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Shannon McNear

Shannon McNear

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Book review: Promise To Keep

October 12, 2015 by Shannon McNear 2 Comments

A summer sabbatical to care for my medically fragile mother ended with her being in the hospital for most of a month before transferring to rehab care closer to my stepdad. Now, I’m left with the task of reestablishing a routine … writing, homeschooling, doctor’s and dentist’s appointments … putting up the last of the produce from the garden …

Between other things, though, I’ve managed to find time for reading. I was excited to serve as an influencer for fellow author–and fellow RITA finalist!–Elizabeth Byler Younts, with the third and final installment of her Promise of Sunrise series. These are probably best described as Amish historical fiction, a win-win on many points for me! Yes, I actually enjoy Amish fiction when well written … I grew up near an Amish community in central Illinois and have a particularly fond memory of riding ponies with a pair of Amish children on a trip to have horses shod by their blacksmith father. 🙂 But I digress. On to my review ….

Promise to Keep (The Promise of Sunrise #3)Promise to Keep by Elizabeth Byler Younts
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Elizabeth Byler Younts just keeps getting better! I loved her first two “Promise” stories for their atypical take on Amish life, and for how she treats her own family’s historical faith with gentleness and respect while beautifully painting the difficulty of being a conscientious objector during wartime. I’ve also appreciated that although some characters’ loyalties might lie with pacifism, she treats the military mindset with respect as well.

In Promise to Keep, however, she took it all up a notch, not only with a hero and heroine who tug at your heart with a shared loss, but weaving it together with her best writing yet. I’ll definitely be following her work from here on out!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. All the opinions expressed are mine alone, and I was not paid in any way to write a favorable review.

View all my reviews

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Filed Under: book reviews, drivelish musings, Elizabeth Byler Younts, family life, Promise of Sunrise, Promise To Keep, the RITA contest

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Faith says

    October 17, 2015 at 2:24 pm

    Hi Shannon, so happy to have met you, what a fun Tea Party. Someone told me they have these every month, is that correct? I posted about the Tea Party over at my place, there must be other as myself out there who are looking for good reads about pioneer/colonial times, our transporter back in time. I hope some other ladies follow along at CQ and come to the next party. Everyone was so very cordial. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Shannon McNear says

    October 19, 2015 at 1:22 am

    Very nice to have met you too, and thank you for participating in the party and then taking the time to come over here! Yes, they try to have a new releases Tea Party every month. I'm very glad to hear you enjoyed your experience with us!

    Reply

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