Summer Of Promise, Book review

Book description:

Though she had planned to spend the summer in Vermont with her sweetheart, Abigail Harding cannot dismiss her concerns over her older sister. Charlotte's letters have been uncharacteristically melancholy, and her claims that nothing is wrong ring false, so Abigail heads West to Wyoming. The endless prairie seems monotonous, but when her stagecoach is attacked, Wyoming promises to be anything but boring. Luckily, the heroics of another passenger, Lieutenant Ethan Bowles, save the day.

When circumstances--and perhaps a bit of matchmaking--put Abigail and Ethan together, there's certainly attraction. But Abigail is planning to marry another man and return to life in Vermont as soon as she is finished attending to her sister. And Ethan loves his life in the Army and the wilds of Wyoming. When summer ends, will Abigail go back East? Or will she fall in love with this rugged land herself?

Book 1 of the new Westward Winds series, Summer of Promise is a tale of following your heart to unexpected places. Readers will enjoy Amanda Cabot's passionate characters and vibrant setting in the beautiful high prairie.

My thoughts:

'Summer of Promise' offers an outlook on life in Wyoming in the 1880's and particularly for the families of soldiers stationed in remote areas such as Fort Laramie, many of them immigrants who joined in hope to make a better life for themselves. I can see why the author felt inspired to write a story after her trip (make that 3 trips and countless hours of Internet browsing).

Abigail and Ethan's story is a light romance you might enjoy during a long winter evening but I felt it did not flow and it was not one I would describe as a page turner. 

Tales of the Old West have always fascinated me but despite having learned a thing or two from Amanda Cabot's findings, I did not think the characters to be all they could be! Leah is one character for i.e. that could have been so much more!

(Fort Laramie prior to the Civil War)

It seemed to be written with the very young in mind, nothing either inspiring or entertaining. I will caution animal lovers might find some of the tale upsetting. However true it might be, I found it had little reason to be added to the story personally. 

If this is an example of the upcoming stories in the Westward Wind series, I found Summer of Promise monotonous and a little tedious for my taste.

I give it 3 stars!

“Available January 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

About the Author:

' With both parents avid readers, it's no surprise that Amanda Cabot learned to read at an early age. From there it was only a small step to deciding to become a writer. Of course, deciding and becoming are two different things, as she soon discovered. Fortunately for the world, her first attempts at fiction, which included a play for her fifth grade class entitled "All About Thermometers," were not published, but she did meet her goal of selling a novel by her thirtieth birthday. Since then she's sold more than twenty five novels under a variety of pseudonyms. When she's not writing, Amanda enjoys sewing, cooking and - of course - reading.'

I received this book free from BAKER/REVELL as part of their Blogger Review program. I was not asked to write a positive review and the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.