"A pleasant historical with an interesting setting."

Yorkshire, England, 1775

Madeline Oxley has harbored a secret love for her beautiful sister Diana's one-time suitor, Adam Coates, ever since she first met him when she was only seven years old. Diana rejected Adam to marry into the aristocracy and Adam has since been married and is now a widower. He has immigrated to Nova Scotia with his children. Madeline is surprised to learn that Adam has written to her father, asking her to come to Nova Scotia to be his bride. She can't believe her good fortune, to marry the man she has always dreamed of, and to escape from a father who has always hated her for causing the death of her mother, who died when she was born.

Unfortunately when Madeline arrives in Nova Scotia she and Adam, who is expecting to welcome the recently widowed Diana, discover that her father has deceived them both in sending Madeline to him. Adam is at first angry and accuses Madeline of participating in the deception, but later realizes she is innocent. Madeline refuses to be sent back to England, and when Adam once again writes to Diana, asking her to marry him, Madeline knows she can't stay with his family, even though she is coming to care for his young children. She seeks employment elsewhere.

In the meantime, while Adam waits for Diana, and Madeline waits to join her new employers, the two strike up a friendship and find that they have many things in common. Adam realizes that he has come to love Madeline, but what should he do about Diana? Is it too late for him to stop her from coming? Unfortunately, the answer is yes, it is too late.

ADAM'S PROMISE was an enjoyable story, with an unusual setting and likeable characters who had some difficult decisions to make. Both Adam and Madeline show interesting changes in their ideas and feelings, and the reader is privy to their thought processes, which I enjoyed. I did feel a lack of development in the personalities of the secondary characters, I would have liked to know more about them, but I still had a good time with this fast read, and will look for more titles by Julianne MacLean.

Reviewed by Janice Bennett
Posted April 23, 2003

A wealthy colonial landowner writes home to propose to the sweetheart of his youth, but a mix-up brings her younger sister instead. While they wait for the "right" sister to arrive, they must search deep for the will to resist what quickly becomes a forbidden passion.

Summary

Readers will be swept away to the British Colony of Nova Scotia in 1775, and caught up in the turbulent story of Adam Coates, a wealthy landowner who writes home to England to propose to the sweetheart of his youth. A mix-up brings her younger sister instead -- a child he barely remembers, a child who has blossomed beautifully into womanhood. While they wait for the "right" sister to arrive, they must both search deep for the will to resist what quickly becomes a forbidden passion.