Review on 'Pinkie Pact' by Jenna Fiore 🩷

Amazon Link: https://amzn.eu/d/2KzXmHQ  Author: Jenna Fiore

Format Read: eBook Pages: 444 Publication Date: 27th November 2021

Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennafioreauthor/ Author Website: https://jennafiore.com/

Content Warnings

Alcohol, drugs, drugging, assault, politics, swearing, blasphemy, moderately explicit sex scenes (all these content warnings can be found on the website)

Review:

To be honest with you, the main thing that made me buy this book was that the synopsis on Amazon said “an inexperienced law student.” I’m not gonna lie, that intrigued me because a lot of the time, the men are described as gods in bed, but I think we needed a little bit of a reality check. However, it was ruined with him apparently being a quick learner. But hey, you can’t always win.

Though the synopsis was good, I have no idea what was going on with the title and the front cover. No offense to Jenna Fiore, because I really enjoyed the book itself, but the title was just an odd element. Especially considering the title had nothing to do with the couple, like at all. And in general, I am not a big fan of people on the front cover, though this was a mild one compared to some of the other books that are stashed on my Kindle app.

I gotta say, the dedication completely sold me: “For my college sweetheart who’s turned into my very own happily ever after…” It shows that romance is real, and I can’t explain how heartwarming those 13 words were. Thank you for that, Jenna Fiore. 😊

I don’t want to spoil the book too much, but the main gist of it was that a new girl, Sky, became best friends with her roommate, Kara, who both had problems with alcohol/drugs in the past and decided to create a pact—a pinkie pact—to only have 3 drinks a night when they go out. Decked out with their bracelets, which they swap from left to right when they’ve ordered a drink, the friends continue to commit to their pact while Sky gets to know Kara’s older brother. Yes, you read it. Her older brother. Another best friend's brother college romance. However, the best thing about this one is that Kara was very accepting of the relationship and was actually trying to get them together. Throughout the book, there are trials and tribulations for their relationship, Kara’s relationships, and familial relationships. Basically, a whole load of miscommunication and dramatic outbursts.

Rewind a little bit: Kieran—Kara’s law student older brother—first met Sky in Chapter 1, high off her face from a joint in Kara’s apartment. Maybe not the best first impression. Kieran did later apologise for talking to her the wrong way due to the worry that his sister would once again continue her relationship with substances. On top of that, the man is basically ENGAGED. That was unexpected! His girlfriend of 7 years, Christina, lives with him, and though the relationship has completely disintegrated, they are still going through the motions of what is expected of them.

Oh, and Kara and Kieran’s mum is a senator. Let’s just throw that political bombshell in there. And of course, if there is politics in the story and a history of substance abuse, there isn’t going to be a completely happy ending, most likely the opposite, particularly a scandal that would affect a lot of people. In this case, their dad being the problem. I can’t say more than that, as it would ruin a main plot point.

I will say this though: the situation that the dad invoked created a wall between Kieran and Sky, which resulted in a “breakup”—if you can still call it that when they’re still hanging out, texting, and calling. They definitely needed to talk through what had happened, especially with Kieran having a moment of not believing her, but I think for her to say that she no longer loved him was a bit melodramatic. Like, they were dating, and they both had thought, in their dual POVs, that they loved each other, but as soon as this situation happened, she said she no longer loved him, and then later on questioned, “Are my feelings for Kieran coming back?” Yes, he broke your heart, but you never stopped loving him. He literally still continued to check in on her and talk to her, so it clearly wasn’t that disastrous. Basically, to me, it felt like the start of a romance novel when they are dancing around each other, not starting the relationship for stupid reasons, but in this situation, they had already dated, and now they were back to not knowing their feelings for each other. However, this time, he had whispered that he loved her, and it was only her who was unclear. In the end, they made up, and everything was set right again.

This man was so sweet. For example, cooking Thanksgiving dinner for her and his sister when there was a snowstorm, and they couldn’t go home. Or the time when he learned to play the other half of her recital piece in case her partner bailed from severe stage fright. That really helped bring them back together at the end. Way to go!

All in all, it was a good book. I loved the relationship between Sky and Kieran, but I also loved the relationship they had with Kara as well. It didn’t just talk about their romance the entire time, as there were other things going on, like in real life, that built up around them and added more to the story. Not plot-driven, but there was definitely some on the sidelines.

Until the next chapter,

#BellesBookBabble