The Promise [Hardcover]

Donna Boyd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 1999

Hannah Braselton North has abandoned civilization to spend her life in isolation among the wild and beautiful animals of the Alaskan wilderness. And a book she now holds fills her with wonder and trepidation. The supposed "memoirs" of one Matise Devoncroix, it is a story of strange desires and forbidden love -- the tale of a magnificent hidden race of werewolves and of a tortured, doomed relationship written with a firm and powerful hand. Hannah knows it must be fiction, this aching and earnest account of Devoncroix and his lovely, enigmatic Brianna -- his lover, his heart, his passion. But the sad, reclusive scientist is haunted by the mystery that surrounds Devoncroix's astonishing revelations -- and the journal's connection to a noble, damaged creature she is trying to nurse back to health: a male wolf Hannah pulled from the same airplane wreckage where she discovered the diary.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A scintillating sequel to The Passion, Donna Boyd continues to weave the erotic and deeply intriguing tale of the Devoncroix dynasty.

In Boyd's 1990s modern world, werewolves have lived peacefully (and covertly) amongst humans for thousands of years, and with their superior instinct and intelligence, they have ruled over an ignorant human race. (If you're a fan of Anne Rice's vampires, you'll love Boyd's sensuous werewolves). In The Promise, one of the most influential pack leaders, Alexander Devoncroix, has been murdered. His controversial son, Nicholas, has new plans. Nicholas believes that the werewolves' tie to humans degrades their species, contaminating them like poison. He wants werewolves to part from humans and to form separate factions--an edict opposed by his late father. However, on a flight into the north of Alaska, his helicopter is downed by an undetected bomb. He crashes in the same area where Hannah Braselton North has chosen to live. She has abandoned civilization to spend her life living in the wild. She finds Nicholas in werewolf form, burned and maimed, and nurses him back to health. Amid the wreckage she also finds a book of memoirs, and it's through this book that the history of the Devoncroix family is revealed and Nicholas's plans put in jeopardy.

Complete with wolves howling at a full moon and passionate interludes between human and wolf, no werewolf lover should miss this extraordinary tale. --Samantha Allen Storey

From Publishers Weekly

The full moon glows as Boyd follows The Passion with a second chronicle about the Devoncroix pack, chieftains of a hidden race of werewolves secretly responsible for nearly every advancement in human civilization. Bereaved Hannah North has come to the remote Alaskan wilderness to mourn the death of her husband when she rescues a mortally injured male wolf from a helicopter crash. A hardbound book that she finds in the wreckage, which turn out to be the memoirs of Matise Devoncroix, reveals to Hannah that the stunning creature she has saved is Nicholas, heir to the recently assassinated Alexander Devoncroix, leader of all the werewolves. Nicholas, however, bitterly opposes Alexander's dream of peaceable werewolf-human coexistence. Hannah's efforts to save Nicholas, presently trapped in wolf form, counterpoint Matise's eerily hypnotic account of his own loving and vengeful relationship with Brianna, a powerful young female werewolf unable to change from human to lupine form. Matise's book also includes his reflections on the mingled history of werewolves and the humans they originally kept as beasts of burden, a symbiosis marred by the human proclivity for violence and treachery. Boyd's elegant, aristocratic werewolves are more convincing than her brutish humans, and her constant shifts between Hannah's narrative and Matise's memoirs can be creaky, but she makes the esoteric werewolf culture consistently and appealingly exotic, witty and sexy. Redolent with heightened olfactory imagery, this heady exploration of interspecies contact and uneasy accommodation should open the door to a whole litter of sequels. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; First Edition edition (October 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380974509
• ISBN-13: 978-0380974504
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,465,894 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Donna Ball published her first book in 1982. Since that time she has written over eighty works of commercial fiction under pseudonyms that include Rebecca Flanders, Donna Carlisle, Leigh Bristol, Taylor Brady, and Donna Boyd. She is known for her work in women's fiction and suspense, as well as supernatural fantasy and adventure. Her novels have been translated into well over a dozen languages and have been published in virtually every country in the world. She has appeared on Entertainment Tonight and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and has been featured in such publications as the Detroit Free Press, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, and even T.V. Guide. She is the holder of the Storytelling World award, 2001, the Georgia Author of the Year Award, 2000, Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Awards for consecutive years 1991-1996, the Georgia Romance Writer's Maggie Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Romantic Times, among others.

Donna lives in the Northeast Georgia Mountains in a restored Victorian barn which was the inspiration for A YEAR ON LADYBUG FARM and AT HOME ON LADYBUG FARM. She spends her spare time hiking, painting, and enjoying canine sports with her four dogs-- two golden retrievers, a rough collie, and a border collie.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even better than "The Passion", November 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Promise (Hardcover)

These are great times to be a reader of werewolf fiction, with writers such as Alice Borchardt and Susan Krinard doing a werewolf series. But Donna Boyd's got 'em all beaten. Why? Because her portrayal of werewolves is absolutely perfect. A ton of writers have tried to capture the right balance of the human and the lupine, but only Donna Boyd nails it dead on. If there really were werewolves this is what they would be like. You'll find no slobbering fiends bemoaning their "curse" here. These werewolves are proud, beautiful & fiercely erotic. Not only will Donna Boyd take you to the heart of the world of the werewolf -- she'll make you want to be one. If you love werewolf fiction, you must read her books. Then, like me, you'll be howling (excuse the pun) for the next installment.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Donna Boyd does it again!, October 31, 1999

By 

Stephanie Holmes (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Promise (Hardcover)

In this sequal the story from The Passion continues with the 1/2 human 1/2 Loup-Garou offspring. It was supposed to be impossible for warewolves and humans to mate, however, it happened, and you cannot help but share the feelings of the characters in this book. I have never felt so close or involved with novel characters before. This book captures your heart and emotions. I found it brilliant and intelligent. You will not be disappointed! Donna Boyd cannot write her books fast enough.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very fast reading!, January 26, 2000

By 

Heather Contos "Mrs C" (The Rocky Mountains) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Promise (Hardcover)

I read this book, in a day! (hours into the night) I found myself connected with each and every character. Quite brilliant. From what little I know of these creatures, I felt that the characters exhibited many traits of an actual wolf, creating a believable werewolf race. They command irrational superiority! Most importantly: I got this book for christmas, not knowing that it was the second in the series, and I did NOT feel that I was 'missing' anything by not reading the first. Of course, I will now get the first one, I just hope that it is as captivating as this one! I did not find anything 'cliche' about this book, it was passionate, adventure-full, mysterious, and a bit dark. I really do hope that there is more to come, it sure made me feel that there will be! When you first began, you may start to feel that the werewolves have 'too much' destain for humans, but you must read on.....there are lessons to be learned! To the author: please do write another sequal, this David has me mesmerized already, and the clans have yet to do so much more 'together'.