Promise Me Tonight: A Weston Novel

Isabella Weston has always loved James Sheffield her brother's best friend. James lost love ones at early age and decided to guard his heart and never love again. On Isabella's debut ball he falls for her - but fights (kind-a) the attraction for most of the book. All the characters are strong and writing his wonderful - a late night - could not put it down. Looking forward the rest of the Weston family series, (which features seven siblings blessed with Shakespearean names and an affinity for impropriety) - Tempting the Marquess: A Weston Novel due out June 1, 2010 and A Rogue for All Seasons due out January 2011.

There's a new historical romance author in town! Her name is Sara Lindsey and her debut, PROMISE ME TONIGHT is a delightful tale of friendship, family and unrequited love that will leave you smiling and sighing as you devour the pages. Isabella Weston has loved James Sheffield, her brother's best friend, since she was a child. Determined that James will notice her one day, she extracts a promise from him to dance with her at her coming out ball. When that day arrives, James is surprised to realize that the little girl who used to tag along after him has turned into a lush, beguiling woman. But James has sworn to never marry. Orphaned at the age of ten and forced to grow up with his chilly grandfather, James has had firsthand experience of the destruction wrought by that messy emotion called love. As James soon finds out, he's severely underestimated Isabella, who will stop at nothing to make sure he promises to love her forever. Sara Lindsey's engaging voice brings the Weston family to life. All six siblings, named after Shakespearean characters, are interesting and boisterous, which makes for a captivating story that easily invests readers in upcoming books centered around the Westons. I'm always a huge sucker for unrequited love stories, which is what drew me to this book in the first place. Sara Lindsey doesn't disappoint on this score, giving us a strong willed heroine who plunges headlong into action without thinking about the consequences. I found myself smiling at her determination, sometimes laughing at her antics, and nursing a hurting heart when her plans only served to give her further heartache. James is a very alpha hero, who sometimes comes across as jaded and selfish, but Ms. Lindsey makes sure to give him just enough motivation for readers to understand him. I especially enjoyed watching him struggle with his desire for Isabella. Every time she is near she brings out a side of him that he rarely shows to the world, and those special moments between them are some of the best in the book. I liked that Ms. Lindsey kept Isabella and James real, flawed people. Sometimes they behaved badly. There were times when Isabella acted stubbornly and rash with complete disregard for James, and times when James acted coldhearted and selfish. Yet, such is human nature. People aren't perfect. Characters shouldn't have to be either. There is a vibrancy to PROMISE ME TONIGHT that kept me turning the pages. I loved the passion and the emotion in this book, and I look forward to the next Weston tale, Olivia's story, TEMPTING THE MARQUESS in June 2010. Reviewed for CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

I really enjoyed this book. I can't understand all the negative ratings. Promise Me Tonight kept my interest/finished in one day which is saying a lot since I haven't been able to finish 4 "highly rated" books in the past 2 months! The Weston family reminds me a lot of the Lisa Kleypas' Hathaways. So if you love the Hathaways, you will fall in love with the Westons too! I can't wait for the next installment . . . "Tempting the Marquess".

Sara Lindsey is being toted as the next Julia Quinn and has some big shoes to fill. I can say with utmost certainty that she can hold her head high and wear those shoes proudly, especially if she continues to write witty and engaging books like she has done with her debut novel, Promise Me Tonight. This is the first book in a series about the seven Weston siblings who all have Shakespearean names. Isabella Weston has loved her older brother's best friend, James Sheffield, forever. She has dreams of James sweeping her off her feet, marrying her and starting a family. Unfortunately, James sees her as a child and not the woman she has become. But James will be in for the biggest shock of his life when he attends Isabella's coming out ball and notices that Isabella has grown into quite the woman with an exception bosom he can't stop admiring. He's not sure if he can keep his hands to himself. Not that Isabella minds in the least because she wants James to put his hands all over her, as long as it leads to marriage. What Isabella doesn't understand is although James wants her dearly he can't offer her marriage or give her children because he is so dead set against it. One of the reasons James feels this way is because of his deceased grandfather who hated his mother because she was Irish. When James was a young boy, he lost both his parents and was sent to live with his cold grandfather. That shaped the way James feels about marriage having heirs. Because his mother died in labor when he was a young boy, James refuses to let the woman he loves go through the same thing knowing there is a possibility that she'll perish. Plus, having his name and legacy die with him is the perfect revenge against his cruel grandfather. So, James tortures himself by denying the passion he has for Isabella even though he thinks about her day and night. Isabella has longed for James for so long. She is tenacious and will no longer stand to the side and allow James to refuse her. Along with her younger bookish sister, Olivia, they come up with a plan where Isabella will seduce James so he has no choice to marry her. She knows he won't be able to stop making from making her his, especially when she comes up with a very shocking way to seduce him. If he ruins her, then she'll finally have everything she ever wanted. Fans of historical romance rejoice and welcome Sara Lindsey! Promise Me Tonight is an adorable and passionate tale about a young woman who comes from a huge loving family who wants nothing more than the man she has loved since she was a little girl. The heroine, Isabella, is refreshing and her reactions towards James are delightful. She does some sneaky things that may make readers roll their eyes, but because she's written in such an incredible way, you can't help but root for her. James's downfall, where he succumbs to Isabella's charms is beyond hilarious, even though his issues, due to a rough childhood, do become tedious at times. At certain times I wante

If you loved the Bridgertons and wished there had been a few more siblings for J. Quinn to write romances about, this book is for you. Sara Lindsey's Weston family appears to be as close-knit, warm and loving as the Bridgertons. The only differences I note are (1)there are less Weston siblings, (2)only two of them are male, and (3)the Weston father is not deceased. PROMISE ME TONIGHT is Isabella's story and the plot is a familiar one. She's been in love since forever with James, the next-door neighbor and best friend of her brother Henry. James lost his father, mother and baby sibling as a young boy and was moved from Ireland to England to live with his cold, unloving grandfather. Naturally James has vowed never to love because it hurts too much when you lose that loved one. He has also vowed never to have children to spite his grandfather. So he fights his love for Isabella. That's the story. No villains or spies to muddy it up, so the romance has plenty of opportunity to develop. If I were a younger reader, I would enjoy this very much. As it is, I found it to have too familiar a plot and also found the way the characters talk to be too jarringly modern American-speak. Other than that, Ms Lindsey writes well and makes her characters very appealing.