Rating: 
Summary: EXCELLENT ROMANCE
Review: I bought the unabridged version which can sometimes be too long, but I enjoyed every minute of the tapes. I really did not want the tapes to end. Excellent story and characters. It is truly a story of love and hope. Loved it, loved it, and loved it!!
Rating:
Summary: The Last Promise
Review: From beginning to end the author keeps you interested and longing for more. I was caught up in the lives of Eliana and Ross and was disappointed that the story had to end. Evans has a way of making the entire book come alive; the setting, the characters, the emotions. I highly recommend this book and look forward to a sequel!
Rating: 
Summary: good
Review: I really enjoyed this book although I hope the writer isn't mormon - that would totally ruin it for me.
Rating:
Summary: Absorbing!!
Review: I've always been a fan of Richard Paul Evans, and his mastery of story telling has never been better!Set in Italy, The Last Promise tells the story of a lonely wife and mother, Eliana, who is forced to make a horrible choice after falling in love with an American who moves in next door to her. In pure Evans fashion, you become totally absorbed in the lives of these characters. No matter where you are when you begin this book, you heart and mind are thwarted into classic Italy, with images so vivid and rich you swear you were there. For simple storytelling that will take your breath away, The Last Promise will soon become a prized volume amongst your collection!
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyed thoroughly
Review: I appreciated the way in which Richard Paul Evans incorporates Italian proverbs with the start of nearly each new chapter. These thoughtful proverbs echo wisdom and experience, and they certainly apply to any love story... allowing the reader, even if it is just for a second, to break away from the act of reading the story itself and muse about what it means to be in love.
Rating:
Summary: Now This Is What I Call A Love Story ~
Review: I really loved this book!! Never been to Italy Richard's Paul Evans words make you feel that you are right there. I love Eliana and Ross, I thought her son Alessio was so adorable and very sweet. I felt for bad for him wanting to have his father's approval, all he wanted was his dad to be there for him, Mauirzio was such of a jerk of a husband and a father!! As I kept reading I wanted to jump in the book and strangle Mauizio!! My heart went out to Ross when he was telling Eliana how much he loves her and you can tell she loves him as well, but when she got married she promised to love honor and cherish, for better for worse in sickness and in health. But what Eliana doesn't understand is that the promise has already been broken by Mauirzio. Now she had to find it in her heart to see deep within her if she can keep that promise she has made. If I could I would give this book more than five stars.
Happy Reading Lisa
Rating: 
Summary: A Fairy Tale in More Ways than One
Review: Ok, this is just a light-weight romance novel and not great literature, but why can't a romance novelist who lives part-time in Italy, as the author of this book claims he does, write the Italian language accurately? Every other phrase of Italian had some kind of error in it. This probably doesn't make any difference to readers who don't know Italian, but it's damned annoying to those who do. Why didn't Evans ask one of his Italian friends to proof-read his Italian? And does anybody really believe an American guy can literally walk in off the street and get a job as a tour guide at the Uffizi, as the hero of this novel does? Talk about romantic fantasy--that's more of a fantasy stretch than any of the romantic stuff in the novel! Oh, and Evans' comment about the towers of the town of San Gimignano being bell towers....any guide book to Tuscany will tell you they were defensive towers built in the Middle Ages, and NOT bell towers! The story is just interesting enough to keep you reading, but the prose is flat and unimaginative. This book would make an OK airplane read, but nothing more.
Rating: 
Summary: A promise for a better book!
Review: Perhaps it isn't fair when an author writes several books that you loved in past that you keep comparing their latest book to the one they've just written. But that is the reality of life. Actor's performances are compared from one movie or show to another, artists' works are often compared and singer's latest recordings are compared to what they did in the past. Therefore based on past books I read by Richard Paul Evans the mere mention of a new book by him fills me with great anticipation. Sometimes I can hardly wait when I've finished his last book for his next title to be published. And so I picked up The Last Promise filled with the promise of a really good read and finished thinking this book was simply an OK read. And while an OK read isn't bad from some authors, I'm accustomed to a book by Richard Paul Evans which really packs and emotional punch and even offers some spiritual guidance. Even criticism of Evans being sappy and preachy never deterred me from enjoying his books. Perhaps if I expected a romance novel I might have given this book 5 stars, but unfortunately even for a romance book this title had a rushed and rather unexplained ending and left me yearning for a better read. Eliana Ferrini left America several years before when she married an Italian man that runs his family's business. Meeting this man while she attended college, today she lives in Tuscany with her husband and young son Alessi. By all appearances thy have a comfortable life and a wonderful future. But appearances are deceiving and Eliana is miserable with her unfulfilled life and a future that stretches out with only boredom ahead. Her husband travels constantly, has many lovers and if Eliana could have her way she would return to the United States and make her home there. The only pleasure Eliana has other than her son is her love of painting but fears that her loneliness will someday break her spirit. All attempts on her part to reason with her husband fall on deaf ears. And when she finally finds to courage to suggest a divorce, Mauritzio says he will give her one but their son will have to remain in Italy with him. This is out of the question for Eliana. Then a mysterious stranger, Ross, rents the vacant apartment in their building and helps Eliana during an emergency. This gentleman has come to Tuscany to wrestling with his own demons, but as the days and weeks go by, it become obvious that the these two lonely people are more than interested in each other. Perhaps they have finally found a soul mate and a way out of their existing lives. In the end, though, Eliana will be faced with a difficult choice, which may change her life forever. Evans does a fine job of describing the Tuscany region, the city of Florence and harvest time at the Ferrini vineyards. But as desperate as Eliana's situation was coupled with a sad event in Ross' past, they were rather superficial characters to me. And for some reason I kept looking at the book cover to see if I had made a mistake, and this was written by Nicholas Sparks instead. I guess we don't always love every book we read by an author and I certainly will read this author again. I only hope his next book will promise to be better than this one.
Rating:
Summary: SOAP OPERAS ... EAT YOUR HEART OUT
Review: Not to be too cynical here but, puhleese! This book is melodramatic, predictable, and sappy. Richard Paul Evans' use of intricate detailing paints a pretty picture but, essentially, adds nothing to the story in terms of character development and plot progression. More than halfway through the book the reader still knows next to nothing about Ross Story OR Eliana except that extenuating emotional circumstances, and the added convenience of locality, brought them together. And, of course they find each other attractive and stimulating - heaven forbid the guy that moves in next door be a troll. If you want a realistic love story ... go read some Richard Yates, or even John Irving. These are two writers who really know how to get at the core of human emotion. Richard Paul Evans, for me, misses the mark.
Rating:
Summary: life, love, and marriage
Review: I love all of Richard Paul Evan's books. They bring tears to my eyes and remind me that real love is God given. Not only did this book do just that but it took me to Italy, one of the most romantic countries in the world. I hope to go there someday. The only reason why I gave this book 4 stars is because of what happens to their marriage. I was torn at the end of the book because I believe that marriage is forever. If there is love, then there is hope.
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