The Promise of Morning
The title has a double meaning. In frontier Illinois, Ellie Craig is having a difficult time mourning the deaths of no less than four infants. Her preacher husband Matthew tries to be understanding when she rejects him, fearing to lose yet another baby, but he has problems of his own. There is dissent in his church over his views of an “immoral” theater troupe coming to town. And a rival preacher arrives, declaring that his superior lineage and education means he deserves to be pastor. Matt’s preaching against the actors seems prophetic when his aunt leaves her husband for one. How can Matt face his congregation after scandal in his own family? And how will Ellie overcome the estrangement with her husband?
Shorey includes nice character touches, such as an incident where Ellie becomes exasperated with her remaining children and wishes them elsewhere, an unusual scene for a Christian prairie romance. Matt’s stubbornness is a little extreme for likeability at first, but he does grow in the course of the story. This second volume of At Home in Beldon Grove is good, and the first was even better. I warmly recommend the series to fans of Christian fiction.
