Alison Delaine

After a near-death accident forces him to reform his roguish ways, the Duke of Winston discovers that the personal physician he has hired to help him recover from his injuries is actually a woman disguised as man—and she soon becomes the greatest temptation he has ever faced. Original.

A Promise by Daylight

Angela Guilherme

*I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I cannot, for the life of me, understand why in the hell would something that is clearly a series not be labelled as one… Yes, A Promise by Daylight is the third book in a series, but since there is no indication of that, I ended up reading it first, when I even have the other two to read… This is particularly bad considering this is a series where continuity matters. I honestly cannot understand the logic in this, but be forewarned that the correct reading order of this series (let’s call it Women of the Seven Seas) is as follows:
1. A Gentleman 'Til Midnight
2. A Wedding by Dawn
3. A Promise by Daylight 

Now that you’ve been warned, I must say I really liked this story (I would’ve probably liked it even more if I had read the previous books first…). In the beginning we meet Miss Millicent Germain pretending to be Mr. Miles Germain and presenting herself as the new personal doctor of the Duke of Winston. Millie always wanted to study medicine but that was, at the time, a career prohibited to women. During the years she spent aboard the ship of her friend Katherine (the protagonist of the first book) her gender was never an issue, but in dried land she has no other option but to pretend to be a man...

Winston is a rakish Duke convalescing from a terrible accident. He was simply walking on a street of Paris when a wall collapsed on him and another man. Winston was badly injured but the other man wasn’t so lucky… The reason why Millie is hired is because Winston is planning to travel to Greece, but the accident has made him rethink his life, his mistakes (mainly one from his youth) and the advices of his best friend, and he decides to return to England, abandon his roguish ways and finally begin to fulfill the duties adjacent to his title.

But Millie needs him to go to Greece for that is the only way for her to achieve her dream: study at the surgeon's school in Malta. And that is how, having begun by censuring his way of life, Millie ends up not only promoting it, but also creating situations that will make him rethink his decision.

Millie’s disguise fools everyone except Winston who discerns her female characteristics since the first time she examines him. However Winston decides to keep up the charade, amusing himself at her expense. The problem is that, despite her manly clothes and wig, he’s unbelievably attracted to Millie. Certainly the only possible explanation must reside on the fact that he has forsaken all worldly pleasures, right? 

Millie is also inexplicably attracted to Winston, but she cannot afford the distraction. During the previous books she has managed to alienate herself from all her friends and her only hope for a future is to go to Malta. Or is it?

As they eventually give in to the attraction and begin to get to know each other better, they realise appearances can be deceiving and that there is more to them than it seemed at first. And that, in life, being too extreme never really works. But will they be able to find a middle term that they can both live with?

After all, they both have an enormous amount of guilt on their shoulders making them believe they are unworthy of happiness… And in Millie’s case there is a reference to a past violent event regarding her that may shock, so be forewarned.

As I already mentioned, I liked the story and the romance between Winston and Millie. But I think I liked even better the scenes where the both of them interact with Winston’s childhood friends and those of Millie with Winston’s servants who treat her like one of the boys. Hilarious!

I’m going to read the first books in the series (considering I already have them and all…), but I’m really sorry I didn’t read them in order… Now I already know all the important things that are going to happen in them...

A Promise by Daylight

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