Every vow you break by Peter Swanson - book review

Three is the magic number for a successful author. If he/she manages to deliver 3 successful superhit novels, they can be rest assured of the next decade of their career I guess. Same goes for movie directors, actors, musicians as well. The first couple of back to back hits ensures they’ve a steady source of fans, who follow their creations, at least for a reasonable amount of time, irrespective of how bad or good they may be, as compared to their own initial work or by any standard. With this novel, Peter Swanson, seems like have exhausted that glory coupon from his initial books. I re-read my reviews of his first three books once to confirm, had I been reading from the same author. I was so smitten with “Her every fear” and “Kind worth killing” that even when it dragged a bit, “Girl with clock for a heart” went as a manageable read. But the next set of books that followed were so drastically bad that makes me wonder who even wrote the first three!!! In this latest installment, feels like the author has literally taken his readers for granted that he publishes a book that might not even be a complete version, leave alone having seen an editors table. The premise is a reasonable one and could’ve been much explored. But all paths from the beginning were set for a slippery slide, considering that even after 100+ pages on a 250 pager, the author was still describing about the heroine and her domestic setup with the story remaining rooted to the initial incident of adultery. The detailing about her parents, their life style and her equation with her friends, never actually takes the story forward. In fact, for all the buildup around the bachelorette party where the heroine has a casual one night fling with a stranger, the rest of the story is easily guessable. But makes one wonder, for all the effort that went into building the backstory of the heroine, she seems so naïve in falling for a stranger at the drop of a hat. When the same person follows her to her wedding and eventually honeymoon, there is hardly any suspense on who is behind all these setup. Luckily, what could’ve turned out to be a punishment p**n of a book, the author shows mercy on the readers and goes for an ending that would make cartoons feel more gripping of a thrill ride!! 

For a story already spoiled by the author, the rest of the section could hardly be called for spoiler alert. This story is about a lady who gets married to a soft hearted billionaire, about whom she hardly knows anything. On her bachelorette party, she has a one night stand with a stranger, where they don’t even share their real names or details. Somehow the stranger follows her over email and makes his presence on her wedding. The hubby dearest takes her to a remote island for honeymoon where there are hardly any women. Soon it is revealed that the hubby is not so soft as perceived by the heroine and how she escapes from that island (if at all one could call that) forms the story. That, all of these supposedly thrill sections post the honeymoon period, happens within the last 50 pages makes it all the more curious, whether someone had a gun on his head, pushing him to finish the story for some deadline!!! And little said about the title the better. The only vow the author might’ve successfully broken is his readers interest on his books going forward!!