Maggie Boon’s got a tough life. In 1823, a poor, mountain girl doesn’t have a lot of
options, especially if her pa is determined to marry her off to an abusive
widower with a passel of kids.
So when Maggie laments her fate to the handsome son of a
farmer at a barn raising party, his sympathy is not unwelcome until her pa
spies them and gets the wrong idea.
Pulling the magistrate from the festivities, Maggie and John David get
hitched on the spot, John David befuddled by whiskey and a White Knight
complex, Maggie seeing this marriage as a way of escape.
It takes just a few hours of sobering up for John David and
Maggie to realize they made a mistake, but John David insists on rescuing
Maggie from her predicament, and Maggie is eager to get off the mountain. With a promise of an annulment
and a better life, she sets off with her new groom.
Greta Marlow’s novel, His Promise True, follows the
relationship of young Maggie and John David. The storyline is not untypical of the genre. Love kindles gradually over a
period of time. Several conflicts
arise threatening their fragile relationship. However, the historical setting gives the reader a taste of
pioneering spirit as the couple set off to settle in Texas, overcoming many
obstacles in the less than accommodating frontier wilderness.
Their journey is overflowing with peril as they make their
way down the river navigating the shoals and snags of the waterways - and their
relationship.
His Promise True follows the path of most romance novels,
but the characters draw you in – especially John David, young, brash and
flawed. He’s not the heroic
perfection populating the genre.
He’s trying to do the best he can – often falling short. And I liked him
better for it. Noble one minute,
rash the next, John David was believable.
And Maggie’s scrappy attitude added definite spice to the mix. He and
Maggie make mistakes, make the best of it, and move forward. Like real human beings.
If you like frontier romances, His Promise True is an enjoyable
read. If you like characters who
grow as they go, Marlow’s book shows true promise.
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