A Promise for Spring, by Kim Vogel Sawyer

At its heart, A Promise for Spring is the story of two people who need to be reminded that God is not only in control, but that He is trustworthy.

Emmaline Bradford is a gently-reared Englishwoman who has waited five long years to join her fiance, Geoffrey Garrett, in Kansas. To her shock, when she finally reaches her destination she finds Kansas to be brown and barren and Geoffrey to be someone she no longer remembers. She wants to head back to England as soon as possible, but Geoffrey persuades her to wait until spring.

The details of farm life in what I imagine to be the late 1800’s (A Promise for Spring doesn’t spell out the date) are fascinating and true to life. Sawyer doesn't gloss over any of the hardships facing Emmaline. One tidbit in the book that I especially enjoyed was that one of Geoffrey's neighbors pronounces her name "Emmalion." For some reason that tickled me. As the story goes on, we see that Emmaline truly is a lion when it comes to facing down fearful situations.

Geoffrey's challenges in maintaining a sheep ranch are also well-researched and authentic. His forceful personality works for him as a rancher, but doesn’t win him Emmaline's regard at first. How they both resolve their difficulties kept me turning pages until I reached the satisfying conclusion.

Start with "Emmalion" and Geoffrey, add in two ranch hands and the above-mentioned neighbors and A Promise for Spring equals an enjoyable read. I recommend it.