Amber Miller’s first novel, Promises, Promises addresses a question many of us have struggled with at one time or another. Where is God when I am hurting? When tragedy strikes, Raelene feels as though God has stopped caring for her; He has abandoned her. Left with not only her grief but also the weighty responsibilities of her farm, Raelene struggles to determine if everything she has been raised to believe is really true. Through her pain and confusion, the overseer of her farm – though at times enfuriating – becomes a trusted friend and even more. . .

Promises, Promises is a great reminder of the fact that God is always with us, even in the face of tragedy and pain. He is indeed the only One who will never break His promises.

I appreciated the historical aspect of the book and enjoyed how Ms. Miller incorporated a portion of a message from Jonathan Edwards into the text. Without wanting to give any part of the plot away, the section where Raelene is listening to that message is probably my favorite part of the book.

Overall it is a great debut novel for Amber Miller. I will say that I did find the plot a bit predictable, but it is still an enjoyable book to read and the message is an important one. I look forward to seeing what she does with her next novel!

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Amber’s second book, Quills and Promises is also available now here!

Visit the other sites on the Promises, Promises tour (some of them have giveaways)!

About the Book: New Yorker Sadie Maddox is the toast of the classical music world and the queen of all she surveys in short, she’s a bit of a diva. But lately her CD sales are sagging, not to mention parts of her anatomy. Maybe it’s time for a change. Something new. A second act. So when her agent suggests she take on a professorship at a small liberal arts college, Sadie decides to give it a go. Ivy-covered walls, worshipful students . . . oh yes, the ivory tower has its appeal. And she needs the money.

Except the college is in rural Iowa, and the closest thing to designer clothes is the western wear shop down on Main Street. Sadie’s colleagues are intimidated, her students aren’t impressed, and she has to live far too close to farm animals.

And when Sadie meets Mac, a large animal veterinarian, she assumes they have nothing in common he is, after all, a country music fan.

But when the semester ends, Sadie packs up and decamps for the city that never sleeps . . . and finds she can’t, either. This laugh-out-loud novel about second chances will have readers cheering as Sadie struggles to find her life’s second act

My Review: This was my first novel by Kimberly Stuart and I loved it! It was laugh out loud funny and just a pure delight to read. I breezed through it rather quickly, and was sorry when it was over.

There is a delightful cast of characters, all very different from each other. I have to admit, I’m not much of an opera fan so I probably would have added immensely to Sadie’s problem of being recognized. I cringed at her snobbiness at first (though I can imagine leaving New York would be very hard!), cheered her successes, and yes, rejoiced in the ending.

This book would serve as a great summer read, even if a lot of it takes place in the dead of winter. It’s nice to remember that sometimes it gets cold when you’re so very hot!

You can check out Act Two on Amazon.
Visit Kimberly Stuart’s website.
Look at a sample of the book at David C. Cook’s website.

About the book: The Parker twins, Brad and Charlie, didn’t want to join their parents on vacation in Hawaii. A little sister can be annoying, but little sister, Zoey, was over the top. “The three of us aren’t going to Hawaii,” she told them. Her parents were shocked by her statement even though it was true. This was not the first time Zoey offered surprising knowledge of future events, nor would it be the last. Arriving at their grandparent’s cattle ranch in Oklahoma, the twins learn of the disappearance of cattle from the ranch. This knowledge would set of a series of events that would challenge any detective. There were the mysterious neighbors, the strange lady at church, a psychic lazy dog, and a weird little sister to keep the twins totally confused in their efforts to solve this strange mystery.

This is a fun book with an interesting cast of characters sure to keep you entertained! There’s both mystery and adventure!

Now here’s a little bit about D.C. Stewart: D.C. Stewart grew up in a small town in Oklahoma, and spent most of her childhood getting into trouble with her younger brother on their ranch. She began writing short stories in high school, and won a writing competition at a nearby college at age 17. After graduating, she attended Northwestern Oklahoma State University and earned a degree in History, and also met her husband, Scott. She worked for a church in Maumelle, Arkansas as the Communications Coordinator for five years. After moving back to Oklahoma, she chose to stay home with their four year old twin boys, and six month old baby girl, and to pursue her dream of being a full-time writer. The Stewart’s live in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Where Would Cows Hide? is her first novel.

Check out the book on Amazon!

Also, if you are interested in winning a copy of this book here’s how you can try:

1) Email the contest coordinator with the subject line of WWCH Entry at contest@novelinspirations.com

2) Join D.C. Stewart’s ezine list by sending a blank email to: dcstewart_ezine-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
All winners will be notified by May 31st!