ABOUT THE BOOK
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.
ABOUT THE AUTHORThough 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
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REVIEW
I wasn't too far into Promised before I realized why the book felt familiar. There are definite elements of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in the book. Since I love that book, I don't consider that a bad thing. There are some major differences though. While Margaret's spirit and witty tongue are reminiscent of Elizabeth Bennett, her prejudice against Lord Williams is partly a defense to her attraction to the man and not just his behavior. While Lord Williams does exhibit Darcy-like pride at first, his motives for pursuing Margaret aren't solely related to his attraction to her.
Margaret's heart has been broken before when her fiance was revealed to have a mistress. In an effort to prevent such a thing from happening again, she's promised herself a marriage of convenience rather than a marriage of love. At a house party, she meets a man that she considers to be a perfect choice. The man is a known rake with little regard for the feelings of the women he gets involved with. It turns out that Lord Williams is the rake's cousin and intends to stop Margaret's marriage of convenience plan.
After humiliating Margaret at the house party, Lord Williams shows up at Margaret's house to pursue an engagement, which doesn't please Margaret at all. But Lord Williams manages to win over her family, and Margaret struggles to rein in her growing attraction. As Margaret gets to know Lord Williams better, her opinion starts to change, but she's still reluctant to get involved with him. Can he win her over, or will Margaret's promises to herself and an uncomfortable secret win the day?
I really enjoyed this book. Garriott has done a fabulous job of including popular Pride and Prejudice elements while creating a unique story. The characters are delightfully flawed individuals. And the secondary characters are just as well-developed. Some of the funnest scenes in the book take place between Margaret and her family. The witty exchanges between Margaret and Lord Williams were some of my favorite parts. This is a great addition to the Proper Romance line and is definitely a favorite for me.
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