This novella by Lisa Kleypas called Promises, feels like an early piece possibly written as Ms. Kleypas was still figuring out her style. Though published after the 2 novels centered around 1820s London where Derek Craven’s casino entertains the uber-wealthy, it is set in the early days of that fictional world. The young woman at the center of the novella is earnest in love and all matters of propriety. She has lost her father, her fortune, and is barely keeping everything running for herself and her mother as she waits for her true love to return from his travels. She cannot imagine a world where he is not her future.

I love that this young woman, so lacking in relationship experience, is certain that her steadfast loyalty is the right course for her life. How long is too long to wait? Is her waiting a pipe dream? Does the object of her affection feel as strongly toward her as she does toward him? Has he pined for her for over a year as she has for him? Only his return can answer any of these questions. And though this piece is short, it contains much of the elegance, charm, romance, adventure, and passion, just in a small package. And in order of books, I would read it first before Then Came You as a little introductory taste of Derek Craven’s gambling house before launching into the two meatier books of The Gamblers of Craven’s Series.

Kleypas, Lisa. Promises, Anderson, Catherine; Chase, Loretta; Woodiwiss, Kathleen E., Three Weddings And A Kiss, Avon Books, 1995.