Book Review: Promised by Leah Garriott

 Promised by Leah Garriott

Book Description:

Margaret Brinton keeps her promises, and the one she is most determined to keep is the promise to protect her heart...

Warwickshire, England, 1812

Fooled by love once before, Margaret vows never to be played the fool again. To keep her vow, she attends a notorious match-making party intent on securing the perfect marital match:  a union of convenience to someone who could never affect her heart. She discovers a man who exceeds all her hopes in the handsome and obliging rake, Mr. Northam. 

There's only one problem. His meddling cousin, Lord Williams, won't leave Margaret alone. Condescending and high-handed, Lord Williams lectures and insults her. When she refuses to give heed to his counsel, he single-handedly ruins Margaret's chances for making a good match--to his cousin or anyone else. With no reason to remain at the party, Margaret returns home to discover her father has promised her hand in marriage--to Lord Williams.

Under no conditions will Margaret consent to marrying such an odious man. Yet as Lord Williams inserts himself into her everyday life, interrupting her family games and following her on morning walks, winning the good opinion of her siblings and proving himself intelligent and even kind, Margaret is forced to realize that Lord Williams is exactly the man she'd hoped to marry before she'd learned how much love hurt. When paths diverge and her time with Lord Williams ends, Margaret is faced with her ultimate choice: keep the promises that protect her or break free of them for one more chance at love. Either way, she fears her heart will lose.

Rorie's Review:

Every now and then, you come across a book that immediately draws you in and doesn't let go until you finish the story. This is one of those books. I found myself rushing through my "gotta-do's" so I could hurry up and get back to reading. 

My heart ached for Margaret, and I really couldn't blame her for basically closing off her heart... or attempting to, anyway. But, she is not a robot, no matter how much she might have wanted to be, and those pesky emotions kept getting in the way. 

I honestly wasn't sure what to think of Gregory, and had a hard time trusting him for quite awhile. I definitely liked him better than some of the other men in the story though. Mr. Lundall was an amusing character, although I thought his story was going to end up differently than it did. 

I'm glad I had the chance to read this story and look forward to reading more from this author.

Tarah's Review:

Isn't the cover of this book stunning?!? I love the red. One day when I organize my bookshelf by color instead of by author this red is going to really pop :) Anyway, it's definitely something that would catch my attention and make me want to see what it was all about.

Poor Margaret! What she went through, and then what she decided to do to never go through it again! It all just broke my heart. But I loved how her family was actually supportive and loved her. In a lot of stories the family doesn't can about the girl at all and it was refreshing to see a loving family (I like those other stories too, but sometimes different is good). The relationship Margaret had with her brother was fun, and I was sad to see it change, even though the change was for the good of the story.

While I never doubted that Lord William's was a good guy, I was totally curious as to his motivations the whole book. His role reminded me strongly of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. There were some strong similarities there for awhile.

I loved the book, and I will be rereading it again. However, I felt like the end just kinda....ended. Not in a cliff hanger sort of way, but definitely not wrapped up in a pretty little bow. It was sort of ... anti-climatic. Which I realize is odd since the climax was all wrapped up nicely, but the end just...ended, and I was like, "Oh. It's over." That was a little disappointing to me, but not enough to ruin the very good book that I just read.

Andrea's Review:

Promised by Leah Garriott is a delightful read that really hit the spot on this snowy, nothing is open, can’t go anywhere day. It is a clean, engaging read that is a great addition to the Proper Romance line.

I was surprised by Lord Williams’ secret. Trying to figure out his motivation and determine if he was really a good guy kept me intrigued.

Margaret was very stubborn, but her attitude and reactions made a lot of sense given the betrayal she’d faced.

Leah Garriott did an excellent job with this story. I believe it is a debut novel for her, and I'd happily read more from her in the future.

Title: Promised

Author: Leah Garriott
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Published: February 2020
ISBN: 1629726141
Source: Advanced reader copy from the publisher. All opinions expressed are our own. 

Purchase: Amazon | Deseret Book