Finished It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas this weekend. It’s the second book in her popular “Wallflower” series about a group of four husband-hunting friends in England.

It was a good read, and, if you like historical romance, then I definitely recommend this series to you.

But what caught my attention most about this book were the last three pages. Instead of focusing on the happy couple, the last few pages set up the couple for the next book — and ended in a cliffhanger.

Will the handsome, yet broke, lord accept the fair, and extremely wealthy, maiden’s proposal of marriage? That was what Kleypas left readers with. I loved and hated it.

I loved it because it made me want to read the next book in the series, The Devil in Winter. But I hated it because if I had been reading this book when it first came out and the sequel wasn’t available yet, I would have screamed in frustration.

I like to wait until a series has gotten a good start (i.e. there are several books out) before I start reading it. The reason? Cliffhangers like Kleypas’. I don’t want to have to wait six months or a year or longer to find out what happens next. I want to know right now.

What about you? Do you like cliffhangers in books? Or do you prefer a nice, tidy ending? Inquiring minds want to know …