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The Promised Legacy #1
Honor Bound
Vampire threats, new alliances, and someone trying to get her engaged ASAPwere not supposed to be part of Cynthia going off to school to determine who to marry for the good of her race.
Cynthia’s fate has always been to marry one of the marriage candidates picked out by her father from the top sorcerer families, and the time is soon coming for her to choose. Dedicated to marrying for the good of her people rather than love, she leaves for a human college—alone—to gather her thoughts and make her choice. Which works great until a vampire coven leader appears insisting she hand over a list of all sorcerers with vampire blood. Which, according to old gossip, includes one of her marriage candidates.
Jayden never asked to be a marriage candidate. His parents arranged it when he was too young to really understand what it meant—and too young to know that he shouldn’t actually be in the running. Not according to what most sorcerers believe, anyway. So he’s always done his best to keep his distance from Cynthia, who he’s well aware would be all too easy for him to fall for.
But then sorcerer-vampire mixed bloods are threatened and Cynthia becomes their fierce protector, leaving Jayden questioning whether he can really stay away. Except, all the reasons why no sorcerers would accept him as her husband still exist, so he’ll have to find a way to help and support her without her discovering these feelings his catching—and without her learning the truth about his heritage.
Cynthia’s fate has always been to marry one of the marriage candidates picked out by her father from the top sorcerer families, and the time is soon coming for her to choose. Dedicated to marrying for the good of her people rather than love, she leaves for a human college—alone—to gather her thoughts and make her choice. Which works great until a vampire coven leader appears insisting she hand over a list of all sorcerers with vampire blood. Which, according to old gossip, includes one of her marriage candidates.
Jayden never asked to be a marriage candidate. His parents arranged it when he was too young to really understand what it meant—and too young to know that he shouldn’t actually be in the running. Not according to what most sorcerers believe, anyway. So he’s always done his best to keep his distance from Cynthia, who he’s well aware would be all too easy for him to fall for.
But then sorcerer-vampire mixed bloods are threatened and Cynthia becomes their fierce protector, leaving Jayden questioning whether he can really stay away. Except, all the reasons why no sorcerers would accept him as her husband still exist, so he’ll have to find a way to help and support her without her discovering these feelings his catching—and without her learning the truth about his heritage.
- GenresFantasyUrban Fantasy
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 22, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 7, 2025
I want a Jeff.
October 7, 2025
can’t wait for the next book!
Such a fun read! I’ve loved all the enchanted races trilogies and this one did not disappoint! Excited for the next one to come out!
Such a fun read! I’ve loved all the enchanted races trilogies and this one did not disappoint! Excited for the next one to come out!
May 15, 2026
Reader’s Notes:
*Series or Connected Books?* 1st of a trilogy & must be read in order
-this is set in the same world are multiple of Marie Bellmere’s other trilogies & each trilogy can be read on their own from the others
-if you want to read the trilogies chronologically, The Hidden Hotel & The Missing Heir trilogies occur before this one
*Point Of View:* Cynthia & Jayden
*Any Cursing Or Possibly Offensive Language?* there is one mention of a character cursing, but no words used on page
*Romance?* there is some romantic interest at this point
*Things To Know:*
–it is mentioned that a character’s mother passed due to cancer (past event)
-there is some fantasy violence (including injuries that should end in death but don’t due to the characters who are attacked being immortal & only being able to be killed fully in certain ways that don’t occur during the events of this book)
Review:
I absolutely love Jayden! He is so awkwardly adorable and I love his friendship with his red panda spirit beast! I loved getting to see him come out of his shell and interact with Cynthia more as the book progressed. Cynthia is just as wonderful as I’ve come to found in the previous trilogies and I loved getting to see her romance situation from her perspective! It is very interesting how she is just taking having candidates in her life from such a young age in stride despite knowing that at some point she’ll be marrying one of them. Though I loved the friendships she formed with her marriage candidates and how she knew the skillset of the three frontrunners well enough to know where they could help the furthering of the sorcerers with everything going on. And though Cynthia didn’t know Jayden well at the beginning of this book, I loved that by the end she came to look forward to what Jayden had to say about things!
I’m very curious to find out if Cordelia has another agenda besides freeing up marriage prospects by trying to get Cynthia to choose someone ASAP and/or if she has someone specific in mind that she hopes will become available by having Cynthia choose someone. I’m also very curious to find out if the trilogy will be focused more on the traitor among them or the vampire’s search as we continue!
Summary:
Cynthia has always known that as the soon to be head of the sorcerers she’d have to marry one of the candidates her father chose from the prominent sorcerer families. With the time to officially choose getting closer and closer, Cynthia needs space to make the best choice for the future of the sorcerers. So she decides to attend a human college on her own. Though no one outside the sorcerers knew where she was, a vampire coven leader manages to track her down and insists that Cynthia hand over a list of the sorcerers with vampire blood in their family lines. But Cynthia isn’t about to hand over the people she’s dedicated to protect.
Jayden should have never been in the running as one of Cynthia’s marriage candidates, not with his vampire heritage. But most sorcerers believe that the rumors surrounding his mother’s birth were just that – rumors. Even so, Jayden has done his best to stay back from Cynthia and anything that could make her choose him. But when a threat to sorcerers with vampire heritage comes, Jayden sees just what kind of leader Cynthia will be… and he isn’t sure he should stand on the sidelines any longer. Not when her policies align with his own and he has a chance to help her champion others like him…
*Series or Connected Books?* 1st of a trilogy & must be read in order
-this is set in the same world are multiple of Marie Bellmere’s other trilogies & each trilogy can be read on their own from the others
-if you want to read the trilogies chronologically, The Hidden Hotel & The Missing Heir trilogies occur before this one
*Point Of View:* Cynthia & Jayden
*Any Cursing Or Possibly Offensive Language?* there is one mention of a character cursing, but no words used on page
*Romance?* there is some romantic interest at this point
*Things To Know:*
–it is mentioned that a character’s mother passed due to cancer (past event)
-there is some fantasy violence (including injuries that should end in death but don’t due to the characters who are attacked being immortal & only being able to be killed fully in certain ways that don’t occur during the events of this book)
Review:
I absolutely love Jayden! He is so awkwardly adorable and I love his friendship with his red panda spirit beast! I loved getting to see him come out of his shell and interact with Cynthia more as the book progressed. Cynthia is just as wonderful as I’ve come to found in the previous trilogies and I loved getting to see her romance situation from her perspective! It is very interesting how she is just taking having candidates in her life from such a young age in stride despite knowing that at some point she’ll be marrying one of them. Though I loved the friendships she formed with her marriage candidates and how she knew the skillset of the three frontrunners well enough to know where they could help the furthering of the sorcerers with everything going on. And though Cynthia didn’t know Jayden well at the beginning of this book, I loved that by the end she came to look forward to what Jayden had to say about things!
I’m very curious to find out if Cordelia has another agenda besides freeing up marriage prospects by trying to get Cynthia to choose someone ASAP and/or if she has someone specific in mind that she hopes will become available by having Cynthia choose someone. I’m also very curious to find out if the trilogy will be focused more on the traitor among them or the vampire’s search as we continue!
Summary:
Cynthia has always known that as the soon to be head of the sorcerers she’d have to marry one of the candidates her father chose from the prominent sorcerer families. With the time to officially choose getting closer and closer, Cynthia needs space to make the best choice for the future of the sorcerers. So she decides to attend a human college on her own. Though no one outside the sorcerers knew where she was, a vampire coven leader manages to track her down and insists that Cynthia hand over a list of the sorcerers with vampire blood in their family lines. But Cynthia isn’t about to hand over the people she’s dedicated to protect.
Jayden should have never been in the running as one of Cynthia’s marriage candidates, not with his vampire heritage. But most sorcerers believe that the rumors surrounding his mother’s birth were just that – rumors. Even so, Jayden has done his best to stay back from Cynthia and anything that could make her choose him. But when a threat to sorcerers with vampire heritage comes, Jayden sees just what kind of leader Cynthia will be… and he isn’t sure he should stand on the sidelines any longer. Not when her policies align with his own and he has a chance to help her champion others like him…
May 29, 2026
Content:
Profanity: None. Worst seen is 'piss off'.
Violence: Mild. There are fights with vampires, who are almost impossible to kill, so they get bones broken, poisoned, and tossed around to the point where they should be dead but aren't. But there is no blood depicted. Some foaming at the mouth from venomous bites from a snake. No deaths. People fight and get knocked out.
Sexual: Mild. There is blushing and admiration between characters. There are mentions of 'lovers' and pregnancy out of wedlock.
Okay, I'm very happy with this next trilogy so far in the Enchanted Races series. I had a hard time with The Missing Heir series because of the romance in it. Thankfully, diving into the Sorcerer's world has been uber fun so far!
Cynthia and her marriage candidates were always a bit odd to me when we saw snatches of them in other books, but it's an interesting angle for a race that puts emphasis on business acumen and trust. She's got 4 guys that she gets to choose from to marry and help her lead the Sorcerer race. They don't really act like they're dating though. So I never got reverse harem vibes at all (in fact this is the first time I thought about it). They act much more like friends and advisors that she turns to for help, not romance. They act as her plus ones for official businness dinners/parties etc. And they rush to her aid when things go wrong. But that changes with this book when Jayden, the least involved of her marriage candidates, decides to become more involved in the government and politics.
Jayden is a sweetheart and I love him. He's got a bit of self-esteem issues that were relatable, and I enjoyed seeing how he changes his mind and starts showing up for himself and for Cynthia and the other marriage candidates. He and Ryan seem to be the only two of the candidates who emotionally show up for Cynthia at all. Clayton and Desmond are all business.
The best thing though? They don't fight. Those four band together and act like adults when it's about a business venture or helping Cynthia out. They support and respect each other. They talk. They come to agreements. They back off, or they step up when needed. The level of pragmatism and logic in their responses and actions made me SOOOO happy. Basically zero drama, because they all know the score. And they aren't petty or immature. Jayden gets jealous when he starts to fall for Cynthia, but he still acts respectful and doesn't devolve into posessiveness or poutyness. The most that happens is a sort of 'equal share' time between the four of them when it comes to Cynthia. When Jayden starts spending more time with her, they all say they should get more time too, to make it fair. Which was both funny and understandable because it was so chill.
Breath of fresh air, that.
The whole crux of this first book is Elias the fantatic vampire demanding a list of Sorcerer/vampire mixed bloods from Cynthia. She steps up in a huge way and declines, which not everyone is happy about. The way that Cynthia, her Dad, and the 4 boys handled that whole thing was fantastic. I enjoyed all of that.
And Xavi randomly breaking in at all times to fix his Golem. He's a one-track-mind chaos child.
Super good intro to this series! Loved every minute.
Profanity: None. Worst seen is 'piss off'.
Violence: Mild. There are fights with vampires, who are almost impossible to kill, so they get bones broken, poisoned, and tossed around to the point where they should be dead but aren't. But there is no blood depicted. Some foaming at the mouth from venomous bites from a snake. No deaths. People fight and get knocked out.
Sexual: Mild. There is blushing and admiration between characters. There are mentions of 'lovers' and pregnancy out of wedlock.
Okay, I'm very happy with this next trilogy so far in the Enchanted Races series. I had a hard time with The Missing Heir series because of the romance in it. Thankfully, diving into the Sorcerer's world has been uber fun so far!
Cynthia and her marriage candidates were always a bit odd to me when we saw snatches of them in other books, but it's an interesting angle for a race that puts emphasis on business acumen and trust. She's got 4 guys that she gets to choose from to marry and help her lead the Sorcerer race. They don't really act like they're dating though. So I never got reverse harem vibes at all (in fact this is the first time I thought about it). They act much more like friends and advisors that she turns to for help, not romance. They act as her plus ones for official businness dinners/parties etc. And they rush to her aid when things go wrong. But that changes with this book when Jayden, the least involved of her marriage candidates, decides to become more involved in the government and politics.
Jayden is a sweetheart and I love him. He's got a bit of self-esteem issues that were relatable, and I enjoyed seeing how he changes his mind and starts showing up for himself and for Cynthia and the other marriage candidates. He and Ryan seem to be the only two of the candidates who emotionally show up for Cynthia at all. Clayton and Desmond are all business.
The best thing though? They don't fight. Those four band together and act like adults when it's about a business venture or helping Cynthia out. They support and respect each other. They talk. They come to agreements. They back off, or they step up when needed. The level of pragmatism and logic in their responses and actions made me SOOOO happy. Basically zero drama, because they all know the score. And they aren't petty or immature. Jayden gets jealous when he starts to fall for Cynthia, but he still acts respectful and doesn't devolve into posessiveness or poutyness. The most that happens is a sort of 'equal share' time between the four of them when it comes to Cynthia. When Jayden starts spending more time with her, they all say they should get more time too, to make it fair. Which was both funny and understandable because it was so chill.
Breath of fresh air, that.
The whole crux of this first book is Elias the fantatic vampire demanding a list of Sorcerer/vampire mixed bloods from Cynthia. She steps up in a huge way and declines, which not everyone is happy about. The way that Cynthia, her Dad, and the 4 boys handled that whole thing was fantastic. I enjoyed all of that.
And Xavi randomly breaking in at all times to fix his Golem. He's a one-track-mind chaos child.
Super good intro to this series! Loved every minute.
October 7, 2025
Another fantastic book
I love the enchanted races. I've been so excited for this book.
I've loved EVERYTHING she has written and published. All of it.
I love the enchanted races. I've been so excited for this book.
I've loved EVERYTHING she has written and published. All of it.
October 9, 2025
Exciting beginning to a new series!
This new series starts off with a bang! Tension, conflict and mystery are the name of the game. Also, the romantic subplot adds intrigue.
This new series starts off with a bang! Tension, conflict and mystery are the name of the game. Also, the romantic subplot adds intrigue.
November 24, 2025
I enjoyed this book as much as the others about the hotel. Its fun to see the races and meet new characters. Delightful, clean story with a touch of magic.
April 10, 2026
Awesome Read!!!!
I loved reading this book!!! It put a different perspective on engagements!!!!! I can’t wait to get the next book to read!!!
I loved reading this book!!! It put a different perspective on engagements!!!!! I can’t wait to get the next book to read!!!
March 10, 2026
I enjoyed this book! Cynthia is so level headed and forward focused, but also unfailingly kind and polite. She truly cares about people- not just her sorcerers, but just *people*. She doesn't abuse her powers or lose her temper or act rashly. I think the main male character's name would be a bit of a spoiler, but you'll see one male character get his own chapters. That's a pretty good clue, right? Haha. (I also appreciated that the villain has bad plans but doesn't get to actively be cruel. And the most annoying character has redeeming qualities.)
February 1, 2026
Thank you for the rewrite. The story feels alot better and I am enjoying. The MMC is much more likable.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews