Book Review: The Promise of Morning by Ann Shorey

"Ellie kept her head down and picked at a thread in the skirt of her cinnamon-colored wool dress. 'You don't know what it's like to watch her as each day goes by, praying she will live to grow up.'

'I do know. And I can tell you exactly how many more days she has lived than Lizzie did - sixty-three. And tomorrow it will be sixty-four.' He handed Julia back. 'Every hair on her head is precious to me. But so are our other children.' Matthew wrapped the reins around his hand, but left the brake locked in place. 'Look at me.'

She turned toward him.

'You must let some time pass before we come here again. With every visit you leave more of yourself behind.' He raised his hand in a gesture of helplessness and then let them drop to his thighs. 'I'm afraid one day I won't get you back at all.' The horse stirred in its traces, rocking the wagon." The Promise of Morning, pg 9.

Ellie Craig has suffered her share of heartache. Her parents died when she was just a small child, three of her own babies have passed, and Ellie fears that her toddler will be the next. Ellie's husband, Matthew, has his own set of problems. As the town's preacher, he tries to lead his flock away from a potential disaster, but it seems that he is loosing the respect of the congregation. When a secret is reviled and tragedy strikes again, will their faith survive? Will their family? Will their marriage?

The Promise of Morning is the second book in the "At Home in Beldon Grove" series, but is the first book of Ann Shorey's that I have read. I'm always interested to read new authors, hoping to find another favorite to add to my list. I have to admit, that though the story line was interesting, I did not enjoy The Promise of Morning as much as I thought I would. There were parts of the story that seemed a bit unbelievable, and I never did quite relate to the characters. I appreciated the struggles that Shorey put her character's through, but since I couldn't relate with the characters, I had a hard time feeling with them through their struggles.

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Available at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

(I received a complimentary copy of this book for the purpose of review.)