Zebra Splendor, $4.99, ISBN 0-8217-6599-X
Historical Romance, 2000

Compared to Ties of Love which was released earlier this year, A Promise Given is a bit of a disappointment. It has the typical heroine in ultimate distress being saved by the hero plot, which is okay if the whole thing’s well written. It is. It’s just… well, I keep waiting for the hero Leon Areggi to grow long pointy hairy ears and hooves. Is Leon an euphemism for mule? He is just that.

Anyway, the story: poor Jeanne O’Shea – no, make that very poor, in danger of being raped by her stepdad, and her brother about to be beaten to death by the same jerk Jeanne O’Shea – is fleeing her home with her wee brother Timmy. An angel in disguise comes in the form of Leon, a Basque shepherd who is inconveniently engaged to someone else.

Now, Jeanne and Leon really warm up to me after the melodramatic first chapters. Loyalty, friendship, and a healthy dose of list – great recipe for a romance, right? I don’t even mind the usual I can’t bear a man’s touch act from Jeanne, which is understandable even if it is done the same way ten million books with the same sort of heroines did it.

But after the two start boinking, things go way downhill. Leon just wouldn’t accept that Jeanne means anything to him. The first few chapters he start this “Meeeh meeeh! I’m a donkey!” act, it’s okay. But when the braying starts going on and on, I want to knock a few heads with my rolling pin.

Still, the ending is nice. And no matter how much a jackass Leon is, he’s still a well-written fellow. A Promise Given may not be anything fresh or exciting, but it’s still a pretty good read.