Wicked Promise

Rating:
Summary: Same old story line!
Review: An Excellent story -- moves along quite well -- the seduction scenes rate a 31/2 -- Elizabeth Woolcot rates a 2 in moral fiber -- I mean adultry no less???? --- Although in defense of the story that seems to have been accepted?? in the Regency times -- I would, also, have liked to have seen more of a courtship between Lady Margaret and Andrew Sutton, Marquess of Trent -- thoroughly enjoyed the murder mystery - without it being dragged out or gruesome. What happens to Greville Townsend -- He should make a very disturbing hero in his own book??? Oliver Bascomb rated a 4 as a nasty villian --- WoW! Rand Clayton, Duke of Beldon -- I was sure glad to find his story in Perfect Sin -- and last but not least -- Nicholas Warring -- was more sinned against - but did enough sinning as the "Wicked Earl" --- altogether, a wonderful cast of Characters -- my library rateing is Excellent --M [lack of morality]with a little tongue in cheek!

Rating:
Summary: Yet another wonderful read from Kat Martin
Review: Besides being addicted to Kat Martin's books from the moment I picked up "Night Secrets," I picked up "Wicked Promise" because the heroine's last name was practically a dead-ringer for mine. Being decidedly English in culture, I knew this book was sure to please. And, it did.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of Kat Martin's books is the setting. She can capture Victorian England in such a way that there is no doubt in my mind that's exactly what Victorian England looked and felt like, even down to the sootiness of the city (which so many authors fail to mention in 19th century England romances) and the hellish cells and the poor souls of Newgate prison.

On to the story. Elizabeth Woolcot is desperate for protection against her pompous neighbor who is hell-bent on marrying her. Nicholas Warring grudgingly agrees to help her, but does everything he can to keep Elizabeth at arms' length away from him, even going so far as to purposely set out to make Elizabeth think he's the rogue everyone says he is. He could care less about propriety and what society says - they deserted him when he killed a man nine years before. And now, that dead man's brother is trying very hard to marry Elizabeth, and he'll do anything (ANYTHING) to get her. When Nicholas realizes his love for Elizabeth, he sets into motion a plan that will see him free to love her. Unfortunately, through a series of events, he finds himself in a Newgate prison cell facing the hangman's noose. What follows is a hilarious scene (even in the shadow of a serious problem) which really had me giggling. Elizabeth is a strong heroine and does her best to defend herself. She's no ninny, either, even if she does put herself into some awkward situations. She still defends herself and does what she can to survive. And, she sets out to return the help she received from Nicholas when he finds himself in a situation he's helpless to rectify.

The chemistry between Elizabeth and Nicholas is wonderful, and I truly enjoyed reading their story. Their chemistry sizzles and the plot is fast-moving, all the way up to the end. Kat does a wonderful job keeping the reader on the edge of her seat with the twists and turns of the plot. I also enjoy catching glimpses of Kat Martin's characters in other stories. Nicholas and Elizabeth can be seen in "Silk and Steel," yet another excellent romp through Victorian England and aristocratic society.

Dana K. Wolcott

Rating:
Summary: Yet another wonderful read from Kat Martin
Review: Besides being addicted to Kat Martin's books from the moment I picked up "Night Secrets," I picked up "Wicked Promise" because the heroine's last name was practically a dead-ringer for mine. Being decidedly English in culture, I knew this book was sure to please. And, it did.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of Kat Martin's books is the setting. She can capture Victorian England in such a way that there is no doubt in my mind that's exactly what Victorian England looked and felt like, even down to the sootiness of the city (which so many authors fail to mention in 19th century England romances) and the hellish cells and the poor souls of Newgate prison.

On to the story. Elizabeth Woolcot is desperate for protection against her pompous neighbor who is hell-bent on marrying her. Nicholas Warring grudgingly agrees to help her, but does everything he can to keep Elizabeth at arms' length away from him, even going so far as to purposely set out to make Elizabeth think he's the rogue everyone says he is. He could care less about propriety and what society says - they deserted him when he killed a man nine years before. And now, that dead man's brother is trying very hard to marry Elizabeth, and he'll do anything (ANYTHING) to get her. When Nicholas realizes his love for Elizabeth, he sets into motion a plan that will see him free to love her. Unfortunately, through a series of events, he finds himself in a Newgate prison cell facing the hangman's noose. What follows is a hilarious scene (even in the shadow of a serious problem) which really had me giggling. Elizabeth is a strong heroine and does her best to defend herself. She's no ninny, either, even if she does put herself into some awkward situations. She still defends herself and does what she can to survive. And, she sets out to return the help she received from Nicholas when he finds himself in a situation he's helpless to rectify.

The chemistry between Elizabeth and Nicholas is wonderful, and I truly enjoyed reading their story. Their chemistry sizzles and the plot is fast-moving, all the way up to the end. Kat does a wonderful job keeping the reader on the edge of her seat with the twists and turns of the plot. I also enjoy catching glimpses of Kat Martin's characters in other stories. Nicholas and Elizabeth can be seen in "Silk and Steel," yet another excellent romp through Victorian England and aristocratic society.

Dana K. Wolcott

Rating:
Summary: More like 3 1/2 stars...
Review: Elizabeth and Nicky isn't exactly one of my favorite couples in all of Kat Martin's books. They do have heart warming moments but not enough to form an impression. In fact, I was more enthralled with Maggie's character. I wished there was more of her and Alex. Their story was short yet very lovable and hearty. For a primary characters, I think Elizabeth & Nicky needed a bit more expanding for me to fully appreciate them. I mean, individually they are well described but together, they lack development. There was not enough spark for me to feel that spastic reaction. They need more of internal conflicts for me to see and feel the true color of their relationship. In my opinion, the murder/mystery twist seemed to have overshadowed Nick and Elizabeth's love-romance story. I am not extremely fond of murder plots, perhaps this is the reason why I didn't enjoy this book to the fullest. I admit, there are times where I wouldn't mind and/or in fact, even enjoy such twist but on this circumstances, the murder plot here in WICKED PROMISE was just too common for my liking... So, you can say it's all a matter of taste and preferences. Read it anyway, you might like it more than I have. Also, I find this book somewhat slow... it takes awhile to get to the point. A bit verbose. But as soon as you past that, the story progresses and becomes quite intriguing. Aside from Maggie's character, I was also captivated by Randall character. He is the Duke of Beldon, Nicky's friend. I wasn't sure if Kat Martin wrote a book just for him... but I hoped! Boy, was I happy to learn upon my search here in Amazon that PERFECT SIN is Randall's book. OVERALL, Wicked Promise is a good read. I have no regrets reading this book at all. If you like murder/mystery plots in your historical romance novels, then this one is definitely for you.

Rating:
Summary: Same old story line!
Review: I do believe some authors are suffering from writers' block and hence churning out a lot of gibberish now a days. Kat Martins' Wicked Promise is one of those books probably written when she underwent a writers' block.
The story line is so oft repeated that there is nothing much to say about it, but what takes the cake are the lead characters, especially Elizabeth.
Both the h&h are irritating to the core and garner no sympathy. It was not a very long book, but it still took 5 days for me to finish it.
SKIP THIS ONE!

Rating:
Summary: A thoroughly enjoyable read; didn't want the book to end!
Review: I have read several other Kat Martin books-- Dangerous Passions, Innocence Undone, and Bold Angel--but felt this was the best yet. I fell in love with the characters and I give Kat an A+ for just the right kind of love scenes!

Rating:
Summary: bits and pieces
Review: i love kat martin books. her steamy writing style, characters that aren't afraid of society or their sexuality (a nice change from simpid writers to caught up in being afraid of wanting another person) and great secondary characters. I felt torn on this book for though there were parts i dearly loved there were also parts of the book where i was just like "What the hell was that?!"

First for the good: Elizabeth is a woman needs protection. After her father dies she is sought after but a man who is determined to have her, even by foul means. She asks Nicholas warring, her guardian, for protection and he grudgingly agrees. One problem, he's wildly attracted to her. Nicholas killed a man nine years ago and was sent off to serve his time. He's gone down hill since his return, earning the name the "wicked earl" for his rakish ways.

Elizabeth is the breath of fresh air that has nicholas' head spinning. i loved the way nicholas is determined to protect elizabeth from him and the life he lives. The passion the two of them have is great. the way they each have power over each other is a nice change from the always experienced hero. i loved nicholas' character in how he is protective and tortured. you have love those kind of heros...a little jaded but still a teddy bear inside. the bedroom scenes were great as always though like anything else they alone can't carry a book.

Now for the bad parts: the problem of nicholas being married is pretty much ignored throughout the book. his wife is in all of three scenes. elizabeth is almost to naive when she proclaims that nicholas is not married in the "eyes of god" since his wife left abandoned him when he was convicted of murder. The ending was to predictable. this story follows the cookie cutter regency era romance. everything is solved nice and neat and though this is ultimately a good thing it's to spontaneous and easy to really make an impacton the reader. i found myself asking "is that it?" which isn't really that great a sign.

did i enjoy this book? yes. did i think it was one of the best kat martin has written? no. though the passion is there and burning hot there book starts to decline in the end.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I really enjoyed this book. Although, it was preditable and the characters rarely fought in the book,like other romance novels, where they fight and make-up. The ending was so emotional and thought out that I didn't want it to end. It felt like a true happily ever after ending. I loved it.

Rating:
Summary: A bit of a let down
Review: I'm a big fan of Kat Martin but this book was a bit slow and very predictable. Hope she goes back to her former style of writing, her last couple of books have been a bit boring.

Rating:
Summary: A thoroughly enjoyable read; didn't want the book to end!
Review: Like most of the reviews previously written, I am a big fan of Kit Martin, and have enjoyed her older books more; but this book held a soft spot for me. It was not your typical lovers-meet-have-a-misunderstanding-and-make-up story. The characters are well defined and grow with each other, which I found refreshing. The story itself was rather predictible, but I would recommend this book as a good read.