A Promise for Ellie

2.5 stars, rounded up

I grabbed this book, thinking that #1 of the series should be a good place to start. But there was a huge chunk missing: especially Andrew and Ellie's entire love story! I was left seeing NOTHING in Andrew for her to like and to fall in love with. She kept saying she loved him for his gentleness and we didn't see any of that. I liked Ellie as a character, but snot-nosed, pouty baby Andrew was both unlikeable and unrealistic for his generation and upbringing.

A major plot point (Ellie's terror of birthing babies was left entirely unresolved, as was Ingeborg's sickness/weakness.

Content: a pretty detailed birth/nursing sequence; infant loss

Also—hey, if you don't want me to critique your historical details, don't research enough to toss in random “facts” that don't fit the time period—they order a Sears-Roebuck house. Great: except this book is supposed to be set in 1900, and Sears houses didn't start until 1908. Also, it comes with ready-cut wood, which was a feature first offered in 1916. Andrew worries about “ordering windows” but if he really got a house in a box, those were included. And he wouldn't have ordered a stove when he ordered the house? That was weird.

Next, who starts putting hay in a barn before the roof is done? And why didn't he use a metal roof instead of taking forever to split wood shakes in a region where wood is rare?

I'll be trying another of her books, but obviously I need more help than simple series order to find out where to start reading.