A Promise to Love Book Review

SUMMARY:  Can a marriage of convenience ever become one of true love?
      Ingrid Larson arrives in Michigan in 1871 with little more than the clothes on her back and a determination to find her brother, who has disappeared into the dangerous lumber camps.  Destitute and barely hanging on to hope, the young Swedish immigrant crosses paths with Joshua Hunter, a newly widowed farmer with eyes the color of the ocean she had crossed and five rambunctious children to raise on his own.
     Marriage would solve both of their problems, and Ingrid finds herself proposing in broken English to a man she barely knows.  Many difficulties lie ahead - but the hardest battle of all will be winning the heart of her new husband.

SUMMARY:  Serena Miller wrote an excellent and awe-inspiring story based on her grandmother's story when she came to America.  Ingrid is like no other character I've read about before.  She is strong, determined, has a very strong faith and loves with everything she has.  When she sees a problem, she tries to figure out the best solution and does everything she can to complete it to absolute best of her abilities.  She can take a minimal amount of food and create a feast.  When her step-daughter needs a new dress, she fashions a new one out of an old dress that belongs to the girl's deceased mother.  When Joshua's brother drops their elderly mother off on their porch just a short time at their marriage, Ingrid doesn't complain at all.  Instead, she does everything she can to make Mary feel at home and to help her adjust to her new surroundings.  She loves her new children with her whole heart and does what she can to help the girls have positive memories of their mom Diantha, even when she learns the absolute worst about her from her own hand.  Ingrid's faith is very strong and I love how she uses it to get her through some very difficult situations.  Her strong will serves her well in many ways and in many settings.  Ingrid is the type of woman I want to be when I grow up.  She is awesome!! 

This book was provided by Revell for review without compensation.

Available October 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Serena B. Miller is the author of The Measure of Katie Calloway as well as numerous articles.  She lives on a farm in southern Ohio.  Meet Serena B. Miller on her website at www.SerenaBMiller.com.