April 18th, 2024
Home | Log in!

Fresh Pick
THE BELOVED
THE BELOVED

New Books This Week

Fresh Fiction Box

Video Book Club

April Showers Giveaways


April's Affections and Intrigues: Love and Mystery Bloom

Slideshow image


Since your web browser does not support JavaScript, here is a non-JavaScript version of the image slideshow:

slideshow image
Investigating a conspiracy really wasn't on Nikki's very long to-do list.


slideshow image
Escape to the Scottish Highlands in this enemies to lovers romance!


slideshow image
It�s not the heat�it�s the pixie dust.


slideshow image
They have a perfect partnership�
But an attempt on her life changes everything.


slideshow image
Jealousy, Love, and Murder: The Ancient Games Turn Deadly


slideshow image
Secret Identity, Small Town Romance
Available 4.15.24


Only A Promise

Only A Promise, June 2015
Survivors' Club #5
by Mary Balogh

Signet
Featuring: Chloe Muirhead; Ralph Stockwood
400 pages
ISBN: 0451469674
EAN: 9780451469670
Kindle: B00O2BS4N8
Paperback / e-Book
Add to Wish List


Purchase



"Fascinating characters and great story!"

Fresh Fiction Review

Only A Promise
Mary Balogh

Reviewed by Miranda Owen
Posted June 19, 2015

Romance Historical

ONLY A PROMISE is Book five in Mary Balogh's Survivors' Club series. I recommend reading ONLY A PROMISE after reading at least one or two of the previous books in order to get a better understanding of Ralph Stockwood. He is a man who is suffering from survivor's guilt and as a result he relates to his close friends, who have been through something similar, differently than he does to other people. You also have a better reference for when some of his Survivors' Club friends make an appearance in this story. It is also nice to see appearances by characters from Mary Balogh's Bedwyn series.

I am so happy Mary Balogh chose to tell ONLY A PROMISE from both points of view. Very often Chloe and Ralph don't act in a way that reflects how they truly feel -- particularly Ralph. This added insight into the characters makes them seem more three dimensional. Although Ralph has visible physical scars, they aren't really a problem for him and that's not the focus of the story. His scars are psychological and in ONLY A PROMISE he struggles to finally deal with emotions he hasn't worked through for years. Chloe is an equally fascinating and complex character. Her physical appearance has been an issue for her because of so many different things it represents. With ONLY A PROMISE, Mary Balogh has written a very character-driven story with a romance that takes the hero and heroine by surprise.

ONLY A PROMISE is a perfect example of why I adore a Mary Balogh book -- complex characters, raw emotion, and great story-telling. In ONLY A PROMISE, as with other books by Mary Balogh, happiness is not an end result but rather an ongoing and often collaborative process that doesn't follow a given formula. The marriage between Ralph and Chloe might be one of mutual convenience but the romance that develops happens very organically. I look forward to the next installment in this Survivors' Club series by Mary Balogh.

Learn more about Only A Promise

SUMMARY

The new Survivors' Club novel from the New York Times bestselling author.

The Survivors’ Club: Six men and one woman, all wounded in the Napoleonic Wars, their friendship forged during their recovery at Penderris Hall in Cornwall. Now, for one of them, striking a most unusual bargain will change his life forever.…

Ralph Stockwood prides himself on being a leader, but when he convinced his friends to fight in the Napoleonic Wars, he never envisioned being the sole survivor. Racked with guilt over their deaths, Ralph must move on...and find a wife so as to secure an heir to his family’s title and fortune.

Since her Seasons in London ended in disaster, Chloe Muirhead is resigned to spinsterhood. Driven by the need to escape her family, she takes refuge at the home of her mother’s godmother, where she meets Ralph. He needs a wife. She wants a husband. So Chloe makes an outrageous suggestion: Strike a bargain and get married. One condition: Ralph has to promise that he will never take her back to London. But circumstances change. And to Ralph, it was only a promise.


What do you think about this review?

Comments

No comments posted.

Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!

 

 

 

© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net  all rights reserved Privacy Policy