Lynn H. Blackburn

Y’all know that I prefer to read any series of books in order, but I made an exception with The Promise because I was intrigued by the concept…a man has been lying to his wife for five months and he’s about to destroy his already fragile marriage because of his deception.

Jean Anderson has no idea that her husband, Tom, lost his job five months ago. All she knows is that something is terribly wrong. And her own secret is only going to complicate things further.

Dan Walsh’s storyline is sprinkled liberally with practical marriage advice from relationship expert Gary Smalley and while it may slow the narrative down in places, it didn’t detract from the powerful message that God can fix any mess.

Tom and Jean annoyed the snot out of me, but I think that’s because they were so frustrating realistic. While I read, I wanted someone to knock some sense into Tom and kept wishing Jean would grow a backbone. I wanted to sit them both down in a room and make them take a long hard look at the mess they’d made. And then I wanted to make them fix it. So, while I can’t say the characters were endearing, they certainly were memorable.

I appreciated that this book delved into issues both of them brought into their marriage from their childhoods and how Tom’s parents, who weathered their own marital crisis in Book 1, The Dance, played a role in helping Tom and Jean find hope and a way back.

In a world where so many marriages are facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles, stories like The Promise help remind us that no mess is too messy for God if we’ll humbly take it to Him and then follow His leading and direction.

The Promise is available as of August 2013 at your favorite local bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

The super fine print: I received a free copy of this book in exchange from my honest review. All opinions are my own.