Forever Promised by Amy Lane Promises Happy Tears And Happy Endings

I make so many beginnings there never will be an end. – Louisa May Alcott

I actually finished this book a couple days ago, but I needed some time to let it stew in my head before I could write about it. I will say that in preparation for reading this book I invested heavily in boxes of Kleenex. Turns out I didn’t need them as much as I thought I would. For the most part, this book is just a wonderful wrap up and a fun visit with old friends and a few new ones.

We get to visit with Benny and Drew, Jeff and Collin, Shane and Mickey, Jon and Amy, Kimmy and Lucas and of course, Crick and Deacon. There is a visit from Martin in here also, so yeah, the gang’s all here.

Benny and Drew want to live together, just the three of them. Benny, Drew and Parry Angel. Once the decision is made and Benny is ready to tell Deacon, she finds out Jon and Amy are leaving. Feeling guilty about leaving Deacon when his heart is hurting over the loss of his childhood friend, Benny feels she has to give Deacon the one thing he can love that will never leave him. It takes some time for Drew to get over the jealousy, but finally they both agree, but getting Deacon on board is a whole other story.

Jeff and Collin are finally getting married, in the hottest month of the year! I guess these two will never do anything the easy way. They are excited about Martin coming to stay after he graduates; they feel like he is part younger brother and part son to them. They have moved into a new place together fully decked out with a playroom for the largest house cats in the world. It is also revealed later in the book that they both want kids of their own one day. The idea takes some getting used to for both of them. Two HIV positive men adopting will not be easy, but they are ready for the challenge and they have a lot of love to give.

Shane and Mikhail have gotten Promise House up and running and it is a success. They are helping these young people immensely and in turn they have found a kind of kinship with these children. Shane and Mikhail both feel like they are the parents to these kids. Through the ups and downs, the successes and the failures, they are always by their side. They have also found true happiness with one another. Mikhail in still head over heels in love with his “stupid cop” and Shane would never have another.

Jon and Amy have been handpicked to work with a legal team in Washington D.C. They will be working to push through legislation for LGBT rights. As much as this appointment means to Jon it is still so very hard for him to leave Deacon. They have been best friends since kindergarten and there are times that Jon wonders if life would have been better if he could just love Deacon the way he loves Amy. But, he knows that will never happen and he realizes some things just happen the way they are supposed to.

Kimmy and Lucas are dealt a pretty terrible hand. Kimmy feels that it is all her fault and that Lucas is suffering because of her. With some tough love from Mikhail and some coddling from Jeff she starts to heal. She realizes that there is more than one way to get what it is that you want the most.

We also get introduced to a new character in this book. Sweetie, or LaLauna, is a streetwise kid that comes to live at Promise House. She doesn’t talk a lot until she meets Martin. The two of them strike up a sweet relationship through email and some great love songs from Motown. I don’t like to give spoilers so I won’t tell you how this part of the story plays out, but I will give you a hint. Amy Lane wrote it so get some tissues.

Now the only pair I haven’t said much about, Deacon and Crick. These two are still trying to move on from their past. It seems that no matter how much they forgive each other, Deacon is still worried about being left alone. Benny offers Deacon and Crick the greatest gift they could imagine. A baby, part Deacon and part Benny, the closest thing to Crick and Deacon combined possible. After a heartfelt confession from Benny, Deacon is convinced that it is ok, this one time, to be a little greedy and want something for himself.

I truly didn’t spend much time crying over this book. Most books by Amy Lane have my eyes and nose red and swollen for days after I am done reading. This book was truly a happy book. Yes, there are some sad parts, yes there are some emotional parts. Most of my tears were happy tears. I guess if I have to give up the guys and gals from Promise Rock, I can rest assured that they are all happy, they are all loved and their story will live on with the next generation. I hope you can all be as content as I was when reading the last sentence of this book. Thank you, Ms. Lane, thank you so much!!!

Reviewed by: Jackie

You can buy Forever Promised here: