TEST
Promised by Leah Garriott is an immersive Regency reading experience featuring a strong and intelligent heroine determined to navigate the precarious marriage market on her own terms and the man who thwarts her every last carefully planned step to do so.
Still reeling from a broken heart, Margaret Brinton decides she will play the marriage game on her own terms – even to go so far as procure a union of convenience to notorious rake Mr. Northam. You know where you stand with a rake, Margaret believes. And while she may one day be hurt, she at least understands the truth about his character upfront. Yet during the weekend visit arranged to secure her fate, she crosses paths with Lord Gregory Williams who is so determined to stop her plans to marry Mr. Northam that he makes an arrangement with her father for her hand. Surprised and appalled that Lord Williams would want a convenient marriage with the woman he publicly slighted at a musical evening, Margaret’s heart is torn between fulfilling her self-promise never to be taken for a fool in love again and her burgeoning confusion at Lord Williams’ evident contradictions. For as much as Lord Williams seems to disagree with her at every turn, his persistence in his pursuit and the lengths he will go to keep her from his cousin Mr. Northam perplex and infuriate her as she attempts to read the secrets of his heart and her own.
As a die-hard Regency era reader I’ll admit that it can be difficult to sift through many similar plots and tropes in pursuit of the next fresh voice. By developing a heroine set on asserting her own agency in a society that would see her conform to the proper expectations of her breeding and circumstance, Garriott provides a needed look at the fallacies and limitations of an era we drape in romance. Thus, Promised is simultaneously a valentine to the Regency era and a deft critique of the few choices women had to secure a future of their own making. To achieve this balance, Garriott relies on many tropes and devices familiar and beloved to Regency readers (and most Austenites), but her alluring voice and engagingly strong heroine make you feel as if you are encountering them for the first time.
There are some truly lovely and subtle Austen references peppered throughout including a musical gathering, the set-up of easels for painting á la Emma and Harriet, a seminal ball (“A ball is a wonderful place to change opinions”, the book explains), as well as a heart-wrenching vigil when Margaret waits at the side her ill sister much in the vein of Elinor awaiting Marianne’s fate. Mr. Northam’s obvious association to the attractive rake Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility keeps him at the forefront of the reader’s mind even during his significant time off-page. Lord Williams displays many of the qualities indigenous to Austen from the steadfast heart of Brandon, the quiet and stalwart character of Wentworth and the sometimes appalling manners of Darcy (including a slight at a musical evening). But it is when Lord Williams’ gestures – both grand and small – recall Emma’s Mr. Knightley that we see the latter’s determination to see the heroine even better than she does herself and in turn fall deeply for him. Indeed, it is Lord Williams who encourages Margaret to see her potential even beyond her initial reticence toward him and the many times they seem at odds. For a woman stubbornly set on shaping her life, her past wounds have left her open to moments of believably vulnerable self-doubt. In this, Garriott has created a dimensional and achingly real character many readers will identify with.
The disagreements and misunderstandings that keep Lord Williams and Margaret from falling on the same page are clearly a result of the social restrictions and repressed communications of the era. While frustrating, and often heightened by Margaret’s seeming stubbornness, her depth of character and our awareness of her broken heart and cautious trust cannot help but inspire our sympathies for both parties. To add, despite Margaret’s numerous attempts to thwart Lord Williams’ pursuit, the most interesting facets of her character are revealed in their banter and exchanges.
Lord Williams, too, is impressed by the authenticity of their exchanges: “We have always spoken rather boldly to each other, have we not? It suits both our temperaments and has from the very first.” Like the best Austen heroes – the best heroes in general – Lord Williams is determined to accept the heroine as she is by providing a counterbalance in personality, a challenge in conversation and a deep belief in her that underscores any of the moments in which she feels ill at ease. Not without fault, his flaws and foibles are evident to him and that goes a long way to establishing our sympathy as he works to become a better man for the heroine Moreover, Margaret continues to inspire shifts in his character, the exchange of ideas and gifts and even a believable promise of his own. In one of my favourite exchanges, he admits he cannot promise not to hurt her, he can merely promise to try.
Promised is a winning portrait of a world oft-explored yet here differentiated by the authors’ unique heroine and voice. It is the portrait of a woman determined not to see what she has convinced herself is detrimental to her happiness and a world where a slight in modern capacity might prove inconsequential but was a dire social offense. And through it all runs the undercurrent of a lovely and smart slow-burn romance.
Slight physical moments are nuanced: curled fingers, a shoulder brush, the slightest touch the heroine learns to read like a book. A rose by a lake, a book of poems, and the angle of Lord Williams’ knees to give her room in the carriage build on the tension and chemistry between them even as Garriott maintains a story that will please readers who prefer their historical romances to be at the ‘kisses’ end of the heat spectrum.
Through every interaction with Lord Williams, the dashing Mr. Northam sinks further and further into the backdrop as Margaret begins to change. She lets her guard down and when unintentionally hurt the second time from someone she has grown to trust, she weathers it with a maturity we can only assume is a result of her time with Lord Williams. It is this slow self-realization of a heroine at turns vulnerable and stubborn that sets Garriott’s debut apart.
“Everything must start with a little step” believes Mrs. Hargreaves, a regular visitor at Lord Williams’ estate. And it is these steps so brilliantly and precariously taken that offer the ultimate romantic payoff when two strong characters meet in the middle, and learn to love assured in their choice, their similar temperaments and their willingness and promise to compromise in pursuit of their ultimate happily ever after.
~ Rachel McMillan
Buy it at: Amazon or shop at your local independent bookstore
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Grade: B
Book Type: Historical Romance
Sensuality: Kisses
Review Date: 27/02/20
Publication Date: 02/2020
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
Over the years, AAR has had many a guest reviewer. If we don't know the name of the reviewer, we've placed their reviews under this generic name.
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I expected to hear from you, Nan De Plume, on this and thank you for your comments. Re the library, I live in a tiny hamlet deep in the English countryside in the Cotswolds, 20 miles from the nearest library so I rely on e-books and online orders for many things. The author’s publisher is just crazy, IMO, to price this at what I would expect to pay for, let us say, Hilary Mantel whom, BTW, I can’t abide. For $15 I would expect to be able to support 3+ authors by buying their books. Just too, too bad here.
“I expected to hear from you, Nan De Plume, on this…” Oh, dear. It looks like I’ve gained a reputation in these parts. :) I’m glad if you found my comments useful.
That’s a bummer about the library. And I don’t think traditional publishers generally do Kindle Unlimited because of exclusivity agreements. In other words, e-books on Kindle Unlimited can’t be sold on competing platforms like Nook. I’m not sure if these rules apply to traditional publishers or just those who publish directly through KDP, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the rule applies across the board.
“For $15, I would expect to be able to support 3+ authors by buying their books.” Yeah, it’s a shame.
I hear you on pricing! Does your library not support e-book lending? I regularly check out e-books from the library that are then downloaded and read without ever leaving the house.
One of the library systems (yes, I have access to several!) where I live is now displaying (or printing) a receipt with every check out telling me how many $$ I saved with this visit, year to date, and “lifetime” (the point at which they started calculating $$ equivalents). It’s quite eye opening and a great feature. I hope more libraries start doing this! Libraries provide one of the highest ROIs of any product or service in the economy IMHO.
In my experience – and I live outside a big city, like Elaine – libraries here are still fairly behind when it comes to digital media. My local library system offers very little romance, and pretty much nothing I actually want to read. I could probably ask them to get it, and they might well be able to do it, but a) by the time they got it, I’d probably have forgotten about it and moved on! and b) I read on a Kindle and Amazon content isn’t available via libraries anyway.
I’m lucky because I have access to so many ARCs, but there have definitely been books I’ve not purchased because of ridiculous pricing.
Interesting . . . Kindle format IS an e-book format via libraries here in the States. And that is important because Kindle (or other “reader” device formats) have spoiled me for more generic document formats on other types of devices. I’m sorry you don’t have “reader” formats from your libraries. That sucks.
Maybe it’s different in the UK then. But my local library says:
Amazon Kindle operates a closed digital rights management system and we are unable to purchase e-books in the Kindle format.
Although books ARE available via their Borrowbox app for Kindle Fire…
Kindle as a format is definitely available in many library systems, but works published specifically through KDP are not. Plus, authors enrolled in Kindle Unlimited, like me, are not allowed to publish the e-book on other platforms like Smashwords, Nook, etc.
That’s cool about the library receipt showing how much you’ve saved. I do that on my own through an MS Word document. I think of it as a kind of game. If I read more books, watch more movies, etc. from the library than the taxes cost to support it in any given year, I “win.” :) Because I’m so impulsive though, I don’t count anything I check out and ending up never reading or watching- which is a lot.
Just wanted to hop on and thank AAR for reviewing this book and to all the commenters for their interest.
To those who have commented on price, I’m sorry it’s expensive. As a traditionally published author I have no say in pricing nor how availability is handled on platforms such as Kindle and with libraries. I’m sorry it isn’t available to those who would otherwise read it. To those who do read it, I hope it makes you thoroughly enjoy it.
As for correct address, this character is a baron and during this time period would be formally addressed as “Gregory, Lord Williams” or informally as “Lord Williams” or “Williams”, never Lord Gregory since Gregory is his first name. If he was a baronet or a knight, then his first name would be used.
Thanks again!
Thanks, Rachel, for an excellent review. Two points. I am not sure why you gave this book a B grade as your review (and most at Amazon) indicated a higher mark may have been deserved. What was it about the book that led to the B grade? Second point. I would really like to read this but the Amazon UK Kindle price is in excess of £10 (around $13) which for a debut I find unreasonable. And the paperback is £12 ($15)!! I find these prices rather surprising for a debut author when surely she must want to engage new readers. Maybe the author will comment here on the pricing.
I am not the author, but I am not surprised about the pricing. This is not a self-published title, but a book published by Shadow Mountain. I mention this because unless an author is self-published, she generally has zero control over pricing. Traditionally published authors actually have little control over anything once they turn over the manuscript to the publishing house. Yes, they have the benefits of editors, cover design, and possibly an advance against royalties, but that’s about it. Even the titles and book descriptions are created by somebody else.
Getting back to pricing- Many publishers are reluctant to sell e-books at the KDP standard of $2.99 – $9.99 because they see such a low price point as a huge loss. Joe Biel, the head of small press Microcosm Publishing, criticizes Amazon’s pricing policies on e-books for promoting a “race to the bottom” and sending a message that electronic books are of low value. As a KDP self-published author, I disagree with his assessment but can understand where things could get complicated in a publishing house where many people- not just the author and parent company- have to be paid. His argument doesn’t account for the fact that avid readers like you are just going to say “Forget it!” when a book is that expensive.
Can you request your local public librarian to purchase a copy of the book for you to read? I have found librarians to be quite accommodating of patron requests.
Nice review Rachel! I’ll be checking it out.
Actually, I find the grade refreshing. (To my mind, Bs should be enjoyable reads, Cs should be ok reads – possibly with some issues, but ok to read if nothing better is at hand. “A”s should be reserved for things that are truly special.) But I get your point, Elaine. What keeps the book from A territory for this reviewer?
I read this as a review of a good book, but not an outstanding one, which fits with the B grade. As the site editor, one of my jobs is to try to achieve some sort of consistency in grading, so that, regardless of reviewer, anyone reading a review will know that a B grade from one reviewer is pretty much the same as a B grade from another. It’s also one of my jobs to make sure that the commentary matches the grade – and in this case, I think it does.
And I know it’s happened to me in the past, but sometimes, it’s a gut feeling; this book is good but not great, but it’s not always easy to define why.
(And it seems the author is unfamiliar with the way titles work, if she’s calling the hero “Lord Williams” instead of “Lord Gregory”. )
Consistency is very important and a valued feature at AAR. It was just that often a reviewer will say ” this would have had a higher mark except for ………….. ” Just wanted to understand a bit better with some pointers. The great strength of AAR is the divergence of opinion here. Sometimes what others see as an A grade, some will completely disagree and rate that A as a DNF.
I can forgive title mix-ups if there is enough value otherwise in a story and especially in a debut but, as always, 5 minutes on the net sets you straight so hopefully a subsequent story isn’t full of these errors. I
I have started investigating e-lending in our county library system to see whether it will offer what I want.
Hello! This is my first review for AAR and so I am still learning the grading system as well as consistency. I do try to reserve A’s for a few select books in my own personal assessment. I do also think that this is a lovely and well-written read– and an especially solid debut. As for not being a desert island keeper, my feeling was that the chemistry between the two leads though wonderful was often told to us rather than organic. Indeed, a few times I felt that the heroine’s regard for the hero went back and forth and back again. Quite likely closer to real life but it did make me pause. Again, I am just getting the hang of ratings for AAR so I appreciate your taking the time to read and question. I for one will happily read anything Leah Garriott writes going forward and I do hope you like the book :)
So, to my way of thinking, the B grade is perfect! Thank you Rachel. Looking forward to more reviews – and reads – from you :-).
The best thing in the WORLD is talking about romance books :-)