Review: Promise Me by Sara Cate

PROMISE ME

BOOK TWO IN THE SINFUL MANOR SERIES

I’m not normally one who loves a book that flashes between past and present, but what Sara Cate did with Promise Me might just convert me. The second book in Cate’s Sinful Manor series follows Declan Barclay and his relationship with Colin Shelby. The relationship starts as friends then becomes so much more over the course of several years. In this regard, I think it was crucial for the author to weave the past into the present because readers need the full picture of who these two were to each other before they can understand who they will become now. This isn’t an easy road to love, but it is an emotionally rich and satisfying tale.

So let’s dive in and talk about it, shall we?

MY THOUGHTS

Promise Me by Sara Cate KINDLE

Promise Me wasn’t quite a five-star read for me, but it was incredibly close. I spent a few days reading the story due to work commitments, but any time I had a few minutes or an hour, I was reading this book. I quickly became invested in what was going with Declan and Colin.

I found Declan and Colin’s story to be emotional and heartbreaking sad, but with glimmers of hope and healing mingled in throughout. The way author Sara Cate structured the book was so good, and I love that Cate gave us the chance to truly invest ourselves and learn who Declan and Colin were to each other. I know this story would not have worked as well as it did without their complicated past being mixed in with the present because their journey was all about how the past formed their present, and why it had made them so miserable up until they meet again in current time.

“We were friends. We were lovers. We were in love, and yet, never together, never in the right place at the right time.”

One of the things I found most interesting about this story is that Declan is clearly a man on the edge, not just in life, but also in his ability to cope with anything in his life. He’s kept himself from being involved in his sister’s career despite the fact that she’s operating that career in his home. He doesn’t even try to engage with the people he sees, preferring to be alone with his thoughts and his art and all the memories that he refuses to give real voice to. He’s troubled, and everyone around him knows it but they can’t figure out a way to help him that he’ll accept. So, his family makes a stupid bet with him to either give him what he wants or show him a different way. Except no one expected Colin to show up and complicate things for Declan.

“Shakespeare, I’m sorry it was only eight days a year to you. It was never just eight days to me. You were with me every bloody day.”

Declan’s carefully controlled world of isolation begins to unravel the moment he sees Colin again. He can’t live in the past with the present knocking on his door so firmly, and he can’t live in the present with the past having such a tight hold on him now. It’s the ultimate catch-22 and it forces Declan to socialize in ways he doesn’t want to do yet knows he has no choice but to do to get what he wants. The only problem is that what he believes he wants isn’t quite going to work when it forces him to let go of the past he’s spent so many years clinging onto.

When it comes to Colin, I feel like he wasn’t as strongly developed as Declan, but he had a lot of life and depth to him at the same time. Like Declan, Colin is also a man who is living in the past, but between them, I think Colin is living more of a lie than simply not trying to live at all like Declan. He tries to seem like he’s happy and has his life together, but the cracks start to show the more time he spends around Declan. They are so intertwined and yet so afraid of what that means for them both. It was such a great dynamic to explore and I’m so glad Cate decided to go the way she did with them.

To be honest, the only thing that kept me from giving Promise Me five stars was the fact there was a lot of focus on the dom/sub relationship, but we didn’t see all that much of it until the last few chapters of the book. I understand why that was to a point, but at the same time, I feel as if there should have been more of that aspect in the buildup toward the end. I don’t know what that may have looked like on the page, but it’s how I felt while reading it because they were obviously heading toward it and yet we didn’t get much of it in the story. I’d say more about how and why that probably happened, but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read it yet. Just know this was my only caveat in giving it four and half stars instead of five.

“But that’s what love is, Declan! It’s showing someone the worst parts of ourselves and trusting that they’ll love us anyway.”

Overall, I thought Promise Me was a fantastic and engrossing read. I couldn’t wait to find out more about Declan and Colin’s past and how that would affect the present and the future for them. Even getting an idea of where Cate was potentially leading readers with their past and present buildup, I still felt like every word was important and every scene was gripping. There was just too much pent-up emotion, frustration, and love between the two characters not to want to read more, and the pay-off definitely came for this one.

If you’re looking for an emotionally complex read with complicated characters who don’t fully understand themselves or each other, enjoy lots of angst, spice, and an MM romance, definitely pick up a copy of Promise Me by Sara Cate. It’s a beauty of a read, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on it if you do decide to check it out. You can find me on Threads or Insta if you’d like to discuss it with me.

RATING:

DETAILS AND INFORMATION

I received an advanced reading copy (ARC) of this book from the author, publisher, or publicist. The receipt of this ARC did not influence my choice to review the book on this site. It also did not influence how I felt about the book or its characters, storyline, and overall feel. The opinions expressed in this review are my own. As such, they only deal with what is written on the pages of the book and how what is written and otherwise presented made me feel during and after my reading of the book.

Promise Me by Sara Cate
Series: Sinful Manor #2
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca on February 10th, 2026
Genres: BDSM Romance, Dark Romance, LGBTQ+ Romance, MM Romance, Romance
Pages: 319
Format: E-Arc
Source: Netgalley
Buy: Amazon
Rating: four-half-stars

Series Rating: five-stars

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 problem: 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.

Tropes: Second Chance Romance, MM Romance, Best Friends to Lovers, Grumpy/Sunshine, Dual Timeline, Scottish MC, Virgin MC, Spice, Dual Timelines, Dual 1st POV

CW: grief, loss, parental death, mental health struggles, alcohol abuse (hinted), anxiety, depression, cheating, BDSM and also the improper uses of it

* If you do decide to read this book, please be mindful of the content and trigger warnings prior to purchase!