A Promise for Spring

Kim Vogel Sawyer has been very prolific the past few years, having her first book published in 2006 and now having a total of 11 single titles with another due out this fall. I have loved all her books I have read. Her books are soft and gentle reads, yet with much emotion, and you become so involved with the characters that you feel like you want to sit down and talk with them even after you finish reading the book! A Promise for Spring is no exception. I usually empathize with the heroines in novels, but in this story, I felt great compassion for both the heroine, Emmaline Bradford, and the hero, Geoffrey Garrett. The young couple had been promised to each other back in England, their home country. Neither knew it would be five long years before they would see each other again, or how much each would change during that time. It reminded me of when my husband was overseas in the Air Force and I was back in KY attending college. Although our time apart was a little less than one year, we still had many adjustments to make to each other and the changes that had taken place in our lives. Imagine traveling half a world away to marry a person whom you haven't seen for five years. Emmaline and Geoffrey have both gone through huge changes in their relationship with each other and with God. They each need to renew their faith in Him and in each other before their new life together can flourish. I hope you will buy and read this book to find out if and how a "well-bred Englishwoman" will "become a wildflower bride." Trust me, Kim won't disappoint you!

Emmaline Bradford gave her heart and her pledge to Geoffrey Garrett when she was a young girl of seventeen and bid him a tearful farewell when he left England to seek his fortune in America. He'd planned to return in a year, marry and take his bride to his sheep ranch in Kansas. Five years pass before he sends for her, years in which Geoffrey has, at her overbearing father's request, corresponded with Mr. Bradford but not with his daughter. She obeys her father and travels to the foreign land to marry Geoffrey, who has become little more than a stranger. Geoffrey has spent five years working to make his ranch viable, all the while keeping Emmaline's father and biggest buyer of his wool informed of his progress. As soon as Geoffrey can, he sends for his fiancée, eager to show the woman he loves the home he's built for her. When she arrives, wary and unwilling to marry him, he's confused and crushed. Reluctantly, he agrees to a trial. She stays, working as his housekeeper, with the understanding that if she doesn't feel differently come spring he'll pay for her return to England. Will he be able to rekindle the love she once felt for him, and will she be able to accept his in return? A Promise for Spring by Kim Vogel Sawyer is a beautifully told story of two hurting souls, each fearful and wanting the other to be the first to change. I fell in love with Sawyer's characters, aching for both Emmaline and Geoffrey as they dealt with the challenges thrust upon them, those of the heart as well as those dealt them as ranchers in what can be an inhospitable land. Sawyer wields the pen with consummate skill, crafting an endearing tale rich in period detail that will stay with readers long after they heave the final sigh of contentment. I highly recommend this book, one that has joined the few treasures on my Keepers shelf.

A PROMISE FOR SPRING By Kim Vogel Sawyer Reviewed by Marion Kelley Bullock Emmaline Bradford travels from England to a sheep ranch in America to honor her pledge to marry Geoffrey Garrett. But that promise was made five long years ago. In the meantime, things have changed. Her fiancé is not the same person she knew in England. She barely remembers him. She resents his inattention and his ordering her around. In short, she's miserably unhappy in barren Kansas. She wants to go home as soon as possible. Geoffrey is bitterly disappointed. Though he had dreamed of the day when Emmaline would join him on the sheep ranch he's built, he makes her an offer. If she'll stay until spring, he'll pay her return trip to England-- if she decides to go back. Will she change her mind and recapture the love she once felt for him? Kim Vogel Sawyer has painted a realistic picture of the Kansas prairie. She made the tension between Geoffrey and Emmaline so real I wanted to sit them down and tell them how the cow ate the cabbage.

Ms. Sawyer did a beautiful job with the Kansas setting. You feel like you are there witnessing it all. I thought her characters were real and honest. The conflict between Emmaline and Geoffrey was believable and understandable given the time and the stress of both their lives. Ms. Sawyer keeps you reading and not wanting to put the book down. I don't believe you need to be a fan of prairie romance to enjoy this one. It's a page-turner.

A Promise for Spring tells the story of a young woman from England who travels to Kansas to meet the man she is pledged to marry. But they have both changed, and the plans they made five years ago don't seem right now. Both Emmaline and Geoffery have many struggles to overcome, but those teach them valuable lessons they need for their life in Kansas. Emmaline and Geoffery were likable and believable characters. The secondary characters, Tildy and Ronald, added a great deal of interest to the story. I have enjoyed all of Kim Sawyer's books, and this one is also a keeper. If you like Prairie Romance with a heartwarming message, you will enjoy A Promise for Spring.