A story about the death of a loved one and trying to rebuild your life after this. Yet dealing with the realisation they were not who you thought they were

From the moment I started reading until the very last page I was hooked. It was such a brilliant story and made a change that the main character was a man. I love Lucy Diamond's books, but this has to be one of my favourites - a great read.

What a wonderful treat you are in for in Lucy Diamond's "The Promise". Right from the start I was hooked.

Patrick and Dan are brothers and on a night out both spot the beautiful Zoe singing Karaoke, but it is Patrick who makes the first move. Years later when tragedy strikes Dan knows he has to finally step up and help his brother's family, but what should he do when he uncovers secrets that he knows will devastate Zoe.

This story is extremely moving and my emotions were on high alert, the intrigue kept me turning the pages, the twists were unexpected, but the best bits were the laugh out load moments. I was cheering for Dan all the way through but Zoe was my heroine!

Firstly I apologise that I have got so far behind with these, but I really enjoyed this book!

Lucy diamond has a fab way of writing characters that are messy, but oh so real and I felt everything that they went through throughout this book. My one criticism is that there were some diet culture references peppered in throughout the book which just dampened my enjoyment but a few days on from finishing the book I am still thinking about the characters and hoping they are ok which is always the sign of a well written character for me! I will be looking out for more from the author!

Really love Lucy Diamond books, and although I still loved the way she writes...this was a strange one for me.

Although anyone who knows grief, know what a tricky emotion it is. Blaming Patrick's brother Dan for him walking home, is cruel and ridiculous....so straight away I wasn't a huge fan of Zoe. Although I did empathise with her towards the end...overall I found her tricky, difficult and ungrateful. Blaming other people that are grieving too feels unjust and why not actually ask for help if you need it?

This was a very sensitive look at grief and righting wrongs and moving on but struggled with some of the characters...which is very unusual in a Lucy Diamond book.

As ever Lucy Diamond's writing is beautiful and easy to read. However, this definitely isn't my favourite of hers.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If I wasn't trying to get my netgalley list down this would've been a DNF - the characters were so unlikeable. Patrick even in death was irredeemable

Lucy diamond is one of my favorite authors and wax really happy to receive it . I certainly wasn’t disappointed the story followed and I needed to keep reading. The characters was believable and a good plot .

A far more serious read than the usual style from this author but still a very well written story that tugs at your heart strings.

When Patrick Sheppard dies suddenly his brother is plunged into a place where he is lost and isn't quite sure what to do. It's clear from the outset that Dan feels a little responsible for his brother dying and although as the reader we don't know what happened on that fateful evening, it's clear that Dan needs to try and help in any way he can. It's them that he decides to try and be there and support Dan's wife Zoe and the three kids, his niece Bea and nephews Ethan and Gabe. He has absolutely no clue what Patrick's life was like and even less idea about helping run a family home.


Dan is a very endearing character and you can't help but feel for him as he tries and then fails miserably to get everything right. All of the characters that are in this story are easy to read about and likeable. As the story progresses the reader gets to see that everything was not as it seemed and we take the journey alongside Dan as he uncovers secrets that he knew nothing about. A lovely read that kept me intrigued about everybody in the story and a book I would definitely recommend.

A story of love and loss and everything in between. A heart warming story of a family facing unexpected bereavement and how they coped as new events emerge.
Very enjoyable

It was a good read predictable but I enjoyed the journey we took getting there.

I did feel it lacked the emotional punch I was expecting though.

A very different book to the norm by this author but I really enjoyed it and it worked well being told from a male perspective for a change. Lots of twists and emotional moment made it a page turner that's well worth reading

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

This is a very different type of novel by Lucy Diamond as it seeks to find a path to forgiveness after atragic accident which leads to a death and it is very much from a male prespective. The novel starts with a drunken Patrick leaving a pub after an argument with his younger brother. We meet the younger brother Dan who works in the city and has a very different life from his builder brother Patrick. But at the beginning the family especially his sister-in-law blame him for the death as Patrick was to stay overnight with him prior to the diagreement. As Patrick begins to surface from the deep despair and grief, he goes to help Zoe his sister-in-law with the children with little success at the beginning so he compiles a spreedsheet to monitor his good deeds and then begins to discover his brother's secret affair with Lydia and that everything he believed was not the truth. How the spreedsheet leads to anger and how the family begin to heal is beautifully described. A gret read!

This book is a little slow paced for me, but I really enjoyed that it was written from a male point of view. Given the theme of death, it's a rather sombre book but emotional and at times, especially near the end, a little heart wrenching.

A slow paced family drama about love and loss. Lucy Diamond has a gift for storytelling and this is an ideal read for a dark afternoon.

I have read many Lucy Diamond books and I have loved them, and although I enjoyed this - it didn't grasp me as tightly as others have. That's the trouble when you enjoy an author - there are very high expectations going in! I think this was partly because I struggled to connect with Dan and I felt frustrated with his need to approach helping his own family in such a formulaic way. I did soften to him as time went on, but I found the women in Patrick's life to be far more interesting on the whole. The way in which they navigate their very unique situation was a much more riveting plot point to hook the story on and I would have loved more insight on this. In comparison, I just wanted to shake Dan, particularly early on.
Whilst it is a very readable novel and I read quickly, it isn't one of my favourites.

The Promise by Lucy Diamond was a great read. Some great twists and turns throughout that hooked me in. Finding out someone has secrets when they are alive is soul destroying but when they are no longer with you it’s worse. A sad book in places but there’s also some laughter and love.

I love books by Lucy Diamond and was excited to pick this one up and see what wonderful characters she had created this time.

In the opening Prologue we meet Patrick who is drunk on his way home after an argument with his brother and we spend the rest of the story unravelling secrets he thought were long forgotten and getting to know his grieving family.

I found the opening chapters slow burners as we were getting to know everyone whilst learning about both the back story of the family and the dark place they were all currently in. However as I kept reading the pace built and I wanted to get to know the lovely kind Lydia and see how she would reappear again in the story.

Another great story, with wonderful characters and descriptions to make it easy to visualise as I read. I can't wait to see what this wonderful author releases next.

Although predictable I really enjoyed this lovely story. It was slightly marred by the fact that the version I had left out all the ‘f’s & the letters either side which was cking annoying! I liked and cared for the characters and hope they move on to have great lives. Great holiday reading.