The Forbidden Promise is the second book from Lorna Cook following on from her brilliant début The Forgotten Village which was published last year. Again the story is told in a duel timeline format and as I am a big fan of this type of writing I was more than pleased to delve into the book. This book is really character driven focusing on two women Constance and Kate separated by many years but who are both seeking something new in life.

August 2019 and Kate is escaping from London after her successful career in PR has come crashing down all thanks to some high powered businessman who spun some lies and made Kate out to be the culprit. Kate is seeking peace and quiet and space for her to rebuild her reputation away from all those who know about the awful situation that unfolded. Her best friend Jenny made her apply for two jobs from away from the city and Kate has been successful in securing a position in Scotland. She has a six month contract to work at Invermoray House which is a beautiful estate surrounded by woodland with a loch at its centre. The loch will go on to play a crucial role in the story for many different reasons. Kate thinks she is there to provide some PR for the house in order for more tourists to visit. On arrival little does she realise any form of visitor or guest is non existent and her first encounter with James Langley does not go to plan either. Liz, his mother, had kept secret the fact that she had employed Kate and this does not go down well at all with James. Clearly, there is a lot more going on than first meets the eye when it comes to Invermoray House and its residents and the same can be said for its past history during the war years as well.

For the majority of the book James came across as being surly, sullen, argumentative and just not open to discussion or new ideas. But underneath it all there was something about him that was vulnerable and that if Kate pushed that little harder he would accept the help she was offering in order to turn the fortunes of the house around. I could see the chemistry developing between the pair but neither of them wanted to give into it. They were both stubborn and there was lots of miscommunication but I felt things went on more of an even keel for them when they started to work as a team to bring their ideas and innovations for the house to fruition. Also as they started to dig back into the past as to what had happened in the year that Constance celebrated her 21st birthday, things got very intriguing.

I loved the chapters set back during 1940 as we get to know Constance. We meet her on the night of her 21st birthday as she flees from the house as unwanted advances from a member of the opposite sex do nothing to make her enjoy the celebrations. As she sits overlooking the loch, she sees something strange and startling and before she knows it she is in the water rescuing a pilot who has been shot down. As his plane sinks into the water, Constance rescues Matthew and with this heroic action Constance's life is changed forever. She takes Matthew to the ghillie's cottage which has been abandoned since he left for war. The events of the night and Matthew himself must remain a secret for Matthew says he does not wish to return to his squadron. Constance is torn between a rock and a hard place, she knows the right thing to do but there is also a part of her who longs to go against convention. She keeps Matthew a secret but at what cost?

Constance was a young woman from a privileged background but she felt stifled by the constraints placed against her. She longs to do her bit for the war but is prevented from doing so by her parents. So in some small way by sheltering and protecting Matthew she believes she is alleviating some of her guilt at not being allowed out into the wider world instead of hiding behind the walls of Invermoray House. Up until now she had been threading water, with no sense of herself but upon rescuing Matthew she finds purpose and feels renewed. The friendship that develops between the pair was slow and steady and you can tell that there is more to come when it comes to matters of the heart. But is Constance just rushing into things for want of some excitement or is this her true calling in life. She put herself in great danger and made plenty of sacrifices but would it ultimately led to danger, loss and disappointment? At times I thought she lost sense of the bigger picture and wasn't truly thinking fully of the consequences of her actions. If Matthew was discovered and Constance's part in it all surely the fallout would be catastrophic.

I loved the element of a character in the present uncovering secrets and mysteries from the past but I felt at times there needed to be more of this. I thought Kate didn't investigate enough as to the background of the family living at Invermoray and why someone seemed to have been written out of said family. Yes she started asking questions but I never felt a really urge from here to dig that little bit deeper to discover just what had happened and why. Towards the end she did get a little spurt under her to seek out old newspapers and to do some online research but I would have loved if this had been constant throughout the book. It just felt that it happened a little bit too late and therefore made the ending slightly rushed. Perhaps another chapter or two focusing on the historical element would have allowed for some more exploration as to what happened to certain characters and why. It read as if too much was being fitted into it in order to answer all the questions and angles that had arisen throughout the course of the story.

All that said this was another very good read from Lorna Cook and I did enjoy the story. I mean that twist in the last few chapters I literally stopped and said oh my God. How could I not have seen that coming? As truly everything you had thought up until that point was turned on its head. Instantly I had changed my opinion of certain characters that perhaps I had put faith and trust in as we got to know them over the course of the story. I know it was wrong to do that but that was my gut reaction and I think many other readers will feel the same. The reason for such a twist was very well explained and justified but it did make me really feel for the main characters as these revelations led to consequences that I couldn't have foreseen occurring.

The last few chapters were startling and tense as a whole range of emotions came rushing to the surface and the fallout for all involved led to heartbreak, devastation, anger and trauma. The reader really runs the gauntlet with the characters and you desperately hope that some form of love, happiness and acceptance can be found in the most desperate of times. I hope Lorna Cook is hard at work on book number three because she has shown she is a fantastic author of historical fiction and deserves lots of success especially with this new book.

I enjoyed this second book by Lorna Cook as much as I enjoyed her first.
Set in ww2 and present day it tells the story of matthew and Constance in 1940 and James and Kate in present day.
Central to the story is a house and a secret and it is set in the highlands of scotland

Second novels can sometimes suffer from sort of 'syndrome' not quite as good as the first, he most difficult to write, sweated over for months and months on end, massive edits and rewrites and never quite reaching the pinnacle of the first novel. 

In the case of The Forbidden Promise this suffers with none of these, though I am unsure if the author suffered any of the aforementioned symptoms. For me this second novel is better than the first (and that was good) and shows a great example of dual time narrative, compelling storylines and wonderfully drawn characters. 

Present day. Invermoray House in Scotland. The current residents of the home, Liz and her son James are struggling to make ends meet and the only way is for the house to be made to pay  its way. A Bed and Breakfast seems a good idea with some typical HIghland pursuits for any guest that might fancy it. 

Kate is famed for her PR skills and that was her previous role in London but when an incident leads her to want to hid from all she knows she takes refuge in a job at Invermoray House. Intrigued by the mystery of the house she does some research to discover a family bible with one of the names crossed out - Constance McLay. 

1920. Invermoray House. Constance McLay's 21st birthday party. War has yet to really touch them so far north, it appears nothing has changed. But war is coming in many forms as young men, including Constance's brother and his friend join up and the estate workers go to fight for their country. 

With the excuse of an headache, Constance escapees her own celebrations and wanders down to the loch. 

There she sees a spitfire, dive and crash into the loch. Instinct kicks in and she saves the pilot and with one sweeping gestures promises to keep him safe in the abandoned ghillies cottage. However Constance finds that this promise is hard to keep. 

As war starts to touch Invermoray House more directly, Constance finds that she is torn between her heart and her head. 

Some eighty years later as Kate tries to find out more about Constance she also finds that her heart and her head are working independently of each other. 

As the plot goes back and forth you start to form a picture of what life was like for Constance and also how it is perceived by Kate, trying to find out more about her, as if you were being told the same story from different perspectives.

What also holds the book up as excellent is the fact the author uses the landscape to be as much of a character as the characters themselves. This adds weight and depth to the plot and kept me hooked as I turned the pages wanting to find out the truth, the secrets, the lies and the promises that were made. 

Lorna Cook is fast becoming an author you need to look out for.

I rarely read books in one or two sittings, but Lorna’s beautiful writing style had me completely immersed and hooked on this dual timeline story within the first few pages. The story is elaborately weaved around two different love stories set in picturesque Scottish Highlands. As the gripping plot thickens, seamlessly flowing between different times I was mesmerised how both romances unfolded.
This is definitely one of those page-turners that one can’t put down; beautifully written and easy to read. I would highly recommend.

This book was AMAZING!!! I read it in two days, staying up way too late to read. Historical fiction that travels between 1940 Scotland and present day. There's mystery and romance. I couldn't put it down. Pub date Marcy 19, 2020.

Nice easy read, just a little predictable in places for my liking