A Promise of Home: A Kayla Hicks Book Review
What is A Promise of Home about?
The town grump and the girl who’s running from her past.
War had hollowed Jake McBride out. No longer the town’s favorite son, he just wants to be left alone. The two problems with that are the interfering town folk who knew him when he wore diapers, and Branna O’Donnell, the woman with secrets who has made him feel for the first time in years.
Branna came back to the last place she was happy, to forget the hell of her past. But small town life again comes with complications and the biggest has a serious attitude. Jake McBride is nothing like the boy who was too cool for her in school. This one is hot, grumpy and way too appealing.
When Branna’s past comes calling and with it the realization that what they feel for each other is more than lust. Jake’s not sure he can be her hero, but he knows he wants to try.
My Review:
Branna wants nothing more than to keep to herself and write her books in a place her friend Georgie left her after she'd passed. However, doing so in a small town isn't as easy as one would think.
Jake was the town's golden boy until PTSD from serving as a military medic took over his life, causing him to shy away from medicine and become the town grump.
When the two cross paths, it would seem they have more in common than they expected, despite being such opposite personalities in high school.
Brann begins to realize when her friend Georgie left her the house, she knew that the town of Howling would take care of Branna when she no longer could.
I enjoyed seeing Branna come out of her shell and begin to see what it feels like to have a village of people care for you, even when you don't have a family.
The cast of characters we were introduced to made me want to know more about them all and I knew this opened up the rest of the series to spotlight the various characters. The relationship between Jake and Branna at first felt a little awkward but quickly gained momentum as they got to know one another.
I had wished that some of Branna's friendships with Belle and Buster had been explored more, but with this being the first book in the series, I imagine it may be later in another one of the novels.
Content warning: In the second half of this book, there are mentions of an abusive relationship. Nothing too in-depth, but it can be triggering for some.
I give this a 4-star review.
Get it here: A Promise of Home by Lani Blake