The Promise of Rain

From Kenya, With Love #1

by Rula Sinara

He wants to take her child out of Africa...

The Busara elephant research and rescue camp on Kenya's Serengeti is Anna Bekker's life's work. And it's the last place she thought she'd run into Dr. Jackson Harper. As soon as he sets eyes on her four-year-old, Pippa, Anna knows he'll never leave...without his daughter.

Furious doesn't begin to describe how Jack feels. How could Anna keep this from him? He has to get his child back to the States. Yet as angry as he is with Anna, they still have a bond. But can it endure, despite the ocean--and the little girl--between them?

Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Ebooks

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

After a childhood enriched with exotic travels and adventures (both in books and real life), USA Today and Nationally Bestselling author Rula Sinara is now settled in rural Virginia with her husband, three kids and crazy but endearing pets. When she's not writing, she's busy attracting wildlife to her yard, watching romantic movies (despite male protests) or researching trees on her garden wish list.

She's a 2014 National Readers Choice Award winner and double finalist, a 2015 HOLT Medallion Award of Merit winner, a 2015 Golden Quill runner up and a 2015 Book Buyer's Best finalist.

Find out more or sign up for her newsletter at www.rulasinara.com or www.awritersrush.blogspot.com.

Reviews

[Desere · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful and stunning love story of old lovers being reunited. Yes, that has been done so many times before but this time around I actually found the author added much more refreshing moments that I have found in other similar reads.

The heroine Anna and Jack were friends for a long time before taking their relationship to the next level of intimacy this lead to Anna becoming pregnant. Before she tells him Jack proposes, Anna panics and runs off to Africa to give attention to her elephant project.

Four years later she runs smack bang into Jack and aside from him being beyond furious that she never let him know about him being a father, he has to come up with a way to get his child back to the United States, but we all know that is mess we don't wish upon our worst enemies.

I loved the characters from this read, Jack and Anna were both portrayed as very realistic and I could connect with them both on a very emotional level.

It has to be so hard to know you are to be a mother and not tell the father, yes some woman can't always make contact and let the father know but when you can and things hit a rough spot as, let's face it being a single mother is never easy, and thus keeping it all to yourself and just hanging in there when you know you can have help is one of the bravest acts ever.

I could fully understand Jack's anger but I did at one stage feel he was approaching the entire situation wrong but I was delighted when the author twisted and turned him into a hero that will make your toes curl and just give you that warm and fuzzy 'that's what love is all about' feeling.

The backdrop settings were absolutely breathtaking! I was entranced at the descriptions of Africa and the poaching of elephants. I was transported to a truly whole other world with stunning, stunning STUNNING and vivid imaginations from the author.

I highly recommend this fabulous, sweet and truly heartwarming read from a brilliant author!
5/5 star review
" The promise of rain brings the power of a new life"

[Dizneeee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review and more like it can be found on my blog, Dizneeee's World of Books.

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Wow. Wow! It was so refreshing to read such a clean romance. I thoroughly enjoyed The Promise of Rain.

Our main characters, Anna and Jack, are long-time friends. Anna has trust issues about men and love due to her father. Jack has trust and love issues due to his birth parents.

Jack was adopted after his biological parents died from drug overdoses. He was grateful and loved his adoptive family, but never could say the word, "love."

Anna loved Jack, but refused to be the one to say it.

After graduating from college, Jack and Anna took their friendship to the next level. Anna was leaving for Africa and Jack proposed. Anna thought he was only proposing because they had taken that big step in their relationship. She turned him down and ran to Africa so she could do her elephant project.

Jack, not knowing that Anna got pregnant that night, shows up at her elephant camp to see a little girl who is a mirror image of himself.

The story alternates POV between Anna and Jack. It's actually nice to get into both of their heads. It makes their stubbornness so much more understood.

With all of the bickering, doubting of feelings, deciding to build back a friendship, and the daughter living situation, the background story is about the poaching of elephants in the Serengeti. I absolutely love that Sinara was able to build such a creative and visionary place for my mind. I empathized with those sweet baby elephants and with the funding crisis Anna and her team were having.

If you love a great heartfelt (or heartwarming...haha! Get it!?!) book, this is definitely one to add to your TBR list. So much information and great reading and tears at the end.

A review copy was provided. All thoughts are my own and I have not been persuaded in any way.

[Julie (Let's Read Good Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I loved Anna and her dedication to both her daughter and the orphan elephants in her care, but I could not connect with Jack. I found him unsympathetic and manipulative, in addition to clueless. Enjoyed the author's writing, but the hero fell flat for me.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Promise of Rain is a magical story. Ms. Sinara’s wonderful prose transports the reader to Kenya’s Serengeti Plain where Dr. Anna Bekker runs an elephant research and rescue facility. Anna lives at the camp with her daughter, Pippa. She never told Dr. Jackson “Jack” Harper that he had a daughter but she feels her secret is safe. After all, she lives in Africa and he in the US.
When Jack Harper is sent to Kenya to check on Anna’s facility he is shocked to come face to face with a child that’s unmistakably his. Jack doesn’t know if he can forgive Anna for her deception but he knows one thing for sure. His daughter belongs in the United States with him.
Both want to do what is best for Pippa but how can they build a future for their daughter when they live on separate continents? As they come to terms with the situation, they rekindle their friendship but without compromise and sacrifice they won’t have a future together. This wonderful author writes with insight, humor and deep emotion about two people who both feel their way is the right way.
You’ll laugh and cry as you root for these two wounded souls to heal so they can finally get their happily ever after.
This is an amazing debut book and I look forward to many more heartwarming stories from Ms. Sinara.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 STARS

I would love to go see the animals in the wild. The baby elephants seem so loveable. How can people just kill the elephants for their tusks. This romance takes place on a Busara elephant research in Kenya mostly.

The characters seem real with real hang ups. I like Anna and can see how hard it would be to finally tell the truth to everyone about having a daughter. I can't imagine hiding a daughter for 5 years from everyone.

Anna is doing research on elephants sounds also she is raising rescued elephant orphans after their parents are killed. She is raising her four year old out in the wild.

Jackson Harper is asked to go and see how her program is doing. It will give his project some of her funding. He is surprised to find out she has a daughter that is his. Anna was his best friend growing up. He can't believe she hid this from him.

Pippa is four years old. She is raised at a elephant research camp. She is darling. Her friend is a year older and his mom is her nanny.

This is a clean romance. Also enjoyed reading about the elephants.

I would read more books by Rula Sinara in the future based on this book.

I was given this ebook to read and asked in return to give honest review by Netgalley.

[TashNz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe that I have read this stunning story and not left a review. While hunting for something to read again I saw this on my shelf and thought YES. Curious to see what I wrote I'm stunned to find there's no recorded notes.

Anna Bekker is in the most amazing setting, working with the Busara elephant research and rescue camp on Kenya's Serengeti. The incredibly detailed description is one of the many parts that make this story whole. Another part is the emotion. The last place Anna thought she'd run into the father of her daughter is in the Serengeti. The emotion that the author, Rula Sinara, made me feel made this story seem so realistic.

A beautifully written story, which took my imagination far and wide on a journey soaring across places i'll never see in my lifetime, I highly recommend this incredibly detailed book. A story! The Promise of Rain is not just a story, it is a wonderfully woven tale full of emotion and description that just leaves you going WOW!

I am now lending it to a friend who I know will enjoy it too.

[Amy Vastine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet romance set in the wilds of Africa. This is a great story about a wild animal vet named Anna, who goes to Africa to rescue elephants and hide from her life. There's just one problem, she was pregnant and didn't tell the father. Jack was her best friend and wanted to marry her before he even knew about the baby, but Anna thought Jack didn't love her. Poor over-analytical Jack. I think he needed rescuing more than the elephants! His backstory is filled with so much hurt but also a wonderful second chance at love and family. I love how it all came together when it seemed impossible for these two to find their happily ever after. Great supporting cast as well!

[Claire McEwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. The setting plays a huge part - the heroine is saving African elephants. I loved that the heroine was a strong woman, a scientist, a dedicated mom, with friendships as well. The hero and heroine have a troubled past and have to overcome their mistrust of each other as well as issues from the way they each were raised and I really appreciate that. I like books with real life problems in them and obstacles for the characters to overcome, so this was a great book for me! I can't wait for Rula Sinara's next one.

[Crystal-Rain Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this clean romance. Secret baby is an often used romance trope but the author created such wonderful backstories for the H and h that it breathed new life into such a common romance novel scenario. Anna is strong and independent yet vulnerable and scared at the same time. Jack is a great hero who starts off understandably mad to find that the love of his life ran away to Africa 5 years ago and has been hiding a child from him all that time. Not your typical hulking alpha romance hero but just strong enough to be there when Anna really needs him, and Pippa... probably the most adorable child I've found in any book. The description of the scenery in the parts that take place in Africa is so wonderful you really see it, and it is a beautiful sight. I finished this around 3 am because once it got going I couldn't put this book down until Jack and Anna overcame their painful pasts to create anew future together.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a true romance.

[Romancing the Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Maria
Book provided by the author
Originally posted at Romancing the Book

This was my first experience of the HARLEQUIN HEARTWARMING imprint. As I prefer sweet, emotional stories to full on sexual description, this line suits me well. What I noticed most is the fact that, there is a roundness to this story, THE PROMISE OF RAIN. There is an entrancing African setting, a cast of characters, not just the focus couple. There’s also the most gorgeous little girl who jumps off the page and laughs at you. You just want to scoop her up and bury your nose in her corkscrew curly hair. That’s how real the writing was.

Anna Bekker runs an elephant rescue centre in the wilderness of Kenya. A dedicated vetinary doctor, she is studying the habits of elephants and bringing much needed relief to those elephants who have been damaged psychologically and physically, as a result of attacks by poachers,which have hurt them and killed and wounded their loved ones. She is supported by a dedicated team of Africans who are both loyal and proud. A single mother, Niara, lives with Anna and both mothers support each other in the job of rearing their two pre-schoolers. Both infants are lovingly tended, having been breastfed for a long time initially and are carefully tutored. We know that Niara hasn’t had it easy, but has found a refuge to rear her son along with Anna’s little one. But who is the father of Anna’s little Pippa Rose?

He arrives soon enough. As a sort of inspector, sent by the chief benefactor of the project, to check that the funds are going to good use. His shock at seeing his ex- girlfriend with a child who is old enough to be his fills him with amazement, wonder – and possessiveness. Recognizing the tiny girl as his own, by the way her age fits in and also by her strong physical resemblance to him, Jack vows to get his daughter back to America at any cost. He’s furious with Anna for failing to inform him that he was a parent. Both parents want to share the custody, but both want to be the chief caretaker. Anna has worked close to nature and being a mother, she knows that the mother-child bond is something Jack will probably never understand. Jack, for his part, wants his child back in the relative safety of the USA, in a pink Barbie bedroom in his apartment, playing with his sister’s kids after school. Anna, he decides, can visit whenever she wants. Anna argues that Pippa has hands on loving care at all times and that bringing her to the United States and dropping her into day care while he works his customary long hours will have a detrimental affect on the child’s emotional wellbeing. As the couple approach the US Consular Services in Nairobi to make their daughter’s passport, one wonders how this deadlock can be resolved.

Anna and Pippa’s visit to the USA to visit with little Pippa’s grandparents provides the opportunity to explore what made Jack and Anna the people they have become. Anna’s parents’ miserable marriage and messy divorce looks like the reason she didn’t break the news to Jack earlier. She didn’t want Jack to marry her for the baby’s sake, not wanting to give her parents’ history a chance to repeat itself. Jack was an unwanted child of drug addicts, who, thankfully, eventually found himself with a loving family. That’s why he doesn’t want to lose his only child, that sense of blood kinship. I could feel Anna’s pain. Her sense of abandonment by her own father and her reluctance to accept her stepmom. I could feel Jack’s desperation too as he tries to win his child over.

This story tackles quite a few issues. The issue of how a background of dysfunctional family life can steel a person’s heart against giving a marriage commitment. I also found the story extremely realistic In that Anna and Jack didn’t find any time to spend together, rebonding sexually, before deciding to get married It’s a sad but true fact, for couples who are madly in love, while the presence of a young child is the greatest joy, it is also the greatest sex prevention technique ever. I don’t know how I ever managed to have more kids after the first one arrived. I guess that babies have to sleep sometime. But that’s the real deal. Because life isn’t just the quest for the perfect sexual experience. It’s sponging a child’s fever – together. It’s cleaning up vomit (sounds revolting, but it’s perfectly true). It’s standing by each other, through good times and bad.

I also liked the comparison between child rearing in the developing and developed worlds. Living in India, I breastfed non-stop for ten years, between all my pregnancies, gave my kids hands on oil massages and slept beside them through the night. They call it ‘attachment parenting’ nowadays and think it’s a new technique. And even though my parenting partner (my husband) and I are free to do more or less whatever we want as the kids have grown, I sometimes yearn for that special closeness and intimacy which comes from rearing a child – or children – together.

This is a beautiful Harlequin imprint and I hope that it flourishes. Romance fiction today will be the richer for it.

[Gisel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story telling by this author. Story takes you many places. It unravels beautifully.

[Kathy Altman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stirring love story, an out-of-the-ordinary setting and a diverse collection of troubled characters you can't help but agonize over — author Rula Sinara delivers them all with her remarkable debut. Her vivid descriptions bring the African wilderness backdrop to stunning life …

A screech pierced the background symphony of the Serengeti and an elephant rumble thrummed the air as the blood-orange hues of daybreak embraced the left side of Mount Kilimanjaro in the distance.

…

Thousands of animals flowed across the plain like a wave of creamed coffee spilling across a maple floor.

… and this Serengeti setting, with its daily life and death struggles, is a fascinating canvas for the intense and unshakable conflict between Anna and Jack. Though Anna's life is not in danger — not from Jack, anyway — she is battling for all that she loves, including the young daughter she's kept a secret. But while Anna believes Pippa doesn't belong with anyone but her mother, and isn't in any more danger than a kid living on a farm, Jack can't imagine raising a child in the wilds, without all of the benefits civilization offers. What's so tragic about these differing child-rearing philosophies is that they're both not only valid, they each come from a place of torment. Jack's parents both died when he was young and he's resolved to never abandon his own child — and he sees leaving Pippa behind in Africa as abandonment. And Anna has always sworn to make her child the center of her world because her father had little time for her. Talk about no meeting in the middle!

Sinara heightens these conflicts not only by threatening Anna's funding, but by making Jack the intended recipient of those funds. And now that Anna's elephant rescue efforts are in jeopardy, poaching is on the rise. The troubles pile on when Anna and Pippa visit the States. Anna's mother struggles with depression, Jack's family feels betrayed by Anna and memories of a friendship that once meant everything haunt Jack and Anna. Their story will haunt you, as well.

A Promise of Rain is exotic, vibrant, touching, tragic and hope-giving. The plight of the elephants will make you heartsick, but the fearless dedication of Anna and her crew will stir and reassure you, and the humor spicing the story delights. The romance between Jack and Anna is tender and tense, hostile and heartfelt, their realizations and resolutions well-motivated, well-plotted and thoroughly authentic. A unique and beautiful story about rescue, rediscovery, and the bonds that can break you as easily as they can define you.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed The Promise of Rain. The story is about a young woman, Anna, who lives in Kenya with her four year old daughter, Pippa, and works at the Busara elephant research and rescue camp. She is devoted to her work there and intends to raise her daughter in Kenya. The problem is she forgot to mention her plans to the child's father. In fact, she neglected to inform him that his child even exists! When he makes this discovery he wants to take his daughter back to the states to live with him, and that's where the drama begins. From this point on we gradually learn of the many challenges each of the main characters faced growing up, which ultimately affected their own relationship with each other as adults. I found it all to be very emotionally engaging; it didn't suffer from any lulls in the storyline and the ending was completely satisfying. The setting, on Kenya's Serengeti, took my imagination on a thrilling, scenic ride that I didn't want to get off of. The descriptions of the breathtaking scenery and awe-inspiring views made me feel as though I was right there on the vast plains of the Serengeti myself among the wildlife and Acacia trees.

This book was beautifully written and I would not hesitate to read another by Rula Sinara. Simply wonderful.

[Susan Swiderski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, this is a romance, but it's so much more than that. Wildlife veterinarian Anna is totally immersed in her new life in Kenya, where she's been running a research and rescue camp in the Serengeti for the past five years. So much so, she's never gotten around to letting the folks back home know she has a daughter. Oh, she knows she should eventually tell the father Jack, and she knows she should tell her parents, and she will. She really will... some day.

Some day comes sooner than expected, when the person Anna's sponsor sends to assess operations in her camp turns out to be... Jack. Needless to say, she's stunned to see him step out of the jeep, but not as stunned as he is to see a little girl running around who looks just like him.

The tale of how these two come to terms with having a daughter, and how they learn to overcome the miscommunications and missteps that led to their estrangement is an enjoyable one. The African setting is captivating. And okay, I'll admit it: the ending made me cry.

This was a stellar debut for this writer, and I look forward to more books from her in the future.

[Nas Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE PROMISE OF RAIN is by debut author Rula Sinara and is a Harlequin Heartwarming release for January 2014.

Anna Bekker is trying to keep her research fund coming from the foundation and keeping her small family around her.

But the research director sent Dr Jackson Harper to audit her funds. Guess what Jack discovers? Anna has a daughter and he is the father of her child! Would Jack ever forgive Anna after her transgression? Could he walk away now from his daughter and Anna?

THE PROMISE OF RAIN is full of warmth and tenderness as well as some exciting moments. This reunion romance is well depicted amid some exotic setting. I loved reading about a new place and the elephant research and rescue seen through the eyes of the author, Rula Sinara. The atmospheric details were very well written. And the romance and emotional development between Anna, Jack and their daughter, Pippa as well as some other characters were realistically done.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

"The Promise of Rain" is a lovely book to read. The simple story line is enhanced by humour, sadness, and the complexity of human nature.

The (human) main characters almost take a backseat when their animal counterparts are on the scene, and it works so well! Ambosi and Bakhari in particular come alive just as much as Anna, Jack, Pippa and the rest, sometimes more so.

Rula Sinara writes like an old hand. Scenes come to life vividly and the characters are portrayed in a very realistic way - you can't help but care about what happens. I'm sure readers will be split 50/50 when it comes to deciding what is best for young Pippa.

[Rosemary Bointon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book combines a sweet romance with a fascinating story about poaching elephants in Kenya and the efforts of the heroine, a vet, to save them. The author shows how human families function in ways that are essentially similar to elephant families. Human distress caused by violence mirrors the distress the elephants experience from violence. Similarly elephants function best in an extended family and so do the humans in this story. All the members of the family are needed. There is the contrast too of life with few conveniences in the Serengeti with a consumer filled life in the US. The story and the emotions feel all too real. A really memorable read.

[Catherine Lanigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rula's story was haunting and that is my personal highest rating, ever. Her depiction of Africa was majestic and so close to Karen Blitzen's OUT OF AFRICA, I had to battle tears to see the pages. Custody battles for children are far too often almost commonplace in our contemporary world, but the shredding of hearts and futures over the decisions made are far-reaching and damaging. Rula's deft handling of this story will give hope to many readers. I highly recommend this wonderful novel.

[Janice Sisemore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anna works at a elephant camp in Kenya, it needs additional funding, the person shows up to check on the funding is her ex who happens to be the father of her girl. He does not know he is the father or about the girl. When he shows up she is afraid he will take out away from her. Enjoyed this book, and looked forward to other books in this series.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I really did not like the heroine in this story, at all. She was stubborn and annoying.. It really made me jot like the hook which is too bad. I almost stopped but since I Already bought it I wanted to finish. So I skimmed and finished. 2.5 stars

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story. The way the author wrote about the African scenes come to life for me. I will be reading more of her books.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the Kenya setting. Typical star-crossed lovers but enjoyable story.