Customer Reviews

Promises Reveal (Berkley Sensation Historical Romance)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Evie Washington was just trying to prove a point when she hung the nude portrait up of Reverand Brad Swanson. Unfortunately, her bid for independence backfires quite horribly and she's forced to the altar with no regard for her feelings or her sense of pride. Brad Swanson has sworn that he never touched Evie and he swears if he had, she wouldn't have painted ridiculously tiny genitals on his portrait, but no one believes him and he's prodded to the wedding by the bride's mother and a shotgun. If nothing else, he's going to show Miss Evie that she has some really big misconceptions about him, least of all, his reputation as a staid, God fearing reverend. The marriage between Evie and Brad starts out hesitantly, yet hopefully, but Brad is harboring a secret identity and when a man rides into town who knows all about him, he's unable to hold up the farce any longer. He vows to protect Evie and the town that had welcomed him wholeheartedly, but when the dust settles he's determined to move on, just as he always has. Evie refuses to let him face his demons alone and with the same tenacity and spirit that landed them in matrimony, she and the town are going to do their best to show their beloved reverend that he's not as alone as he thinks he is.

Promises Reveal starts off right away with the wedding, and we're thrown right into the mix of things with plenty of hugely entertaining characters. I've never read any of Sarah McCarty's Promises books before and I've never met any of these returning characters, but the brief glimpses I did get were a hoot. The wedding scenes were funny and the wedding night was equally funny and extremely sexy. Even more sexy was the encounter the day after the wedding and all I can say is, Holy $@%!! Brad was a hot, dominating male and his position as the reverend made their sexual romps all the more naughty. Evie was a cute, flighty female with a penchant for painting and the continued bit about the portrait was really entertaining.

There wasn't much going on with regards to an actual plot. Since I've never read previous Promises books I can't say, but I can only assume Brad has met up with the villain of this book before. We're thrown into the story of the villain with little warning and quite frankly, I didn't know what the heck was going on. It was okay, because the flowing interactions with the townspeople was what I thought made this book absolutely charming and enchanting. Having no clue who the wedding guests were and having minimal introduction, I absolutely loved reading the first few chapters, and every chapter afterwards. Sarah McCarty has a talent for spinning a good tale and her sex scenes were scorching! I highly recommend this book as an excellent read despite any failings in regards to plot. Even without it, I still really, really enjoyed this book for the laughter and charm it invoked. Enjoy!!

The latest in Sarah McCarty's Promises series, is Promises Reveal, about preacher, Reverend Brad Swanson and Evie Washington, the woman he is forced to marry because of a portrait she painted of him naked. Her uncle and mother, along with the loving yet nosy townspeople assume Brad and Evie were intimate, because how would Evie know about certain scars on Brad's body let alone knowing what he looks like naked? When the story begins, there is literally a shotgun wedding about to happen and both Brad and Evie are not too happy about being the bride and groom. Brad is one of those McCarthy heroes who thinks he is bad, way down to his bones and marrying such an innocent yet troublesome lady like Evie is not a good thing, because what if he impregnates her with his demon seed? Keep in mind this is not a paranormal demon western, but an erotic romantic western that Sarah usually excels writing in the past.

Brad and Evie finally get married after a lot of jibber jabber back and forth, which becomes a very prevalent thing in Promises Reveal. Other than Brad and Evie constantly lusting after each other, and acting on it, they tend to go on and on about their feelings and so forth to the point where Brad becomes so frustrated with his bride, that he ravishes her every chance he can get just to shut her up. Evie tends to grate on Brad's nerves, except when they are making love. I am all for a good ravishing now and then, especially when this occurs during a very intimate moment in the town chapel between the two. But overall I was very bored with Brad and Evie. Other than both trying to work on a marriage that should have never happened in the first place, there is Brad's mysterious past that he is trying to keep a secret. And he believes he is really evil because of his father who used to beat him everyday and life he soon led in a criminal gang. As you can see, there is quite a lot of nonsense about Brad being an evil demon spawn.

I had great hopes for Promises Reveal because it is a continuation of a popular series that Sarah first started to write for Ellora's Cave. We see many past characters from the other Promises book in this one, but unfortunately if you haven't read those, you will be confused because certain couples appear on the scene talk about past events. So, if you are new to reading a Sarah McCarty book, Promises Reveal is not a good place to start. You do get a small taste of Sarah's writing style and those smoldering sex scenes she is so well known for, but here they are a bit tame, because after all this is being published by Berkley, a more mainstream line and not an erotic publisher like Ellora's Cave who allows their authors to expand on the heroine's lusty feelings and the hero's adoration for certain inmate acts that deals with the heroine's posterior.

Katiebabs

Sensuality Rating: 5
Evie Washington is the willful daughter whose father is determined to find a way to set her on the straight and narrow. When Evie draws a nude portrait of the preacher, he sees his chance and forces them into a shotgun wedding. Reverend Brad isn't exactly unwilling, but he is somewhat mortified. Evie, not knowing what the male anatomy looked like, substituted the 'appendages' of a male infant in the portrait.

Not knowing Rev. Brad Swanson is really an outlaw, most of the town has a great respect for him. And if anyone can bring Evie up to the town's moral standards, they feel, the Reverend can. The scandal is mostly forgiven after the wedding.

Just when Evie and the Reverend are falling in love with each other, his past catches up with him. Having done so much good for the community, the townspeople rally to his side.

This book had so much potential! I expected there would be a decent amount of humor in regards to the painting with the infantile anatomy. However, it wasn't even given all that much notice in the story. The characters weren't all that likeable until the last quarter of the book. The entire plot ended up to be rather thin. Even the sensual scenes left alot to be desired. All the elements of a superb novel were there, it just never really fleshed out. Perhaps I was expecting another "Caine's Reckoning."

I wanted to give this book 5 stars but I just can't. Sarah's books really have lost a lot of their steam if this book is one to judge by. I am totally disappointed by the loss of the hot love scenes that are quite honestly the reason that I keep coming back to Sarah McCarty's books. After the first book of hers that I read I went & got every one of her books that I could get my hands on!

Unfortunately I think that if Berkley stays the publisher the books & writing style that I have come to love will be a thing of the past. Publishers like Ellora's Cave just give authors the freedom to be very erotically explicit. If I had never read any of SM's books before, than Promises Reveal would have sat with me just fine. But now that I know how much more erotic & fulfilling her books can be I just found myself a bit let down & disappointed. My issues with the love scenes in this book aside I still think that Sarah McCarty is a wonderful author.

I found this book weak in comparison to the previous Promises books. There was a lack of hot sex scenes, which let's be honest is really important in these books because without that what else do you have? Certainly not compelling characters with multi-layer conflicts and unique stories. It is the same story again and again. Dominant male falls in love against his better judgement with woman who gives him his heart back. Yeah, yeah but what makes the same story readable are the hot hard core sex scenes. I would re-read one of Sarah's older books and pretend it's a new one. It will be more fufilling.

If you are a fan of the previous Promise books, don't bother with this one. The characters are underdeveloped and the book has about as much steam as an undercooked baked potato. If this is what her new publisher brings, she has lost a fan.

I loved this book b/c it was funny and steamy hot! I really liked how this book characterized all the secondary characters from previous books and really let their personalities shine along with the hero and the heroine. I couldn't put it down and I can't wait for Jackson's story!

I really didn't like the Reverend from reading the other Promises books. I bought the book because I love Sarah McCarty's books, but I wasn't really looking forward to reading about the Reverend. But I was pleasantly suprised, I really enjoyed the story! The only "con" to this book is the sex is tamer, and some people who are familiar with McCarty's other books may be dissapointed by that. I was so engrossed in the story that I didn't really mind the toned down erotica. It was still a page turner for me!

Reverend Brad Swanson has attended his fair share of weddings since becoming a preacher. He's even officiated and married a few couples as well. That aside, being forced at gunpoint to marry Evie Washington does not sit well with him and he finds himself almost with hurt feelings that his friends Asa, Clint, and Cougar would turn on him like they have done. Brad never imagined being held at gunpoint would involve becoming a husband. He has done his fair share of bad and wicked deeds before his `salvation', but in Evie Washington's supposed seduction he is innocent. No one is listening to Rev so he does what he has to do in the name of respectability. The fact that Evie Washington's independence intrigues him helps, and he is looking forward to the wedding night. After all, everyone thinks that he ruined her, so why not make it official?

Evie Washington loves her independence and has always known that marriage is not for her. Her freedom is cut short, however, when Evie paints a picture of a naked man with identifying marks that prove to the town that Rev ruined and seduced her. Well, there is the fact that Evie admitted that the painting was modeled after Reverend Swanson. Forced to marry the man wasn't the reaction Evie wanted but it is the reaction she got. When the wedding is over and day falls to night, Evie finds herself succumbing to Brad's seductive charms. Fighting her feelings, Evie sets out to prove that while they might be a couple in bed, she is not about to give up an ounce of her freedom.

No matter the circumstances leading to their marriage, Evie and Brad strive to make it work. Secrets harbored by each threaten the tenuous harmony they have established. Brad knows that the secrets from his past could mean the death of his marriage as well as the death of him. Trust is hard to earn with Brad but he wants to trust Evie more than anything. After all, he loves her.

Anticipating PROMISES REVEAL like no other, I tried to imagine the Rev's story. From the time he was first introduced I knew that underneath his supposedly polished veneer there was a risqué and highly sensual man. I like how his attributes were displayed for the town to see, but I found it highly entertaining that the town only saw what they wanted to see. They wanted to see a man of God and so they did. They didn't see the naughty glint in Brad's eyes. They didn't see the raw sensuality he displayed when Evie came around. I saw it and it was heady enough to make me blush.

PROMISES REVEAL promises to be a must read. While I recommend reading Ms. McCarty's previous Promises releases, I am happy to report that PROMISES REVEAL is a complete stand alone and can be fully enjoyed no matter what. Sarah McCarty delivers with this enticing and erotic book, and as a reader, I am satisfied. Of course, with satisfaction comes greediness, and while I just finished PROMISES REVEAL I am already craving more!

I wasn't sure I was going to finish reading this book but it did get better about half way through. It has some really humorous scenes and it was interesting to catch up on the characters from the previous three books. I'm looking forward to Jackson's story in 2010.