“I won’t have her forced,” Jack said. “Let her decide for herself.”Amy knew her father meant it. She could say no if she wanted. But this marriage would make everything all right. They could put all the trouble she had caused behind them. Everyone would be happy again.Everyone except her.“Sentence of Marriage” is the first book in the three-volume “Promises to Keep”.In nineteenth century New … Keep”.
In nineteenth century New Zealand, there are few choices for a farm girl like Amy. Her life seems mapped out for her by the time she is twelve. Amy dreams of an exciting life in the world beyond her narrow boundaries. But it is the two people who come to the farm from outside the valley who change her life forever, and Amy learns the high cost of making the wrong choice.
“One of the best historical novels I’ve had the pleasure to read in years.” – WorkingGirl Reviews.
“The story was captivating, the characters real, the dialogue crisp. I admit to having cried and laughed and even having wanted to murder a character and beat another one within an inch of his life — which is simply a testament to how well written these books are.” – AmericanEditor.
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I read this book first and then the next and then the next……. while I enjoyed all of them, I don’t feel like there was any real closer. I must admit, I don’t think I completely finished the 5th book.
The book seemed to be building to something substantial…but never got there. It. Just. Ended. Felt unsatisfied at the end, despite having followed the characters and story throughout.
Very entertaining. Loved the historical information.
4 Books, too wordy, could have been condensed to 2 books. Some of the descriptions were very upsetting to me. Brutality.
Hard to read about abuse, interesting history.
A young girl feel she has no choice but to marry someone she come to hate.
Every single book in this series leaves you with that book hangover you long for and hate at the same time. I’ve reread this entire series multiple times and that’s rare for me.
I liked this book but was very upset with the ending. I wanted to see what happened to Amy after she married Charlie. I can easily see that their will be a sequel to this novel
It reminds one of the need to ever be mindful of womens right. A reflection of how cruel things could be for women in the past.
Good, but a little slow.
The author keeps stringing you along for the first whole book and it doesn’t look like there is going to be any resolution to the protagonists bad life until the last book. Not great writing, but okay.
I loved and hated this book.
This story was so compelling that I bought the sequel. A bit of self talk and a couple descriptions which I skimmed but the story was so rich that I felt invested in the characters and wanted to know how they fared. I’m a stickler for proper grammar and there were a couple blips but that’s my only negative. It reminds me of “Little Women” or “Anne …
I liked it enough to purchase book 2 and 3. Interesting period piece reflective of morals and male/female rolls in the late 1800’s New Zealand. Amy, the main character, is a bit long-suffering but all of the charecters jumped off the page.
I was a little upset that you needed to read the next book to find out what happened with Amy. I’m currently on the fifth book, great caracters who you can’t forget.
It took a long time to get through the story line then it ended just so you’d have to purchase next book to see what happened. It was a long book but didn’t settle anything in the end. And it wasn’t good enough for me to spend cash on the next one.
As a mother who put her firstborn up for adoption, I got really caught up in this story. Historically accurate and heartbreaking. Would have given five stars but too many unanswered questions.
I did not like this book. It was too depressing. I thought the ending left you wanting a better resolution for the girl.
I enjoyed the fact that this story, unfortunately, was true to the times.
Interesting historical perspective with a good story