The Promise of Peace

Scottish Crown #4

by Carol Umberger

Author Carol Umberger combines her love of history, romance, and God in a quartet of powerful stories set in 14th-century Scotland during the reign of Robert the Bruce, Scotland's great hero king.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Christian, Historical, Romance, Fiction, Scotland

272 pages, Paperback

First published September 7, 2004

About the author

CAROL UMBERGER won the 2001 Golden Heart Award from the Romance Writers of America for her manuscript of Circle of Honor in the Best Short Historical category. A twelve-year veteran of the United States Air Force, Carol has been married to Tom Schwendtner for twenty years and has two sons. She resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Reviews

[Lovely Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐️

Loved seeing this childhood infatuation mature and grow into love and commitment set amidst the Scotland/England struggle for power.

Nola’s persistence is next level! Haha

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could barely recall a thing about this book since it’s been so long since I first read it. Although this read was enjoyable, in my opinion it is the weakest book of the series. It’s still strong in terms of interest, historical knowledge, & good writing...It was just disappointing that the two main characters didn’t reach teenage-hood until half way through the book. I enjoyed watching Keifer grow into a man & become a knight & realize his love for childhood friend Nola BUT I wish they would have had more time building their love with them being adults. I was so impatient for the next chapter to be like 10 years ahead of time!! But each chapter kind of crept on year by year until teenage-hood then young adulthood.

This book has a strong message of finding hope in the Lord as Keifer learns to let go of bitterness/abandonment issues & overcome a physical accident in battle. He is not the picture perfect hero by any means but he had a great story to be told. Nola his spirited love is the perfect match for him.

The ending was the perfect conclusion to this hidden gem of a series 💎. These books are just phenomenal. The characters & stories will remain in my mind & heart💜 (& it takes a very special book for that to happen!) I so wish Ms. Umberger would have written more books.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series, and that it isn't just romance. We learn so much about the culture in Scotland during this time and the importance of the Scots keeping their freedom from the English. I really loved the story line and that we got to meet our main characters at such an early age and then watch them grow into adults.

[Natika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this whole series. The author is really good at making you feel like you are there, I had a phone call come in at one point while reading and had to blink a few times to pull myself from the world within the pages.

I spent the first half of the book just wanting to hug the poor boy, I was nearly in tears for him.

The only thing that could have made this story better was a final wrap-up to show where all of the characters from the previous books were at. We do see the ones from books one and two, but strangely (to me anyways) there was hardly any mention of how things were going for the characters from the third book, strange only because of the close bond the guy from the fourth book had with the guy from the third.

I wish the author had more books available, I know I'd be snapping them as quickly as I could if they did!

[Sandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed all of the books in the Scottish Crown series. I am hoping that Carol Umberger is in the middle of writing another series. I like her style. I even like the way the book is put together with the thicker pages and uneven pages.

[Abigail Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is my favorite of the series.

[Jennifer Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great conclusion to a wonderful series. Highly recommended!

[Mindy G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

PB

Aye. The lure of things that are not good for us.
p. 50

Learn from the mistakes of others, lad.
p. 51

The future was never a given, but it was always worth living for.
p. 259

[Charline Romine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keifer ❤️ Nola

Another historical fiction romance supremely done! The finish of the series finds Keifer’s story. He fosters with Nola’s family and they grow up from childhood. The series ends with a triumphant freedom from the rule of England. Finally, peace.

[English · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a good example of what happens when a person's view of history is clouded by prejudice, and bigotry. Historical facts seem to have been distorted to suit an individual agenda. The attitude towards certain groups (in this case the English) and events is biased and hypocritical.

The English are condemned as dishonourable for attacking the Scottish army at night, in the first chapter. Later the the book the Scottish army attacks the English at night, but for them it is perfectly acceptable to do so.

In the prologue Edward II and his knights attack a Scottish village and kill women and children. For this he is demonized as an evil child-killer. The massacre in question, however, never took place and the village does not exist. The English are condemned for inflicting suffering on innocent people throughout the series.

When, later in the book, a Scottish nobleman drives English peasants out of thier homes (which could have resulted in death from starvation/exposure), and devastates the English countryside, his actions are justified as strategic necessity, and it is implied that the English deserved to suffer (because they were English.)

Knighthood is depicted as a sacred vocation, that requires it's adherents to live upright, righteous lives. As opposed to the reality of knights as violent men in a brutal age, living by their own rules.

If you want something that is balanced perspective on historical events, and realistic, multi-faceted characters, avoid this entire series.

[Jeannette Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic ending to the Scottish Crown series! I absolutely loved the budding romance that developed between two childhood friends. Early on I knew I would just love Nola. Her character was a delight to read... especially as a child. I caught myself smiling every time she entered a scene because I knew I was in for a special treat. Kiefer, on the other hand, captivated me from early on. I expected Scottish heroes to be portrayed as boorish men. Boy, was I wrong... especially in regards to Kiefer. I found his character to be completely endearing and I quickly found that I was totally enamored with him.
I was actually pretty thrilled that this book didn't contain an excessive amount of war scenes... it had just the right touch of suspense and battle scenes to uphold my interest. I have such a soft spot for this book because it ties all of the former stories together with this one. I'm glad to have finished this series... now I feel like I can move on to enjoy different types of books and not pine for a Scottish hero.

[Linnette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. Carol did a magnificent job. Her heroine is totally lovable and though the hero leaves something to be desired at various points in the book, you also feel his suffering and can't help but take him into your heart as Nola did.

If you haven't read the previous books in the sequel, it's a little easy to get lost among all the names. Other than that, Carol does a wonderful job showing the frailty of Keifer's heart and how God guides him through life. I like that Keifer's troubled soul isn't dealt with in an instance. It show the reality of how God grows a us, slowly leading us to peace with Himself and peace with the life He has given.

In this book, peace is finally restored to Scotland and the entire series mirrors the struggle for peace in Keifer's heart. And while the ending scene in this book isn't a love scene, it is very fitting and satisfying. I love the way she tied everything up.

Bravo, Carol! This is going on my favorite book list!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth and final book in Carol Umbergers series of Scotland during the reigh of Robert the Bruce. Young Keifer MacNab is eleven when he is placed under Ceallac, of book 3, and wants to become a warrior. his father has been kiilled bu his uncle, and the uncle now wants to kill Keifer in order to keep him from becoming laird of the clan MacNab. Keifer is fostered to Adam, of book 2 in order to study as a warrior, and when he reaches a certain point, he goes to study under Black Alex, of book 3. This book takes him from childhood to adulthood, where he realizes that he cares for Adam's daughter, Nola. But several adventures wait for keifer before he is free of the danger from his uncle and he can make a decision about his future. This series is a wonderful read, and I recommend it highly to anyone who loves Scottish history.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read the first three books in this series and still didn't have a problem following the story. At first I was frustrated with the main character but had to keep reminding myself that he was but a boy and selfishness was to be expected. The author, even though writing the years quickly, showed his growth of character really well. I think I would have gotten more out of the story though had I read the other books first. I missed some of the nuances of the other characters and the parts they played. I also missed the historical background that was set up in the former stories that I had to remember myself rather than getting from the first three stories. The title has three parts really, the promise of peace for a nation, for a clan, and for a man.

[Teri-K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kiefer and Nola may be the most likable characters in this series. Unfortunately it feels like the author ran out of plot. Since these aren't profound stories they depend on interesting events to keep me reading, and I'm having to force myself through this one. Not much happens here.

As for the Christian element, it consists mostly of Keifer occasionally praying about whether he should marry or not.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had parts that had me glued to the pages and other parts where I was skim reading. So although I liked it just didn't wow me. Still it had good characters and life lessons on faith and love. Overall, found this to be a very enjoyable series. I would give the whole series a 4 Star rating.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was sad to see the series come to an end! I truly enjoyed these books and hope to read more from this author soon. (see review from Circle of Honor)

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again I love this series. I wish there were more. This was the last one, maybe she will continue to make more. I highly recommend them for a quick sweet little read.

[elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing.

[Linzy]

I love these books because they are clean, and deal with issues we have amomngst ourselves and with God.

[Janeen Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this one was my favorite of the four books!!!

[Patti · Rating 3 out of 5]

This should actually be 3.5 stars.

[J.L. Orchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of the books in this series have kept me hooked to the end. They are a definite read. They are a read twice.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seemed like the beginning was kind of drawn out, took awhile to get to the point of the book. Still, I liked it.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my lease favorite of the series. I felt like it ended to quickly. I wanted more.