Official Review: The Widow's Promise by Roselyn Beck

[Camogirl217]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Widow's Promise" by Roselyn Beck.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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A fast-paced Victorian romance that brings to focus the prejudice against those with foreign blood in strict English society, The Widow's Promise is a unique twist on a well-known genre. It highlights the rarely seen culture of New Zealand and its blossoming relationship with England, the plight of underappreciated women, and the willpower to overcome any and all obstacles.

Grace Grayson was raised as a perfect lady well-versed in all things feminine. After a stressful childhood starved of parental affection and no real friendships, she is aloof, insecure, and intimidating. Beneath that cold exterior, however, is a fire gradually building in intensity. No matter how meek and well-bred, even a lady has a temper. Grace is also half-Irish, a fact that many English find absolutely repulsive. Despite these short-comings, I adored her as the protagonist and rooted for her when she finally stood up for her own independence.

At The Widow's Promise opening, Grace is recently widowed and attending a house party at Rocksavage Manor. She's convinced her invitation is thanks to her late husband's political dealings and not out of kindness to her personally. Kyle Calshot is a fellow guest and newcomer to English politics. As a man fresh from the wilds of New Zealand, he's different from any man Grace has ever met and quickly becomes a source of constant distraction. Following a string of strange (and dangerous) incidents, Grace and Kyle realize someone is trying to have Grace murdered. As a gentleman, Kyle feels he is bound to protect her and Grace, finally having tasted freedom, is determined to keep him at bay.

There can be only one reason why someone would want her dead and that's her late husband, Graham Grayson. Grace always saw him as noble and just, but what if he was secretly involved in something nefarious? Did Grace unconsciously know a grave secret, one that someone was willing to kill her over?

As the male protagonist, Kyle is, of course, attractive and exotic. I, however, was never too keen on him. He's meddlesome, controlling, and annoyingly sexual. He tries to bypass Grace's wishes with the excuse that it's for her own good, but he really just wants her all to himself. When you're in a life or death situation, wanting to sleep with someone you find attractive should be the very last thing on your mind, right? Not for Kyle. The constant pandering got very old, very quickly.

One aspect of this book that I really liked was the look into New Zealand's culture and how truly different it was from stodgy England's. I had no idea they had tribes instead of villages, ritualistic tattoos, war chants, and such. In that way, the plot was truly unique and I enjoyed learning something new. However, The Widow's Promise lacked many aspects of what I would consider a great book, such as likable and relatable characters, scenery description, and realistic plot. The book revolved around the interactions between Kyle and Grace and generally ignored everything else. I have no idea what the manor looked like, for example.

Finally, the writing style. It wasn't professionally edited, but the number of grammar mistakes was manageable. Something I noticed in the first couple of chapters that really confused me was long passages that were repeated word for word but from different perspectives. For example, one chapter would be in Grace's narration and then repeated the next chapter in Kyle's. It was obvious the author was experimenting with who she wanted in that scene, but then she forgot to edit out the discarded idea.

Overall, I would rate The Widow's Promise 2 out of 4 stars. It had great promise but fell a bit short.

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The Widow's Promise
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Like Camogirl217's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Sasha Walker]

I love this genre and the summary of the book sounded really interesting. Sometimes romance books focus too much on the characters rather than the plot that brings them together. I’m sorry that the book fell a bit short for you, but thank you for your review!

[Vickie Noel]

The book title and cover really attracted me. I must say I like your style of review as well, Camogirl217. The story does have a very strong and interesting premise, but of course, that alone isn't enough to produce an amazing work. Sorry it fell short for you and hopefully, modifications will be made so even I can have a look-see. Thanks for the concise review.

[Sahani Nimandra]

The genre of the book is intresting! It filled me with curiosity about the end of the story. Actually I could believe the details stated in this book to be true, in the Victorians and Elizabethan era men took the stand, untill a lady named Catherine fought for her right, until then all her source of income been a poet went to her husband, even her rights for her children too. Until one of her son die she fought and gained women's rights for her income and her children. Britain's past is cold unlike now and I believe this book depicts this tale well!
The reviewer has done a excellent job in representing it!

[Whitney Marchelle]

great review. I also felt that I wanted more from this story. It had a great interesting concept, but I just wanted more..

[Marissa Michael]

I'm sure I will enjoy this genre of book. Thank you for your great review

[swabu]

I fell in love with the book cover.It is well designed.A interesting book although too short.