Say You Swear

⚠️ This review contains SPOILERS. ⚠️ The first part of this book almost made me dnf. And honestly? Thank God I didn’t — because boy, did I end up loving it. I usually can’t stand the sibling’s best-friend trope. And since I never read synopses, I didn’t realize it was just a temporary setup. Watching the fmc chase after her brother’s best friend made my skin crawl — but she’s 18, and that’s what love looks like at that age. It’s naive, it’s pathetic, and yes, it’s embarrassing (Miss Olivia Rodrigo said it best, iykyk). So it was painful to read… but maybe because it hit closer to home than I’d like to admit. But once the heartbreak hit? That’s when the story really came alive. The author outstandingly nailed that feeling of devastation — raw, grueling, and impossible to shake. I really liked how the fmc's healing wasn’t linear. It was messy, wretched, and full of setbacks. I’m absolutely captivated by that level of realism. It pulled me deep into my feels, forcing me to confront things I was trying so hard to keep buried. Early on, I was terrified the fmc would settle for the guy who rejected her — and let me be clear: that trope is the worst, I don’t care what anyone says. If someone mishandled your heart once, why risk giving it back to them? Thankfully, when the mmc slowly emerged, everything started to click. This new guy came out of nowhere and completely won me over. Noah Riley... The gentleman that you are. The tenderness between them felt organic and deeply sincere — nothing about their bond came off as staged or artificial, which was something I feared the author might fall into while trying to make her fmc evolve and move on. But the dynamic between Noah and Ari was just so sweet and authentic. While I do believe you need time to heal before jumping into something new, there was something about their relationship that felt perfectly timed — like it showed up exactly when and how it was meant to. Watching them fall for each other was a pure delight. Like when the boys first see them together at her apartment? They were just SO in sync, their chemistry was undeniable. Or how the FMC is a walking jukebox, and how the MMC just got into it and played along so perfectly! It was honestly the cutest thing EVER! I’m not entirely sure what counts as a “slow burn,” but if this was one, I’m obsessed. New favorite trope unlocked. Noah did disappoint me, though, when he was willing to ruin his career — his whole life, really — just because Arianna was in a coma. He was ready to let everything go to waste? It really bothers me when someone lets love erase who they are. I can’t bear it when a character dissolves their whole identity for love. What a way to lose your spark. Being in love doesn’t mean you stop existing outside of it. Next, the midpoint threw me off. The accident alone would've been enough to raise the stakes, but memory loss AND a miscarriage? That combo felt excessive. Not implausible, just utterly unlikely. And memory loss as a twist? Way too overdone — especially if, like me, you’ve watched tons of K-dramas. I didn’t see it coming, that's how much I thought that trope was off the table. Still, it served a purpose: it made it crystal clear that the fmc's first love was in the past — and that her heart truly belonged to someone new. And for me, who despises love triangles? That clarity was a relief. The next book follows Mason, the fmc's brother — and honestly? He seriously rubbed me the wrong way, so I’m not exactly rushing to read his story. Maybe one day. But after enjoying Say You Swear as much as I did, I’m definitely curious about the rest of the series.