Concerned for the well-being of her sister, Abigail Harding interrupts her wedding plans to travel, unannounced, to Fort Laramie. When outlaws attack her stagecoach, a heroic soldier puts them to flight. Lieutenant Ethan Bowles intrigues Abigail, despite his aloofness, but she intends to marry another. Continued robberies and troubles centered around a local house of ill-repute introduce peril. On a lighter note, an adorable puppy steals the show.
Although the story focuses on individual lives, it has an epic feel. Of course, the true main character of this novel is Fort Laramie itself. Author Amanda Cabot does an excellent job of recreating the burgeoning time toward the end of the fort’s occupation as a military post. The story grew out of her surprise at visiting the fort and discovering it very different than she imagined. Cabot’s obvious fascination with the realities of life at Fort Laramie in the late 1800’s informs her novel. The characters are well-drawn, and the plot, infused with themes of love and redemption, hangs together well as it winds to an unexpected conclusion. Some of the action scenes stretch the bounds of believability, but not to breaking point.
All in all, for readers of western romance novels, Summer of Promise by Amanda Cabot is not to be missed.
Reviewed by Janalyn Voigt, author of DawnSinger
This title qualifies as a winner’s choice selection in the Novel Books 2012 Reading Challenge.
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*My thanks to the author and publisher for providing a complimentary review copy of this novel.
**Janalyn Voigt is an Amazon Associate and benefits when products are purchased on Amazon through links from Novel Books.
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