*4.5 stars*

A heartwarming new addition to an old favourite…

A stubborn heroine, feisty children and a hero who is as deadly as he is beautiful made for an entertaining and completely satisfying read! This is historical western at its best as snappy dialogue meets danger and old-fashioned ways…

Mimi and the kids are on the run, young and ill-prepared for the harsh struggles of life in the West. When Jackson saves Mimi, she is there to see he is nursed back to health. And what happens after she makes sure he recovers? He rescues her right back…

The children are at the heart of this story as Tony, Kevin and Melinda Sue bind Mimi and Jackson together. They are running from evil with only right on their side and little else. Jackson recognizes bravery and honesty and can’t help but put himself and his own squarely on their side. A bit of sarcasm and a lot of heart, bolster this most unorthodox courtship…

This author knows how to spin an intriguing tale and add humour and emotion into any story she writes. While I felt the ending of Promises Decide was a bit quick I can’t be faulted for wishing for more of these characters and the ones we were reunited with. A few hints have been dropped and I know the kids have to grow up… Let’s hope the next story will be soon (hopefully without the snakes!)…

Jackson meets Mimi when she is in bad need of help. She has the care of three orphans and is not doing good with country living. I liked that Mimi didn't give up and kept trying to make things right. Jackson fits right into the lives of Mimi and the orphans. A great western historical romance read.

This was a quick read. I did not know it was part of a series and it did not seem to be necessary to read the other books before this one. It did seem that there was a lot of focus on the kids though and I'm not sure if I missed it but the whole section of do the kids want to live with Jenna just ended with nothing said.

this is a great western romance. It was a great quick read and left me feeling happy when it ended. I recommend this book for a great feel good romance.

I read the other books in the Pronises series ages ago. I was a bit worried that I would forget the other couples. I am glad to say most of it came back to me. It was fun to catch up with the other couples as we got Jackson and Mimi's story.

Jackson comes upon Mimi and the children she cares for as he is riding home. Mimi is trapped in a well with a bunch of rattlers. He saves her but is bit by a snake on his way out. They nurse him back to health. Despite Mimi's protest Jackson feels protective and wants to help them.

I loved, loved the kids in the story. Especially little Melinda Sue. The story was a bit too fast paced for me. They fell in in love fast and the bad guy was taken out. It just felt wrapped up too quick. I would have loved a big epilogue to give us more. Overall, I really liked the book and I hope we get more. I hope that the author can get to writing some more stories quicker. I really want to have stories for the kids, especially Gray.

Sarah McCarty has a way of sending me back in time when I read one of her western historical romances and I feel I’m a part of it. Promises Decide is the 5th story in the Promises series and another great addition to the group of men of Cattle Crossing, Wyoming. Jackson Montgomery is on his way home and notices that someone has occupied Bentley’s place. Wondering who was fool enough to buy that place he encounters a group of tenderfoots and wonders if they are in over their heads. Mimi Banfield is on the run and hiding from a very dangerous man. Having Jackson literally save her from danger, she is hoping that he’ll want to help around even more.

Mimi Banfield is a young, strong woman trying to stay one step ahead of danger while being a mother to Tony, Kevin and Melinda Sue. I liked her spunk and the feisty banter she delivered with Jackson which made for some fun and humor. She kept her secrets close to her vest and slowly realized how sheltered she really was after meeting more of Jackson’s friend’s wives, and felt what she’s been missing. Mimi showed her strength, spunk and vulnerabilities which made her a very likeable character to root for.

Jackson Montgomery was what a hero should be in a western novel; handsome, strong and honorable. He couldn’t leave Mimi and the children on their own without the proper provisions and shelter with winter coming soon. He also felt that Mimi was hiding something and waited for her trust him with her secrets, and do what he can to get her and her children working together better. Along with his friends, Jackson was able to exact his form of justice when evil tried to harm one of the children, which had me cheering for the good guys.

Sarah McCarty is one of my favorite authors because she does a wonderful job of balancing a captivating plot, developing her complicated characters and creating steaming love scenes. She also brings us up to date on the latest with the other couples from the previous stories in this series and it’s good to see them still so much in love. Promises Decide was a quick read and held my attention from beginning to end. Mimi and Jackson may have fought their attraction but they clicked so well together and can definitely keep the other one on their toes. Sarah McCarty’s one of the best authors in the western historical romance genre and highly recommend this story for romance fans.

This one was a long time coming. Just love this series from Sarah and am so glad it has finally arrived.

3.5

I feel like I've been waiting ages to read the next book in the Promises series. When I checked, although it hadn't quite been an age I have finished the previous book (the the first time!) way back in 2011. So, was the almost 7 year gap worth the wait? Honestly, probably not. There's very little I would wait 7 years for. However, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy Promises Decide because I did. Just not quite as much as I would have liked.

Promises Decide was a little difference from the previous books in that they firmly stood on the 'erotic' side of the romance line. Promises Decide is a lot tamer and is inclined more towards the sweet end of the scale. This seems to be a trend with McCarty, her most recent release in the Hell's Eight series a formerly smoking hot erotic western romance, was also lacking a noticeable amount of fire. And I miss the heat. It didn't seem right being back with my sexy cowboys and not have some kinky (normally anal) games going on.

But, although this book was missing out on the erotic, I did have fun. We got to revisit the previous couples: Cougar and Mara, Clint and Jenna, the Rev and Elizabeth as well as the memorable secondary characters that have made up the Promises series. It was was one of my favourite aspects of this book. That and seeing Jackson Montgomery, the seemingly easy going cowboy, meet his lady love.

However, maybe it was the lose of the red hot chemistry I associate with McCarty, but I found the romance between Mimi and Jackson a little lack lustre. It was cute and sweet, especially as there were 3 small children involved as well. And of course Jackson was amazingly adorable with them. But Jackson and Mimi seemed to fade into the background.

I'm not sure if this is the last book in the series or if there are more to come. All the adults in the Promises series have now coupled up. However, there are still their kids! Fast forward a decade or two and maybe we can have the next generation's romance. That is definitely a series I would read, as although this book wasn't my favourite I have still really liked this series over all.

The Promises series by Sarah McCarty is one that I fell across accidentally with the 3rd book in the series, Promises Prevail. It was such a good book that it led me to read the rest of the series and get into her other series as well. Promises Decide is the fifth book in this series and just as good as all of the other books and lives up to the over arching story that is unfailing support from this group of rebel friends.

Jackson appears in all of the other stories, coming in as support during the ultimate conflict. So previous followers of this series, have met him before. Finally with a story of his own, I loved that his curiosity leads him to finding this make-shift family in crisis. His arrival means that they have a chance at a future but their history leads to some interesting times between them all. There was a bit of abruptness between them on the farmstead and all of a sudden enmeshed in Jackson's circle of friends, but it did make logical sense so wasn't too bad.

Mimi and the children's history is pretty incredible but also a little tamer than some of the previous heroines on the Promises series so it fit in well. Mimi's attempts to make them a family while struggling with her doubt in her own abilities was a great addition to the angst of the whole story. A great weekend read!

Promises Decide is the long awaited fifth book in Sarah McCarty’s Promises series, and boy, was it worth the wait. I love Sarah’s historical Westerns, especially this series of men who find their forever women, one by one.
Jackson is heading home after one of his latest bounty hunts, with plenty of gold in his pockets, on a very tired horse, and looking forward to being with his family and friends over a good meal. As he passes the disaster locals know as the Bentley place, he’s surprised to see smoke from the chimney and stops to see who is there. What he finds is a disaster of another sort and three children try to extract a woman from a snake-filled well.
Mimi, a very young woman with a past, is down in the well with the rattlesnakes, managing not to get bitten, but also unable to get out. Jackson manages to get her out of the well but at a cost. When she emerges, Jackson sees all of the troubles she has and so puts off telling her what a terrible mistake she has made buying this place.
The three children who live with Mimi are obviously not her own but their stories also have their own backstories. When the truth of their backgrounds come calling, Jackson has already fallen for Mimi and must sort out how much trouble he will have sorting out her past.
You can read this book as a standalone but I assure you that you will enjoy it more with some of the background revealed in the other books in the series. A wonderful series by one of my favorite authors.

Sarah McCarty is one of my favorite authors and this book is exactly why. Even though it was not as steamy as some of her other historicals, Promises Decide gives the reader everything they could want: a scrappy, sensible heroine, a hot alpha hero and plenty of cameos by beloved characters of the previous books in this series.
Normally I shy away from romances with children in them because they tend to detract from the actual romance. I didn't have that problem with this book. Toby, Kevin and Melinda Sue were integral parts of Mimi's history and they were not an overpowering part of the story. I thought Jackson was perfect for Mimi and I liked that there was no drama between the two of them.

This series takes place in the 1800's Wyoming Territory. Alpha men who met their match in frontier women. This author writes beautiful descriptions of the wild west and a realistic view of how tough it was living in those days. She has a knack of making you feel like your right in the scene with the characters. The opening scene in the well surrounded by rattlesnakes was intense.

I cannot believe its been 10 years since the last book in this series. The writing was still outstanding but from the earlier books the heat level was luke warm. That didn't bother me at all because the story along with getting reacquainted with all the previous couples made for a very enjoyable read.

ARC received for review

3.5 stars

I read the first four books in this series many, many years ago, so I was excited to see another one.
Great western novel with bad guys, an amazing group of friends, and a romance too. This one lacked the heat of the first four books. The sexy times were very few and far between. Absolutely loved seeing all the old gang again. Is Mara ever gonna have that baby?

Now will there be one more book and will Ms. McCarty make us wait another ten years for it?

It was a surprise to find this historical western series. It has been awhile since I read an old western. This was a great choice.

I like my cowboys old school, not Tweeting on the back of a horse, so I was very interested in an offered copy of Sarah McCarty's upcoming release. This is the fifth book in the series, but a simple reading of the premise of the other four books left me ready for all the other characters that I met.

In Promises Decide, Jackson Montgomery is a bounty hunter on his way home after turning over his most recent bounty. As he passes the Bentley place, he sees smoke rising from the chimney. The old Bentley place is a disaster of a house with crooked floors, land too rocky to grow anything, a dry well and it was built in the middle of a flash flood plain. There is no way Bentley is living there anymore so he must have found some greenhorn to sell it to.

Since he is curious by nature, and everyone likes interesting news to share in town, Jackson decides to swing by and meet the suckers who purchased the house. What he finds is a couple of kids surrounding the (probably) dry well. It looks like their Ma fell in, which is bad enough, by a dry well also attracts rattlesnakes. Jackson is not only curious, but he is chivelrous and there is no way he will leave this greenhorn woman and her kids to their fate.

But Jackson is hurt going down that well to rescue the pretty young woman, a woman too young to have mothered the three kids standing outside the well, all of whom look nothing alike. Jackson ends up staying with them awhile to recover.  He knows they need some protection, even if it just from their own foolishness, and he also stays because that curious nature of his is demanding he find out just what is going on.

Jackson isn't a fool and he can tell that Mimi and the children are city people and are on the run from something or someone. Jackson can't help falling for Mimi and her three young charges, and even though they haven't yet come to trust him, he will protect them all with his life.

While the love seems to come a bit quickly, Jackson was thinking as he was riding home that it is about time he starts thinking about settling down and returning to the family ranch permanently. It might have something to do with the fact that four of his friends have found love and are settled down. Then he meets Mimi and likes what he sees. Not only is she pretty, but she has spirit and just needs someone to teach her and the children about survival in the old west.

In a world where it takes three hours to ride into the closest town, talk about a rough commute, I lost a little respect for Mimi that in the year she has been on the run with the children she didn't even pick up a book on farming or quiz people they met as they traveled out west or offer to work on a homestead to learn. She was trying to avoid being caught by staying away from towns, but spent all of their money buying a property that would have killed them and even if it didn't, they had no understanding of farming or hunting or anything else to survive in the wilderness. She didn't run away a week ago. They have been running for a year. What was she doing all that time?

This was a quick read and I was suprised to find out it was 320 pages.  This wasn't a convaluted story.  Just a simply romance set in a simpler time.

I liked the family of characters that we met from the prior stories and really want to take some time to read them. Unfortunately, there are no audiobooks for this series which I like to use for playing catch up.   I do want to know more about Jenna and Cougar and the Rev. and I am simplying going to have to find some time to squeeze them in.