What do you think?
Rate this book
Edilean #3.5
Promises
Promises is a story of passion and mystery set on an 19th century plantation, where a beautiful young writer finds herself falling for the last man she ever expected to love.
Romance readers will love Promises because it will allow them to read a more intense and immersive story — a story that lets Jude Deveraux express an even greater range of passion, feeling, and emotion.
Romance readers will love Promises because it will allow them to read a more intense and immersive story — a story that lets Jude Deveraux express an even greater range of passion, feeling, and emotion.
78 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2009
40 people are currently reading
1957 people want to read
About the author
Jude Deveraux
200 books7,071 followersJude Gilliam was born September 20, 1947 in Fairdale, Kentucky. She has a large extended family and is the elder sister of four brothers. She attended Murray State University and received a degree in Art. In 1967, Jude married and took her husband's surname of White, but four years later they divorced. For years, she worked as 5th-grade teacher.
She began writing in 1976, and published her first book, The Enchanted Land (1977) under the name Jude Deveraux. Following the publication of her first novel, she resigned her teaching position. Now, she is the author of 31 New York Times bestsellers.
Jude won readers' hearts with the epic Velvet series, which revolves around the lives of the Montgomery family's irresistible men. Jude's early books are set largely in 15th- and 16th-century England; in them her fierce, impassioned protagonists find themselves in the midst of blood feuds and wars. Her heroines are equally scrappy -- medieval Scarlett O'Haras who often have a low regard for the men who eventually win them over. They're fighters, certainly, but they're also beauties who are preoccupied with survival and family preservation.
Jude has also stepped outside her milieu, with mixed results. Her James River trilogy (River Lady, Lost Lady, and Counterfeit Lady) is set mostly in post-Revolution America; the popular, softer-edged Twin of Fire/Twin of Ice moves to 19th-century Colorado and introduces another hunky-man clan, the Taggerts.
Deveraux manages to evoke a strong and convincing atmosphere for each of her books, but her dialogue and characters are as familiar as a modern-day soap opera's. "Historicals seem to be all I'm capable of," Jude once said in an interview, referring to a now out-of-print attempt at contemporary fiction, 1982's Casa Grande. "I don't want to write family sagas or occult books, and I have no intention of again trying to ruin the contemporary market." Still, Jude did later attempt modern-day romances, such as the lighthearted High Tide (her first murder caper), the contemporary female friendship story The Summerhouse, and the time-traveling Knight in Shining Armor. In fact, with 2002's The Mulberry Tree, Deveraux seems to be getting more comfortable setting stories in the present, which is a good thing, since the fans she won with her historical books are eager to follow her into the future.
Jude married Claude White, who she later divorced in 1993. Around the same time she met Mohammed Montassir with whom she had a son, Sam Alexander Montassir, in 1997. On Oct. 6th, 2005, Sam died at the age of eight in a motorcycle accident.
Jude has lived in several countries and all over the United States. She currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and has an additional home in the medieval city of Badolato, Italy.
She began writing in 1976, and published her first book, The Enchanted Land (1977) under the name Jude Deveraux. Following the publication of her first novel, she resigned her teaching position. Now, she is the author of 31 New York Times bestsellers.
Jude won readers' hearts with the epic Velvet series, which revolves around the lives of the Montgomery family's irresistible men. Jude's early books are set largely in 15th- and 16th-century England; in them her fierce, impassioned protagonists find themselves in the midst of blood feuds and wars. Her heroines are equally scrappy -- medieval Scarlett O'Haras who often have a low regard for the men who eventually win them over. They're fighters, certainly, but they're also beauties who are preoccupied with survival and family preservation.
Jude has also stepped outside her milieu, with mixed results. Her James River trilogy (River Lady, Lost Lady, and Counterfeit Lady) is set mostly in post-Revolution America; the popular, softer-edged Twin of Fire/Twin of Ice moves to 19th-century Colorado and introduces another hunky-man clan, the Taggerts.
Deveraux manages to evoke a strong and convincing atmosphere for each of her books, but her dialogue and characters are as familiar as a modern-day soap opera's. "Historicals seem to be all I'm capable of," Jude once said in an interview, referring to a now out-of-print attempt at contemporary fiction, 1982's Casa Grande. "I don't want to write family sagas or occult books, and I have no intention of again trying to ruin the contemporary market." Still, Jude did later attempt modern-day romances, such as the lighthearted High Tide (her first murder caper), the contemporary female friendship story The Summerhouse, and the time-traveling Knight in Shining Armor. In fact, with 2002's The Mulberry Tree, Deveraux seems to be getting more comfortable setting stories in the present, which is a good thing, since the fans she won with her historical books are eager to follow her into the future.
Jude married Claude White, who she later divorced in 1993. Around the same time she met Mohammed Montassir with whom she had a son, Sam Alexander Montassir, in 1997. On Oct. 6th, 2005, Sam died at the age of eight in a motorcycle accident.
Jude has lived in several countries and all over the United States. She currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and has an additional home in the medieval city of Badolato, Italy.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 16, 2015
Loved it! But...
I wish it were longer! This is a novella. I don't know how she does it, but Jude Deveraux's writing grabs you and pulls you in. I love her stories, including this short novella.
I wish it were longer! This is a novella. I don't know how she does it, but Jude Deveraux's writing grabs you and pulls you in. I love her stories, including this short novella.
January 11, 2012
The idea of combining video and writting is a fun theory. In this case it fell flat, the videos felt repetative of the writting and seemed to break up the flow of the story; the least interesting of the Edilean series to date, readable for the fact that it brings back some of the fun secondary characters from Scent of Jasmine.
August 4, 2020
You gotta love Jude Deveraux to appreciate this romance novella about Ethne McTern and Jamie Armitage. Available on Vook.
February 21, 2011
This is a digital-only novella, published by Vook (also available on amazon.com). Not worth the $4.99 I paid for it, as it's very short. The videos were more distracting than enlightening, and many didn't seem to reflect on the story at all - they were really their own separate beast, and I could have done without (I didn't bother watching the last few).
The story itself is set at Gracewell Plantation in South Carolina, in 1800. It takes place after the events in The Scent of Jasmine. James Grady Armitage, explorer and the last unmarried son of a wealthy landowner, is home for the summer. Ethne McTern (of Edilean, VA, daughter of Tam McTern?) comes to the plantation ostensibly to teach the family's children, arranged by her dear friend and cousin Cay Harcourt McDowell (daughter of Angus and Edilean Harcourt/McTern). She's also secretly the author of a very popular column with the pen name Stephen Ptolemy. They meet, fall in lurve, find a dead body, solve a mystery, all very quickly.
I'd have preferred this story in a paper novella form - as it was, it felt a bit frivolous.
The story itself is set at Gracewell Plantation in South Carolina, in 1800. It takes place after the events in The Scent of Jasmine. James Grady Armitage, explorer and the last unmarried son of a wealthy landowner, is home for the summer. Ethne McTern (of Edilean, VA, daughter of Tam McTern?) comes to the plantation ostensibly to teach the family's children, arranged by her dear friend and cousin Cay Harcourt McDowell (daughter of Angus and Edilean Harcourt/McTern). She's also secretly the author of a very popular column with the pen name Stephen Ptolemy. They meet, fall in lurve, find a dead body, solve a mystery, all very quickly.
I'd have preferred this story in a paper novella form - as it was, it felt a bit frivolous.
April 30, 2012
At first, I didn't think I'd get to read this bc I thought it was only available for certain kinds of nooks and I don't have one. But you can get it for iBooks. It's extremely short and there are awful videos that accompany the story. You really don't need them as they simply show what the story is talking about. I thought they were cheesy and unnecessary. I really love the Edilean series but could have done without this book with its rushed plot line.
September 11, 2013
Good enough story, but there were no videos in my edition. The publisher/vendor should say which devices are able to play the videos, because I probably would not have paid $4.99 for a short story if I'd known I wasn't actually getting a "vook".
I have a NookColor that is able to run Netflix and other videos, so I don't know why the vook thing isn't available for this device. Typical B&N. :/
I have a NookColor that is able to run Netflix and other videos, so I don't know why the vook thing isn't available for this device. Typical B&N. :/
February 17, 2014
Love love love.....Jude Deveraux
I have been reading her books since middle school, which was not appropriate reading, but parents where happy I was READING. Her writing then was very traffic. They have great stories, oh the Montgomery's.......
Her books, lately, have intimate scenes that are tasteful and leaves things to your imagination. Which I enjoy a lot.
I have been reading her books since middle school, which was not appropriate reading, but parents where happy I was READING. Her writing then was very traffic. They have great stories, oh the Montgomery's.......
Her books, lately, have intimate scenes that are tasteful and leaves things to your imagination. Which I enjoy a lot.
February 15, 2010
This was my first Vook. Actually I had never even heard of one before this, I am just a big fan of Jude Deveraux. At first it was confusing, but once I caught on I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a cute story and I am glad I read it.
July 23, 2011
This is a short story, I thought it was interesting how she combined the videos with the story in visualizing the scenes, you can still read without the videos and still understand the story, its just a nice added feature. I should also warn that this vook is only for nook color or ipad.
August 30, 2013
Thought the story was very romantic and lovely, but like most other reviews for the price and the length it was a bit disappointing. Should of made this a full novel I would of been gripped all the way through.
March 18, 2016
I feel like the vook format takes away from the story. I really would have preferred to have just read this instead of having a few videos spliced in.
Read
September 8, 2011This book is part of a series that I really liked.
October 22, 2011
could have been a full novel or a subplot of another novel...i did not like the vook format
October 24, 2024
I like Jude Deveraux's books because they are fast, fun and easy to read romances that can help you escape for an afternoon.
November 27, 2012
Not her greatest book. Very short, so story gets kind of chopped. First e-book for me and wasn't really "down" with the book/video combo.
August 23, 2013
Loved the story!! I only wish I was able to see the videos. I guess my Kindle is too old for that. Hopefully I can see them when I get a newer version!
July 7, 2014
A sweet quick read.
February 1, 2010
This is my first vook. I hope it's as good as I want it to be!
April 26, 2015
read in on the nook, different but good none the less
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews