I absolutely LOVE this book! It is incredibly charming, romantic, witty, and lovely! Every time I picked up "Promised", I felt like I was whisked back in time to the Regency Era.

Throughout the book, I felt extremely connected to the characters, and could feel what they were feeling and going through. Ms. Garriott writes in a way that all of the characters' interactions felt extremely real and authentic, vivid, and beautifully true to the era as well as to their individual personalities. I found myself laughing at times, almost in tears at some moments, squealing with delight at others, and could not wait to see how everything turned out chapter after chapter. I also found myself really cheering for the characters to find their happiness. It is an absolutely heartwarming book. And the title “Promised” comes to have quite a few different meanings throughout the novel as well.

If you love Regency romance, romance novels, and / or historical fiction, I HIGHLY recommend this book! I did not want to put it down, nor did I want it to end! The only reason I found myself putting this book down was because I had to be up early the next morning! And I really want to dance the Waltz!! :)

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for an ARC of this novel! I absolutely loved it!

This book definitely caught my interest and held it. As Regency romances go, it was one of the best I’ve read in some time. I adored the characters, the plot kept me wondering as it kept going in unforeseen directions, and the ending left me sighing in contentment.

Margaret , the protagonist, had such a strong voice and it was easy to love her and understand her perspective. From the very beginning there is an intricate plot that unfolds and not until the climax do you (and Margaret) understand how everything connects. There was such a great flow to her story, and she really grew as a character as she learned to open her heart up and let go of what she thinks is best. I liked her relationship with her brother and sister- teasing and fun and so very real.

Enter Gregory, and goodness things sure do get interesting. I loved his character and how good he was, faults and all. The chemistry between him and Margaret created wonderful tension throughout the book, while still staying true to being a clean romance read.

Definitely a great book, I hope to read more from this author in the future.

One of my verrrrry favorite things as a reader is discovering a new author with a pitch-perfect writing voice...and I found that in this novel. I loooooved the writing! The first-person perspective is fresh and witty, the banter and romance is swoony and the characters are so likable. I look forward to reading more from Leah Garriott!

*Book provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own

Promised by Leah Garriott is the best romance novel I have read in a long time. Margaret Brinton is a woman who has been hurt by love and thinks she has figured out a plan to avoid further hurt in the future. However, Gregory Williams has differnt plans for her. Garriott creates a depth of character with Margaret that allows you to feel Margarets pain and hope in equal measure. Wonderful debut novel! Garriott will most be added to my must read list in the future.

Promised ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Margaret Brinton keeps her promises, and the one she is most determined to keep is the promise to protect her heart...

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 match-making 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 conditions 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 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

Honestly I loved this book for its innocence. So many HR books these days delve into the erotic, which is ok too. Reading this was so very refreshing, laugh out loud funny, and at times irritating. Thoroughly enjoyable change of pace.

I received this ARC for free in exchange for my honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you NetGalley, Leah Garriott and Shadow Mountain Publishing.

This was a really enjoyable HR read. It had beautiful dialogue and the author was fantastic at drawing a picture of the time period of the book. This is definitely a romance story but has ZERO heat, even for HR storytelling this one was chaste. I did enjoy it though and look forward to more from this author.

After having a previous romance end in heartbreak Margaret has decided to remove her heart from the equation and have a marriage of convenience only. She thinks she finds the perfect suitor only to have his (handsome of course!) cousin keep getting in the way! Margaret has to decide between protecting her heart of allowing Lord Williams in. This is a fun and sweet regency romance!

"Promised" is the lovely debut novel by Leah Garriott. Once bitten, twice shy Margaret Brinton decides to secure her future by attending a matchmaking house party. Her plans for a marriage of convenience with Fredrick Northam are quickly thwarted by his cousin, Lord Gregory Williams.

Lord Williams's original intention for his proposal was not clear to me and when it's finally revealed, it was an unwelcome surprise. However, the last part of the book is SO romantic and heartfelt that this 4-star read becomes a 5 for me.

The characters are delightful. There is humor as well, from Margaret falling off a wall, to Mr. Lundell's acknowledgement of his "odor".

Garriott's prose flows nicely with few grammatical errors. In addition, this novel is clean. The recurring lake theme is moving. I am always on the lookout for quality Regency Romance authors, and Garriott is a wonderful new one. I look forward to more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for an ARC of this enjoyable novel.

I enjoyed this book, which is quite similar to Pride and Predjudice. At first I had a hard time liking Margaret, the main character. She was just a bit to immature at the beginning. As the book progressed and she grew, she became more likeable. I particularly enjoyed her relationship with her older brother. I found this relationship refreshing - often the brotherly relationship is with a neighbor who either ends up being the love interest, or just the best friend next door, which I don't think is always that realistic, especially for the time period.

The love story was sweet, although perhaps a little questionable in its resolution.

All of my misgivings aside, I had trouble putting this book down, which is why it earns 4 stars. I look forward to reading more by this author.

#Promised #NetGalley

Pride and Prejudice with a twist. I cannot tell you what an honor it was to read this phenomenal book! It was so good! This is definitely one of my favorites this year. While I do like Austen, this book has easier ebb and flow. I think this a book is one you can read again and again!

Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the ARC in exchange for a fair review. The ideas and thoughts are my own.

3 1/2 elevated to 4.

There was something about Margaret didn't settle well with me in the beginning. She was rude and too prickly, and I couldn't relate to the motivations for her behavior, and for the interaction with her family and friends.

Gregory, or Sir Williams, is another one whose motivations are unclear. I think it would have helped the story greatly to have two POVs instead of one in 1st person.

The story is well written and it spurred my interest to see everything resolved. The historical setting was well done and the cast of secondary characters was a good addition.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

I was interested in the description of the book and thought the cover was lovely. Garriott's debut novel was really fun. I loved how it starts at a match-matching party.

Margaret has given up on love and is set to a loveless, marriage of convenience, knowing she won't be hurt again. She has her sights set on the rake Mr. Northam. He checks every item off of her list but his cousin, Lord Williams won't let her. Williams thinks he knows what's best for Margaret and one thing you only need to learn once is never tell a strong woman she can't do something, because she will see to it if its her last breath.

The enemies to lovers romance was sweet and perfect. Everything wrapped up nicely and the story came around full circle. I loved the fun moments between Williams and Margaret. It reminded me of "The Princess Diaries 2" where Anne Hathway's character says "I loathe you" to Chris Pine. I could see Margaret doing that in a heartbeat.

I received an ebook from the publisher thanks to Net Galley to give this honest review. This book will perfectly fit into the proper romance line.

I could not put this book down! I could understand Margaret's need to guard her heart and yet wanted her to open up again at the same time. This book has all the tug and pull you want from a Regency romance and Lord William's is everything you want in the male lead. The first time Margaret calls him by his given name will give you chills. This books made me smile, laugh, and feel for the despairing situations Margaret must go through to secure the love she never thought she'd want a chance at again. This is the kind of book you want a digital and physical copy of. Thank you for such a beautiful novel Leah Garriott

I enjoyed this story with all its little twists along the way. I couldn't predict how the happily ever after would come about. I got a good way into the story and wondered to myself where the author was going to take the story line. I knew something had to happen but I had no idea what. I'm always intrigued when I can't predict the story.

I don't usually care for books written in first person but this totally worked for me. I was dying to know what was going on in Gregory's head but as a reader I didn't know anymore than Margaret did and most of her thoughts were her own interpretation and not reality so we got to be just as confused as she was.

I liked the main characters though I thought Margaret's promise to herself to be ridiculous. That would be because I can't fathom the idea of a marriage of convenience so to aspire to one is beyond me. I enjoyed the banter between characters through out the book. I was surprised that this is a debut novel. I thought it well written and a fun premise.

My one disappointment which has nothing to do with the story is that I would have loved the cover to have the lake on it. The cover is lovely but the lake was so important to Margaret I just think it would have been great on the cover.

Sex: talk of mistresses (no details), kisses,
Language: no
Violence: one incident
*I received a complimentary ARC of this book and voluntarily choose to review it.

This was a fun story. It read more modern to me in dialogue than the typical Regency romance, but it was fun. Margaret is a foolish young woman who thinks that if she marries a man she could never love, then her heart can't be broken again. That she is foolish and misjudges people is quickly apparent, as she is constantly misjudging Lord Williams. And then she has to keep reminding herself of her ill opinions when Williams' actions demonstrate otherwise.
I found myself laughing and looking forward to what happened next. Good cast of supporting characters.

Thank you Shadow Mountain for the ARC.

I really liked this period romance. There was great character development, and the story flowed smoothly.

Wow. This book is special. Although, I will admit- it took a while to pull me in, the sneaky thing. By 35% I was more than a little intrigued. By 50% I was all in, refusing to get up until reading the last sentence. The author's writing style was very comfortable and well-paced, with descriptions vivid enough for me to picture each scene, but without being overdone and prosy.

Parts of the story felt familiar - Lord Williams reminds me more than a little of Matthew Macfadyen's Mr. Darcy. Aloof yet principled, intelligent, reserved... and also skilled at quickly erecting barriers to protect the heart. Similarly there were bits of Elizabeth Bennet in our heroine, Margaret Brinton. Margaret has a fierce tongue and quick wit, and also leans toward prejudice as a means of self-defense (which sounds funny but is totally true). She's been wounded before and fears repeating that pain.

While there were sparks of familiarity throughout the story, the plot was pleasantly unique with a couple "wait, what?!" curve balls thrown in. How could it not be, when our first scene takes place in a Regency-era speed-dating house party? Brilliant. And it only improves from there. I will say that it took a while for me to fully appreciate the first person voice, mainly because I so wanted to get into Lord Williams' head at certain points to hear HIS side of the story! The overall tone reminded me a lot of Amelia Peabody (Elizabeth Peters) or Jan Hahn. Love those brilliantly matter-of-fact female voices.

My only wish was that we might have enjoyed a lengthier epilogue. The ending felt somewhat abrupt. Not unfinished or incomplete, but more like .. untapped. I would like to hear more of the story -- visit this world again, perhaps with the main characters acting as peripheral characters in a future novel? I would purchase that in a heartbeat.

I feel privileged to have enjoyed an ARC of this story and already have plans to purchase the print edition when it releases. This book has well-earned its place on my shelf of favorites.

Blush factor: non-existent. Language: squeaky clean. This title is appropriate for all ages.

Margaret Brinton had been in love, but her affianced was not interested in a loyal relationship, so she broke it off. Since her heart was broken, she was now interested in a marriage of convenience. Invited to a house party, she desires to find a husband, but not one she is in love with. At the house party, she meets Mr. Northam, who is somewhat of a rake, but she feels, he would suit her just fine, as love has nothing to do with it. She also meets Lord Williams, the cousin of Mr. Northam, who annoys her and insults her. After leaving the house party, unsuccessful in her pursuit of a marriage of convenience, she returns home and her father informs her he has accepted an offer of marriage in her behalf, to no other than Lord Williams. With no encouragement from her, why would he offer marriage to her?

I really enjoyed reading this – who couldn’t love Lord Williams? I love it when one of the main characters is such a good guy! The funny bets and challenges between Margaret her brother cracked me up! Mr. Lundell was an unexpected, pleasant surprise. And what can you say about a donkey with a newspaper hat? This was a well written book with an interesting plot and lots of witty banter. I love it when the main character is such a good guy! There are twists and turns and surprises – a slow dance to come to a HEA, but it was totally worth it!
I received an advanced copy from #NetGalley; the thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Great book, especially for fans of Jane Austen. Well-written, although a little slow at times. The brother and sister humor is fun. A little more background about the animosity between cousins would have been helpful. Perhaps only a line of three is needed. I recommend this book to all those who love a Jane Austen romance.

I loved this story. The strongest thing about it was something I have been searching for for ages: one point of view. I loved that this story was only told through the eyes of Margaret. Add Lord Williams arrogance and occasional coldness and you have understandable suspicion, frustration and a need to protect oneself. This made the story, the characters' emotions and actions, make sense in a way that many similar novels fall short.

Some of the scenes had me laughing out loud and some had me cringing - as was intended, I'm sure. I love characters that are willing to change, that grow over time. And I love an author that allows her characters to make mistakes and be better for them.

I definitely picked up some Jane Austen vibes, and they were well done. Yet the story was still its own.

It's always so exciting to discover a new author, but a little disappointing when they are not just new to you, and you don't have a collection of previously published works waiting to be enjoyed. I can't wait for more from this author!