Three Broken Promises: A Novel (One Week Girlfriend, #3)

by Monica Murphy

Breakout sensation Monica Murphy returns with a hot new contemporary romance—a heartfelt story of second chances, forgiveness, and redemption.

Commitment. That’s what I really want from Colin. Ever since my brother, Danny, died in Iraq, Colin’s done so much to help me, including giving me a job at his popular restaurant so I can leave my crappy waitressing job at the strip joint. But lying in bed with him every night to comfort him from his horrible nightmares isn’t enough anymore. I know he feels guilty about Danny’s death, about not going to Iraq, but I can’t keep living this double life.

I love him desperately, but he’s got so many demons, and if he can’t open up to me now, then he’ll never be the real partner I need him to be. I gave him a month, and now I’m out of here. If he truly loves me like he says, he knows where to find me. . . .

Praise for Three Broken Promises
 
“The heat between these two is explosive. . . . It is the emotion and the shared tragedy between Jen and Colin . . . that takes this book to another level.”—Heroes and Heartbreakers
 
“Filled with emotion, drama, red-hot sex, intensity, and a love that may as well have been written in the stars, Three Broken Promises is another must read from Monica Murphy.”—Holly’s Hot Reads
 
“Three Broken Promises is an absolutely out-of-this-world perfect romantic story that swept me off my feet. Once again, I fell in love with [Monica] Murphy’s easy style of writing, great sense of humor and ideal characters. . . . I felt glued to the pages and there wasn’t a single thing that could make me stop reading.”—Smokin Hot Book Blog
 
“I fell in love with this series the moment I opened One Week Girlfriend and Three Broken Promises didn’t disappoint. . . . I can say without a doubt that I enjoyed every minute of this book.”—Book Blogger Paradise
 
“Murphy has done it again. . . . This story will make you smile, it will warm your heart and soul, and it may even have you pulling your hair out as these two amazing people navigate the rollercoaster that is love. I loved everything about it.”—Roxy’s Reviews
 
“Such a delicious book . . . Monica’s writing is addictive as always, and I’m really looking forward to the next book.”—City of Books

• ISBN10: 0804176809
• ISBN13: 9780804176804
• Publish Date: 31 December 2013 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Bantam Dell Publishing Group, Div of Random House, Inc
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780804176804

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Jen and Colin have been friends and part of each others' lives since childhood. Their lives linked by Jen's brother Danny. But Danny joined the Marines and Danny died. This even impacted both Jen and Colin's lives in different, but significant ways. A year after Danny's death, Colin and Jen are living together and hiding pieces of their past from each other. They harbor strong feelings for the other, however, will their past hinder their future?

I liked:
-Catching up with Drew and Fable.
-The pacing. The story moved a good pace and kept my interest.
-Colin. He always meant well, even if he made mistakes. He lead with his heart, almost all the time.
-The idea of trying to outrun your past. I think this is something most people can find relatable.
-The overall theme of forgiveness. There is a lot of forgiving going on and I think it's important to acknowledge that forgiveness is an important part of growing and living.

This is not the epic romance a la Drew and Fable, but it is an enjoyable contemporary romance, and I found myself, believe it or not, totally sympathetic towards poor Jen. Girl just could not catch a break, until she did. =)

[Cocktails and Books]

3.5 Stars

3.5 Cocktails

This is the story of Colin and Jen, who we met in the previous Drew + Fable books. Jen is Fable's best friend and works at the bar/restaurant called The District, which is owned by Colin. As we had learned in the previous books in the series, Colin and Jen grew up with each other as Colin was Jen's brother best friend. We finally get to find out the history between Colin and Jen, but in the end I didn't feel like I had quite the same connection with them as I did with the previous books.

Jen's family was torn apart when her brother died while serving in Afghanistan. She left home, feeling neglecting and hoping for something better. But things did not turn out the way she planned and she ended up living in her car and working at a strip club. Enter her brother's best friend, Colin. He saves her, gives her a job and a place to stay. Both of them fight their attraction for one another. Jen feeling like she's dirty and tainted and Colin like he's breaking another promise to his dead best friend. I could completely see where both of them were coming from, but it was tiresome after a while. I wanted one of them to say say what they mean and act on how they feel instead of dancing around everything.

Fable and Drew put in their appearances, trying to play the voice of reason to both Colin and Jen's stubbornness. It was nice to get a quick glimpse at the two of them and see they were still going strong, but that tiny glimpse made me realize I was missing that spark between Colin and Jen like I had with Drew and Fable. Even though the two of them could say to themselves that they needed and/or wanted the other, I didn't always feel that. At the very end, I caught a glimmer of that, but it wasn't enough to make me believe they truly should be together.

The review may not seem like it, but this was still a good read. It connected the dots on two characters that are part of the larger Drew + Fable storyline. It just wasn't at gut-wrenchingly emotional as the other two books in the series. It doesn't make it bad, just not what I was expecting.

[Leah]

I’ve recently become a fan of Monica Murphy after picking up One Week girlfriend for 99p during a Kindle Daily Deal. I really enjoyed it and devoured Second Chance Boyfriend soon after. I was super pleased to pay Three Broken Promises on Netgalley and when I was accepted to read the novel I knew it was going to be my next read because I just love Monica’s writing so much and I’m totally hooked on all of the characters she’s introduced us to.

I initially thought Three Broken Promises was another Drew and Fable novel so I was super pleased to see it is actually Jen and Colin’s novel, two characters who really intrigued me in Second Chance Boyfriend, especially Jen. Colin didn’t come across too well in SCB, but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He seemed a bit sleazy, but he proved me wrong in Three Broken Promises. Much like Drew and Fable, Jen and Colin are pretty messed up, they’re real people who have dealt with horrible things growing up, things they’d rather forget, and when Jen decides she’s had enough of Colin taking care of her all the time, she makes plans to move away, to finally stand on her own two feet, but just how will Colin take the news?

I really enjoyed Three Broken Promises, it was super awesome to hear Jennifer’s story, I looooved her when she met Fable, and she’s such an interesting, enjoyable character. She’s had a hard life, after the death of her brother Danny, and she’s done some things she isn’t proud of, but she’s turned her life around, with the help of Colin. When we were initially introduced to Jen and Colin in SCB their relationship seemed so weird, but it was very well explained and some things made more sense once they were explained. Jen and Colin just had such amazing chemistry and I loved seeing their relationship progress, the chemistry was there from the first page and I couldn’t wait for them to finally get together.

It was also fantastic to be back in Drew and Fable’s world, though we saw more of Fable than Drew and not much of Owen (though fear not, Four Years Later is dedicated entirely to Owen so yay!). Monica Murphy is a fabulous writer, perhaps a bit too reliant on bedroom antics but it’s not horribly OTT. If you enjoyed the first two books in the series, you’ll love Three Broken Promises. I can’t wait for Four Years Later – more Drew and Fable, more Jen and Colin hopefully, and Owen getting his own story. I loved getting to know Jen and Colin more, and Murphy has done them justice in Three Broken Promises.