Amanda Cabot's Summer of Promise ~ Reviewed

Summer of Promise,Westward Winds Series #1

By: Amanda Cabot
More in Westward Winds Series

Revell / 2011 / Paperback

ISBN-13: 9780800734596

Description:

 

Though she had planned to spend the summer in Vermont with her sweetheart, Abigail Harding cannot dismiss her concerns over her older sister. Charlotte's letters have been uncharacteristically melancholy, and her claims that nothing is wrong ring false, so Abigail heads West to Wyoming. The endless prairie seems monotonous, but when her stagecoach is attacked, Wyoming promises to be anything but boring. Luckily, the heroics of another passenger, Lieutenant Ethan Bowles, save the day. When circumstances--and perhaps a bit of matchmaking--put Abigail and Ethan together, there's certainly attraction. But Abigail is planning to marry another man and return to life in Vermont as soon as she is finished attending to her sister. And Ethan loves his life in the Army and the wilds of Wyoming. When summer ends, will Abigail go back East? Or will she fall in love with this rugged land herself?

 

Review:

Summer of Promise is about a young woman named Abigail Harding who is a teacher in Vermont.  She has her life all planned out, including an eventual marriage to Woodrow, a fellow teacher who is safe and predictable.  However, her plans are interrupted due to concern for her sister, Charlotte, who is married to a soldier that is stationed at Fort Laramie.  As Charlotte’s letters become more melancholy, Abigail decides to make a trip to see if her sister is okY.  Along the way, her stage coach is held up, but everyone is saved by the brave Lieutenant, Ethan Bowles.  As Abigail tends to her sister, she also gets to know Ethan more, and in the process not only begins to fall in love with the wild Wyoming territory, but with a certain soldier.
                 
I loved this story.  I loved watching Ethan’s faith grow, starting from nothing, really.  And their love story was great, too.  Abigail reminds me of myself.  She thought she had everything planned out perfectly, and no matter what came her way, she figured her plans were set, not realizing the obstacles in her way were directing her towards a path she never dreamed of.  It just goes to show God’s ways are not always our ways, and we need to have our hearts and minds open to His will.  I saw that Ms. Cabot is planning to release another book in the series next year, and I’m very anxious to see what happens next!
 

Reviewed by: Sarah Meyers