Promise Me Tonight by Sara Lindsey

Setting-1798, Georgian Period

Summary-

Isabella is determined to marry James…

Isabella Weston has loved James Sheffield for as long as she can remember. Her come-out ball seems the perfect chance to make him see her in a new light.

James is determined never to marry…

James is stunned to find the impish girl he once knew has blossomed into a sensual goddess. And if he remembers his lessons, goddesses always spell trouble for mortal men.

A compromise is clearly necessary.

When Izzie kisses James, her artless ardor turns to a masterful seduction that drives him mad with desire. But, no stranger to heartbreak, James is determined never to love, and thus never to lose. Can Isabella convince him that a life without love might be the biggest loss of all?

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Review-

I bought this book full intending to love it and was ready to enter this world of connected characters (this is the first series I’ve read).

Alas, though I liked it, i could never really adore it like I adored some other novels. The beginning was very promising, what with Isabella being in love with her brother’s best friend who is years older than her. And then the promise to dance with her at her come-out ball was great. All was fine until about a quarter of the way in when it became clear these two don’t have much of a connection-Most of their interactions involved alot of crying (on Isabella’a part) and then alot of sexy stuff to make us feel these two belong together.

As for the characters, Isabella Weston was not my idea of a heroine. It said that she was radiant and she brought light into James’s life but she spends nearly half the book in tears and moping around. I did not see her as radiant. In fact, I could not understand why James would fall in love with her. It said that there was a history between them since childhood and perhaps if this was shown, I might be able to understand how a connection could be forged between these characters. Because I tried to make sense of it and the only thing I could see was that they were very much in lust with each other.

The book did pick up towards the end though and I did find it an accurate portrayal of why people do the things they do. There was some history in there which I enjoyed as well. Some of the interactions between the characters was very funny and true to life. As for the writing, it was good and funny at times.

The ending did really pick the book up although not enough for me to love it. A great start, a blah middle and a nice ending.

The concept was good, it just could have been pulled off a lot better. I’m willing to give Sara’s next book a shot though because she does have potential and debuts aren’t always  the best things to judge by.

Sensuality Level: Pretty hot (Love scenes are long and detailed)

Verdict-Just ok

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars