Book Review: Promised

I was really excited to see another new author added to Shadow Mountain's Proper Romance line and this one sounded good!

In Promised, by Leah Garriott, we meet Margaret who has had her heart broken. She decides that she'll never give her heart away again and will be content with a marriage of convenience. She meets a known rake named Mr. Northam and Margaret decides he's the perfect man for her to marry and thus protect her heart. Unfortunately, his cousin, Lord Williams, decides he wants Margaret for his own and offers for her. But Margaret is determined to lock her heart away, no matter how handsome Lord Williams is or how he makes her smile. Will her heart be able to rule her head? Or will it be her undoing?

I loved the hero, Lord Williams. He has such a great character arc as his character is slowly revealed throughout the story. His actions toward Margaret are so puzzling at first, but when all is made clear, I wanted to go back and re-read those parts! Margaret is a stubborn woman who is determined to push away any man who could win her heart. She draws out her own emotional pain by sticking to promises that should have been abandoned long ago (and this does drag down the pacing of the book a bit) but she is relatable and the reader will root for her to see the truth of the situation. I enjoyed Margaret's family and the rest of the secondary cast. The author is skilled at really making them memorable. The setting was easy to imagine, especially the Brinton's estate, and the symbolism of the lake for the characters was particularly well done. This is a book you will finish with all the happy feels. I will definitely look for more by this author!

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Here's the back copy:

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

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. 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, 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. 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.