Promise of Eden

Magnolia Road

by Millie Criswell

Willing to risk anything to save Beauclaire, her family's tobacco plantation, Eden Fairchild surrenders to a chilly marriage of convenience to Clay Braxton, the heir to a neighboring plantation. Original.

416 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1993

About the author

National bestselling author Millie Criswell didn't start out to be a writer. Instead, she had aspirations of joining the Rockettes as a toe-tapping member of their dancetroop, or tapping her heart away in one of those big, corny MGM musicals. Of course she was only ten at the time, had absolutely no talent as a dancer, and cannot be blamed for her failure to succeed.

To date, Ms. Criswell has written twenty-one historical, category, and contemporary romances. She has won numerous awards, including the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award, the Reviewers' Choice Award, the National Reader's Choice Award, and the coveted MAGGIE Award from Georgia Romance Writers.

Ms. Criswell resides in Virginia with her husband of thirty-two years. She has two grown children, both lawyers, and one neurotic Boston terrier

Reviews

[Live2Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolutely adore the MOC trope, from the bottom of my heart, and it was icing on the cake that MCs had once loved before; so I was all in for this second chance romance! Or, so I thought. Unfortunately, I ended up skimming after a hundred pages in. And, can’t honestly say if this is the most honest review but definitely my impression review!

First, Clay, our hero, is on fleek! Ha! He’s possessive and secretly yearning, not too overbearing but definitely macho, what I imagined a romance hero to be! (Though, I wouldn’t mind Clay a bit more broody and aloof right after reuniting with the heroine, for she hurt him badly). But, all in all, Clay was romantically fine! It’s the heroine that got on my damn nerves! She was wishy-washy! A most commitment-phobe Eden!



Basically, I didn’t like how lame their engagement ended five years ago to how casual it then picked up once they met again. I have a hard time grasping why Eden broke up with Clay over such an ungrounded, nonexistent reason! I keep asking myself, did Eden really end it like that? Obviously, no love was lost on her part then, because have she really loved Clay one bit she wouldn’t have feel that way, adverse to the idea of matrimonial. Eden basically wanted her freedom more than she care for the man who loved her, and refuses to tie herself down to any man ever! But you love this man, Eden. I wanted to remind her. All in all, poor Clay. Simply, Mama bear and Papa bear have a poor marriage so it terrified young Eden to commit, she was scared to suffer the same destiny as dear old mommy! IMO, I thought it was weak! She was weak! Clay should have really make her suffer! Be aloof, even bitter, but he wasn’t so! Their new relationship years later was a little too easygoing for me, considering everything and honestly, Eden was still so damn uncertain! Is Eden supposed to be afraid of sex now, too? Afraid of a man’s love? That, I was lost! Here, Eden happened to come across her late mom’s diary, regarding her parents’ marriage and the unpleasant things a man does to a wife. Eden seems to regard that wifely duties were unpleasant? But, why? In both her past and present time with Clay, Eden was never portrayed to be the slightest frigid? Why suddenly was the author planting doubts? Naturally, Eden and Clay has intimate moments, then and now, never home-run stuff but they were mutually touchy-touchy and obviously she wasn’t an ice-cube; so why a change of heart now? Oh, she’s fickle alright. Oh, why Eden? Why shall you ever have doubts when you had enjoy Clay’s touches all this time. Not sure how long these doubts last or how rooted they were, but it was the impression I got from it! Now, I wonder did she jilt Clay five years ago because homeboy has not properly tutored her then? Oh, Eden you confound me!