Promise Me by Dee J Julian

Summary:

After a hasty promise to her dying fiancé jeopardizes the future of his illegitimate child, Lady Leah Sheridan vows to make amends for the gentleman’s lack of honor by personally seeing to his son’s financial needs. When the boy’s heartless mother abandons him, Leah finds herself nearing a disastrous scandal. To make matters worse, her fiancé’s older brother returns to England demanding answers she swore never to divulge.

As soon as the Duke of Chase meets the woman his deceased brother had intended to wed, he is unexpectedly captivated by the lady’s beauty, but he quickly suspects she is hiding a secret, making him more determined than ever to seek the truth behind his brother’s fatal accident.

Will Leah break her promise and confide in the only man who can keep her safe?

 Reviewer: Dolce Amore

Nicolas, Duke of Chase, thinks Lady Leah Sheridan might have had something to do with his brother’s death. She is hiding something because of a promise she made to her ex fiance. While he has his suspicions, the attraction between them is undeniable. 

Her  gaze unexpectedly drifted to his mouth. Would his kiss be gentle? She  sucked in a quick breath. Forceful? A delicate quiver traveled through  her body down to her toes, and she almost dropped her cup.

 A woman could lose her heart, soul, and possibly her virtue, in the presence of such a man.

 Nicolas discovers that Leah is taking care of a baby, Edwin, that he thinks that is Leah’s illegitimate son. Later he discovers that the child is the son his brother conceived with his mistress. Leah didn’t tell him or his grandmother about the baby because of the promise she made to her dying fiance, Nicolas’ brother. 

 In order to adopt his nephew, Nicolas needs a fiancée and Leah accepts his plea to play the role because she is in love with him and because she wants the best for little Edwin. 

Let me ask you this. Does your heart beat faster whenever Nicolas is near?”

 “Yes.”

 “And when his dark eyes watch you?”

 “I feel as though I’m the only woman in the room.”

 “He speaks and ..?”

 “His voice creates shivers that slowly dance down my spine until they reach my toes.”

 “His touch?”

 “Takes my breath away.”  

 Nicolas soon wants to convert their fake engagement into a real one. 

 When had he lost control of his thoughts? Probably the first moment he’d  gazed into those mesmerizing green eyes. Could he erase Leah’s beauty from his memory? Could he forget her soft voice? Everything she did, every word she spoke, became a distraction.

 And now she threatened his last possession.

 His freedom.

 

I couldn’t stop laughing while reading the chapter five: Rules of Engaging a Gentlemen’s Interest—the etiquette book everyone is talking in Promise Me. The observations are funny and true. Please, Ms. Dee Julian, tell me where did you find  them, I couldn’t discover the origin, no matter how hard I tried.

 Here you can read some of them, along with some of Leah's observations: 

Observation  Number 4. Allow your gentleman to suspect that he is not your first choice and unless he changes your opinion, he is merely a temporary  distraction. 

 Translation … be deliberately dishonest.

Observation Number 5. Never argue with a gentleman. It isn’t proper or ladylike. 

 Too late. Leah had broken that rule many times and on several different occasions.

 And here's something every man should know:

“Your mother once told me that if a gentleman suspects he has unintentionally  offended a lady, then he must begin with a sincere apology. ‘What if the gent has no clue as to the offense?’ I asked. ‘Then apologize for the nasty weather,’ her ladyship replied.”

Wow! That’s  the only word I can muster after reading this book. The lovers of  historical romance shouldn’t miss this author; she has a wonderful style. I could almost swear that every word of the book is part of some spell made to captivate the reader. You will carry a smile throughout almost every page of this fine book. Well done, Ms Dee Julian, I hardly can wait to read  your other book! I bet it will be as wonderful as this one. 5 stars. 

Publisher: Dee Julian                             
Source: Manic Readers