The Promise by Ann Weisgarber

~ Jennifer @ The Relentless Reader ~ 7 Comments
The Promise by Ann Weisgarber
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Publication Date: April 1, 2014
Source: Thanks to Caitlin Hamilton Summie
Description via Indiebound:
From the author of “The Personal History of Rachel Dupree,” shortlisted for the Orange Award for New Writers and longlisted for the Orange Prize. 
About Ann


1900. Young pianist Catherine Wainwright flees the fashionable town of Dayton, Ohio in the wake of a terrible scandal. Heartbroken and facing destitution, she finds herself striking up correspondence with a childhood admirer, the recently widowed Oscar Williams. In desperation she agrees to marry him, but when Catherine travels to Oscar’s farm on Galveston Island, Texas–a thousand miles from home–she finds she is little prepared for the life that awaits her. The island is remote, the weather sweltering, and Oscar’s little boy Andre is grieving hard for his lost mother. And though Oscar tries to please his new wife, the secrets of the past sit uncomfortably between them. Meanwhile for Nan Ogden, Oscar’s housekeeper, Catherine’s sudden arrival has come as a great shock. For not only did she promise Oscar’s first wife that she would be the one to take care of little Andre, but she has feelings for Oscar which she is struggling to suppress. And when the worst storm in a generation descends, the women will find themselves tested as never before.


My Thoughts:

I started reading The Promise one morning last week. I didn’t do anything else for the rest of the day. Reading for hours and hours wasn’t on the schedule but I couldn’t help myself. Don’t you love it when you find a book that you can’t put down? 
The Promise is the type of historical fiction that I adore. The details are spot on, the characters have distinctive voices, and the story is stellar. There is a depth and richness to Weisgarber’s writing. Her descriptive powers are great. I could nearly feel the Texas heat. I could almost hear Catherine playing the piano.
The story is set against the true tragic events of the 1900 Galveston hurricane which adds suspense and danger to the tale.
This book so lush and inviting that it’s really no wonder that I read it in one day. Get your hands on a copy of The Promise. You’ll probably want to clear your schedule. 

Avery Reads: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

~ Jennifer @ The Relentless Reader ~ 13 Comments

Welcome to Avery Reads! My 14 year old daughter shares her thoughts on the latest book she read for her homeschool English class:

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: Originally published in 1962
Source: Our own copy
The Relentless Reader’s daughter has returned! Time to review another book I’ve read for school!


Are you excited? You should be.

This week I finished reading A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’engle. I can’t say I was jumping for joy when I started the book. However, the action started relatively quickly and it definitely wasn’t a boring read. In the end I ended up really enjoying it.

But (almost) every book has its flaws. I only have two serious complaints. The first is the lack of explanations. Nothing too major, I just felt like there were a few things that needed some explaining. I can’t be too specific without giving things away, but I think you’d know what I mean if you read it. This book is only the first in a series, so maybe more questions are answered in the sequels.

Secondly, I felt one of the ending moments in the book was a little abrupt. I think it needed a bit more suspense. It seemed anticlimactic. I naturally expected this part of the book to be one of the big moments in the storyline, so I was a little disappointed.

Now instead of talking about what I didn’t like, I think I should focus on what I did like. First of all, this book had great characters. I thought they were all unique and different from one another. Nothing kills a book’s oomph like boring characters! 

I also personally enjoy diving into symbolism when I read, and this is a great book for doing that. I think my interest in symbolism sparked when I read Lord Of The Flies. If you’ve read it you’ll know that the symbolism is pretty heavy-handed in that book!

So all in all it was good read. A solid read. It was both enjoyable and nicely written. Out of five stars? I’d probably give it a…3.9. 


Next on my reading list is The Call Of The Wild by Jack London. Perhaps you’ll hear from me again?