Unkept Promises

(The Golden Redepennings #4)

Jude Knight

Jules Redepenning/Mia Redepenning

unkept-promises-jk-1 — **Published:** September 24, 2019

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

BookBlurb

Naval captain Jules Redepenning has spent his adult life away from England, and at war. He rarely thinks of the bride he married for her own protection, and if he does, he remembers the child he left after their wedding seven years ago. He doesn’t expect to find her in his Cape Town home, a woman grown and a lovely one, too.

Mia Redepenning sails to Cape Town to nurse her husband’s dying mistress and adopt his children. She hopes to negotiate a comfortable married life with the man while she’s there. Falling in love is not on her to-do list.

Before they can do more than glimpse a possible future together, their duties force them apart. At home in England, Mia must fight for the safety of Jules’s children. Imprisoned in France, Jules must battle for his self-respect and his life.

Only by vanquishing their foes can they start to make their dreams come true.

Review_RmA

Unkept Promises is the fourth book in The Golden Redepennings series by author Judith Knight. Although this book is fourth in the series, I didn’t feel like I was lost while reading when it referred to previous characters, and it could easily be read as a standalone. Ms. Knight is a new author to me and after reading this book and absolutely loving it, I will be going back to read the previous books in this series. I was extremely impressed with this story and Ms. Knight’s writing style.

Jules Redepenning is a Naval Captain who has spent the majority of his life away from home and at war. When he’s captured by smugglers he realizes he’s in a prison cell next to a young girl (Mia Sterling) and her dying father. When the father dies, Jules and Mia escape only to be forced to marry to save Mia’s reputation.

Euronyme “Mia” Sterling is fourteen years old when she and her father are caught by smugglers and put in a prison cell. Gossip forces a marriage between her and Jules, but she knows he’s going back to war and his mistress and children, while she stays with his family in England.

What a fabulous story! I absolutely loved Mia from the very beginning. She’s not ready for marriage even though she is mature for her age, she’s only just turned fifteen. When her father dies, she has no one left to turn to. With the gossip and rumors bent on destroying her reputation, she has no choice but to marry Jules. She goes into the marriage knowing that Jules is leaving to go back to war and that he has a mistress and two children in Cape Town. As for Jules, he goes into this marriage to protect Mia and hoping that the future would take care of itself. I admired Jules as he’s just trying to do right by everyone.

The story then jumps seven years forward, with Mia arriving in Cape Town to help take care of Jules mistress, Kirana, and her children. Kirana and Mia have been corresponding for years and have become friends. Kirana is dying and Mia has agreed to take the children back to England and raise them as her own. At this point in the story, I have to admit I truly admired Mia for the woman she has become. She’s smart, brave and a caring woman who will do anything to protect those she loves. Kirana is a lovely woman who suffered greatly in the years before she met Jules. My heart broke for her and her children. Although I know many a reader wouldn’t approve of a story with a mistress and a wife as friends, I truly felt Ms. Knight did an amazing job of pulling this off. It truly worked in this story and I commend Ms. Knight for bringing in a situation that most might at first glance feel uncomfortable with. As for Jules, he comes home after a two-month mission to find Kirana dying and the young girl he married a grown woman taking care of his mistress and children. I liked Jules and I came to love him when I saw him with his children. When he starts to see himself through Mia’s eyes, and he’s not impressed, I admired him for admitting the truth and trying to make a change for the better.

This definitely was not your typical boy meets girl and falls in love with a HEA. It was truly a unique and fascinating story that I struggled to put down! I really loved both Mia and Jules from the start and liked that their relationship actually had time to grow as they both began to trust and love one another. There were some fabulous secondary characters, a villain or two and an absolutely perfect ending! This one is definitely a keeper and I look forward to going back and catching up with the other books in the series! Highly recommend!