In the three years since her husband left her, Lady Kate Carhart has managed to forge a fulfilling life for herself. But when Ned Carhart unexpectedly returns, she finds her tranquility uprooted — and her deepest secrets threatened. Though she has no intention of falling for Ned’s charms, Kate can no longer deny the desire that still burns in her heart.
OR THE PROMISE OF HIS LOVE …
Ned is determined to regain his wife’s trust by using unbridled seduction. But just as Kate surrenders to Ned’s passion, her carefully guarded past threatens to destroy her. Now Kate must place her faith in the only man she’s ever loved, and the only one who has ever betrayed her …
This was the first Courtney Milan I have read, and true to form, its part of a series (book 2) that I read out of sequence. But it worked great as a standalone and there wasn’t any sidebar chapters setting up the next book in the series (which I frequently rant about).
I really enjoyed this book. It wasn’t funny, which my frequent Reg readers know I prefer, but it was just snappy, good drama, great character development and well written. Milan has a direct way of writing that I found easy to read. I burned through it in about two days.
We start with a brief vignette between the newly married H/H before Mr. Carhart announces at the breakfast table he is off to China. The next chapter picks up three years later when he returns to find his wife distant and untrusting.
There is a lot of strong emotional drama getting these two characters to trust each other with their secrets and vulnerabilities. Ned struggles with some kind of depression. He has seen a doctor to ensure its not “madness” but he knows every once and a while, he feels like a blackness descends upon him that makes it difficult to even get out of bed. A lot of his struggle with his marriage seems related to his depression, which is pretty relatable if you or someone you know has depression.
Kate, a Duke’s daughter, has found meaning by rescuing battered women. So, trigger warning, there are some scenes of assault and lots of talk of spousal abuse. In the 1830s-40s (yes, this is more Victorian than Regency), women’s limited rights make this particularly difficult and Milan really gives a glimpse at the monumental obstacles, frustrations, and unfairness that was domestic violence before women’s suffrage. For all that sometimes historical romance sentimentalizes or romanticizes periods of history, there were some very real problems that existed that seem almost alien to modern people. Its hard to imagine being brave enough to leave a domestic violence situation and literally have nothing.
Because of the extreme sensitivity of this issue, Kate has done this “work” in secret. And she is afraid to tell her estranged husband, because the current woman being rescued is the wife of one of his oldest friends.
So its a pretty serious, drama filled (but not melodramatic or gothic) novel. Maybe too much for the holiday season (although I thought it brought down my Hallmark sweet tooth fever pretty nicely). And for some women this may be too painful a topic. But I found the romance to be an interesting, character driven one that really felt authentic and realistic.
My main criticism was that the intimate scenes were maybe a bit too shallow. Granted, every writer writes a love scene a bit differently and what works for some readers doesn’t for others. But some of the love scenes were brief, and the language felt like more of the heroine’s description (like how she would recount to a friend) than what I think was needed to convey the real experience.
Despite that, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more Milan. I recommend this for readers looking for something a bit more serious.
5 out of 6 Deep character drama with also some action, a trial, and a true villain
| Content Rating/Heat Index | |
|---|---|
| Mature Content |   |
| Adult subject matter including depression and domestic violence | |
| Intimacy | |
| Lighter, vanilla sex scenes | |
| Violence | |
| A couple instances of assault, lots of talk of domestic violence | |
| Overall |  |
|---|---|
| Appropriate for mature fans. | |
