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England-born Emmaline Bradford pledged her life to Geoffrey Garrett and then bid him farewell when he boarded a ship for America. Though Geoffrey planned to send for her within a few months, five long years have slipped by. And now Emmaline barely remembers her fiancé...
Having Emmaline finally living on the sheep ranch he's built on the north fork of the Solomon River is a dream come true for Geoffrey. But his beloved is not the free-spirited girl he remembers. In fact, she wishes to get out of Kansas as quickly as possible!
Begging Emmaline to give prairie life a try, Geoffrey offers a compromise: If she promises to stay until spring, he'll pay her return fare if she decides to go back to her home country.
Can anything convince a well-bred Englishwoman to become a "wildflower bride"?
jallee
Posted June 2, 2009
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When an English rose is transplanted to the Kansas prairie, can anything be easy? Of course not! Even though they were betrothed five long years earlier, Emmaline Bradford no longer knows the man she meets when she steps off the train in Moreland, Kansas. For his part, Geoffrey Garrett has practically been counting the minutes till the arrival of his bride. But the nervous, sullen woman clad in black is a far cry from his dream girl.
Kim Vogel Sawyer has a gift for writing characters who struggle through adversity and come out stronger for it. In Emmaline and Geoffrey, she presents two stubborn people, each working through a pain of their own. It's not until they put their own needs aside and truly see each other that reconciliation comes.
A Promise for Spring is a lovely tale of the men and woman who worked so hard to create a new life in the sometimes harsh, sometimes beautiful prairie. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with Emmaline and Geoffrey, and look forward to Ms. Sawyer's next offering.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted July 21, 2012
Could not put it down and finished feeling inspired. Will be reading more from this author!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Kemarie
Posted July 12, 2011
The reason why is wish I never read this book is because I want to re-read it like I never knew the ending. I LOVE this book. Such an amazing book! I never heard of this author before but I plan on reading more of her books. Such an awesome book that I started reading it at 10am and didn't notice it was 3pm until all of a sudden I got hungry. If you want a book that you can't put down until its done this is it. This is a perfect book for those who are christian or not.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Julie3
Posted May 15, 2010
I have read other books by this author. I like her simple style. I select this type of reading when I read to relax. It is a book that an average reader can read rather quickly. All her books have a message and you can tell the author is a Christian. Trusting in God's will comes out somewhere in the message, without overpowering the the story. This is good historical fiction about the tough times in Kansas, how the folks settled that state and the results of hanging in there to make things work. There is also a side story about an African American couple and how they escaped slavery to make a life in Kansas. It is overall a "feel good" book that gave me some time of pleasurable reading after a busy week at work.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Emmaline Bradford wasn't exactly a mail-order bride. But she must have shared some of the same frustrations. As I read this book I couldn't help but think of the book Men are From Mars . . . because Mrs. Sawyer makes us privy to the thoughts and motives of both these characters. This author does such a great job that the reader feels the emotion and feels the tension. Her books just keep getting better and better.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Kathleen_Fuller
Posted March 28, 2009
Overall I enjoyed A Promise for Spring, despite losing patience with the main characters in the beginning. Sawyer does a good job of showing Emmaline and Geoffrey's growth as they battle against forces of nature and their own faith crises, so by the end of the book they were much more likeable. Her description of Kansas in the 1870's is superb and really drew me into the story. If you like prairie romances, you'll enjoy A Promise for Spring.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Emmaline Bradford gave her heart and her pledge to Geoffrey Garrett when she was a young girl of seventeen and bid him a tearful farewell when he left England to seek his fortune in America. He'd planned to return in a year, marry and take his bride to his sheep ranch in Kansas. Five years pass before he sends for her, years in which Geoffrey has, at her overbearing father's request, corresponded with Mr. Bradford but not with his daughter. She obeys her father and travels to the foreign land to marry Geoffrey, who has become little more than a stranger.
Geoffrey has spent five years working to make his ranch viable, all the while keeping Emmaline's father and biggest buyer of his wool informed of his progress. As soon as Geoffrey can, he sends for his fiancée, eager to show the woman he loves the home he's built for her. When she arrives, wary and unwilling to marry him, he's confused and crushed. Reluctantly, he agrees to a trial. She stays, working as his housekeeper, with the understanding that if she doesn't feel differently come spring he'll pay for her return to England. Will he be able to rekindle the love she once felt for him, and will she be able to accept his in return?
A Promise for Spring by Kim Vogel Sawyer is a beautifully told story of two hurting souls, each fearful and wanting the other to be the first to change. I fell in love with Sawyer's characters, aching for both Emmaline and Geoffrey as they dealt with the challenges thrust upon them, those of the heart as well as those dealt them as ranchers in what can be an inhospitable land. Sawyer wields the pen with consummate skill, crafting an endearing tale rich in period detail that will stay with readers long after they heave the final sigh of contentment. I highly recommend this book, one that has joined the few treasures on my Keepers shelf.
That's what English born Emmaline Bradford discovers. Her absent fiancée has finally sent for her after being in America for five years. At seventeen, Geoffrey seemed the perfect husband. How she adored him. But he left her to make his fortune in America. Her only communication from him has been through her father, a hard unfeeling man. Now Geoffrey has sent for her with full expectation of a dowry and a wedding. But how can she marry a man who has become a virtual stranger? Geoffrey still loves his English sweetheart. He wants her to share his ranch and be the wife he has long waited for. To Geoffrey's bitter disappointment, the young girl who once adored being in his presence, has become a grown woman who despises him. Rather than force her into a marriage she has so clearly shown she doesn't want, Geoffrey asks her to live at the ranch until spring. To keep propriety, he bunks in with his ranch hands. If she still resents the idea of marriage, he will help her return to England and free her from any promise to him. This couple is pitted against nature's tempers and the uncertainties of ranch life. Through the help of a neighbor and her husband, former slaves, Emmaline begins to understand that God uses the most peculiar of circumstances to foster His will. Geoffrey, too, must rediscover an abandoned faith even more severely tested as the story unfolds. Kim Sawyer has a gift to bring history into the heart of the reader. Although, the dialogue is formal, it is true to the character and the period in which this story takes place. The plot is a definite page turner. This book is more than a worthwhile read, it is an experience.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.MimiMB
Posted March 12, 2009
A PROMISE FOR SPRING
By Kim Vogel Sawyer
Reviewed by Marion Kelley Bullock
Emmaline Bradford travels from England to a sheep ranch in America to honor her pledge to marry Geoffrey Garrett. But that promise was made five long years ago. In the meantime, things have changed. Her fiancé is not the same person she knew in England. She barely remembers him. She resents his inattention and his ordering her around. In short, she's miserably unhappy in barren Kansas. She wants to go home as soon as possible.
Geoffrey is bitterly disappointed. Though he had dreamed of the day when Emmaline would join him on the sheep ranch he's built, he makes her an offer. If she'll stay until spring, he'll pay her return trip to England- if she decides to go back. Will she change her mind and recapture the love she once felt for him?
Kim Vogel Sawyer has painted a realistic picture of the Kansas prairie. She made the tension between Geoffrey and Emmaline so real I wanted to sit them down and tell them how the cow ate the cabbage.
PattiJoM
Posted March 7, 2009
Another wonderful book from Christian author Kim Vogel Sawyer! I highly recommend this historical romance set on a Kansas sheep ranch in the 1870s. The author does an amazing job of creating scenes, characters, and events that draw the reader in - - I totally "lost myself" in this story, and felt that I was actually there seeing everything that was happening. This story also shows the wonderful ways God can work in lives - - even when situations don't appear hopeful. Once again, I was reminded of why I love Kim Vogel Sawyer's style of writing so very much. Five stars!!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.DebbieLynneCostello
Posted March 4, 2009
Kim Vogel Sawyer did a beautiful job with the Kansas setting. You feel like you are there witnessing it all. I thought her characters were real and honest. The conflict between Emmaline and Geoffrey was fantastic. Ms. Sawyer keeps you reading and not wanting to put the book down. I don't believe you need to be a fan of prairie romance to enjoy this one. It's a page-turner.
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Overview
-Romantic Times
England-born Emmaline Bradford pledged her life to Geoffrey Garrett and then bid him farewell when he boarded a ship for America. Though Geoffrey planned to send for her within a few months, five long years have slipped by. And now Emmaline barely remembers her fiancé...
Having Emmaline finally living on the sheep ranch he's built on the north fork of the Solomon River is a dream come true...