This pedometer geek was honored to be gifted with a signed copy of Alison DeLaine’s novel, A Promise by Daylight. I had previously have read and reviewed another of the author’s novels, A Wedding by Dawn, and she graciously sent me the third in the series. This is the extended review of it.
A Promise by Daylight
By Alison DeLaine
Published by Black Canyon Creations, LLC
Through Harlequin HQN, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-373-77894-2
A Promise by Daylight is the third in a series of historical romance novels primarily set in England and France. The story features Millicent Germain, who is masquerading as male medic, Miles Germain, and the Duke of Winston as the romantic leads.
Winston, as he is called, has had a near-fatal accident and needs care for his injuries. More than this, though, he vows to reform his ways of carousing and debauchery, but this is easier said than done as he is infamous for his conquests and misdeeds. He hires a medic, who has been recommended by one of his many female friends (who happens to be a friend of Millicent as well).
This medic, however, is Millicent, a former ship’s surgeon, who dreams of becoming a physician in a time when women weren’t. Posing as Miles, she nurses him back to health all the while desiring to go Greece where there is a medical school nearby. As Miles, she will be able to get the education she so desires. As she tends to his wounds, she also attempts to get Winston to change his lecherous ways into healthier ones.
In a fit of pique over his planned trip to Greece, he heads back to his estate in England taking Miles with him. There he discovers that his suspicions about Miles are correct; he is actually a she. Unfortunately, having seen evidence of Miles’ gender, only makes Winston more intrigued with her. She and his other staff try to interest him in other females, but suddenly his promise to himself to change his ways becomes paramount. Yet, despite this vow, he seeks to entice Miles, and the sparks between the two fly.
On the one hand, he wants her; on the other hand, he doesn’t wish to take her virginity nor reveal her gender. Keeping her secret becomes more and more difficult as they finally become romantically entangled.
Still, Miles makes the decision to leave Winston’s employ; she’ll return to the sea as a ship’s surgeon. Eventually, she can’t handle the disparity between their two classes. She is a commoner,(to her way of thinking, she’s a nobody); he is a duke. All she feels he can offer her is to become his mistress and to her, that is unthinkable. (It is one thing to be paid for her medical expertise, it is quite another to be paid for other services.)
Will Millie find a way to become a physician? Can Winston ever keep his promise made to himself? Will Winston ever realize that he has found the woman of his dreams? Will these two lovers ever find their way back to each other and achieve a happily-ever-after? These are just some of the questions that are answered in this romance.
Romances are fairly predictable, but this novel has some unique aspects to it that makes reading it enjoyable. The author puts her characters in unpredictable roles as is the case of Millicent working as a medic and ship’s surgeon. (A slight digression: I often note What-the-tuck trends seen in the books I read…to my recollection, there wasn’t one green-eyed character mentioned in the story.)
Although this is the third in the series, it can be read without having read the others. The author brings in some of the other characters from the previous two novels, but this story centers on primarily on Winston and Millicent. This tale even resolves issues from the other two stories without leaving the reader in the lurch wondering what the back-story is because the author fills in with enough explanatory details to satisfy an unenlightened reader if a previous novel hasn’t been read. So, pick up anyone of DeLaine’s novels and discover a new voice in historical romance.
As for this reader, I just picked up a copy of A Gentleman ’til Midnight and plan on reading it in the next few weeks.
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