PROMISED, by Leah Garriott , Shadow Mountain, Feb. 18, 2020, Softcover, $15.99 (young adult/ new adult/ adult)
A woman vows to keep a promise to herself — even if it means an unconventional marriage — in Leah Garriott’s Promised.
Margaret Brinton knows what it means to have your heart broken. The man she gave her heart to turned out to have a string of mistresses and only wanted her for her money. Fooled once, she vows never to be misled again.
Enter her plan — rather than seeking out a marriage of love, she only seeks one of convenience. One in which she and her husband will rarely have to see each other but will enjoy the comforts afforded a married couple. One where her heart will be left intact.
To set her plan in action, Margaret attends a notorious match-making party, and discovers just the right match — Mr. Northam, a handsome and obliging rake.
There’s only one problem, Mr. Northam’s meddling cousin, Lord Williams. Lord Williams ruins Margaret’s chances for making a good match to anyone, forcing Margaret to return home.
All hopes of saving things with Mr. Northam are quashed, when Margaret learns her father has up and engaged her to none other than Lord Williams. Margaret simply refuses to consent to the marriage. Lord Williams is a condescending know-it-all.
At least that’s how he presented himself in the past.
But the more time Margaret spends with him — whether she wants to or not — the more she starts to realize first appearances can be deceiving. Lord Williams soon gains the good opinion of her siblings. He’s kind and intelligent, and exactly the kind of man Margaret would have wanted to marry prior to being hurt. Margaret must decide if breaking her promise to herself is worth risking her heart.
I picked up Promise on a day that I definitely needed an escape, and escape I did. I immediately found Margaret to be a likeable character whose voice was both comfortable and intelligent. Her hopes of both protecting her heart and gaining some sense of independence are immediately relatable.
The overall plotline of Promise is fairly predictable — it is a Proper Romance after all — but there are enough twists to keep things moving at an enjoyable pace.
I’ve read most of Shadow Mountain’s Proper Romance line, and Promise fits nicely into the Regency line. In fact, I would probably place it among the better novels in the group.
Promised is a fast read — I read it in one day — that is perfect for escaping the wintertime blues.
