It was a romance without any romance and I don't know who was more surprised when the hero suddenly proposed to the heroine - Becky or me. I truly didn;t expect it, although I knew that something like that simply must happen at the end of this kind of a book.

Becky is one of the most passive and dull heroines I've ever read about and the Baron is so arrogant and unpleasant that it was quite difficult to keep reading at times. Becky spent a few years being literally a slave of her stepmother and stepbrother. The Baron helps her escape and employs her as his mother's nurse, where Becky is kind of a slave again, as the Baroness forgets about little things like wages or time off. Everybody, from the Baron to servants, keep repeating how boring and unattractive Becky is, plus the Baron has a mistress, who is beautiful and charming and who practically lives with him. And suddenly, completely out of the blue (for me, at least), the Baron decides to marry Becky and it's the end of the story.

Wait, what? How did it happen? - don't ask me. I have absolutely no idea.

The book was short, but it took me the whole week to finish it - I just couldn't read more that a chapter at one time. It's so forgettable, that I already don't remember any details and I literally just finished it! The language was not bad and I believe some poeple may truly enjoy it - but it's definitely not for me. I'm not going to read any other books by this author.

The review was first published on a blog: https://dominikasreadingchallenge.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-promise-of-happiness-... ( )

The Promise of Happiness (Best of Betty Neels) by Betty Neels; (4*)

The old familiar threads run through this little novel, matching Neel's other works. However.............I believe that this one is my favorite thus far of all her works that I have read, that being eleven. I am so happy that I have a great number yet on my shelves. She just puts me in a relaxed, happy place. ( )