Promised by Leah Garriott {Book Review}

I regency romance centered around a heartbroken woman who has sworn off of ever loving a man again. Twice engaged, never married. Check out my review of Promised!

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 matchmaking 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 condition 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 type of 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.

My Rating:

My Thoughts:
This was a shockingly good regency romance. I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction so as usual I don't go into them with high hopes. I normally go into them with pretty low expectations, but this was beautifully written and comical as well. I enjoyed the writing and the characters.

Margaret Brinton has been hurt by love. She fell for a man that only wanted her money. She felt betrayed, humiliated and decided to never fall in love again. She's opted to find a man that meets her standards for a marriage of convenience -- no love, no emotions. Margaret was a frustrating character for me. She pissed me off at some parts because she had this strong dislike for men. I loved seeing her learn to rely on men and understand that not everyone was like her ex-fiance. She goes through many internal changes which makes for a good reading experience.

Lord Gregory Williams was a stoic man who never showed his true emotions. He seemed to be a mystery, but watching him allow his feelings to come out was beautiful. He was a funny, respectable man. He never disrespected anyone -- even when they deserved it. He was also a mama's boy a bit which I loved. I liked how nice he was with Mr. Brinton and how he never stopped trying to get the attention of Margaret.

The romance was adorable! I thought they were like oil and water at first, but as the story progressed you could see that Williams was trying hard to get her to love him. Margaret tried hard to keep from falling, but she fell pretty hard. I love their banter. The way they looked at one another and the cute touches were sweet. I loved seeing them have this seesaw romance and then go through a journey to love.

Mr. Northam seemed like a cool guy at first, but when that ending hit with that twist he PISSED me off. He's the type of guy you just need to drop ice cold water on. He's rude, disgusting and uses his charms on women. I disliked him.

Mr. Lundall was an interesting character to me. He seemed like a stalker at first, but as things were revealed about him I felt bad for him. He was a sweet guy with good intentions but his reasoning was absolutely dumb.

Daniel was an excellent brother. I loved that he was always there for his sister. Be it to protect her, comfort her or just to get on her nerve. Alice was a nice little sister, but also spoiled. Didn't get to learn much about her so sadly I didn't feel much when things went left for her.

Overall, I was really pleased with this book and definitely plan to check out more from this author.

About the Author

Though she earned degrees in math and statistics, Leah Garriott lives for a good love story. She has resided in Hawaii and Italy, has walked the countryside of England, and owns every mainstream movie version of Pride and Prejudice. She’s currently living her own happily ever after in Utah with her husband and three kids. Leah is represented by Sharon Pelletier at Dystel, Goderich, and Bourret.

Visit the author at www.LeahGarriott.com

Have you read this book?

Nay's Pink Bookshelf

Search This Blog

Promised by Leah Garriott {Book Review}