A Promise Kept by Robin Lee Hatcher

Divorce, alcoholism and domestic violence are presented in Robin Lee Hatcher’s Christian novel, A Promise Kept.   Heroine Allison Kavanagh, 45 years old, begins new life after her husband walks out of their marriage.  Allison struggles to maintain her Christian faith amid feelings that God has let her down.  She moves into her great aunt’s country cottage in the Idaho mountains and proceeds to discover the previously-unknown life of Aunt Emma.  In her new community,  Allison must also negotiate an attraction to a handsome fellow church member along with the feelings she still has for her former husband.  Through this novel, Hatcher explains the conflicts and emotions experienced by the newly-divorced.  We sympathize with Allison as she seeks spiritual guidance and finds it in an unexpected place, Aunt Emma’s journals that were hidden in the attic.   This is overall a pleasant read; however, the story drifts at times; for instance, the purpose of a camping trip episode with ex-husband and daughter is not clear.   Also, Allison’s decision in the conclusion seems to come too quickly with little explanation or development.   A Promise Kept remains a Christian novel that explores contemporary themes.  The Book Club guide should provoke interesting conversations.  I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher.  I was not required to write a positive review, and the words expressed here are my own.