Promise Me Forever

Having read several of Lorraine Heath's "Texan ends up in England" stories and liked them, but not loved them, I picked up "Promise Me Forever" expecting to be entertained, but not much more than that. I was wrong. I found Tom and Lauren's story beautiful. Having once been "in love" when they were much younger and living in Texas, the story picks up years later when they meet once again in England. Separated by a family move to England Lauren never forgot Tom, but thought he'd forgotten her--he never wrote to her as promised. Boy was she wrong. He's now an Earl, and in England to take on the responsibilities of his title. She's never felt comfortable in England and is making plans to go back to Texas. Will she realize that he's in England as much for her as for his title, and will he realize that she wants to go back to Texas because of him. It's a romance, so of course they end up together in the end. But unlike a lot of romances their path to love isn't full of a lot of misunderstandings and dark menaces. Instead it's about how what was once the shallow love of teenagers develops into a mature love. Every time Tom drawled "darlin" I felt a shiver down my spine. And as another reviewer mentions, it will take a very strong reader to not shed a tear or two over the last couple of paragraphs of the novel.

Lauren left her heart in Texas when, at the age of fourteen, she and her family moved to England with her new stepfather. Ten years later, Lauren thought that the love she had for Tom is long gone, forgotten and buried deep in her heart. That is, until Tom shows up on her doorstep as the new Earl of Sachse. There is a whole back-story on how Tom Warner, orphan and self-made cattle baron, became the new Earl. Suffice it to say, it brought him and Lauren together on the same soil again. Unbeknownst to her parents, Lauren had plans of her own besides finding a suitable husband as is the custom in their society. She had been secretly working at a dress shop to earn enough money for passage back to Texas. Lauren was never happy in England and had convinced herself it was because she always considered Texas her home and she won't be happy anywhere else. She, by this time, refused to believe that a big part of her reason for returning to Texas was Tom. Lauren is shocked to find Tom in her life again but believes that whatever affection they had for each other when they were teenagers is long gone. Tom, however, is unsure. They can't both deny the mutual attraction they feel for each other, or the fact that they feel as they're two halves of a coin that seems incomplete unless they're together. This was such a great read. Tom and Lauren's love story is so poignant, so palpable that I, well, couldn't help but sigh after I reached the last page. There isn't much action or plots to the storyline, but Lorraine Heath weaves such a moving tale that I didn't miss any of it.

I loved, loved, loved Tom. The things he did for Lauren were absolutely breath taking. Lorraine Heath hit the mark squarely with this one. As always in many of the books I read, the heroes are better written and eminently more likable than the heroines. Tom grabs you right from the beginning when you see what an adorable young boy he was. I liked Lauren, but thought she was nuts for not grabbing Tom from the get go and holding on tight. This is a wonderful continuation of the English lords in Texas story. It is a one-sitting read and does not disappoint. The epilogue made me cry--it was so moving. This is a book not to be missed.

This is so much better - so much better than A MATTER OF TEMPTATION, Lorraine Heath's last book! PROMISE ME FOREVER is the Heath I love to read, because the hero is true Heath genius - her Texas cowboy. Mind you, a misplaced Texas cowboy - nevertheless a Heath cowboy! Who else can utter "Darlin' " quite like a hunky Texas male and who else can write a Texas hero better than Lorraine Heath? The man infuriated her, confused her, and excited her. Ten years ago, a sixteen-year-old boy had promised forever! Ten years ago, Tom Warner vowed he would never forget her and someday he would come. He had promised! Now, standing before her, Tom brought up some silly childhood debt - a silly debt he now wished to collect. Tom Warner had finally come, but not for her! He had come to England to take his place among the peer. It seemed, Tom Warner was the long lost Earl of Sachse and she, Lauren Fairfield, was merely an uncomfortable afterthought! Under the blazing Texas sun, Tom stood silently, and watched Lauren ride away. Unbearable agony filled his heart and that bitter pain never went away. Now they were together again, but Lauren Fairfield wanted to leave. She wanted to go back to Texas. Lauren hated living in England. She hated living in this tight, suffocating society where monitored behavior and shrewd gossip made English life detestable. Yet, as the new Earl of Sachse, Tom had numerous duties and obligations. He could not turn his back on his ancestral roots. So once again, Tom knew he would lose Lauren; once again, the endless agony would return. Sigh! Soft words whispered over an injured girl, a Texas scoundrel, and two, brilliantly conceived, final paragraphs earn Lorraine Heath's PROMISE ME FOREVER a secure recommendation. What a finish! Ms. Heath's final two paragraphs are absolutely terrific, agonizingly painful, and shrewdly placed. Sadly, this reader closed the book with burning, tear-filled eyes. Ah, Yes! This . . . this is vintage Lorraine Heath. Just a note: PROMISE ME FOREVER is yet another entry in an exhausted series that began, more or less 10 books ago, with A ROGUE IN TEXAS. Understandably, a "new" reader must truly experience utter frustration in, "Who are ALL these people and why are they here?" As a Heath devotee, I have faithfully endured. I have read all the good and I have read all the bad. As a reader, I am tuckered out; I have reached the end of the "English rogues in Texas" theme! It is time to move on. I want to go on a new journey; I want to go to the Texas of yesteryear with a completely new set of characters! Grade: A- MaryGrace Meloche.