The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine

The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine
Published by: Balzer & Bray on December 31, 2013
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 320
Source: Edelweiss
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Rating: ★★★

Wren Caswell is average. Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she’s not popular, but not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet, “good” girl who's always done what she's supposed to—only now in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change, but doesn’t know how.

Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe’s. Star of the lacrosse team, top of his class, on a fast track to a brilliant future—until he was expelled for being a “term paper pimp.” Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change, but doesn’t know how.

One fateful night their paths cross when Wren, working at her family’s Arthurian-themed catering hall, performs the Heimlich on Gray as he chokes on a cocktail weenie, saving his life literally and figuratively. What follows is the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are—and falling in love.

I am absolutely drowning in indecision. Did I like The Promise of Amazing? Was it only okay? UGH! I don’t know!!

I started out on excellent terms with The Promise of Amazing. I thought Wren was funny, had a great personality, and I could completely relate to her.

The NHS evaluation made [being quiet] sound like a character flaw. Something I could improve. That’s just not how it worked.

YES YES YES! Agreed! Some people just aren’t loud and chatty. Some people, like myself, are more quiet and reserved. That doesn’t mean we’re bad students, or that there’s something wrong with us, or that there’s “room for improvement”. We’re just quiet. We can still do good work and get good grades. SHEESH! I remember tons of parent-teacher conferences where the teachers would say, “Ashley is a good student, but she could speak up more in class.” UGH! LEAVE ME ALONE!

So in that sense, I completely and totally clicked with Wren. She was the quiet girl, and so was I! I loved that.

Then in steps Grayson. He was also a great character. He was definitely the more flawed one. He had a dark and sketchy past that he was trying to overcome, but it kept pulling him down. I like how his flaws made him seem real, and how he really worked to change and become a better person.

So why not a higher rating? I think there are two main reasons for this. First, I think the book fizzled out a little towards the end. At first I really liked Wren and Grayson’s relationship, but I didn’t keep loving it. I wanted to see more dates and intimate moments. I think there was too much constant drama surrounding their relationship. There was always an obstacle or someone trying to sabotage what they had. They only actually went on one *proper* date; the rest was just sending texts, or seeing each other in random places. I wanted more of an intimate boyfriend/girlfriend book, and I didn’t feel like this one had enough of the actual dating/relationship side.

You could also say that the book was a little insta-lovey as a result of all that. As I said, they only went on one real date, and yet they eventually throw around the word love. Is it really love? I don’t think so. The insta-love didn’t bother me as much as it has in other books, but it was still there.. a little bit.

And secondly, I was a little disappointed by the ending. The author spent the whole book building up this evil douchebag of an antagonist. But….