Customer Reviews

Promise of Morning, The (At Home in Beldon Grove)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is book 2 in the Home in Beldon Grove Series. Don't let that stop you from grabbing it off the shelf. You don't need to read the first one to enjoy The Promise of Morning. it is as neat package all on its own.

It's 1840 something in Beldon Grove and Ellie Craig has already buried three of her children. Even though she has a loving spouse, Matthew, and other children she feels alone. She's an orphan and an only child. Then she discovers a hidden truth about her family, she might not be alone and she is determined to find out if there are others.

Matthew Craig has a few battles of his own to fight, someone wants to take over his church and he makes some decisions without Ellie's approval. He takes off to be an itinerant pastor leaving Ellie and her children to take care of the farm, increasing Ellie's feelings of aloneness.

The Promise of Morning will capture your attention from the start with its heartbreaking opening and have you turning pages as tragedy is overcome and Ellie learns to trust her heart to love again.

Available March 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group."

This book was provided to me by Revell publishers to review positively or badly.

I highly recommend this novel. I enjoyed Ann Shorey's first novel, The Edge of Light very much and was looking forward to The Promise of Morning. While reading this, I was blown away. It kept me on the edge of my seat with characters I cared about who were going through a period of tragedy in their lives. I was amazed at how much I could relate to Matthew and Ellie and their pain. This is not a prairie romance. It's a deep look at people in the past and their struggle to serve and God and make sense of their world.

I feel I've lived an adventure from the 1840s. Imagine my surprise to read of Decatur, Illinois and Sandamon County - my home town. To read about how it was before I was born was so exciting.
Ellie's tradegy and loss of her four children I could relate to because of having a miscarriage myself in my life. I spent two years grieving and could relate first hand to her sorrow.
I feel this book landed in my possession at a time I needed encouragement. I've walked through tragedy of one kind or anotherfor four years now. Lately I could tell you the book of Job by experience.
In reading this book, I laughed; I felt like crying and My heart went out to Ellie and Matthew in their struggles. Like Matthew as a preacher I let someone run me away from ministry of teaching because of things people said. I came back two years later and since then it doesn't matter what people think. I am where God wants me.
The story is so vivid you feel you are right there feeling for the characters.
The struggles with hope and trust and serving God are issues we all face if we would admit it.
You are drawn into the story and can relate to events of one kind or another. So many times in our walk of faith we feel like walking away because of people. One has to get to point they know where they belong.
If you need encouragement, uplifted, or just want a story that will let you know people are human and God is real, this is the book for you.

I would like to extend a heartfelt "Thank you" to Ann Shorey and her publisher for sending me a copy of "The Promise of Morning" to review for them. I have always been grateful for this generosity, and I am trying to improve at being consistent in taking the time to thank these wonderfully giving individuals in a public forum. I really appreciate your time, effort and expense in making a reviewer copy available to me.

"The Promise of Morning" by Ann Shorey is the second novel in the "At Home In Beldon Grove" series. This historical work of fiction set in the 1840s frontier begins with a visit to the cemetery for Ellie Craig. Three of her infant children have died and been buried. And she now lives in fear that something will happen to her 10-month-old daughter. Ellie's husband, Matthew, is supportive of his wife, but is concerned that she is not grieving in a manner conducive to recovering. The fact that he is a preacher adds understanding to his ability to process grief and possibly a depth to his character hinting at an inadequacy to help Ellie process hers. And this is just the beginning of this dramatic tale of controversial happenings, family secrets and forgiveness.

At first, Ellie's character irritated me. The way she snapped at Matthew when she shouldn't have was an indication of the deep hurt she felt, but I hadn't invested enough in her character's pain to sympathize. So, the initial impression I had of her was less than favorable. But she eventually won me over to a certain extent, and I enjoyed the story very much. I gravitated toward Matthew right away as I tend to root for the underdog, and his introduction in the story made his character deserving of support. This emotional story will not make my list of all-time favorite books for the simple reason of how gut-wrenching it is. Still, it is a well-written novel, and if you enjoy historical fiction that tugs firmly at the heart strings, this is the book for you.

I am really enjoying the Beldon Grove series. True pioneering spirit in a Christian theme.

The beginning of this book makes you feel horribly sad for Ellie as the reader learns about how she's buried three children all before the age of 30. Then just as she's starting to get over from that, more tragedy strikes. Honestly, I don't think there's anything sadder than having your children die at a very young age. Then she finds out that her dad (who she had thought was dead all these years) has actually now really died and that her relatives had been keeping the truth from her all these years. Really, I have no idea how in the world she was able to bounce back after all this because there weren't many people for her to depend on for support. I also liked reading about the Shakespeare play that took place in the town. First, the arguments that Matthew would have about the play were interesting especially since I didn't feel as if it was very convincing. Second, just reading about what went on in the play was fun to read as well.

While I enjoyed the story, I wasn't a big fan of the characters. I did not like Matthew's character at all. First off, I know that this story is set in the 1800s but the age difference between Matthew and Ellie rather creeped me out. He seemed very legalistic and seemed more concerned about what was happening to his beliefs rather than that of his family's. I just could not believe that he left his family like that in the middle of the story. Personally I thought that was extremely selfish of him to leave his wife and children like that. I liked Ellie's character a lot better but at the same time I felt she was a bit naive as well. I know why she wanted to have hope of more family, but at the same time did she not realize how big of a territory Texas was? There seemed to be multiple story lines running throughout the book, so many that it was a bit hard to keep up at times. Some characters were pretty much cardboard characters who never grew throughout the book. I did like the ending however, it didn't feel forced or even cliched. Despite the faults I felt the book had, I did enjoy reading it as a whole. This is the second book in the series but it can be read as a stand alone novel.

As much as I enjoy reading historical fiction set in the 1800s, I am glad I am a modern girl. Life was difficult; not only did daily life offer its challenges but sickness and death were all-too-frequent occurrences. Ann Shorey's The Promise of Morning clearly depicts this sobering reality. Yet while the circumstances may be unique to the setting of this story, the emotions experienced by Ellie, Matthew, and others in the town are timeless. This multi-faceted story portrays the challenge of trusting God in the midst of tragedy & uncertainty as well as the question of whether hardship will fuse or tear apart a family and a town. Will The Promise of Morning help them endure the darkness of night?

THE PROMISE OF MORNING BY Ann Shorey is an Inspirational historical set in the 1840's frontier. It is the second in the At Home In Beldon Grove but can be read as a stand alone. It is very emotional with loss, regrets and tragedy. It is well written with depth and detail. The characters are emotional, strong in faith with trials and struggles.The secondary characters are also strong and carry the story along. You will be drawn into their struggles and joys. I would highly recommend this story. If you have not read the first in the series(The Edge of Night) I would recommend you pick one up. You will not regret reading this series or this author's work. This book was received for review and the details can be found at [...]

Someone may have told you how the first book in this series The Edge of Light was depressing. It was and in starting The Promise of MorningPromise of Morning, The (At Home in Beldon Grove) you would think this would be depressing through out as well, but that is not the case. This novel starts with a heart breaking fact of life and continues into a scenario where with modern day medical knowledge we know what is happening, but ignorance hurts. Yet the story continues on. By the book blurb it looks like this is a story about Ellie, and it is, but even more so this is a story about Matthew.

Through both Ellie and Matthew a story is told that is very real, raw, and emotional and something to growth with and from and continue on. In the situations that take place my own mind says I would just give up, but watching the characters and watching how life does continue and seeing how God orchestrates things for the end all is incredible to imagine. This is a book that tells a story about grief, but offers so much healing as well. I highly recommend this book. Though it is the second in a series, you could very well read this one alone. Now, eagerly I look forward to the next novel to come from author Ann Shorey.

I received this book for Review and did not buy it from Revell.

I found this book to be a tiny bit confusing in the beginning sentences, but soon got caught up as I too have lost children.

Ann Shorey did a wonderful job in putting me right into the story and relating to each of her characters. Historically, she did wonderful in her characterizations.

It was hard to live during this period of history and Ellie Craig had her hands full as she struggled with the premature death of fourth children. She worked hard to continue being a good wife, but being adopted herself made things that much harder to nurture her own living children. As she loses her fourth child, she turns away from her husband's support and physical needs, afraid of becoming pregnant again.

Matthew Craig has issues of his own as he comforts his wife and demands for understanding from his congregation that the theater is "evil" in any form. Many want to go and see the play that comes to town and several turn their backs and join in the fun of participating in costumes preparation. Some of these people are relatives and it hurts Matt deeply as their pastor. To make things worse, a new man in town wants to pastor the church and Matthew is forced to go back to circuit riding, leaving his family much of the time until he can come to his senses and trust God for his church back.

This is an intriguing tale that I enjoyed reading once I got into the heart of the book.

I believe Ann did a fine job and will continue to read and recommend her books.

Sincerely,
Paulette L. Harris
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