Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog earns a small commission at no extra cost to you from any purchases made through these links. You can read the full disclosure underneath the Privacy Policy.
Promise Me
by Sara CateSeries: Sinful Manor #2
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca on February 10, 2026
SubGenres: Contemporary Romance, LGBT Romance, MM Romance
Format: AudioBook, Paperback
Pages: 319
Narrator: Will Watt, Shane East, Kelli Tager
Length: 10 Hours And 10 Minutes
Source: Library - Libby, Purchased
Audience: 18+/Adult
Add to Goodreads
Purchase at Amazon | Barnes & Noble
He let him get away once… Now he has seven days to get him back.
Fifteen years ago, Declan Barclay left for uni with plans of becoming an artist and escaping his family's heavy rule. What he didn't expect was to meet a soft and enigmatic actor in desperate need of guidance…and a friend. Declan quickly took Colin Shelby under his wing and the two were inseparable ever since.
That is until the night before graduation, when lines were crossed and everything changed.
Now, after years apart, Colin is back in Declan's life, but he's not alone. He's made a promise to marry someone else, and Declan only has seven days to win back the love of his life. There's just one His family is counting on him to pull this wedding off at Barclay Manor.
With just one week until vows are exchanged, Declan must decide—stay silent and lose Colin for good, or risk everything and ask the one who got away to promise him forever.
I enjoyed Keep Me, the first book in the Sinful Manor series, and was anxious to read Promise Me, which is Declan Barclay’s story and how he was going to end up getting a second chance with his college friend, Colin. Unfortunately, when he sees Colin again, he’s engaged, and his wedding is planned at the Barclay Manor, and Declan has promised to pull off the wedding for his sister. Here’s hoping Declan can pull off the wedding without any issues, so he can win the bet he has with his family.
I loved the dual POV in first person, with Declan’s story told in the present and Colin’s in the past. I loved reading Declan’s POV when it came to navigating the wedding, that he was uncomfortable and he was trying, even though his feelings were coming to light (finally after so long). I loved Colin’s past perspective because it showed how their friendship and yearly connection evolved after college. Their attempts to escape family expectations made their bond relatable as far as their friendship.
Here’s the thing, though, sometimes Friends to Lovers and Second Chance stories are emotionally driven and get me in my feelings, but in the case of Declan and Colin, I felt a lack of genuine emotional connection. I also found the story was highly predictable, especially when I realized who was going to end up being the bad guy in the story. This person definitely rubbed me the wrong way when his ego came into play.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the story to a point. The friendship between Declan and Colin in the beginning had me hooked, as I stated, but when it came to their relationship, it was doomed from the start when one of them had commitment issues. This was the predictable part. One will always have commitment issues, and in this case, I didn’t find it believable that this person got over the issues. It just took the other not being available for them to realize it.
When it came to the spice/steam factor of this book, it’s mild compared to Sara Cate’s SPC series. At least that is my opinion, and I’ve read that series and loved it, and I’ve loved other bdsm stories, too, that were heavily spiced.
Overall, I give this book 3.5 stars. Though it didn’t resonate with me as much as I hoped, others may enjoy Declan and Colin’s story. I liked them as individuals, but their relationship felt less engaging, with one still working through commitment issues. I do plan on reading the next book in the series, especially when Sara hints at who is possibly getting their book next at the end of this one.
Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would recommend this book to readers who have read Sara Cate’s books before and enjoy reading a story where friends get a second chance at love.
Audiobook Recommendation: The audiobook is a Duet and has three narrators (Will Watt is Declan’s voice, Shane East is Colin’s voice, and Kelli Tager does all the female voices in the story), and I highly recommend it if you enjoy listening to your books. The narrators fit the characters perfectly, especially when they have the British/Scottish accents for the characters. I could listen to these accents forever in romance books. (Thankful that my library had this book on Libby as an audiobook, so I could listen to the book when I wasn’t able to physically read a book due to my eyes being impacted by a migraine attack.)
What to Expect:
🏴MM Romance
🇬🇧Grumpy vs. Sunshine
🏴Friends to Lovers
🇬🇧Second Chance
🏴Slow Burn
🇬🇧Dual Timeline
Related Posts
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
- Review: ‘Promise Me’ by Sara Cate - May 7, 2026
- Cover Reveal: ‘Made to Order’ by Gwyn McNamee - May 2, 2026
- April 2026 Monthly Reading Wrap-Up - May 2, 2026