Glittering Promises - by Lisa T. Bergren

Glittering Promises is the conclusion to Lisa T. Bergren's Grand Tour trilogy.  Cora and her siblings, along with the Morgans, the fathers, their guide, and bodyguards, are attempting to finish their tour of Europe, while also avoiding bad press and potential kidnappers.  Cora must decide once and for all if Will is the man for her, or if her new life would be better suited to a man like Pierre, with a title and money and an estate.  As if all of this weren't enough to handle for this group of young people, they will continue to face tragedy and dangers from both without and within.  How will they handle it?  Will it drive them apart or closer together?  Can Cora decide where her worth and identity come from?

In my reviews of both Grave Consequences, and Glamorous Illusions, I bemoaned the fact that Cora seemed caught up in her new world and enchanted by her pursuers, but that she couldn't look beyond those to do any real searching within her heart, faith, or life.  Finally, within this concluding novel, Cora is able to take some time apart after a family tragedy to find her identity in her true Father.  With this self-revelation comes clarity on her future, and how she can reconcile who she was with who she's become, into who she will be.  Not only did I enjoy Cora's personal journey more in this book, but I also enjoyed watching the personal relationships between the siblings change and grow.

Although I enjoyed this installment better than the second book (isn't that often the way with trilogies? Poor second novel.), I still found the theatrics and dangerous situations a bit over the top, and I'm not entirely sure that several of the scenarios were even partially realistic.  I give it 3.5 stars for bringing the trilogy to a satisfying conclusion, and for including more emotion and character development than was found in book 2.

You can find the book, including and excerpt, HERE.
You can find Lisa T. Bergren's site HERE. (In popping by, I was excited to see that there's a 4th River of Time novel coming out this year!)

I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.