Promised
Series: None
Author: Leah Garriott
Published February 18th 2020 by Shadow Mountain

Goodreads Synopsis
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.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via Edelweiss. This in no way impacted on my view.

I've recently fallen back in love with Regency Era historical fiction, and went on a bit of a requesting spree to discover new authors, and Leah was just one of them. In Promised, Miss Margaret Brinton has had enough of the shame she felt when her engagement to neighbour, Edward Rosthorn, fell apart due to his scheming and numerous mistresses, and she is ready to put it all behind her, and find a husband to secure her future - even if she doesn't love him. Attending a party at the Hickmore's, one known for resulting in many a marriage, she meets Mr Frederick Northam and Lord Gregory Williams - cousins - who seem to have a bit of history between them, and are intriguing Margaret. She sets her eyes on Northam, even though he is a notorious rogue, and is aggravated when Williams constantly interferes, and even walks out while she is performing at the piano, insulting her in front of everyone at the Hickmore's. She returns home, despondent, and is told by her father that he has organised a match for her, and her fiancee will be turning up shortly. When he arrives, it's none other than Lord Williams, and Margaret is adamant that she will not marry him. However, the more time that he spends with her family, especially her younger sister Alice, she finds herself reconsidering her previous plans, but is it too late? Has she put him off because of her previous heartbreak, and can she do anything about it?

I really, really enjoyed this one. There were so many aspects of it that were similar to Pride and Prejudice, my favourite book of all time. Williams had qualities just like Darcy, and the witty banter between himself and Margaret was reminiscent of Darcy and Lizzy's interactions. You knew from the start that though Margaret was against Williams, it would be him she ended up with, and honestly, I couldn't have picked anyone better for her. Even if she did actually like Northam, he definitely was not the guy for her, and the more that came out about him, the more he was wholly unsuitable. Once Margaret started referring to Williams as Gregory in her head, she was a goner.

The plot of this one was so good too. We start off with the party to meet suitors, and then we have family time at home, with Williams there. That time we saw how close a family the Brinton's were, and how cute her brother Daniel was, especially when faced with his beau, Louisa, who was Margaret's best friend. He was so achingly nervous, and in love, but wouldn't propose until Margaret was settled, especially when Louisa is the sister of the one who jilted Margaret way back when. After all of this, we have an illness, leading to Margaret and her father having to go to Williams estate, where she meets his mother, and falls even more in love with him. When disaster strikes, and it seems like our heroes might just not be able to face all of the issues being thrown at them, I actually got a bit heartbroken, because I'd fallen so in love with these two, I needed them to be together! Rest assured, all is well, and for Leah's debut, this was perfect! I can't wait to read her next one!


April 12, 2020

Rating
4 Stars