Promises to Keep

This is a first-time read from this author and it will not be my last. I absolutely loved the characters in this book. Actually you get two romances going here. Great read!!

I've read some of Kathryn Shay's books, but so far this is THE BEST!!! I was a bit reluctant at first to start reading a book where the hero is 47 and the heroine is a 43 year old single mom of a teenage boy. But once I started, I was hooked. I couldn't even put it down until the last page. WOW. The secondary characters Luke and Kelsey are also so likeable and their love story is so touching that I think they deserve their own book.Kathryn Shay has carefully and precisely brought the reality of high school life into the book. I was a teacher once, and even so I learned a lot more from her book from my own very limited experience. I wished I paid more attention and understanding to my students beyond their scholastic work,then. Aside from the sweet romantic side, the book is very well researched and very informative that any readers can benefit from it.

Hello,I have never written a review for a book before but this book touched me so much thatt I felt compelled. I am still thinking about this book even though I read it a month ago and have read many books since. The topic of school violence is handled in such a realistic fashion that I could see that situation arise in any shool nation-wide. There are also two wonderful romantic stories in this book that are tender and realistic also. Read this book, you won't forget it!

Agent Joe Stonehouse has dedicated his life to preventing violence at schools nationwide. His current assignment has sent him to Fairholm High School where he has been hired as a school psychologist. Joe is a man that has had many tragedies in his life, from his horrific childhood to losing the niece that was like his daughter in a school shooting. He has trained himself not to feel anything for anyone but his family, however he had never met anyone like Suzanna Quinn, the principal at Fairholm.Suzanna Quinn is the widowed principal at Fairholm. When Joe Stonehouse and his partner Luke Ludezky want to come into her school prentending to be uncle and nephew, she is incensed. She has always stressed how important honesty is between her staff and students and she feels like it's a betrayal of all that she thinks is important. The hardest thing Joe asks her to do is keep it from her fellow teacher and surrogate daughter, Kelsey Cunningham. Joe convinces her that it is worth keeping from Kelsey as the lives of many students are at risk.This is my first Shay novel and I was very impressed. The way she depicts the emotions of the characters is heartbreaking. All the characters have had something happen in their past that they are trying to deal with and they all turn to eachother. The secondary characters of Luke and Kelsey is especially heartbreaking, as Kelsey honestly believes she has feelings for a student that aren't at all teacher-like.Shay also stresses to the reader how common violence is in schools and how important it is that adults, whether parents or teachers or counselers, be available to talk with them without jugding. I can't wait to pick up another Shay!

Three years have passed since Secret Agent Joe Stonehouse's beloved niece was killed in a school shooting. Since then, he has been dedicated to stopping that kind of random violence. His latest assignment has him masquerading as a guidance counselor and the uncle of a troubled youth, who is another agent, in a high school. His mission is complicated when he meets the principal, Suzanna Quinn, an attractive single mom to whom he finds himself drawn, despite the complications such a romance would create. On top of that, his "nephew" has definitely more than student teacher relations in mind when he sees Kelsey, one of his teachers. As the two couples dance along the fine line between business and pleasure, a plot to have another Columbine is forming in their school. Romance could compromise the whole mission, and love between any of them could endanger not only the mission, but their hearts and careers as well. ... A timely, current novel that is easy to identify with due to the relevance contained herein, it is a welcome addition to the shelves. Ms. Shay should have broken into the full length novel genre long ago. Her talents are always finely displayed in the deep emotion her words evoke and her well thought out characters. These are all living breathing people you might meet anywhere at any time. The action and suspense balance well with the love, so that neither plot is skimped upon. I eagerly await her next release...