Finding Promise

November 9, 2015
No amount of vivid descriptions of the landscape or daily life on a cattle ranch can rescue this slow and tepid 19th-century western. When Promise Sinclair left Charleston, S.C., with a wagon train, she was looking for adventure in Colorado. What she found was a gang of thieves, who massacred her fellow travelers and left her for dead. Rancher and ex-U.S. Marshal Jake McBride, on his way to Wyoming, is sickened by the destruction; not only does he get a doctor for Promise, he detours to Colorado to find her relatives and track down the murderers. Jake is the quintessential romance hero: strong, fiercely loyal to his family, and dedicated to justice. It’s no surprise that Promise falls in love with him, especially since he saved her life. But readers will yawn as the supposedly willful Promise waits dutifully on the McBride ranch for the killers to be caught and for Jake to realize he loves her. Jake crisscrosses the west until he admits he wants Promise, and then he heads home for the requisite marriage proposal. There are no moments of the lovers learning about each other and falling in love together, making the ending unsatisfying. Agent: Mary Sue Seymour, Seymour Agency.

Starred review from November 15, 2015
Former U.S. marshal Jake McBride's life changes forever when he runs across a small wagon train in which everyone has been massacred except for one of the most beautiful women he's ever seen. The men on his cattle drive help this mystery lady left for dead regain her health, but she can't remember a thing about herself. Jake learns that the bandits who attacked her wagon train won't be happy until she's dead, too. Wealthy artist Parker Promise Sinclair has come to the West for more than the sheer adventure of it; she wants to meet real cowboys and paint their likenesses. But after the massacre, she doesn't even know who she is. Promise is a brave, resilient heroine of faith, who doesn't always wait for someone else to save her, something that sometimes clashes with Jake's desire to protect her. The tension created by the tenacious outlaws who will go to any lengths to find and kill Promise adds a strong element of suspense to Dunn's subtly inspirational western romance. Finding Promise follows Promises Kept (2015) in Dunn's McBride Brothers series; libraries will want both and those to follow.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)