A Duke's Promise, by Jamie Carie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Duke's Promise is the third book in the Forgotten Castles series, scheduled to release on September 1, 2012. (I also reviewed book 2, The Forgiven Duke.)  We pick up right where the second one ends, just after the wedding of Gabriel, the wealthy duke of St. Easton, and the young lady he's been guarding for the past year, Alexandra. Alex is the daughter of the Featherstones, famous adventurers who neve returned from their latest treasure hunt and are now presumed dead. The duke, Gabriel, has promised that they will find and rescue her parents as soon as they can escape the watchful eye of the guards assigned to them by the throne.

The new couple find themselves further entangled in a web of competition between European powers for a manuscript that describes how to make a powerful war machine. They are being pursued at every turn, but must remain focused if they have any hope of finding this manuscript or Alex's missing parents. And if being hunted down by several different countries isn't enough, the newlyweds must also deal with Gabriel's deafness, Alex's issues over the years her parents abandoned her, and a powerful man who is obsessed with the Featherstone women.

I enjoyed the twists and turns in this romance, the mysteries and danger. Of course, the love story was pretty over-the-top at times, but looming secrets and trust issues between the lovebirds kept their relationship from being "too" perfect. Apart from the main story line, there were beautiful depictions of God's love, as well as interesting scientific information. An added section at the end makes the connection between historical facts and the treasure the fictional Featherstones sought. Without giving away too much of the book, let me add that some of the content was too mature for my teen daughters, especially as it pertained to an attack on Alex in the second book and the man obsessed with owning and "having his way" with the women. For that reason, this book won't be added to my girls' shelf, but I'd recommend it for more mature readers.

I received this book free from the publisher through netGalley in exchange for an honest review.