Midnight Promise

If you're tired of the same old historical romance you must read Midnight Promised. It views the fight for Texas independence from Mexico as seen through the eyes of Hispanic culture. A delicious read.

This wonderful novel set during the ware in the 1830's over the annexation of what is now know as Tejas (Texas) when that area was owned by Mexico is a tender love story of childhood friends Julia Flores and Ruiz Navarro. Julia has always loved Ruiz from the time athey were children, he being a few years older, when living on the vineyard both their parents owned. Ruiz, who is descended from "blue blood" honors his mother's request and marries a daughter of a wealthy rancher. When she and their newborn son die in an epidemic he immerses himself into his duties of his father-in-law's rancho and the winery and worries about properly raising his four-year old daughter, Conchita. Julia is a strong headstron woman who has never married and is the business accountant for the winery. She challenges Ruiz at every turn, both professionally and personally with her fiery passion and Latin beauty. Ruiz tries to please his father-in-law and run the rancho and still participate in running the winery. He is criticized by his mother, must negotiate a romance for his sister with a vaquero (cowboy) and try to raise his daughter. He feels the weight of the world on his shoulders and is also enchanted with his childhood fried. But Julia will not settle for anything less than love and marriage. Ruiz cannot see himself clear of debt or responsibility to take on a wife and Julia's strong will at first dissuades him. Over time he learns to appreciate Julia's strong character and when another suitor is in the picture, he wants her only for himself. After Senior Estrada dies and it appears some on is trying to sabotage the rancho, not to mention the Gringos' threats of taking away the Tejano's (Native Mexican) land because they do not want to honor Spanish law although Ruiz fought for the freedom of Tejas alonside the Gringos. He knows he must find a way to solve eerything. This is a look at what the Mexican Americans who lives in Texas when it was still Mexican territory had to endure from the invasion of Americans who were intent on making this their land. There is also a look at the celebrations and customs of the Mexican and Mexican-American culture. This is a beautiful Ltino story of love and history