Rand Prescott believes that his chances for happiness are limited because he's going blind. But when he meets Karen McAlister one magical starlit night, he begins to imagine a different future—one filled with love. Karen already knows she wants to be with him for the rest of her life. But Rand refuses to consider marriage; he refuses to bind her to a man who can't see. Brokenhearted, Karen is prepared to walk away, but can Rand really let her go?
PROMISE ME FOREVER
A Woman's Resolve
Joy Nielsen is a private nurse and physical therapist who's never been daunted by the challenges of her career. And her latest patient, businessman Sloan Whittaker, isn't going to change that. Confined to a wheelchair after a serious accident, he's lost the will to walk. Joy is determined to make sure he recovers, and once he does, she's prepared to move on to her next patient, no matter how strongly she feels about Sloan. There's only one problem. She doesn't think she can get over him….
Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers with more than 200 million copies of her books in print worldwide. In her novels, Macomber brings to life compelling relationships that embrace family and enduring friendships, uplifting her readers with stories of connection and hope. Macomber’s novels have spent over 1,000 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Fifteen of these novels hit the number one spot.
In 2023, Macomber’s all-new hardcover publication includes Must Love Flowers (July). In addition to fiction, Macomber has also published three bestselling cookbooks, three adult coloring books, numerous inspirational and nonfiction works, and two acclaimed children’s books.
Celebrated as “the official storyteller of Christmas”, Macomber’s annual Christmas books are beloved and six have been crafted into original Hallmark Channel movies. Macomber is also the author of the bestselling Cedar Cove Series which the Hallmark Channel chose as the basis for its first dramatic scripted television series. Debuting in 2013, Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove was a ratings favorite for three seasons.
She serves on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, is a YFC National Ambassador, and is World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative. A devoted grandmother, Debbie and Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington, the town which inspired the Cedar Cove series.
Not crazy about these repackaged vintage stories. Throwing in a cell phone reference is not enough to make them contemporary. The female characters are just so weak, a bit whiny, and ridiculously naive. I like an old fashioned story, but you need a likeable heroine, with some self respect. Neither of these stories worked for me.
Repackaged oldies. Classic-style, short-form romances, which means lots of sexist ranting and quick resolutions. Fine for an afternoon's entertainment, especially since I am a Macomber fan, but not really as enjoyable as her later work, and I am finding less and less tolerance for he-men heroes.
These two are unusual, as they feature "wounded heroes," but the concepts/reactions are pretty dated, and I struggle to find the two heroes romantic when they are pretty bent on torturing the objects of their affections - wounded/fragile, or not, they are both jerks, and it kills the love story for me.
For this reason, the first one ("Starlight") was less effective for me than the second ("Promise Me Forever"), because I honestly couldn't see any self-respecting person living with that beast for very long, or crying when he left. The second hero was a lot less vicious, so it worked a bit better for me.
This book is actually 2 of Debbie Macomber's older books. First book was "Starlight." Its rating should be 2 or 2 1/2 stars. Best word for it....sappy. The main character, Rand Prescott, is almost totally blind. He meets Karen McAlister "one magical starlit night." (those words are just an example of how foolish this book is) Rand thought he would never fall in love and fights it when he does. Second book "Promise Me Forever" is about Joy Nielsen who is a private physical therapist. Sloan Whittaker is a buiness man who was injured in an accident and is depressed and doing nothing, but sitting in a wheelchair. This story line has a little more meat than the first book. So, why did I read this book. I was on vacation and ran out of reading material and this was all I could find in the place we were staying.
This was a great two-in-one novel to read. Light enough to not feel weighed down by the plot but still loaded enough with context to keep one's attention, wondering what will happen next for the main characters. Overall, despite a few faults here-and-there (some addressed below), I still enjoyed it.
"Starlight" gave me a "Sense and Sensibility"-like feeling with the interactions between the two main characters. However, there were moments where I felt like I was getting a mental whiplash with how quickly their relations switched from one extreme to another. Taking into consideration this was Macomber's first published book, I can give a bit of a leniency on details introduced in the plot that seemed added on, aspects not having as much of an impact as they probably should have, and a period where it felt like a rushed ending (but then had an extended context added on afterwards).
Going from Macomber's first published book to "Promise Me Forever", you can see the growth of her writing. The changing relations between the two characters feels more realistic and a smoother transition as you get to the final page. Every detail in the story has importance, whether you are aware of it right away or the correlation is revealed towards the end.
Rand Prescott believes that his chances for happiness are limited because he's going blind. But when he meets Karen McAlister one magical starlit night, he begins to imagine a different future—one filled with love. Karen already knows she wants to be with him for the rest of her life. But Rand refuses to consider marriage; he refuses to bind her to a man who can't see. Brokenhearted, Karen is prepared to walk away, but can Rand really let her go?
PROMISE ME FOREVER
A Woman's Resolve
Joy Nielsen is a private nurse and physical therapist who's never been daunted by the challenges of her career. And her latest patient, businessman Sloan Whittaker, isn't going to change that. Confined to a wheelchair after a serious accident, he's lost the will to walk. Joy is determined to make sure he recovers, and once he does, she's prepared to move on to her next patient, no matter how strongly she feels about Sloan. There's only one problem. She doesn't think she can get over him….
I LOVE this story!!! I cried so many times during the first story, and I could not put it down! My husband just looked at me as the tears ran down my face. Something about it really got to me. The second story was also great. I love Debbie Macomber's stories, they show how people get in their own way and how important it is to really communicate. GREAT book!!!!
This was two short stories. The first was a terrible story and read. It jumped all over the place, with no resolution and no practical responses to difficult situations. It was hard to complete, albeit fast.
The second short story was hardly better. At least it had more of a flow.
Quick and easy, enjoyable read. 2 stories in 1. Great storylines bring out all emotions! A man going blind finds a surprising love and a future. A PT challenged by a pain in the butt patient that even tested my nerves. Never ready for these stories to end!
Two short stories, from the "early years." They are both a little sappy, a little too full of honey and totally enjoyable. A great escape when you don't want to read a full novel.
I already wrote reviews on the individual books so suffice it to say ... please don't waste your time with this. Debbie Macomber's later books are much better!
On A Clear Day is by Debbie Macomber. It is actually two stories in one and both are romances. Starlight is a rewrite of one of her first published books and Promise Me Forever is also a rewrite of a previous book. Together they make a great summer read. They are easy to read even while distracted by auto racing and conversation. Karen McAlister is tired of her father, Matthew, talking about her getting married. She hasn’t found the right man and definitely doesn’t like some of the men her father pushes her towards. She flees a party to get away from her father after she sets Mrs. Jackson on him for a dance.. On the balcony, she meets Rand Prescott. He is devilishly handsome but also carries a big chip on his shoulder. They are immediately attracted to each other but he wants nothing to do with her or anyone else. Rand is blind and doesn’t want to burden anyone with his problem. Karen, however, doesn’t give up and pursues him. At a dinner she gives for him, he spills wine on her new dress and tells her she is not to pursue him again, it is over. After saying some cruel things in retaliation, she heads to her room and strips off the dress to soak it in cold water to get the stain out. She runs into the closet door and calls out. Rand who has not gone hears her and comes to make sure she is alright. In the process of going to the door, she falls over the dress and ends up in his arms on the floor. They kiss. They hear a noise but ignore it. It is Matthew who sees them and then proceeds to blackmail Rand with the possible loss of his job since he doesn’t have tenure. Rand marries Karen and on their wedding night tells her what her father did and tells her he believes she was in on the ruse. He leaves on business leaving Karen to spend her honeymoon alone and to decide what to do. What will Karen do? If she leaves, she leaves with a broken heart; but if she stays, can she win Rand’s heart?
In Promise Me Forever, Joy Neilson comes to Mr. Whittaker’s California home to be his physical therapist and get him on his feet. He was involved in a horrible car accident and with his spinal injury is in a wheel chair. However, there is hope that he will be able to walk again if he would just try. Sloan has given up on walking, his friends, his family, and his business. Joy, however, is bound and determined not to be bullied into leaving without giving the job her best shot. She knows what it is to have others look at you in pity and refuses to give into that with Sloan. Can she do what others haven’t, get him to care? Can she get him walking again? Can she do it without losing her heart?
I liked the 2nd story more than the 1st one. The 1st one was terrible and I honestly did not want to keep reading it but I did. Both main characters were a pain.
The 2nd one, however, filled me with hope and love. It was very enjoyable to me. At first, I was hesitant, but it was totally worth it.
This book contains 2 stories with similarities. What I enjoyed about both stories was they were unpredictable. The male characters were stubborn and a bit childish. I didn't like the weaknesses of the main woman in Starlight but in Promise Me Forever the main woman was strong, bold, determined and independent. However, I liked how the twists and turns came to amenable conclusions.
This was my first time reading a book by Debbie Macomber and I enjoyed the two stories in the book so much I want to read them again. it's been awhile since I've wanted to reread a book right after finishing it, can't wait to read more books by her