#271 (#70 of 2012) - Settling the Account (Promises to Keep Series) ~ Shayne Parkinson

Book 3 - Promises to Keep Series

Purchased on Kindle - 499 pages.

Again, not a stand alone book, it follows on from Sentence of Marriage and Mud and Gold.

Amy has to watch the situation between Charlie and her sons deteriorate ... will her sentence of marriage never end?  She is such a sweet person, you can only hope that things will get better.  I have to say that I really thought Miss Millish was quite another kind of lady(!!!), and her characterisation took me quite by surprise - which just goes to show how good the writing is.  What also surprised me was that at the end I didn't hate Charlie quite as much (difficult to say more without ruining the plot for somebody).

This scored 5+ stars, and I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this Family Saga called A Second Chance.

#269 (#68 of 2012) Mud & Gold (Promises to Keep) ~ Shayne Parkinson

Promises to Keep Series - Book 2

Purchased on Kindle - 475 pages - I actually paid for this after reading the Sentence of Marriage (Book 1) that I picked up as a free read.

This would not be a stand alone book, you will need to read Book 1 first, as it picks up immediately after the end of the last one.

It is surprisingly well written, and I have fallen even more in love with the characters.

A 5 star read ... get it, read it and I'm sure you will love it as much as I did.  Not to spoil any of the plot, the "Gold" reference in the title wasn't what I was expecting ... this book is real Cream off the top of the milk writing, and left me eager to read the rest of the series.

#266 (#65) - Sentence of Marriage ~ Shayne Parkinson *NEW AUTHOR

Promises to Keep - Book 1

Published on Kindle - 362 pages.  I picked it up as a free offering.

This could be read as a stand-along book, but really you will then want to go on and pay hard cash for the others in the series.

I gave it a 4 star rating, and couldn't wait to go on and purchase the other books in the series.  More a family saga than romance, but there is romance along with lots of trials and tribulations.  Full of light and shade and really well written with characters that you really end up caring about.

Highly recommended, and I will be seeking out more by this author, even though it was out of my usual comfort zone of historical romance being set in New Zealand.