The Promise Box - a Launch Teammate review & a chance to win!

Tricia Goyer is celebrating the release of her lastest novel, The Promise Box (Zondervan), by hosting an Amish Baking Box giveaway and connecting with readers during her June 12th Book Chat Party!

One "promising" winner will receive:

• Apron, hot mitts, and kitchen towels
• Amish baking items (rolling pin, pie plate, etc...)
• Sherry Gore's Simply Delicious Amish Cooking
• The Memory Jar and The Promise Box by Tricia Goyer 

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 11th. Winner will be announced at the "The Promise Box" Facebook Author Chat Party on June 12th. Connect with Tricia for an evening of Amish fun - book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Tricia will also share an exclusive look at the next book book in the Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series and give away books and other fun prizes throughout the evening.

So grab your copy of The Promise Box and join Tricia on the evening of June 12th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 12th!

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Book Description and My Thoughts

I am on Tricia Goyer's 2013 Launch Team. This means that I've been provided an opportunity to review her novels for this year in exchange for a free novel(s). I last reviewed Love Finds You in Glacier Bay, Alaska, and now I'm reviewing The Promise Box (a Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series).

 

The Promise Box is the story of Lydia Wyse, an adopted Englisch child into an Amish home. Lydia has left her Amish community of West Kootenai to move to Seattle to edit books. While she is gone, her Amish mother passes away, leading to her return to the Amish community.

 

While visiting the community again, she finds herself falling for bachelor Gideon Hooley. The problem is that she can't forget where she came from--the dark history of her birth haunts her. Gideon himself has his own secrets that plague him.

 

I've been reading Amish novels since I was a teenager. I love them! Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting involved with this one. It didn't capture me like some of Tricia's books have in the past. I'd read a few pages, then set it down and do something else. That bothered me, and I wondered what was wrong with me! It took me several weeks to finish the book, because it just didn't draw me in.

 

The story was sweet in itself and had proper development, but I didn't feel a lot of emotion (i.e. love or interest) between the two characters. It almost felt like they were being drawn together by sheer force by the author. I enjoyed the progression of the story about Lydia. Tricia did a good job about making me wonder about what actually happened to Lydia and where she'd come from. However, I felt that Gideon's history seemed unrealistic and trivial in comparison.

 

There was some slang used in this story, but it wasn't overwhelming. This is a problem many others struggle with. Being an Appalachian, the overuse of slang in a story bugs me--it seems forced and unrealistic. The Amish also have their own slang, and sometimes that can get a bit overwhelming in an Amish novel. Thankfully, this wasn't a big issue for me. There was one spot in the story where I thought slang should have been left out. It was in Chapter Seven in the letter from Lydia's adoptive mother. The going back and forth from using "yer" to "your" felt unrealistic. I know "yer" is often used in conversation among the Amish in novels (the same as Ja or ach), but in a letter, the fact that she used "your" equally to "yer" made me feel like the character wouldn't have thrown in "yer" as well. Otherwise, the character's spelling was correct, so the misspelling of your didn't make sense.

 

Overall, this story was a nice read. If you enjoy Amish fiction, I think that you will enjoy this one, too. 

 

I don't like to write reviews that aren't full of positive response, especially when I've been asked by the author to review it. My intent is not to be harsh or judgmental but to provide my honest responses while I read.

I've been given a copy of The Promise Box, in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are my own.

Love Finds You in Glacier Bay Alaska - a Launch Teammate review

I was honored to be selected to be a Launch Teammate for Love Finds You in Glacier Bay, Alaska, a novel written by authors Tricia Goyer & Ocieanna Fleiss.

I always find it extremely fascinating when I read a book that is co-authored. In many how-to writing books I've read, I've seen  suggestions to never co-author, because of the problems that often ensue. I often wonder, "Does one person do the writing and the other edit or do they swap chapters and equally write?" And of course there are many other questions I harbor in my mind about co-authored  novels. :) I won't bore you with those, though. No matter who did the writing and editing, LFY in Glacier Bay, Alaska, was beautifully done. (I'm going to abbreviate the story's title to "LFYGBA" from this point on in this entry, just so you know.) The writers did a beautiful job of capturing the scenery, making the characters feel like I could see them in my mind's eye, and the inclusion of the drenching rain felt palpable!

In this novel, there are snippets of letters tucked in that add to the story. This is a hard thing to accomplish seamlessly, but the authors did so magnificently.

Singer Ginny Marshall comes from a troubled home. Scars of cigarette burns on her back and memories of the only foster family who ever loved her buried with their tragic death, Ginny is looking ahead at the possibility of a promising career in music. With a stunning contract ready for her signature that promises to launch her into fame, Ginny is unsure. Wanting to talk to someone who understands her, Ginny flies to Glacier Bay, Alaska, to seek the advice of her former fiance, Brett Miller. When she finds that Brett is off traipsing through the area and can't be contacted, she develops a closeness to Brett's grandmother and an appreciation for the close-knit community. During her wait for Brett to return, Ginny absorbs herself in a box of old letters written by an early missionary to Alaska named Clay, and Ellie, the woman who moved there to be the governess of his motherless children.

This was a brilliant story line with precious characters and a tale that will tug at your heartstrings.

I've been given a copy of Love Finds You in Glacier Bay, Alaska, in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are my own.