ONLY A PROMISE is Book five in Mary Balogh's Survivors' Club series. I recommend reading ONLY A PROMISE after reading at least one or two of the previous books in order to get a better understanding of Ralph Stockwood. He is a man who is suffering from survivor's guilt and as a result he relates to his close friends, who have been through something similar, differently than he does to other people. You also have a better reference for when some of his Survivors' Club friends make an appearance in this story. It is also nice to see appearances by characters from Mary Balogh's Bedwyn series.

I am so happy Mary Balogh chose to tell ONLY A PROMISE from both points of view. Very often Chloe and Ralph don't act in a way that reflects how they truly feel -- particularly Ralph. This added insight into the characters makes them seem more three dimensional. Although Ralph has visible physical scars, they aren't really a problem for him and that's not the focus of the story. His scars are psychological and in ONLY A PROMISE he struggles to finally deal with emotions he hasn't worked through for years. Chloe is an equally fascinating and complex character. Her physical appearance has been an issue for her because of so many different things it represents. With ONLY A PROMISE, Mary Balogh has written a very character-driven story with a romance that takes the hero and heroine by surprise.

ONLY A PROMISE is a perfect example of why I adore a Mary Balogh book -- complex characters, raw emotion, and great story-telling. In ONLY A PROMISE, as with other books by Mary Balogh, happiness is not an end result but rather an ongoing and often collaborative process that doesn't follow a given formula. The marriage between Ralph and Chloe might be one of mutual convenience but the romance that develops happens very organically. I look forward to the next installment in this Survivors' Club series by Mary Balogh.