A Hustler's Promise & A Hustler's Promise 2 ~ Jackie Chanel

I can't really review A Hustler's Promise apart from the sequel A Hustler's Promise 2. They're kind of like Jack and Jill; one without the other simply rolls downhill, but together... all and all an amazing read! Well done, Jackie.

Jaicyn is only about fourteen, but with a crackhead mom leaving them high and dry Jaicyn has to fend for herself and her two sisters when it comes to paying the bills. She's headstrong and proud; traits that work both in her favor as well as against her.  

Rayshawn has one goal in mind: making enough money to get him and his brother out of the 'hood'. He tells himself that selling drugs will only be temporary, but things don't quite go according to plan.

Jaicyn and Rayshawn have their eye on each other and soon each other is all they have to rely on. Through the good, the bad and the ugly their relationship remains the key factor and with each event you wonder whether their love will be strong enough to survive. How powerful can a promise be?

Book one had me on the tip of my chair with anticipation. I expected bullets to fly, blood to flow, or at least some serious tears or betrayal at times. It sounds awful, doesn't it? To say it like that, but I almost wanted someone to die or at least have a near death experience to satisfy that anticipation, and felt a bit disappointed that nothing that drastic happened. All that expectation for nothing... :( In the end of book one Jaicyn and Rayshawn is finally offered an opportunity to get out of the 'hood', but not out of the drugs. 

My thought? "...is that IT?..."

      

Book two really did it for me; I loved the sequel!! It wrapped the whole story of both books up brilliantly!!   What an amazing surprise with a very unexpected ending. Where I felt an anti-climax after the end of book one, I had the complete opposite experience at the end of book two. In the sequel the characters are more mature, richer in character and wiser. They've had a taste of the dream, and now it is time to make some serious decisions about what really matters. Then, just as it would seem that their worst fear has come true, the very same  event catapults them into fulfilling that ultimate promise to each other.

My thought? "... now THAT'S more LIKE it!!..."

I most certainly recommend that you read both books. I don't think that they can stand alone at all, but together it makes for a fantastic read! Trust me; you'll love the ending!