Reading this beautiful novel took me through a tidal wave of emotions from tears to laughter, but what a read it is! Charged full of emotion I found it nigh on impossible to put down.

The story takes you on a journey of four women whose lives intertwine for varied reasons. Jenny's story is a standout piece in the book reducing me to tears with every letter read from her mother. But for me, I would have liked her storyline to come to a more detailed conclusion as I do feel that we left her at such a vulnerable moment that I'm still wondering if she will be ok as I formed such an emotional attachment to her character through the beautiful writing.

Nat's journey doesn't reach the emotional heights found in other storylines but creates moments of light relief and pure joy to contrast the deeper elements in the book. She is every girl's best friend and the glue keeping characters together and I loved living vicariously through her unique line of work.

Helen's piece moved me greatly at the amount of love one woman can show to so many people in such a selfless manner. An instantly likeable character and a one I wish I could meet in everyday life, she is brave yet vulnerable with a fierce protection towards her daughter Betsy.

But for me, Betsy proved the most difficult character to get along with as I found my affections towards her kept turning hot and cold, but this certainly held my attention and kept me reading on and I loved the major cliff-hanging moments to her storyline.

These four main women added so many special qualities to the book creating an emotional storyline but I have to mention the comedy gold moments that came from Jenny's roommate Marianne, whose crass antics had me in fits of giggles creating extra light relief when needed and adding even more layers to this wonderful piece of writing.

Promise Me captures female relationships magnificently, in all their flawed glory, creating a standout piece of writing that moved me greatly. I loved everything about this book and didn't want it to come to an end and I can't wait to read more from this author in the future.

The cover initially drew me to this book. There are many different characters in this book, which can be slightly confusing. I thought the development of the book was well thought out.

I will read more by this author.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Heartwarming, touching, & delightful!

This was my first book that I have read by JADE BEER and will definitely not be my last. I hope to read her first book sometime some,The Almost Wife!

I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this book and what an absolutely lovely read it was. Normally I would read the authors previous books beforehand because without realizing that this one features some of the same characters that were in her first book sort of makes me feel a little sad that I didn’t get to know them sooner. Well not in this case though as I didn’t realize that and this one can definitely be read as a stand-alone. It does make me even more excited to read The Almost Wife now though.

PROMISE ME by JADE BEER is a captivating, touching and beautiful read that I was immediately drawn into and had me emotionally interested in all of these ladies lives right to the very end. It took me on an emotional journey that I absolutely loved which was filled with some tears of happiness and sadness.

JADE BEER delivers an engaging and beautifully written story here that was filled with lovely characters, an interesting setting, and a heartfelt storyline. I enjoyed each of these ladies individual stories equally and they complimented each other so well. I absolutely loved how their stories connected in the end. I definitely wanted all of these ladies to have their happy ending.

There were plenty of moments throughout that had me laughing, cheering, smiling, and feeling such admiration and love for this book.

Expected Publishing Date: October 30, 2018

Norma’s Stats:
Cover: That lovely cover definitely caught my eye and definitely allured me into requesting and reading this book.
Title: The cover and title fit so well together. They are both extremely fitting and an excellent representation to storyline.
Writing/Prose: Well-written, fluid, beautiful and engaging.
Plot: Engrossing, interesting, heartwarming, gratifying, perfectly-paced, and entertaining.
Ending: Completely satisfying, pleasing & gratifying!
Overall: This was an all around fabulous feel good story that left me feeling contented and completely satisfied! Would recommend!

Thank you so much to Bookouture, NetGalley & Jade Beer for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review!

This is Jade Beer’s second novel, written after the acclaim of her debut novel ‘The Almost Wife’, a story about three ladies who arrange their marriages at a high end London boutique called ‘The White Gallery’. This is where we first met the shop’s owner Helen Whittaker and her daughter Betsy who lives with her boyfriend and is engaged. They feature in major roles in this heartwarming and beautifully told story that starts one cold October evening when Jenny was walking past the wedding boutique. Joining Helen and her daughter are Natalie Butler, a professional bridesmaid and Jenny Archer a hard working midwife, still grieving for her mother who died twelve years earlier when she was just a teenager.
The four ladies are brought together through their links with ‘The White Gallery’ and each take turns to develop their own engrossing and skilfully created stories. They have quite different personalities and their jobs are nothing like each others. Their character diversity is awesome. I really enjoyed each individual story because of this fact and the strong links to wedding planning in their stories as well as their private lives. It’s about connections, loneliness, romanticising, friendship and love. It’s also about consequences of the actions they took never once predicting how everything would turn out.
My favourite story was Helen’s because she was a wonderful person, friendly, full of empathy and compassion and most strikingly kind and unjudgemental. Most of all I wanted her story to end happily because she really deserved a happy ever after, although Jenny and Betsy’s story were very rewarding to follow as well. Nat’s story was lovely but she was the least vulnerable and I felt she would have the most strength and tenacity to ensure she also had second chances and new beginnings.
I received this very festive novel through my membership of NetGalley and from publisher Bookouture in return for an honest review. Thank you most sincerely for my copy. I loved the fluid beautiful storytelling. This novel is full of heart and makes a really lovely read.
Wonderful story set around a bridal gallery
Proof read.

In Promise Me we catch up with Helen Whittaker, the owner of the White Gallery bridal shop that we first met in the Almost Wife. This time she takes a bit more centre stage as we see her starting on a new relationship as she finally feels ready to move on after the death of her husband. We also meet Natalie Butler, Jenny Archer and Helen’s daughter Betsy Whittaker.
Natalie is a bridesmaid for hire, a job she likes most of the time and it brings her into regular contact with Helen as she uses her shop for all her dresses. They have built up a really good relationship but it still comes as a bit of a shock to Natalie when she realises that one of the weddings she working at is that of Helens daughter Betsy.
Jenny is a bit of a loner. Her mother died when she was only 16 and she is estranged from her father as she couldn’t understand how he could start a new relationship quite soon after her death. A chance passing of the shop sees her caught up in a lie that she has no idea how to get out of.
Betsy is supposed to be marrying her long term partner but between his dedication to the novel he is writing and her increasing attraction to her boss, there is a distinct lack of interest on both their parts on the ever impending nuptials.
I really felt that there was more to Helen’s story in the last book so I was glad to see that the author explored both her relationship with her daughter and the new man in her life. Despite there really being four stories within the story, all being told from their respective points of view the book worked with Helen being the pivotal character that pulled it all together.
I am not a gushy, sentimental person but there is definitely something about Jade Beers books that I just love and keep me hooked. Even the letters that Jenny’s mother had written to her before she died hit just the right note and were not over sentimental. The characters are ones that you are hoping will get their happy ending even when they are maybe not at their best. Although this could be classed as the second book in a series due to the links to The Almost Wife it can certainly be read as a stand-alone. For me this is well worth reading and I can’t wait to see what the author writes next.

This is a first for me by this author... but definitely not my last!!

If you could wish one thing for your daughter, what would it be?

Jenny lost her beloved mother as a teenager, and was left devastated. As a parting gift she left her daughter a bundle of letters, one for each significant day of Jenny’s future. First date, first broken heart, graduation day… and one for the day Jenny meets the love of her life.

Her mother’s letters are everything to her, but how can Jenny ever become the confident, successful woman her mother wanted her to be when her heart is broken by her loss? When an unexpected meeting has Jenny mistaken for somebody she’s not, Jenny learns that sometimes pretending is the easiest way to tell the truth and that loving someone can mean letting them go…


In this story you're whisked away to the wonderful world of weddings, fabulous designer dresses as well as the excitement and stress of planning a wedding. Full of wedding tensions, but not from the usual angles, this was a story that was very easy to relate to.

There is an entertaining mixture of characters ranging from the motherly types that you'd want to adopt you, to the lonely wannabe bride that you're not sure if you want to hug or slap... or maybe both!
This story takes you though a full range of emotions... laughing out loudly to sniffling your way through the pages.

If you like poignant books, eclectic characters that you care about, heady romances with a twist of humour then you might just love this book too.

A page-turner that you won't be able to put down... oh and have the tissue's at the ready.

I look forward to more from this author.

Thank-You Netgalley for my ARC.

This is the second book that I have read by this author. We are introduced again to Helen, the wedding dress shop owner who we meet in the first book The Almost Wife. Helen and her shop is back alongside her daughter, Betsy who is getting married. Helen is worried that there is nothing organised for her wedding, but it appears that Betsy is holding something back from her mother. We also meet Natalie, a professional bridesmaid. She is a regular in Helen’s shop collecting bridesmaid dresses and organising the brides, but Natalie is put in an awkward position when she realises that one of her brides is Helen’s daughter Betsy. The main character of the story is Jenny. Jenny, one day, finds herself staring wistfully into the window of Helen’s shop. Jenny’s mother died when Jenny was a teenager and left her letters for special occasions in Jenny’s life. Jenny worries that she will never get to open the letter meant for her wedding day and wouldn’t be able to fulfil her mother’s dreams for her. So when Helen invites Jenny to pick out her perfect dress, the lies begin….

As I said when I reviewed the first book, I love books about weddings so I was instantly attracted to this book! Also from reading the first book, I knew I was going to be taken through a myriad of different emotions as, so I’ve found out from reading both of these books, this is what this author does best! The story straight away had the tears flowing and had me reaching for the tissues as Jenny’s story began and this tearfulness continued right through the book! The chapters alternate between each woman, and whilst you think this may be confusing with four different women, it really isn’t….the whole story flowed so perfectly!

This is basically one big book of love, but some of it is love that you have now, some is love you have lost and some is love that is still to come. There is sadness and happiness, regret and contentment. I loved all the characters as they were so different from each other, but then in other ways complemented each other so well. A fabulous feel good book which is so cleverly written it stays with you long after you’ve finished it. Would love to see another book featuring the wedding dress shop! Highly recommended!

First of all, I fell head over heals in love with this cover. I just had to read it and I was pleasantly surprised to meet up with a few characters from the previous book (The almost wife). If you have not read that one, I can highly recommand it, by the way, but back to this book.

The author takes us back to the world of weddings, to lovely brides and bridezillas, to wedding parties that run smoothly and others not so. It's about people finding love, others craving love so much they invent their own love story and people realizing their old love has died and new adventures are beckoning.

Love can overwhelm you, love can let you down, love can sweep you off your feet, love can turn into something less nice, but we all need it, don't we? It exists in so many different kinds that however deep you have fallen or been let down, there is always someone to pick you up and have your back.

Books can make me emotional, without a doubt, but not many can really bring tears to my eyes. Those by Jade Beer do it every single time.

This story is a mix of laughter and sadness, love and dislike, lies and promises. It's a kaleidoscope of feelings in stead of colours.  5 stars.

Thank you, Jade Beer, Bookouture and Netgalley.

This is my first read by Jade Beer. I was pleasantly surprised by this read and how Jade Beer can take multiple characters and weave them into one story that all connects together. We are thrown into the world of wedding planning, picking out dresses, and even fake Bridesmaids. Even though you are following multiple main characters, this story was easy to follow and was well planned out.

Jenny lost her mother as a teenager and was devastated, as you can imagine. Her mom left her a stack of letters to read on certain special days. Jenny longs for her mom so much that she ends up reading some of them even though that special day has not arrived yet. Will Jenny be able to live up to her mom's expectations for her life? Once day when Jenny is passing by a wedding dress store, she is caught by the worker, daydreaming about what she might look like in one of those gorgeous dresses. When the owner, Helen, tells Jenny to come in and she will help her find that perfect dress, Jenny is left to think of a story to tell her so that she won't think that she isn't planning a wedding for herself. So, the lies begin.

We also meet Betsy, Helen's daughter, and find out that she is planning a wedding. With Helen owning a wedding dress store, it should be a fun time for them planning out Betsy's wedding day. Helen has plenty of experience with all of this. The only thing is that Betsy is not being totally honest with her mom and secrets begin to be revealed.

While Betsy and Helen are still getting over the loss of their husband and dad, we find that Helen has pretty much had a secret admirer for awhile that she never even realized. With this, we get another couple that is falling in love. Is Helen ready to move on though and how will all this play out with Betsy supposedly planning a wedding as well?

You will fall in love with all these characters and long for more of them when the book ends. I couldn't out this one down until I was done. I was reading every chance I got because I was so caught up in these ladies lives. Jade Beer definitely got my attention from the very beginning until the very end. Such a great read!

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This book whisked me away to the frothy world of weddings, fabulous designer wedding dresses and all the excitement and stress of wedding planning. Full of wedding tensions, but not from the usual angles, this was a book that was very easy to relate to.

The characters were an entertaining mix, ranging from motherly characters that I want to adopt me, to a lonely want-to-be-bride that I wanted to both hug and slap. I ran the full gauntlet of emotions with them, laughing some big dirty laughs and then sadly sniffling my way through the pages. It both broke and then mended my heart.

If you like poignant books, eclectic characters that you care about, heady romances and a twist of humour then you might just love this book too.

Recommended to fans of Sheila O’Flanagan, Claudia Carroll and JoJo Moyes.

Having read the authors previous book which features the same dressmaker, Helen, I couldn’t wait to read more about her. I was not disappointed.

This time we delve deeper into Helen’s relationship with her daughter, Betsy, as they plan Betsy’s wedding. Unfortunately Betsy isn’t being totally honest with her mother and his leads to some awkward conversations.

We also meet Jenny and Nat, both of whom I loved throughout this book. Jenny is hiding a lot from those around her as she attempts to deal with not having her mum around to support her. Nat is also hiding something. As Helen comes closer to discovering that secret, Nat goes to great lengths to try and avoid that happening.

The lives of these four women become intertwined and I loved seeing their stories begin to come together more. The ending was a lovely way to finish the story as a whole while leaving a little something for future books, I hope.

Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for providing a copy.

I enjoyed reading about the lives of Nat, Betsy and Helen but could not identify nor liked Jenny. She in fact seemed to regress through the book.

This is a great read. The author makes you care about the characters. Do not think that it is all feel good just like life it takes a turn and you will find yourself wanting to rush to end of the book to find out on things turn out (don't do it). It is well written and you will not want to stop reading until you get to the end.

This book wasn’t as good as I was hoping it would be. It had a great concept and plot with a good character development but it wasn’t that engaging to me. I just couldn’t get into this book which is why I am giving it only 2 stars. I see I am in the minority with this one as so many gave it 4-5 stars but it’s just not the book for me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book for my honest review.

Promise Me by Jade Beer is set to be published on October 30th.

Here's a quick synopsis:
If you could wish one thing for your daughter, what would it be?
Jenny lost her mother when she was a teenager and was left devastated. Before she died, Jenny's mother left her a bundle of letters to read at important times in her life, including one to open when Jenny meets the love of her life. Those letters are everything for Jenny but how can she become the successful, confident woman her mother wanted her to be when she is still broken by her loss? When an accidental meeting has Jenny pretending to be someone she is not, Jenny learns that sometimes, pretending is the easiest way to tell the truth and that loving someone can mean to let them go.

Promise Me is an unforgettable page-turner that will leave you heartbroken. Grab a box of tissues because this captivating and flawless read will leave you sobbing tears of sadness and happiness with the four main women in the book. This book grabbed my attention from the start and I could not put it down!

Promise Me by author Jade Beer is an intense, emotional book about mother daughter relationships. A girl growing up without her mother, but has sealed letters for every big event in her life from her mother who’s passed. It’s truly a heart wrenching story with strong character roles. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Promise Me and would recommend it to anyone with a heart!
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of Promise Me in exchange for an honest review.