I'm excited to have Bronwen Evans making a return visit to my site today with A Promise of More, the second installment to her Disgraced Lords series. Keep reading to get a glimpse of this compelling historical read, along with my impressions of it, and learn even more about it by visiting the other blogs hosting this tour. Make sure to fill out the form below for the chance to win a $25 e-GC of your choice as well as books!
When Beatrice Hennessey sets out to confront Lord Coldhurst, the notorious rogue who killed her brother in a duel, her intent is to save her family from destitution. She’s determined to blackmail the man into a loveless marriage. She’ll make the wealthy Lord Coldhurst pay for the rest of his life. But while greeting his ship, Beatrice takes a tumble into the Thames—only to be fished out by a pair of strong masculine arms that tempt her to stay locked in their heated embrace forever. That is, until she realizes those arms belong to Sebastian Hawkestone, Lord Coldhurst himself.
The little drowned mermaid has an interesting proposition indeed; one that Sebastian is surprised to find quite agreeable. Although he’s had women more beautiful, she is pleasing to the eye, and besides, it’s time he fathered an heir. Beatrice promises to be the ideal wife; a woman who hates him with an all-consuming passion is far too sensible to expect romance. However, it isn’t long before Sebastian’s plan for a marriage of convenience unravels, and he’s caught up in the exhilarating undertow of seduction.
BUY LINKS: AMAZON | BN | BAM
MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
No one is safe as one woman's journey to revenge continues in this second installment in the Disgraced Lords series. When two people marry out of guilt and desperation you'd expect things to end badly, but for these two strong-willed people love unexpectedly flourishes just as danger comes knocking. With their lives hanging in the balance they realize that love is the most important thing in a marriage and that they'll do anything to keep the other safe as they join together to find out who wants them living in shame and misery.
After being framed for murdering a young noble in a duel over a mistress, Sebastian feels indebted to the young man's family and will do anything to make amends....including marrying the woman all of the ton thinks of as endlessly nagging. As he doesn't want anything to do with love she seems to be perfect for a wife. He'll take care of her family in exchange for wedding and bedding her for an heir and in exchange he'll carry on as a bachelor in any bed he desires. The moment he sees her walking down the aisle though everything changes and he realizes there's more to her than meets the eye and against his will he becomes drawn to her. He soon wants to bed only her and becomes a more responsible man because of the belief she has in his kindness and honor. When she's put in danger by manipulative members of the ton who have their own plans for revenge, he realizes her importance in his life and puts his life on the line to get her back in a pulse pounding and desperate race to the story's conclusion. Sebastian was a sexy and charming hero who had trust issues because of his parent's miserable marriage full of vengeful infidelities. Love means heartache and he wants nothing of it. He's a loving brother though and cherishes his two sisters. Seeing this proves he has a heart and made him even more endearing and had me rooting for Beatrice to win him over.
Beatrice is her family's only hope to stay out of the poor house as she bravely goes to the devil himself to force him into marrying her out of guilt. She doesn't expect him to be so sexy though and is surprised by how warm he makes her feel. After what Sebastian did to her brother she's angry with herself but can't help being drawn to him. Though his offer of marriage without love saddens her as she hoped for more when she finally married, she knows an old and plain spinster like her should be grateful. As they spend more time together she discovers more about her husband, the truth of what happened that day at the duel and the danger he's in from an unknown enemy, and stays by his side helping him get one step closer to his enemy and falling in love with him. I adored Beatrice from the very start as she did whatever necessary to save her family. She knew what the ton thought of her and didn't care as her actions were in care of her family. She was open with Sebastian, loyal, and understanding. She never jumped to conclusions but made them talk through their issues. She's strong-willed and a perfect match for Sebastian as he needed someone to make him see the truth about the taint his parent's marriage left on his soul which allowed for an immensely satisfying HEA.
The romance between Sebastian and Beatrice was steamy from the very start as their verbal banter was as sexy as foreplay. Their sexual interludes were equally hot and nicely paced throughout the story. I enjoyed seeing Sebastian learn that his feelings were in fact love and was awed by the emotional depths he went to to express himself to Beatrice. Along with the immensely likable main couple we get reintroduced to the other Libertine Scholars as they come together once again to help one of their own. Each of the men are unique in their personalities and compelling in the glimpses we've gotten of each thus far and I look forward to their stories being told. The mystery continues to be suspenseful with little headway made this time around as to the vengeful woman's identity. The mystery was perfectly interwoven into the scorching and burgeoning relationship between Beatrice and Sebastian to keep the reader engaged on every level and I'm on edge to learn more about the woman's identity and what nastiness she has planned next as no one seems safe. Ms. Evans continues to entertain and delight in this compelling series and I can hardly wait for the next installment as the brief glimpse we get of it at the end of this book sounds amazing!
My rating for this is an A.
*I bought this book with my own money for my personal bookshelf and all opinions are therefore my own.
Bronwen Evans grew up loving books. She has always indulged her love of storytelling and is constantly gobbling up movies, books, and theater. Is it any wonder she’s a proud romance writer? Evans is a two-time winner of the RomCon Readers’ Crown and has been nominated for an RT Reviewers’ Choice Award. She lives in Wellington, New Zealand.
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Hi everyone
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for having me over today and for the lovely review. Sebastian and Beatrice are on of my favorite couples. It was such fun writing their journey to their HEA.
Thank YOU for stopping by and for crafting such an enjoyable story and series! I look forward to more pieces of the mystery being revealed and getting to know each of the Libertine Scholars in-depth.
DeleteThe Scarf Princess