A wonderful read a book that drew me right in kept me reading late into the night.Characters that came alive highly recommend.#netgalley#avonbooksuk

Dual timeline book that transitions seamlessly between both stories. Strong characters, and set among the backdrop of the Scottish Highlands, this is a wonderful tale of love and loss.

The book was a predictable read with two love stories, one taking place in 1940 and the other in 2020. Both female characters were struggling with what they wanted from life but found their purpose when they least expected it. For both characters it was love at first sight, which is quite random. There is some mystery to this book but it all gets resolved in the end. Some conflicts but basically a happy ending for most characters.

This is a book which follows two time periods. In the modern day we have Kate who is just arriving in the Highlands to start a new job promoting the guest house, Invermoray House. We follow her story as she and the owners race to get the house ready for a grand opening against the odds. In the 1940s wartime we follow the story of Constance the bored young woman who is itching to "do her part" in the war effort but prevented by her upper class parents who are still fixated on a good marriage.
The opening of this book focuses on Kate arriving in the Highlands. She has come to take on a job leaving behind a failed love life. She is lost & struggling to read a map and drive at the same time. Unsurprisingly she has a narrow miss with a young man who is understandably cross. My heart sank when I read this. It is hardly a new plot device - new person (usually female) has accident/incident involving unknown and angry member of the opposite sex who later transpires to be their boss. They then spend half the book being cross & moody before falling in love & living happily ever after. How many times have I read this in a book? Too many.
I didn't give up but I have to say that a majority of the book continued to be similarly predictable. The 1940s thread was a little more original and interesting but nothing sensational. However, there are some good twists at the end of this story which I enjoyed.
In fact the ending of the book was the best and most interesting part although, to be fair it was hardly sensational.
I read & enjoyed Lorna Cook's previous book "The Forgotten Village". It showed much more originality than this book and I felt was generally much better written. I don't feel that this one lived up to that & I am sure that the author can produce a more original work again - at least I hope so!
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

Loved the dual time line. Stunning book. I was delighted to receive this advanced reader's copy from Netgalley as I loved Lorna's first book, The Forgotten Village. Both stories were beautifully tied together.

I absolutely loved this book ,the first I have read by this Author and from the first chapter it was very hard to put down ,always a sign of a good read !The story is set in Scotland mainly around a country house called Invermoray,it is set in two timelines which I personally enjoy in a book very much, 1940 and present day .Lorna is celebrating her 21st Birthday with a very grand party at the house when she witnesses a Spitfire crashing into the Loch she rescues the drowning pilot and takes him to an empty cottage in the grounds secretly .This action changes the lives of her Family and future generations .There was a brilliant twist near the end of the book and the ending was very satisfying .I am now going the read the first book of this Author and look forward to reading more from her in the future .Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review .

This was my first book by this author, but I will read her previous book. I love historical romance and also a duel timeframe.

This book contains beautiful description of the Scottish Highlands and Invermoray House with the grounds, the loch and villages. I loved reading Kate’s story and everything that had to do with turning the house into a B&B.

And then there is Constance story. I was so curious to find out what had happened to her and what events led to her name to be crossed out from the family records. It is a story about a young woman stuck into a life she doesn’t want, with a longing for more.

The ending was satisfying.

I recommend this book.

An enjoyable double romance as there are two related timelines in the book. Believable characters and a nice plot twist near the end. Recommended.

Dual narrative historical romantic fiction with both strands set in the idyllic fictional Scottish estate of Invermoray. In the present day, PR whizz, Kate, hastily takes up a new role to revive the flagging fortunes of the crumbling pile as she struggles to rebuild her life following her sudden sacking from a high-flying role in London. Kate meets fierce opposition from the owner’s son, James, and begins to question the wisdom of her decision to leave the bright lights of the city to take on a seemingly impossible task.

Running parallel to the modern day narrative strand is the story of Constance, who lived in the house during the Second World War and was mysteriously disinherited. On the the eve of her 18th birthday she sees a Spitfire crash into a lake within the grounds of the estate and rescues a pilot.

As the story switches between the two timeframes, the stories begin to converge and it was this aspect of the story that I found to be the most compelling. Perfect for fans of Rachel Hore and Lucinda Riley’s ‘The Butterfly Room’. A comforting winter read.

I was a little disappointed in this book as when I read the description beforehand I thought it would be a great read as I’ve holidayed in Dorset many times, in fact I visited it only this year. It is a beautiful part of the country with fantastic scenery and wonderful coastal walks.
I obviously knew about the forgotten village and have visited it a very long time ago. So, I was interested to see what this story revealed.
Unfortunately it turned out to be just another romantic story and not what I was hoping for.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

The forgotten promise by Lorna cook a book about a country estate with a troubled past - two stories one in the past one current .
Kate a successful PR writer leaves her successful job under a cloud as she is harassed at the Xmas party by a client and the clients wife interpreted as them having an affair, which is not true. She leaves and accepts a job promoting a rural Scottish estate. On her way there she almost runs over a runner in her hire car. When she arrives there she is very shaken then discovers James the man in the incident is her boss although she was employed by James’s mother. The estate has crippling debt and her job is to turn it round. Whilst doing so they discover the estate has a tragic past set in war time. As the house has its own loch they try to drum up publicity about a monster and a film crew comes to film the loch and then more of the story comes to light.

It was a lovely story. The part relating to past had one or two twists which made it a more interesting read and both stories tied together beautifully.

Dual timelines...1940 and 2019...set in Scotland. A downed pilot is rescued in 1940 that sets the stage for romance, secrets and death that weaves both time periods together in order to solve the mystery. For me it was a fast read, one that I felt was well written and kept me drawn into. As this was the first book I've read by Ms. Cook, I will not buy her first book "The Forgotten Village." My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book!

I'm new to the Timeslip genre and this is the second Lorna Cook novel I've read. This novel intertwines around the down-on-its-luck Scottish estate of Invermoray, a beautifully described place that it's the real-world's bad luck that it doesn't actually exist, as it sounds wonderfully romantic.

The 1940's part centres around Constance, the young lady of the house, whom the 'forbidden promise' of the title is centred around. Unhappy at not being allowed to do anything for the war effort, her world is turned upside down by being in the right place at the right time when a plane crashes in the estate's lake.

In the present day, Kate takes the job to turn the crumbling estate's fortunes around, though things are complicated by her relationship with the master of the house. Gradually, her curiosity about the previous house's occupants becomes a quest to find out what had happened to Constance.

I'm not going to go into anymore details about the story, as I've already given too much away. Suffice to say, the story is beautifully told and has the most wonderful twist at the end that I really didn't see coming. Don't fret, it is so believably written that it all makes sense.

If you're looking for a novel to keep you guessing and that will give you that warm feeling of satisfaction, then this is the novel for you.

My thanks to Avon and Netgalley for the pleasure of reading.

I really enjoyed this book anything set in Scotland is always a hit.
I liked the way it went seamlessly between the 1940s and the 1990s.
I would recommend this to fans of judith lennox and Rachel hore.
A great book to snuggle up with on a winter's day

The Forbidden Promise is a well written historical novel set in 1940 Scotland and present day. I loved the Scottish setting, and the dual storylines worked very well. Recommended for fans of 1940's historical fiction.

The book is set in Scotland and Invermory house. One part in 1949 and another in 1999. Constance in 1940 is having a lavish 21st birthday party mainly consisting of her parent's friend. After she fends off a would be suitor she witnesses a plane crashing into the sea. She rescues the surviving occupant by herself and that is the beginning of a love story and a tragedy.

In 1999 Kate leaves her job under a cloud and is hired to help Liz and her son James to build up a bed and breakfast business at Invermory house. Kate finds an old family bible with one of the family names struck from it,wiped out of history. That name is Constance. Kate is determined to find out what happened with this young woman that her family could never forgive.

I loved this story it's even better than the author's first book. Constance was such a lovely person who wasn't treated well by her family and my heart went out to her.
Both timelines were good stories in their own right and both came together at the end.
I was sad to finish it.

Great read!! The author was very good at describing the scenes and setting a sense of place for the reader.
It was the first time I had read Lorna Cook, but it won't be the last. The plot is great and so well written. I enjoyed every page.

I loved the storyline about the B&B. It's so sweet and moving.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book is set in Scotland during 1940. and 2019 and flits back and forth between these times. Based around Invermoray House beginning on the night of the main character Constance McLay's 21st birthday, On witnessing a Spitfire crash into the loch she Rescues a pilot.

2019- Kate arrives in the Highlands to turn Invermoray into a luxury B&B, What she discovers is the house holds a dark history.

This book held me captive to the end. As each chapter flitted between 1940 and 2019, I couldn’t wait to get back to continue where the previous chapter ended in that era. The writer gave just enough away in each year to hold you over to the next chapter covering that year. I never anticipated the ending. A great read for fans of Lorna Cook.

Fun, easy to read, good story if a little predictable in places. Also, rather too long, hence it gets draggy in places. Not quite as good as the author’s first outing, ‘The Forgotten Village’, but still good. Nice touch to have one of the major characters from the first story re-appear here in a cameo role.