Promised – Leah Garriott

Publication Date: February 18, 2020
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing
Genre: Regency Romance
Pages: 368
Dates Read: February 11-12, 2020
Format: eARC provided by publisher

Buy on Amazon
My Goodreads Review

SYNOPSIS:

“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.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5 STARS

Promised is the debut novel for author Leah Garriott and is a classic enemies to lovers set in Regency Era England. In this story, our main character Margaret starts off this novel attending a matchmaking dinner party where she is set on finding a man who will enter into a marriage of convenience with her. She believes that this is the only way that she can protect her heart from the kind of suffering she has experienced in the past.

I loved absolutely everything about this book, and could not put it down! I loved Margaret, and could completely understand her reasonings and thought process in the things she did. That’s not to say that she wasn’t flawed, because she definitely made some bad calls, but that is what made her truly relatable. This novel is told from her POV the entire time, and I found I really liked this first-person narrative, as it let me immerse myself in Margaret’s shoes and take the journey with her. I also really appreciated her love of Jane Austen–especially her love for Pride and Prejudice, as it is also my very favorite book of all time.

The storyline was really great, and truly well written. There were plot twists that I truly didn’t see coming. I really loved how Margaret tried her very best to scare off her new fiancé, and the banter between them was really great! The chemistry was spot on, and the character development was well done.

The setting was beautifully written, and vivid. This is another reason that I loved the first person narrative to this story, because instead of having all these different POV’s, we were able to get a really clear picture of our setting, and the beautiful descriptions of their homes and surroundings.

The pacing was well done as well. I felt that there were never any parts that felt dragged out or rushed, but I also was so immersed that I zipped through it in no time, and wished that it wasn’t over! This one will most definitely be going on my reread list!

Overall, this is a beautiful and sweet story and I highly recommend this one if you love romance, regency stories, or anything Jane Austen.

Special thanks to Shadow Mountain Publishing for the advanced review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts and review.

——————————————————————————————

About the Author:

Advance Praise/Endorsements:

“Garriott’s impressive debut distinguishes itself with its expertly evoked Regency setting, a cast of realistically flawed yet eminently relatable characters, and a sweetly satisfying love story. Teen fans of Austen-era love stories will fall hard for this impeccably crafted romance.”
–Booklist

“Promising Regency-set debut. Vivid period details and the hero’s grand romantic efforts will please fans of historical romance.”
–Publishers Weekly