Our impending vows were supposed to be fake…
Moving home to Kither Springs to help my sister with her baby wasn’t a hardship. I love being with my family, but a few months of sleeping on the couch really takes a toll on you. I desperately needed to move out, but while I was away, my hometown became ‘viral famous.’
A rush of people had clamored to our town, looking for a taste of small-town life, which means less housing. When an apartment finally becomes available, I’m not the only one interested in it, but maybe that’s not such a bad thing…
Ryker is all muscles, adorable frowns, and gooey brown eyes I want to melt into. I know better than to hit on a straight guy, so I offer to be roommates instead. It’ll be just like college.
But then the old landlady insists she only rents to couples, which leads me to blurting out that Ryker and I are engaged… future husbands-to-be. To my utter surprise, my former classmate goes along with the not-so-little white lie.
Now we’re pretending to be in love while I try not to fall in love for real.
Promised Vow is book 1 of the Promises, Promises series set in a small town with meddling neighbors and a tight community of friends and family. This book has size difference, opposites attract, and a very clingy cat.
MeadowsLovesBooks –
**Audiobook Review**
Cute start to a new series! When Sam moves back to Kither Springs to help his family out he didn’t think the towns recent popularity would make it so hard to find his own place. Desperate, Sam claims his high school acquaintance, Ryker, is his fiance to score an apartment from a landlady who insists she’ll only rent to couples.
Queue the tropes:
💖 Fake fiance’s
💖 Only 2 beds 😂
💖 Roommates to lovers
💖 Size difference
💖 Nosy townsfolk
I like Rye’s low angst, gooey love stories a lot and this audiobook did not disappoint. She does cinnamon roll MC’s very well. Highly recommend!
Mandywreads –
AudioBook Review
Promised Vow by Rye Cox is an adorable, heartfelt take on the fake fiancé trope, filled with genuine emotion, humour, and the perfect amount of slow-burn romance.
Who knew that a desperate search for an apartment would lead to a fake engagement—and a real happily ever after? Ryker and Sam’s chemistry is instant and effortless, making it easy to want them to get together from the very beginning. Ryker, despite experiencing a bi-awakening, embraces it with openness and care, ensuring that their journey is one of mutual respect and emotional growth. Meanwhile, Sam is determined to support his family, making sacrifices wherever he can, and his kind heart makes him impossible not to love.
What sets this story apart is its emotional depth. The vulnerability both characters show as they navigate friendship, attraction, and growing love makes their connection feel authentic and deeply rewarding. Rye Cox takes the classic fake-dating setup and infuses it with so much warmth and sincerity that it becomes more than just a trope—it’s a story about trust, self-discovery, and finding home in another person.
If you love fake fiancé romances with supportive partners, emotional depth, and a bi-awakening done right, this one is a must-read!
Read.me.romance –
Sweet and steamy with awakening, size difference, and forced proximity! Great performance and great book!
Nichole Reeder –
Always nervous when experiencing a new-to-me author and having no expectations of what is to come. This was a cute, low-angst story. A mix of genres, from friends-to-lovers, force proximity, and fake relationship, it offers some things to overcome… and then add in small town noisy neighbors on top of it. Lots of side characters that lead to potential of many more stories. Zachary Zaba does a great job narrating this story and bringing the characters to life.
Karen Neeper –
I love me sweet stories especially when of the guys is a big ole cinnamon roll! Ryker gets pulled into Sam’s idea of being a relationship so they can have the apartment they both need. I enjoyed the simplicity of the story. It was a quick and easy listen about two regular but very genuine and likable guys finding each other due to close proximity. Zachary Zaba has the perfect narrating voice for this gentle guys. We get to live everyday life with them as they fall in love. Great family and friends too.
Karen Neeper –
I love me sweet stories especially when of the guys is a big ole cinnamon roll! Ryker gets pulled into Sam’s idea of being a relationship so they can have the apartment they both need. I enjoyed the simplicity of the story. It was a quick and easy listen about two regular but very genuine and likable guys finding each other due to close proximity. Zachary Zaba has the perfect narrating voice for these gentle guys. We get to live everyday life with them as they fall in love. Great family and friends too.
ButtonsMom2003 –
Audiobook Review:
Overall – 5
Performance – 4
Story – 5
Promised Vow is the first book I’ve read/listened to by Rye Cox and I really enjoyed it. Zachary Zaba did a good job performing the audiobook. I always enjoy fake relationship stories and this one was really good and I loved Ryker’s bisexual awakening.
Ryker was happy to pretend to be engaged to Sam so that they could share an apartment but he didn’t expect to catch feelings for him. Promised Vow is a sweet, low-angst story that tugged at my heart. I’ll be checking out more books by Rye Cox.
A complimentary copy of this audiobook was provided to me at my request; my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author and/or narrator.
KR Phoenix –
Sweet, romantic and sunny romance
There’s just something about this book that’s happiness and joyful. The love story between Ryker and Sam is so sweet and endearing with an unconventional fake engagement to finding your forever person in the end.
I loved all the vivid characters and cameos and I really hope we get to see more of Ryker’s friends find love.
The writing, and story style just made me smile the hope way through and I thoroughly enjoyed every sweet moment, every touch, tease and all that stuff. It’s low angst, full of communication and wonderful, swoon-worthy moments.
Fantastic and dynamic narration by Zachary Zabba. Both mcs have their own distinct voices and even the extra characters are distinguishable from each other. Very easy to listen to and get lost in. I hope he can narrate Jones story too and very much look forward to his much deserved HEA!
Deanna –
Tropes:
💜M/M
💜Small town
💜Fake relationship
💜Size difference
💜Opposites attract
💜Aloe obsession
“Is that what you want? A love so loud you nauseate everyone around you?”
Sam and Ryker, looking for a place to rent, find themselves engaged. This is such a light-hearted story and narrator Zachary Zaba does a beautiful job giving each character a unique voice!
Claire Louisa Holderness –
This was a lovely, sweet no-angst story that I really enjoyed listening to. The narrator did a good job of bringing the characters to life.
Fake relationships are one of my favourite tropes as I enjoy seeing them fall in love for real. I liked that both men took everything in their stride and that Sam wasn’t phased by his attraction to Ryker and went with his feelings. These two made such a cute couple.
I enjoyed Sam’s family; his grandpa, sister, and baby nephew, who, along with Ryker’s cat, all added to my enjoyment of the story.
I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
tnrvrking –
What a fun read! Love the way Rye Cox writes!
Low angst and an adorable love story that develops from a unique way of ending up as “fiances”. The narrator does an amazing job of breathing life into the characters. I loved the supporting characters as they added value to the story.
The love story between Sam and Ryker blossoms into true love along the way coming from two different perspectives. Sam already having feelings for Ryker while Ryker comes from a path of self-discovery to realize his love for Sam.
Excellent book that you’ll definitely want to listen/read!
cathybrockmanromance –
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Promised Vow by Rye Cox
Promised Vow (Promises, Promises #1)
by Rye Cox (Goodreads Author)
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Audio update. I just listened in audio. I loved it even more and 5 meows to narration. It really added life to an already very good story. I loved the difference in voices as well as the feels!I highly recommend the audio!
This is a sweet slow burn. There’s so much I loved about it
Fake fiance, friends to lovers, small town, slow burn, bi awakening.
I loved both Sam and Ryker but I love Sam’s sister,gramps and baby nephew too. On Rykers side I loved his friends and cat.
It’s a great story with good plots and a happy ever after.
My only issue was it didn’t feel like a first in series I felt like I was missing something especially with Jordan and Wren but it feels like I read that… having said that it stands alone fine and is so good. Can’t wait for the next