Broken Promises

The Corinthians Series #11

by Patricia Oliver

Widow Mathilda Heath returns to London with her two sons a decade after leaving Miles Stephens at the altar. When she encounters the still-handsome Miles, there seems to a romantic spark. Could this be a second chance for love, or a devious scheme for revenge?

Genres: Historical, Romance, Historical Romance, Regency

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 2001

About the author

Patricia Oliver is a pen name of Patricia De La Fuente. Between 1993 and 2002 she wrote for the Signet Regency Romance imprint and for Jove under her other pseudonym Olivia Fontayne.

Reviews

[Preeti ♥︎ Her Bookshelves · Rating 4 out of 5]

This turned out to be better than I expected. I was wary as it had a similar storyline to Mary Balogh's Christmas Beau but this one's so much better done! A 3.75* at least.
The h was a flighty, seemingly frivolous girl who ditched her serious, stolid fiancé, the H, ten years ago to run away with a charming and more attentive man, also the H's best friend. So, double whammy! Can't blame the guy for nursing a grudge all these years.

Now, she's back in England (from India), a widow with two rambunctious, adorable boys in tow. Still beautiful, still a lodestone for our man, the H who seethes with bitterness and vengeance, more so as he looks at her sons and knows that they could have been his. For all that he presents a friendlier and affable front. She's wary and suspicious and guilty but accepts his friendly overtures.

We learn that the h and the H grew up on neighboring estates, with her (odious) brother and her husband and the H being of same age and friends, and the h/H engagement was more or less arranged by their matchmaking parents (a decision that made them both secretly very happy).
In present, they all repair back to the countryside and the H starts his pursuit of the h but with revenge on his mind. Another good friend of his seems to fall under her spell and the H wonders if history is repeating itself. But this om is a sweet, affable guy who becomes a good friend to her and her boys. A more vile man also tries to woo her so she has a bunch of guys courting her but her attraction for the H grows back and she looks at him with hope and caution.

Later it's revealed that the H's cold reserve put off a young, ingenuous girl who yearned for affection and attention that her fiancé was unable or unwilling to give her. While she seems selfish and uncaring (and she was) in the beginning (of the book) but her reasoning for being a runaway bride becomes more understandable as the book goes on. And so my wish for her to grovel waned.
Thankfully for her, the om really loved her and her marriage turned to be a happy and fulfilling one because as her mature self acknowledges that her careless actions could have completely ruined her life. I like that the om is not demonized but I also wish that the author had intimated some remorse from his side on his lack of honor and betrayal of a childhood friend.

The H's revenge is well planned and makes for the remarkable and climactic last act. And he needed to grovel a bit! So, the book is about bitterness and holding grudges vs love and forgiveness and second chances. The H learns this lesson a bit too late and almost ruins his chances at happiness a second time around as well.
(The 'villains' just fade away - without any big disturbance from them or any lessons learnt for them!)

[Taramisu · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars
The premise: At the age of eighteen, Mathilda ran off with her betrothed's friend, James. When he dies 9 years later, she returns to Bath with two sons. Miles has never forgotten the humiliation of being jilted for his best friend and has revenge on the mind

Miscellaneous notes: Can I just ask - what does it take to publish a book? 'Cuz if writing like this passes muster, then I should be a best seller for sure with just my LiveJournal entries.

Ms. Oliver's writing is amateurish at best, while her plotting is non-existent. Miles did nothing through the entire book but think about how great his revenge would feel. I started to wonder if he really had a plan, or if he was deluding himself. This book could have easily been a short story. And to say that such a small book could be slimmed down even further isn't saying much about the author. I should know. I just said it.

And Mathilda? What a skank! I completely understand her reasoning behind leaving Miles and running away with James. The part I don't get is her lack of grief for a man whom she loved for 10 years. He died less than a year prior, yet she's immediately smitten with Miles. Even the boys don't seem to miss their father.

I hated everyone in this book, save for Willy Hampton. If it weren't for him, and my dim hope that maybe, just maybe, he would end up with the girl, I would have stopped reading before page 50.

The only positive thing I have to say about this book involves the cover. This is the first cover I've seen that depicts the actual characters as well as a scene from the book. It's probably a good thing Ms. Oliver did not do the cover as well.

[Ilze · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very similar plot to Mary Balogh's "Christmas Beau" - a man who was jilted by his fiancee decides to get his revenge on her when she becomes a widow and fair game again. Balogh does it much better, though.

[Beeface · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad story. It took me 3 months to get through it.