystery" of the day that ruined it all and what happens had such a good lead up. I cry every time.

Old school Nicky James❤️💔❤️‍🩹

This is old school angsty Nicky James, with in depth characters and lots of feelings and tears, just how I love Nicky James's books!

I loved both Koa and Jersey and their journey towards love and a HEA. Koa has suffered a severe traumatized childhood, that has a huge impact of his ability to let love in and to trust other people. Jersey never forgot the boy he let down at summer camp when they were 14, and when they meet again in their early forties, Jersey is determined to make amends.

It is a long and winded road to get there, the sadness oozed of each page. Nick Russo is a great voice performer and he really managed to let both Jersey and Koa speak here, both as adults, but also in the many flashbacks from summercamp, where the two bonded strongly.

beautiful second chance story

The story:
This story takes place 30 years after 10-year-old Koa and Jersey first met at summer camp.
Koa was the odd kid, who played with his imaginary friend. He was the kid that got teased because of his strange behaviour. Jersey was the popular kid. A jock in the making.
Somehow, they became friends, exchanging hand-written letters when not at camp.
Until they weren't.
30 years later, Jersey finds a box of treasures his mom stored away. A box full of memories. A box full of regrets. He decides to reconnect with his long-lost friend, Koa, hoping to right wrongs.
This is the beginning of a heartfelt, heartbreaking, second chance romance.

This book is a perfect example of what Nicky James does best. She promised us "old-school Nicky, back to higher angst and touching on some heavier mental health topics", and she delivered. As expected, this book, along with her other mental health books are so very well written and with the utmost respect.
Koa has my heart. For most of the book, we don't know the "what" in Koa's past that shaped his life, but all his hurt is on full display. He needs all the love, and Jersey is just the man for the job. Jersey is the man to help keep the demons at bay.

Promises of Forever isn't an easy read, it will pull at your heartstrings and break your heart. The journey to their HEA is hard-fought. If you're a sucker like me for a great story with characters of substance, then I would definitely suggest this book.


The narration:
Perfection! As always, Nick J Russo did an amazing job voicing these characters. If I thought reading this book was emotional, listening to the narration bought out more feelings in me and reminded me why Nicky James is a master of her craft.

Another great collaboration between these two artists.