Swear on This Life by Renee Carlino
Released: August 16, 2016
Contemporary Romance
Atria Books

Reviewed by Mandi

Last year I read, Before We Were Strangers and gave it five stars. Obviously I was anticipating Swear on This Life, but boy did it have the opposite effect on me. Instead of loving and swooning, I disliked and got a bit ragey. Emiline is an adjunct writing instructor at UC San Diego who also wants her own writing career, but she has yet to be published. She has had a serious boyfriend named Trevor for some time now, and he even admits her writing isn’t up to par. Trevor and Emiline fight, a lot. Trevor was once a star quarterback who got injured, and moved his life to San Diego to be with Emiline. She feels like he really doesn’t want to be there. Their relationship is filled with bickering.

Emiline’s roommate, Cara brings home a book one day that is getting a ton of buzz called, All the Roads Between by debut author J. Colby and Cara loves this book. Emiline opens the first page and can’t believe what she is reading. By the end of the first chapter she is sobbing and can’t catch her breath. The author, J. Colby, she realizes, is actually her first love, Jase Colbertson, and he has written Emiline’s story. The book is about Emiline’s childhood as her mother abandons her and she is left with her alcoholic father. Jase lives next door, and as children they become best friends. He is her support system and later in life, lover. He took Emiline’s story and wrote a best-selling book without telling her.

Swear on This Life leaves present day, as Emiline is reading the book, and actually goes back to the past as you read Jase’s book, All the Roads Between. I would say more of the book is in the past, than present day. At first, I found Emiline’s story when she was a child engaging, but after a while, I got bored. In present day, Emiline has lost touch with Jase, but he is coming to San Diego for a book signing so there is a build up of them reuniting. But it takes forever! I think they finally meet at the 55%-60% mark. Instead we get every single detail from Emiline and Jase’s troubled childhood. Meanwhile, when we do get brief periods in present day, we have to deal with a very immature and rude Emiline and her boyfriend Trevor. I couldn’t stand present day Emiline. She has such an attitude towards everyone. She blames everyone for her poor writing career. She blames Trevor for their failed relationship (yet doesn’t leave him). She blames and blames and snaps at people and I did not like her at all. I tried to have empathy due to her troubled childhood but there is a point where you have to be polite and own your life.

When Jase and Emiline finally reunite – she blames him for ruining her life with making her rehash her past. He is all smooth and charming and banging his agent. Ugh. I didn’t care for him either. Maybe if I liked Emiline more, I would have rooted for them as a couple, but by the end of the book I could not have cared less whether they ended up together. As children, I liked them – as adults, I wanted to be rid of them.  This book left me in a bad mood.

Grade: D

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