The Forbidden Promise By Lorna Cook

‘The Forbidden Promise’ is the latest book by Lorna Cook.

Scotland, 1940 – War rages across Europe, but Invermoray House is at peace – until the night of Constance’s 21st birthday, when she’s the only person to see a Spitfire crash into the loch. Rescuing the pilot and vowing to keep him hidden, Constance finds herself torn between duty to her family and keeping a promise that could cost her everything. 2020 – Kate arrives in the Highlands to turn Invermoray into a luxury B&B, only to find that the estate is more troubled than she’d imagined. But when Kate discovers the house has a dark history, with Constance’s name struck from its records, she knows she can’t leave until the mystery is solved.

Set during the Second World War and the present, ‘The Forbidden Promise’ is a story of forbidden love and secrets.

The past tense is written from the perspective of Constance on the night of her 21st birthday, after managing to escape the grips of her older brothers friend, she manages to save the life of pilot Matthew when his plane crushes into the lough beside her family home. Desperate to escape he hides from the war whilst recovering. As the war rages around Europe, Constance’s family has to give up their Invermoray House, the family estate to house injured soldiers. Fast forward many years and Kate has been called into help fix the ruined Invermoray House and help bring it into the future. But this isn’t an easy task as Kate has to compete with the son of the estate who battles against her ideas for the redesign.

This is a heartwarming love story and with the different perspective gives an interesting slant to the story. I’m not the biggest fan of historical fiction, but I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the chapters from Constance’s perspective. In a time where women were women to be seen and not heard, Constance is a breath of fresh air, wanting to be independent and have an active part in helping with the ongoing war, much to her mother’s despair who wishes her daughter was more restrained. The relationship between Matthew and Constance is a lovely one to read, as they banter with each other before growing closer and having to hide their forbidden love. Kate is also a great character as she tackles with new characters, emotions as well as unravel the many mysteries of Invermoray House.

Beautifully written and well researched, ‘The Forbidden Promise’ is a stunning story of love through the ages. This book has fascinating characters, suspense and an eerie house riddled with secrets that was captivating from the first page.

You can buy ‘The Forbidden Promise’ from Amazon and will be available to buy from good bookshops.