A lovely historical romance, captivating with twists and turns and of course romance. Isabella needs a marriage of convenience and in walks Preston, a family friend. He is dying and sets a plan in place to help Isabella and protect his inheritance from his wayward brother, Prince. Prince is set on worming his way into Isabella's heart but doesn't realize he is about to lose his own. These two characters take a journey and discover so much more! Enjoy this book!

In "A Lady's Promise," author Ranee S. Clark weaves a captivating tale of love, sacrifice, and unexpected connections set in the opulent world of New York's high society. The story revolves around Isabella De Vries, an orphaned socialite whose urgent quest to find a husband has become a matter of necessity. Having faced multiple unsuccessful seasons in the search for a suitable match, Isabella turns to her trusted family friend, Preston, for guidance and support.

Preston's solution to Isabella's predicament is far from conventional, for he proposes a daring plan that will secure her future and protect his inheritance from his reckless younger brother, Prince. Preston selflessly offers to marry Isabella in name only, assuring her that she will be the sole beneficiary of his inheritance once he succumbs to a debilitating disease. Their union, though born out of necessity, promises to safeguard both of their futures.

However, Prince Baxter, the prodigal younger brother, is not prepared to relinquish his chance at the inheritance without a fight. Upon learning of Preston's plan, he decides to charm his way into Isabella's life in a bid to secure his share of the fortune. But as he gets to know Isabella, their initial motives crumble before the genuine connection that blossoms between them. Unexpectedly, love begins to take root in Prince's heart, complicating the already intricate situation.

Ranee S. Clark skillfully crafts a compelling story that delves into the complexities of relationships, sacrifice, and the power of genuine connections. The characters come to life through the pages, and readers will find themselves deeply invested in their fates. Isabella's vulnerability and determination, Preston's selflessness, and Prince's transformation from a scheming opportunist to a man torn between duty and love, make for a rich and emotionally resonant narrative.

The author's vivid descriptions of the gilded age of New York's social scene immerse readers in the luxurious settings of extravagant parties, lavish estates, and the intricate social etiquette that governed high society. The attention to historical detail adds depth to the story and provides a lush backdrop for the characters' struggles and triumphs.

Ranee S. Clark's masterful storytelling and well-developed characters make this novel a delightful and unforgettable read.

Isabella is an engineering- minded young woman living in New York during the Gilded Era. Her biggest concern? The fact that she’s passed four seasons without securing herself a husband. Preston Baxter is a longtime family friend of Isabella’s whose dying wish is to provide financial safety for Isabella while teaching his rascal of a brother, Prince, how to lead a stable life.

Raneé S. Clark writes a charming tale of friendship and second chances for each of her characters. I loved the concepts in this book and only wish there had been more development in general. The underlying themes of female friendship and empowerment, the love triangle, and the lead characters felt a bit rushed and underdeveloped at times. On the whole, this was a fun quick read.

This book has wonderfully developed characters. It does move slower than many books in developing the storyline but is a good read. Isabella was orphaned at an early age and raised by her aunt and uncle. She now has had three seasons with no prospects. When she is approached by Preston, a long-time friend who saw her father as the reason for his success in business, she is intrigued. He explains that he wants to marry her, in name only. He has only a short while to live and wants to make sure she is provided for. He also wants to ensure that Prince, his younger brother and spendthrift, does not his estate worth millions. In fact, Prince will only inherit if he can convince Preston that he has changed his ways. Soon Preston, Isabella, and Prince are in close association regularly and things seem to be going as desired but can it continue? Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy. This is my review and all thoughts are my own.

“A Lady’s Promise” by Renee S. Clark is a historical romance book set in New York. I think this is based in the Gilded Age era, but don’t quote me on that. In this book our heroine, Isabella, has gone through four Seasons and still (sigh) has yet to snag a husband. Her family friend, Preston (dying of cancer), suggests an arrangement - he’ll marry her and give her part of his money in order to ensure that his younger half-brother (Prince) doesn’t get to squander Preston’s money. Prince decides to prove to Preston that he won’t squander an inheritance, and starts befriending Isabella. Isabella is mechanically inclined, constantly thinking up improvements on things - such as a water heater for bathing, reading up on mechanical things (and having opinions about them too), and generally “tinkering.” But because she’s female, she poo-poos her mechanical improvements (although they are incredibly interesting and helpful). I understand that that was the time, but reading that constantly became tiresome. Additionally, there’s such a slow burn between Isabella and Prince that at times the book seemed to fall into a repeated script - we’re here, should I flirt, oh, I did - she rejected it, does she/he like me? I did like how Prince changed from an irresponsible wanna be playboy to being a bit more responsible. One huge positive - no love triangle (thank you!). There are also interesting side characters, which was good for rounding out the cast of characters. Overall, a 3.75 read, bumped up to 4 stars.

Loved the book! First time reading a book by Raneé S. Clark but definitely not the last. A Lady’s promise is a beautiful story about a stranded family of kind and loving people who due to life misunderstandings got separated and hurt. Their process is nicely narrated as well. Hope you like it. It’s a lovely story.

I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book prior to publication.

I love my clean romances, I really do. This one sounded really interesting, but honest to goodness, I had to stop at 75%. There is little to no love between the main character and the second brother. I felt like their moments were set up like this:

"Oh, hi, we're in the same room as one another"
"I guess we are -- hey, I'm gonna make some blunt comment about trying to romance you"
"Oh. ... Oh? Wait, no, I think I like you."
"Does she like me?"
"Does he like me?"

They hardly spend time with one another, and when they do their interactions do not scream romance.

I don't think I've read anything else from this author, but the entire flow and tone of the thing made me unable to complete the story. I felt bad for the brother who was slowly dying while all his was going on, but he too I felt was underdeveloped.

A very cute book. The brothers had a lot of charm & a lot of problems. The whole dying of Preston gave the book some drive. Isabella and her love for both of the brothers sometimes felt more like a sidecharacter then the main one. But I still liked her a lot. Prince & Preston had the very flawed but still loveable thing going on that I liked a lot.

This is the second book that I have read by Raneé Clark. It has been a while since I read the first and I am still really amazed at how good her storytelling is. It flowed really beautifully. I really loved how the female main character, Isabella has such an interesting in engineering. As unladylike as it may be, she really tries to think of how to increase people’s level of comfort. It was really refreshing to see her interact with others. Especially when she wanted Prince and Preston to reconnect. I thought that this was a beautiful and refreshing love story and would highly recommend picking this book up when you have a few hours to spare as you will want to read it in one go. I had the opportunity to read an advanced reader’s e-proof of A Lady’s Promise by Reneé S Clark courtesy of Covenant Communications via NetGalley. All opinions above are my own.