A review by bribreez
Say You Swear by Meagan Brandy

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS/PLOT DETAILS MENTIONED!

5⭐️/ 2-3🌶️

I feel like I had always heard about this book, whether it was on BookTok or Instagram, this book followed me. Finally got my hands on this book, and went in knowing nothing other than it revolved around a sports romance/ college romance, and that was pretty much all I could figure out on my own from the few things I had heard. The story opened with Arianna, her best friend’s, and twin brother after recently graduating from high school and starting off their last summer vacation before starting college at Avix University. The summer seemed like open possibilities of doing whatever they wanted, and hopefully give Arianna the chance to seize the moment. With her long held crush on her brother’s best friend, Chase, maybe things would change. Then one day while at the beach, and apparently getting hit in the head by a football, Arianna was faced with a gorgeous, dark haired, blue eyed mysterious man. Although the mystery man was quickly revealed to be, Noah Riley, a.k.a. The captain of the football team at Avix university. 

Ok, so at first I thought I knew who was going to be the main love interest, but then with the way the beginning of the story was going, I wasn’t so sure. Even from the beginning of the book, it was giving me love triangle trope. At first, with the details and everything that Arianna had felt for Chase since they were kids, it seemed like he was the main one her heart had always loved, and yet… even with the brief meeting of Noah, I was second guessing everything. This book early on gave me the feeling that this wasn’t your typical sports romance, and I genuinely had no clue what was going to happen next. So if you’re curious about reading this book, I say go for it because, based off of the first few chapters I had, I was immediately intrigued by the series of events that unfolded.

One of the things I appreciate in stories, is seeing the close bonds and friendships that are formed throughout the story, but this story was unique in that it already had an established found family. Arianna, Mason, Cameron, Brady, Chase, and Ariana and Mason’s cousins were close. Not sure if Meagan Brandy had other books that are somehow connected to this book, but the details of the other characters were fascinating as well as heartbreaking with some of their backstories. Arianna and her brother, and their friends were super close, to the point that their inner circle had been gifted the summer home their mom’s owned previously. I loved seeing how carefree and fun everyone was in the beginning, enjoying their last summer together, but also getting to see behind “closed doors” just what else was happening such as, the tension between Chase and Arianna. 

For the longest time, since Arianna was a kid, when she first met Chase Harper, she immediately fell for him on sight. Although with Mason always keeping her away from any guys, it seemed like Arianna would never get the chance to be with Chase. Until… the summer after graduation Chase started to act differently towards Arianna. Now I will say, that Chase seemed like he was constantly going back and forth with Arianna like, “hey Ari, I’m going to give you a massage and totally NOT make it sensual,” (he didn’t say that, I’m just being sarcastic and paraphrasing what happened) and yet that ended up happening with the result of Chase backing up before things progressed. The one thing I felt bad about Arianna when it came to Chase was that he was like whiplash since he couldn’t make up his mind on whether he wanted more with Arianna. To make matters worse (in my opinion), he then tells her he regrets having sex with her, especially since he got caught up in the moment… umm, excuse me, but like, YOU TOOK MY HOME GIRL ARI’s V-Card?! Wtf?! Something about reading that part not only made me feel sad for Ari, but also rubbed me the wrong way about Chase YET AGAIN going back and forth on his intentions/feeling with her. 

Once Noah was introduced in the story, I was like, “well, hello handsome”! Right away I could sense that Noah was unique and most likely going to be the guy I ended up rooting for the most. Even from the moment that Noah and Arianna met, there was an unspoken feeling between them. I loved seeing how perceptive Noah was about Arianna. Like the smallest things that others wouldn’t have known about, somehow Noah was able to pick up on from the way Arianna was such as, knowing in some way that things happened between Arianna and Chase at the summer beach house. Noah was all around an amazing guy from the way he was so attentive and attuned to Arianna’s feelings, to the skills he possessed in cooking delicious meals, humble about his talents, and bringing smiles to Arianna. 

Honestly most of my favorite moments from this book were when Arianna and Noah were hanging out or just plain talking to each other. The conversations between Arianna and Noah weren’t just natural, but held significance behind their words. I loved those times when Arianna would tell Noah, “Say you swear”, and Noah would reply, “I swear”. That quote hit me squarely in the heart, and was like, “omg that’s so sentimental!” Each time Noah and Arianna said that, it held such a strong significance between them, it was like their version of making a promise to one another, that they meant it with every fiber in them. Perfect tie in with the title, and while reading it makes perfect sense as to why the story is titled, “Say You Swear”. 

The romance in this book was heartfelt and amazing. From the littlest things such as, Noah cooking with Arianna to their version of making promises of “say you swear”, to the fun spontaneous moments between them, it was just nonstop me swooning and in awe of such love blossoming between Arianna and Noah. I’m telling you right now, Noah was such a humble yet held this strong confidence to him that was admirable and sweet. Noah wasn’t just someone special to Arianna, he was her first friend outside of her family/friend group that saw her as her own person, not as her twin’s sister. Even the way Arianna was with Noah was sweet such as, cheering him up after leaving the hospital when visiting his mom, or coming up with song titles in their conversations (kinda random, but was endearing). Noah and Arianna started off as friends, but even as they progressed to lovers, they still had that lighthearted energy from their friendship cross over as they became more serious. Noah and Arianna took care of one another in different ways which spoke to the level of intimacy they had as well as how well they knew each other. Honestly, it was the little things that made an impact on the romance in this book, and I’ve come to learn that you don’t need grand gestures to express your feelings, it’s the small things that count, and actually speak louder. 

Umm excuse, but like… THAT FREAKING PLOT TWIST?! WTF?! AHHHHHH! My jaw dropped and I couldn’t believe it! Yeah definitely not the type of thing I expected to play out in this story. For sure this book wasn’t what I imagined, and going into this story with an open mind, and having no clue in terms of the specifics was a good idea. Once you get to the part of the story in referencing, you’ll understand why I felt the way that I did which was, shocked, surprised, questioning, and at the edge of my seat with anxiety!! I had to re read a few times to make sure I read correctly what had happened. Kind of added a shock value to the story, but looking back now it made the story have a bit of dimension as to what would end up happening next. 

This was unlike any romance story I had ever read. There was so much meaning and significance behind Arianna and Noah’s story that left me swooning, heartbroken, yet hopeful for the future. Love isn’t always a straight path, sometimes you have to take different routes in order to reach your destination and for Arianna, she eventually found her way. Noah was literally the most amazing book boyfriend, that man truly was selfless, humble, and genuine to his core. Even with the amount of pain Arianna and Noah went through, if it meant that it could somehow help Arianna, Noah would endure all the pain in the world just for her sake. I wasn’t expecting the plot twist in the story, but omg! It shocking! Definitely had me at the edge of my seat at some moments wondering what was going to happen next. Not really a fan of love triangles, but it didn’t bother me too much as I obviously had my favorites come out on top. I absolutely loved the bond between Arianna and Noah, their promises of, “say you swear”, the moments shared between them were meaningful and beautiful. The found family was loving and I could sense the love between all the friend and family radiating off the pages. I loved the way the epilogue played out for Arianna and Noah, especially the very end, so romantic and again with Noah, he was always making me feel like I couldn’t get enough of his sweetness. Definitely a book I would recommend checking out, and even if you aren’t a fan of the love triangle trope, I feel like this book will have you reconsidering. This book will have you swooning, gasping, surprised, shocked, smiling, wanting Noah all for yourself, and admiring the love shared between Noah and Arianna.