Promise Me Paradise

by Ellen Tanner Marsh

After too many years in England, Maura Adams was exhilarated to be returning to her TRUE home; India, land of sandalwood and adventure. But her acquaintance with the infuriating Captain Ross Hamilton turned her haven into hell; he was inescapable. His laughing blue eyes followed the fiery English beauty, even as she defied custom and befriended the wife of a wealthy Indian merchant.

But when she attended a royal procession dressed as a shy Indian girl, her pale skin and flaming hair hidden from view and only her sparkling violet eyes uncovered, Maura discovered that her deception could have consequences she had never dreamed of. For when Ross held her to his tightly muscled body, and the bejeweled silks slipped away, he captured her very soul. And in the enchantment of the coming night, with her fingers entwined in his raven locks, her amethyst eyes cried out...

Genres: Historical Romance, India

392 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1998

About the author

Even though Ellen was born in Germany, she was raised in New Jersey (insert Jersey joke here). That’s probably why she suffered extreme culture shock when her family moved to South Carolina when she was sixteen.

After all, it's hard to be uprooted from a pretty colonial town, say goodbye to lifelong friends, and be dragged 800 miles south by your parents. Ellen freely admits that the transformation from Jersey Girl to Southern Belle was a rocky one.

But steeped in history, the Lowcountry of South Carolina is the perfect place for a writer to live, because Charleston’s gorgeous historic houses, cobblestone streets, and moss-draped gardens serve as the ultimate “romance laboratory.”

So 40 years later has Ellen acclimated to living here? "Heck yeah, y’all."

Reviews

[Renee P · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was the first I've read by this author. It was really slow. The setting is in India and it used a lot of native language - she always told what the word meant. When I pick up a really good book I can't put it down until I've finished - usually in a day or two. It took me about a week to read this one and I considered putting it down to move on to something better several times. I had to finish it to see what happened and it was a pretty good romance - just not by favorite.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I enjoyed the concept of the book, I feel that there was just so much about the dynamic between Maura and Ross that I particularly didn’t enjoy.

Maura for most of the book is crying and upset with Ross, while Ross is annoyed by her. We barely get the “enemies to lovers” thing by the end, where most of the book felt like “enemies to lustful enemies”.

The ending was very rushed. I really wanted to enjoy this book totally because I like the author, with my favorite work of their’s being “Sable,” but I don’t know. The romance felt a little forced at times.

Especially at the end where Ross is feeling guilty over something and Maura is angry with him (angry enough to consider murder, but then deciding to instead win him back), but by the ending pages of the book everything is… ok? Like nothing happened? Not a conversation to reconcile or plead for forgiveness?

At times, I wanted to root for the characters, but I just didn’t feel that steady transition between anger to love. Not to mention, this book had some of the slowest burn I’ve ever read. That’s not inherently a bad thing, but that trope is certainly not for me to the caliber that this book presents.

I will say, however, that the author has an excellent way of describing scenes within her writing. Though her writing would not be considered that of an “easy read,” it certainly is descriptive enough to leave you imagining the scenes in the book.

Overall: 3.5 ⭐️