Promises to Keep by D.L. Larson

This week I finished reading Promises to Keep, D.L. Larson’s second in her historical series centered around members of the Douglas family. Midwest Book Review called Promises to Keep an “Excellent read!”

I actually read the series out of order. I first read the second book in the series, Promises My Love. Then I read Promises to Keep. I enjoyed both and you could read them out of order, as I did, without feeling discombobulated. I would recommend you read them in order, though, since the two books have a good flow from one to the other.

In Promises to Keep, Larson interweaves two families. Annie Douglas struggles to raise her children while trying to hold onto her marriage to Joe who spends way too much time at the saloon gambling. Joe’s sister, Christine, is married to Francis Frailey. They have the picture-perfect marriage with a son and a beautiful house. But Francis has dark secrets that could destroy their love.

The underlying question is, can love really conquer all or are some problems so big and deepset that they can’t overcome?

Promises to Keep will draw you into the lives and emotions of these two families. Larson doesn’t back off of showing you the darkness that can haunt a child long into adulthood. She can also draw you into the goodness in a character shunned by proper society. She makes you care about these people.

I enjoyed Promises to Keep and would recommend it, especially if you like historical fiction with strong characters.
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FTC Disclaimer:
Since I’m not a professional reviewer, I consider this a recommendation. I liked the book. If someone from the FTC reads this post and decides to buy the book, I think they’ll like it, too. I was not paid to do the recommendation. The author did not ask me to write a review. The only thing she wrote when she autographed the book was “Enjoy!” … which I did.