Christine Lynxwiler's Promise Me Always ~ Reviewed

Promise Me Always
By Christine Lynxwiler
Published by Barbour Dec. 2006
ISBN 1597893552

Thirty-five-year-old widow Allie Richards has always dreamed of having her own landscaping business. After losing her job, Allie's Pinky Promise girlfriends convince her to enter Shady Grove's Beautiful Town Landscaping Competition. The prize? The town's landscaping and maintenance contract. But there's a hitch. Every move Allie's ragtag crew makes will be featured in the reality segment of a local TV show. Armed with only a green thumb and a motley crew of helpers, does Allie have any chance of surviving the hype and making her dream a reality? Daniel Montgomery, the man behind the camera, is after more than just a story. Will he be satisfied with anything less than Allie's heart?

Haven't we all, men excepted, made promises with childhood friends—the kind where you link pinkie fingers and promise to die before you reveal the secrets about to be shared? Reminiscent of the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Lynxwiler captured my interest from the first line and held it till the last. Lighthearted humor and believable characters draw you through situations that without this author's strong writing, could easily become formula and predicable. But Lynxwiler pulls it off with panache.

Novel Reviews gives Promise Me Always a definite recommendation for a great read.

Reviewed by Ane Mulligan
www.anemulligan.com