BONNIE ROOF reviews Promise Of Deer Run by Elaine Marie Cooper

1790 - Deer Run, Massachusetts

Twenty-six year-old Corp. Nathaniel Stearns is a man with a wounded spirit. Returning home ahead of his father Sgt. Benjamin Stearns, at the end of the American Revolution, he found a note from his mother revealing his younger brother Ethan had passed away. No longer able to maintain their farm, she and Nathaniel's three sisters had moved to Boston to reside with her sister Abigail and husband. 

Now seven years later and still feeling Ethan would be alive if Nathaniel had not gone to war, he is burdened with guilt. Frequent nightmares and day visions resulting from the trauma of seeing his friend Isaiah have his face blown away by the enemy, a previous betrayal by a childhood sweetheart, his belief his father will return home, and his aloofness cause townspeople to feel Nathaniel is quite "strange". His conviction that his father will return compels him to restore the family farm and is the impetus to sustain him amidst the hardships. Finding surprise baskets of fresh bread at his doorstep are unexpected treats to a man who wonders if God has forgotten him.

Nineteen year-old Sarah Thomsen has admired Nathaniel since his kindness of sneaking her food while she was in stocks as punishment for her disobedience and boldness of paying a visit to a boy's school when she was eight years-old. So strong was her desire to attend school!

Sarah has suffered loss also - her father having died in a drowning accident prior to her birth, she fears the possibility of being unworthy of love and becoming a spinster, left living alone. Prone to blurt out what is on her mind and reacting to circumstances without first considering the consequences - Sarah is thought to be self-willed and obstinate (although "bringing the sun with her wherever she goes") by her mother/midwife Ruth Eaton, and having a natural spirit for adventure and truth by her sickly step-father Myles Eaton.

The 'Promise of Deer Run' is book 2 in the Deer Run Saga by Elaine Marie Cooper. Having read book 1, 'Road to Deer Run' - the story of Sarah's sister Mary - it was such a treat to revisit the members of the Thomsen family. Characters and events from the first book were fully explained in the second, providing enjoyment and clarity for those readers new to the saga. Elaine's realistic characters and adeptly woven historical detail and fascinating customs of the era were written in a simplistic, yet beautifully worded style. 

The hardships of the era portrayed through the births, illnesses, deaths, and the struggle to survive, along with the added suspense of slander by a hopeful-to-be suitor, episodes of PTSD, and an attack by a vagrant - are exciting additional elements in this story of romance. Faith plays a huge part - making 'Promise of Deer Run' a captivating, engrossing story of family, hope, love, perseverance, suspense, forgiveness, and God's grace. I look forward to reading book 3 in the saga: 'Legacy of Deer Run', releasing December, 2016.

I was provided a PDF of 'Promise of Deer Run' by the author in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have provided.

Giveaway: An ebook copy of Promise of Deer Run. Leave a comment to enter.