Promise Me Always

Title: PROMISE ME ALWAYS
Author: Christine Lynxwiler
Publisher: Barbour Books
December 2006
ISBN: 1597893552
Genre: Inspirational/mom lit

Thirty-five year old, Allie Richards loses her job when the landscaping company she was manager of sold to someone else. Her dream of owning her own business dies a brutal death when the bank refuses a loan. As sole caregiver for her two young daughters, Allie has to come up with a job. But pickings are slim and nobody seems to have any openings.

Soon, Allie’s friends convince Allie to enter Shady Grove’s Beautiful Town Landscaping Competition. It sounds wonderful, especially since the grand prize is a contract to be the town’s landscape artist. The only catch is that every move Allie and her ragtag crew makes will be featured on a reality television show. Daniel Montgomery, the man behind the camera, is a man Allie used to like back in middle school, but he seems to have more in mind that just televising the show. Is there any hope of Allie achieving her dreams?

PROMISE ME ALWAYS is book one in the Pinky Promise Sisterhood series and it is a good read. Allie is a realistic character, well-developed with great kids that act their age. Allie’s friends provide a fantastic lineup of secondary characters (ones that I’m anxious to read more about in rest of the books in this series). Daniel is a loveable hero. I just recently read this book over for the second time and enjoyed it just as much.

The faith message is expertly woven in and isn’t preachy. PROMISE ME ALWAYS starts out slow, but once Allie sees the ad for the landscaping competition, the action picks up and I had to keep reading to see what would happen next. I cheered for Allie and her friends as they struggled to make Allie’s dreams a reality against all odds. You won’t want to miss PROMISE ME ALWAYS. $9.97. 288 pages.

Laura V. Hilton