Promise to Keep

Title: Promise to Keep (audio)

Series:The Promise of Sunrise #3

Author: Elizabeth Byler Younts

Narrator: Rebecca Gallagher

Genre: Amish, Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction,

Publisher: Dreamscape Media

Source: Library

Challenge: Literary Escapes

My review:

While Promise to Keep is the third in the series, it can read as a stand-alone novel. I am pretty sure I have read the first two and never marked them as read on Goodreads (they sound super familiar)! Regardless, I did not feel I had missed anything or any connections in the story.

This is my second time attempting to read Promise to Keep. The first time I tried to read it, I couldn't get past the slow start at the beginning. This time I listened to the story. It still had that slow start feeling, but I was able to get pulled into the story.

The plot is unique. Esther takes in her deceased shunned cousin's daughter, who happens to be deaf, so her cousins' husband can go off to war. The story could have gone in so many different directions with that brief synopsis. Toward the middle, I felt I knew where the story was going, but I was wrong. It is not predictable (unless you read the synopsis, which I didn't until after I had read the book 😂). There are several surprises in this story. 

There is quite a bit of heartache in this story. However, the themes of healing and redemption are remarkable. The story is set around WWII (which I have been avoiding for quite a while now due to burnout). BUT, this one was more when Joe came home from the war and not the war itself. It was very refreshing.

If you are looking for a book that will pull on your heartstrings, make you think, is incredibly well written, and has a unique plot line, look no further. Despite my rocky start, I highly recommend Promise to Keep by Elizabeth Byler Younts.

★★★★/5

 

 Delaware

Synopsis (Goodreads): 

WARNING: The synopsis spoils a few things, in my opinion!

Orphaned as a child, Esther Detweiler is used to caring for herself and her ailing grandmother. They made the best out of a hard life and poverty without asking for help. They even take in her shunned cousin's deaf daughter, Daisy, when her mother dies and her father goes off to war. When Esther's grandmother dies, Daisy is all she has.When war veteran Joe Garrison returns, all he can think about is recovering from the horrors of war and building a relationship with his seven-year-old daughter. Daisy, however, is unwilling to leave Esther, whom she loves. Joe and Daisy get to know each other again, but Joe struggles with nightmares and fatherhood is proving to be more difficult than he imagined. Esther loves Daisy and despite her Amish ways, Joe finds himself drawn to her as a woman and not just a caregiver.As their love blossoms, Joe decides to send Daisy away to a school for the deaf, which propels their lives into turmoil and a battle for love and family.