Promised

The Clans #1

by Elizabeth Knox

Mariana

Eight years ago, my life was changed forever. My family was slaughtered before my eyes, and then their killer took me as his own personal trophy.

I’d hoped, prayed, for rescue—believing that finding the last remaining Vasile would be a priority—but nobody came. They forgot about me, practically abandoned me to my fate.

And, ever since, that’s been my life.

Years later, I’ve come to accept this as my life; come to accept this hell as all I’d ever know.

And then things got worse…

In one single, shitty day, my daughter was ripped from my arms and I was shot. If it wasn’t for Ion Petran, the man I was promised to all those years ago, I might not have survived.

But saving me wasn’t enough—not after everything that’s happened to me—and Ion’s going to have to work to win me over and be king of the clans.

Ion

Mariana was promised to me when I was a child. Since then, she’s been the key to all of my success.

And then, just like that, she vanished.

Years after her disappearance, I’ve finally found her, and I finally have a chance at everything I’ve ever wanted. Eight years—eight long, uncertain years—and I finally found her; finally found the woman who would change my life.
But after everything I’d been hoping for, I wasn’t prepared to wind up with more than I bargained for…

Now that she’s back in my life, I owe her captor a very overdo visit. After all, the day he stole her away from the world he also stole her away from me…

And nobody steals from Ion Petran!

Genres: Abuse, Dark, Romance, Adult, Dark Romance

390 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 21, 2017

About the author

Elizabeth Knox is a USA Today Bestselling romance author who specializes in romantic suspense, and dark romance. She’s well-known for her intense page-turning motorcycle clubs, and sinister dark mafia books. 

While Elizabeth loves to write, she is an avid reader as well, who reads a mixture of genres. She lives on a farm with her husband in the northeastern United States with her rescue animals. When she isn’t working, you can find her horseback riding, riding ATVs, or out on the farm with her animals.

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Reviews

[DeeReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Promised" by Elizabeth Knox was a dark and edgy story. Heroine, Marianna and hero, Ion butted heads a lot but it was to be expected with all that Marianna had gone through in the past eight years. Triggers abound ... again this is a dark read!

Really looking forward to reading book 2, "The Trade" which is out now!


4/4.5 stars

[✴ Cindy ✴]

[Michelle Corchis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put it down, it grabbed me from the first few paragraphs and never let go!
Mariana's father is the head of the Romanian Mob & has Promised his daughter to the son of a college. Ion has been fascinated with her since her birth.
With a twist of events, her family is killed and Mariana is taken. She endures years of torture, beatings & childbirth at the hands of her sadistic captor.
Ion never stops looking for his betrothed & with an unexpected break, Ion finds Marianas....bruised, broken and barely hanging onto life.
This is a great story! **It keeps you on the edge of your seat and always thinking what's going to happen next!**
An Absolute Must Read!!
☆I was given this book for an honest review☆

[Bookworm Between the Sheets · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this quick dark, mob romance and could not put it down! Ion and Mariana were promised to each other at a very young age by their parents. At the age of 16, Mariana, was taken hostage leaving Ion to search for her for years.

"We were poised to be the Ken and Barbie of the mafia."

I fell in love with Ion and his arrogant, dominating personality. Especially when he allowed Mariana to make her own decisions and letting her to heal after being held prisoner for years.

"Come, let's go to bed my little draga, you've had a long day, let me hold you."

I felt parts of the story jumped from scene to scene and that the book could have delved deeper in certain parts. For instance, Mariana's first date with Jan could have been added in by giving it more substance to her feelings towards him. And then some of the other scenes felt rushed in the story. I was surprised to learn about Ion's father was alive and then their wasn't anything following up if Ion was able to speak with him.

"This whole thing must have been bigger than Ion or I expected."

I am looking forward to Book #2 in The Clans series to find out what/who is behind the conflict and wreaking havoc on the clans.

All in all, the book is a great mafia romance that I recommend for anyone that loves a dark, mafia love story ending with a happily ever after!

**I received an advance copy of the book, in exchange for an honest review**

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hea for know book.

This is a story of the mob. Abduction, torture and rape. I liked the story after Ana was rescued. I liked Ion and I even liked Ion and Ana together. What I didn't like was the fact Ana is tortured, raped and forced to service her abductor and within days of being rescued she is fine! No trauma, fear of men or ptsd nothing ! It was brought up repeatedly but it was addressed in the story to me as a second thought . Not a fan of making such a serious subject handled this way. If you choose to write about the worst thing that can happen to a women then you damn well better treat it accordingly! Not just filler! Add in this story isn't finished at the end. Yes we get somewhat Hea but we don't find out what clan is behind Ana's abduction or what happens to Jonas ?! Who should be in my opinion treated to everything and more exactly how he treated and abused Ana. Slowly and painfully!! Will read next one in hopes of finding out who is behind all of the drama in this book! Definite triggers in this book, more a min type book with romance thrown in. Drama, violence, mob clans and more. Decent read IF you removed the abduction/rape factor.2.5 stars

[Hopelessly Addicted To Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love everything about Mafia stores for me it's the balance of good man versus evil actions.
The book starts off with a bang, we meet Ion who has been searching for the young woman betrothed to him when they were children. Mariana is living in hell, after watching her family murdered she was kidnapped.
Ion has never stopped looking for Mariana because she is the key to ultimate power over the families. Mariana is no naive girl, in the time she's been gone she has dealt with unimaginable pain and has learned to be strong. There are a lot of players in this story and they all have their own agenda.
I enjoyed this book and was pulled in to their story, both main characters are captivating and you want to know what's gong to happen next.
I felt the story started off strong but it lost momentum in the middle but picked up again before the end.



reviewed by Sweet Spot Sisterhood

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Promise by Elizabeth Knox is an amazing action packed and fun read. I literally read this book in less then 24 hours. It is well written and I enjoyed the characters ok I enjoyed MOST of the characters. This was my first experience with a mob book and it definitely won't be my last. I can easily say add the mob type books to my to read list because this has opened up a can and there's no going back. I hope this author likes book stalkers because I will be reading the rest of her work and stalking her Goodreads and amazon to find out when more will be released. There are not many books I rate at 5 stars. But this book had me hooked from the beginning. I have been in a reading rut for sometime and have been forcing myself to finish books just feeling meh. I feel like my love for reading has been rejuvenated and I am looking forward to reading again. This book had me hot and bothered with some of the sex scenes not the early ones but the later ones. For me less is more and the author said just enough to get my motor running without feeling like I was reading a porn. With that being said good job and I can't wait to read your other books! 5 star rating!

[Adrianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say this was exactly what I hoped for. A great introduction to a new mafia romance series.

Ion, a ruthless mafia boss, determined to find the woman that was promised to him many years ago. A woman that was supposed to be a ticket to becoming the most influential head of the mafia family.
Mariana spent the last decade being used and abused by an awful man, and now finds herself in the hands of another, possessive and dangerous.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely read the next one in the series.

[Cinthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely didn't expect to devour this book in one sitting. But I just couldn't get enough of this compelling read. As a fan of mafia romances, I was immediately intrigued by this story after reading the description. I hadn't read any of this author's books before, but I was very interested in reading this new series. This author didn't disappoint. I'm really looking forward in the next books in the Clans series! Promised has everything that I love about mafia romances and much more. It seemed a bit fast paced but I couldn't help in being hooked to this story from beginning to end. It's a definite page turner that will leave you wanting more.
The premise of the story centers around Mariana and Ion whom were promised to each other from a very young age by their mob families. But at the age of 16, Mariana is kidnapped after her family is slaughtered. Thus leaving Ion to search for her for years. For eight years, Mariana suffers unbearable abuse and torture from her captor, until Ion was finally able to find her after years of searching. But as Ion and Mariana become reacquainted with each other after so many years, outside forces and growing conflict work to tear them apart.
One of the things that I loved about this book was the dynamic between Ion and Mariana. Even though their relationship seemed a bit rushed, I loved the equal share of strength and power between these characters. It was refreshing to have such a resilient and strong heroine which you don't typically find in this type of genre. I also loved that Ion was more than a dominating alpha. He was kind and caring especially toward Mariana.
Overall, I found this book to be a highly entertaining and suspenseful read. I cannot recommend this book enough! If you're looking for a quick mafia romance, I highly suggest checking out this story. It's a definite must read that shouldn't be missed.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novella promised was a pleasant surprise. Initially when the book talked about the Clans I thought it meant Irish or Scottish. So, it was with interest that I realized that the Clans that the book was discussing were Romanian mob Clans. I didn't even know that was a thing until I began to read this book so that was a nice surprise right off the bat. From the first few pages Ana became very endearing to me and reflected in the story a lot of what I had been through personally. Sadly it also made me cry when she cried and it gave me hope when she had hope. As the book progressed I had mixed feelings about her Rescuers. I saw that the attitudes were a little misogynistic and old-fashioned which began to make sense with the fact that the book was about mobsters. However as the romance began to grow and as the danger began to become real the tough outer exterior gave way to the actual person underneath which I enjoyed. My one major critique of this book would be that I wish they would have gone a little more into the different Clans and about the different intricacies of the mob. It left me with more questions than less. I really hope that there's another book that is released so I can read more about this epic Saga.

[Maria11 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have been great

I loved the concept of this book. It started well then it had timeline problems, character flaws, plot holes, and stuff hat just didn’t make sense if Ion was the head of the mafia.

1. How did it take 8 years to find Ana? They are a criminal element with lots of pull and connections. Then it took them what two weeks to find another character who was kidnapped by the same person?

2. How do you recover so fast from eight years of rape and torture? It took you 2 weeks? No flashbacks, no PTSD? WOW!

3. The timeline talked about time passing then when the characters talked it would only be days that passed?

4. Ion would go from treating Ana like a possession but then saying he had feelings for her, then going back like she was a possession.

5. They take your future wife right from you while you supposedly had all this security and you are the strongest mafia guy. You then don’t act like they took her as a problem and are totally calm about it?

6. All this betrayal happens, but you basically do a “Gone With the Wind” attitude of tomorrow is another day? What?

Needless to say I am out of this one.

[Becky Rendon · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you know anything about me, you know I love mafia books. Don't let the word clan fool you. I thought not sure why, that it might have been a highlander book. Nope, it's totally a Romanian mafia story.

So fellow mafia lovers here what you need to know:
1. Ana (Mariana) was kidnapped at 16.
2. Her betrothed through an arranged marriage contract has been searching for her for 8 years.
3. This book gets messy. Lots of not nice people...

Get it?!?

This book is a first for me. I had never read a Romanian mafia story. I'm intrigued. It has conspiracy written all over it. Not sure who or why...Motivation for the crime? Some questions left to answer.

reviewed for Sweet Spot Sisterhood

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Promised is book 1 in the Clans series and my first book from this author. I liked the concept of the story and I thought it had lots of potential but unfortunately it never reached a WOW moment for me. Most of my issues with the book was that it was short so everything happens quickly. I thought the pace was to fast for Mariana to deal with what happened to her for 8 years in captivity. I felt it was handled like it was no big deal but how does a woman become intimate so quickly with a man after being kidnapped and raped repeatedly for 8 years. Although I had issues with this book overall it wasn't a bad book so I will hopefully at some point continue the series.

[Stacey Schneller · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first read by Elizabeth Knox and boy did she blow me away with this book. It was a crazy ride I did enjoy this story. Lots of action and twists. A fast paced read and wonderful writing this was. I loved every minute of this book. It really did keep me on my toes.

The characters Ion and Mariana were so we'll written they were both stong set of characters. Told in pov by Mariana. Mariana had a hard past but kept strong since she had so much to still live for.

I am looking forward to the next book and hope for more action and suspense. Wonderful read and would definitely recommend this book. A job well done.

[Madeleine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing book by Elizabeth. Mariana was promised to Ion until she was kidnapped. Ion will stop at nothing to find her. Drama, suspense, twisted, intense. Amber Bray did a wonderful job narrating.

[Maria (Ri) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

I was wanting more depth to the characters in order to rank it higher. The story had potential and was why I continued reading. Even though I didn't connect with the characters I still am intrigued to want to know more about this series.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was dark and dirty just the way I like em! It had me hooked from the start and I can't wait to read more from this series

[Ginette]

DNF @48% no rating hard time connecting with the characters and the story

[Azusa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 star's

It is not an actual cliff hanger but more of a to be continued cliffy.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of suspense this story had me intrigued from the start. I loved the style of writing and the mystery of Mariana's story had me devouring this book in no time! Looking forward to the next book.

[Cynthia Rollins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing 5 star read!! This story starts out as Ion a Clan member whose parents had a contract that he would marry their daughter and he would become head of the Clan. Mariana (Ana) is kidnapped at 16. After 8 years of searching Ion is reunited with her. Ion's already preparing for the wedding, but Ana is not so sure. Parts of it brought me to tears, but loved the twists and turns. This was such a great read!! Would definitely recommend this book. I can't wait for the next one💕

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this book 3.5 stars.
I felt it could have flowed better and I had a lot of questions throughout the book that weren't answered. I loved the storyline and the way the character described Ion! He was super dreamy.

[my_booktrail · Rating 4 out of 5]

once I started reading I couldn't put it down. It pulled me completely in its world that I couldn't believe I finished it within hours.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me hooked within the first few chapters. Mariana is up ducted when she is 16 taken by another mob member. She was promised to Ion from the day that she was born. He is determined to find her and will stop at nothing to have her back. It is full of action, suspense and hot romance. Definitely recommend to anyone who loves a suspense romance.

[Dee Winston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mariana is my shero. No matter what Jonas put her thru she still stayed strong even when all hope was gone. And once Ion rescued her she knew she had to get her daughter back. And that's the woman Ion fell In love with, and he'd do anything to keep her safe. They are his world now.

[Angie Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!!! There was so much angst and tension, it made it all so refreshing! I love when books aren't your typical romance, they make you work to figure out what is going to happen.

Ion and Mariana were both such strong characters and I love that they went head to head so often. He really treated her as an equal more than I would have expected. Mariana had such a strong past and had gone through so much, she just had so much to live for. Ion, he had a much different life and he really didn't know how to react to Mariana. He recognized immediately that he'd gone about it in all the wrong ways.

Everything about this book had me enticed, from the very first paragraph and it was completely unpredictable! I can't wait to see what she comes up with next in this series!

[J.N. McGhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! It was consistent; the plot stayed on topic and did not stray at all! This was my first mob story I've read; I just couldn't get enough! Also, I loved the cat and mouse game/push and pull effect going on between Ian and Marianna. But it displayed how the two were a formidable power couple together! I can't wait for the other sequels; Awesome job, Ms. Knox!

[Chasidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Promised!!

Ion....sigh! He is an alpha male and has no mercy. I loved his determination to find Mariana. At first, I thought he was just looking for her to take his spot at the head of the mob, but he does have a softer side. After all these years, will he marry her?

Mariana, has endured so much. Her character blew me away! I do not want to give too much away in fear of spoiling the book for anyone.

Promised consumed me from cover to cover! I found myself easily lost in the characters and could now wait to see what happened next! This is a must read!!!

[Anita Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Promised by Elizabeth Knox is Book One of ‘The Clans’ series. It contains physical and emotional assault/abuse and scenes of violence. It tells the story of Marianna Vasile and Ion.
Marianna is heir to the ‘throne’ of the Clans: whoever marries her becomes the ‘King’ of the Mob. At the age of sixteen her family is slaughtered in front of her and she is taken captive. She becomes the ‘personal property’ of her captor and during that time she gives birth to a daughter who she fiercely protects with everything she can. Feeling lost, abandoned and betrayed by the Clans and the man she had been betrothed to from birth, she never gave up her belief that one day she would escape. When escape did come it was in the form of her betrothed: but did he really care for her or did he just want her back so he could become ‘King’?
Ion: betrothed to Marianna since he was two years old. For eight years he searched for the woman who had been snatched away from him denying him the position he had been promised by her father. Marianna was his and only his; he would marry her no matter what she had been through. He would be ‘king’: he would be in control of the Clans. When he finds her he begins to realise that she is not quite what he thought she was. Will he ever be the ‘King’ of the Clans? Can he get Marianna to agree to marry him after all she’s been through?
Although the story had many twists and turns and was full of action and intrigue, for me it had a feeling of being rushed. In places there were gaps in the story: so lots of times I had questions that weren’t answered because the story just seemed to continue without fully developing an idea or explaining something in the detail I needed. Often I began to think maybe I had missed a detail or two but it happened more than once. I also felt that Marianna realistically (after her ordeal with Jonas) would have had more times where she wouldn’t be able to withstand being in close proximity to another man, especially one she was wary of. From what I understand women who have been held as sex slaves and have been continuously raped can’t stand to be touched even by long-term boyfriends or husbands and need to have counselling sessions to help them with this. Marianna’s relationship with Ion was very superficial and I felt that she was very much in awe and/or afraid of him rather than ‘in love’ with him. It was good that Ion began to deep feelings for her so that eventually he loved her and wanted her for herself rather than for her position. I look forward to reading the next book and hope that it answers some of my questions.

[Tracy Antonelli Manderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Promised (The Clans #1) by Elizabeth Knox
5 out of 5 stars,
This book contains physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and lots of violence so if any of these thing will cause a trigger please do not read…..

This is the first book that I have read by Ms. Knox and I simply loved it. When I read the Clans I thought ooh a new shifter series but I was wrong it was anew mob series and what a great first book to start this series. The characters are well written and the story line was defiantly believable.

Mariana and Ion have been engaged since the day she was born. Her life changed eight years ago when her captor slaughtered her family in front of her eyes and took her as his own personal trophy. She thought the Clans would come looking for the last remaining Vasile. They didn’t or so she thought. Instead, they abandoned me like he was nothing or so it seemed.
After being there for years, she learned to accept her fate to accept the hell she was living and become submissive. Until one day it all went to shit, her daughter was ripped from her arms, she was shot, and the man who saved her was the one she was promised to all those years ago Ion Petran.
But saving her wasn’t enough now that her parents are gone. He will have to win her and show her he is worth being king of the clans is he so wishes it.
After everything Mariana has been through she is one tough woman and I hope to see more of her in upcoming books.
Ion has looked for Mariana and he has finally found her after eight years of searching that this woman would change his life for the better. He expected a lot of things from her, so stupid of him, because he didn’t expect to get more than he bargained for. She’s the key to all of his success, promised to him when he was a child.
When he finds her he will have everything he’s ever wanted.

The day she turned twenty-one she was supposed to be in his home as his bride her captor stole that from us. He stole her from him, and he’ll pay.
No one crosses Ion Petran, ever….
Ion oh my god he was so sweet and caring for a mob boss I love how he was tough to everyone and even Mariana sometimes but he was also so sweet when it came to Mariana’s well- being.
This book is a must read and I can’t wait to see what Ms. Knox has in-stored for us in the next book in the series.

By
Tracy