The Promise

by Cherie Dargan

Life is sweet for Mary Carlson. The 20th century is more than a decade old; she is nearly eighteen years old and is finishing up her senior year at Jubilee Junction High School. And she is experiencing her first romance. Charlie O'Connor has started leaving sweet notes for her and has asked for her hand in marriage. She spends time each day filling her lovely cedar chest, the one Papa made for her sixteenth birthday and carved with beautiful roses and vines on top, with pillowcases, towels, aprons, and other items necessary for a new bride starting her home. Soon she will begin work on a new quilt using the double wedding ring pattern. She blushes to think about it. But in the midst of such happy bliss, the war that is ripping Europe apart threatens to draw America into the fray. Congress declares war and institutes a military draft. Will Charlie have to go to war before they can even say their vows? And if he goes, will he ever come back.

In present day, Gracie and her new husband, David, are setting out on a most unusual honeymoon. They are driving cross-country in a Class C motorhome retracing the route taken by the regiment of Gracie’s ancestor Michael during the Civil War and visiting the battlefields and historic sites along the way. But before they leave, Gracie gets a call from a relative with a cryptic request.

“Mother gave me an antique hope chest that belonged to Grandma Mary some years back, and I thought it was empty,” she says. “But when I cleaned it, I found a false bottom. Beneath it I discovered a bundle of letters, linens, and a pristine wedding ring quilt in the cubby hold underneath. It does not appear to ever have been used.”

Now it’s up to Gracie to once again investigate the origins of a family heirloom. But not everyone wants the past uncovered. “My Great-Grandma Mary is dead and can't defend herself,” declares Aunt Catherine. “Do we really need to dig into all the unpleasant circumstances of her life? Do we have the right?"

Can Gracie find the story behind the red and white double wedding ring quilt; and if she does, what long buried family secrets will she have to dig up?

Kindle Edition

Published August 29, 2024

About the author

Cherie Dargan is a retired community college professor. She's the Program Chair for her local League of Women Voters, manages several websites, and continues to research her family history, which goes back to the 1850s in Iowa. Her grandchildren are the seventh generation to live in Iowa. Married to a retired reference librarian, Michael, they have four adult children, three grandchildren, and another one on the way. They live in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

She describes her writing as inspirational women's fiction set in the Midwest, with a twist of history, (quilt) mystery, faith, and love. She writes historical fiction about family legacy across generations.

https://substack.com/@cheriedargan
https://www.facebook.com/CherieDargan...

Reviews

[Tracy Cutter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading The Promise and getting to know the World War I era. I read the second book in the Grandmother’s Treasures series, The Legend, and came to this third book for the pleasant characters, the good storytelling, and the sensitive portrayal of people in different time periods, all strung together through ancestral ties. The story alternates between newlyweds in modern-day Iowa to the what life was like for their great-grandparents on the home front of WWI. Cherie Dargan beautifully weaves the issues of the earlier time period—voting rights, the 1918 pandemic, and losses of soldiers during the war—into the story. While much of the present-day story lacks a real goal or purpose, I still really enjoyed wandering around the Midwest with the characters as they explored Civil War cemeteries and other historic sites. In fact, this book inspired me to seek out additional information on WWI, which is one of the reasons I love reading historical fiction!

Though I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I did feel the main character, Gracie, had been diminished a bit from The Legacy. The newlyweds took on more traditional characteristics, with Gracie now more emotionally sensitive and David taking on a new habit of “mansplaining.” He suddenly became more interested in being masculine during this novel, which seemed odd given his age. I also sometimes found the dialogue to be stilted and a bit dated, especially for some of the younger characters. But overall, this was an enjoyable read.

I encourage you to check out this interesting, well-crafted novel to explore an important part of our nation’s history that many of us haven’t learned enough about, as it became overshadowed, sadly, by later, no less horrific wars.

[Marin Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of sweet moments and family feel goods. I can’t say I liked this one as well as the one before. But I did appreciate the focus on mental health and fighting that stigma. I often felt like I was reading a blog and found myself skimming to get to the recipe - only to remember that there was no recipe. Lots of play-by-play details I just didn’t really care about.

***Content Warnings***
Characters on their honeymoon; sex implied several times
A male character wears only his boxers, sex is vaguely implied
Character called “sexy wench”
A female character longs to give herself to a male character
A character enjoys “the physical act” of marriage
Injuries from abuse described
Human trafficking
Death by gunshot
Reference to a character’s suicide
Mention of stillbirth in the past
Postpartum depression
White supremacy
Mention of miscarriage in the past

One use of the B word


I was given an advanced reader copy, but all opinions are my own and a five star review was not required.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Promise” is a charming and heartfelt story, but at times, I felt it read like a young girl’s diary with intimate details of daily life. Several days ended with the couple having a salad, and then the honeymooners were off to bed. I didn’t read books 1 or 2 in the series, but I was able to jump in and follow the storyline. Not knowing the relationships between the characters didn’t bother me. The story follows a young couple RVing on their honeymoon. The dual storyline was easy to follow, alternating between contemporary Gracie and her great-grandmother, Mary, from the WWI era. The novel is rich with letters, songs, and interesting tidbits of American history that Gracie learns on her trip. While some of the historical details she learns is unrelated to the plot and doesn’t help move the story along, they add to the overall charm and depth of the story. It gave me a sense of the past through Gracie’s eyes.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read the previous two books on the series I was expecting the same energy and excitement in this book as shown in the other ones, unfortunately that was not the case for me, the dialogues in this book felt forced, dry and stilted, I felt I was reading entrances on a diary of a teenager telling every single details of her day.
Gracie’s character felt diminished and David’s at time felt patronizing of Gracie which was a complete opposite of the couple dynamics on Book two.
On the other hand I enjoyed the history of WWI in the book and the familiar relationships discovered thru the letters and hidden quilt; and above all the path to the women’s vote.
I truly enjoy reading books written by Cherie Dargan, this wasn’t for me the best one yet, but I would read the next book that this author writes.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I have not read the other books in this series, this was a story line that did not need the others - perfect stand alone. There could have been more detail about the 19 18 flu epidemic since it did impact the characters, but the story line about May and Charlie and the war was fully fleshed out and easy to follow. The dual time lines involving the family "now" and Mary then made for a compelling read. I recommend this to people who like dual time lines and historic fiction. I received a copy of this book via The Niche Reader.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This dual timeline story is sweet and very easy read. Eith the timelines moving between WWI and present day, it has a YA feel. There are moments where David and Grace are not as engaging as Mary's story. Although I have not read the first few books in the series, the gap in my understanding of the characters may influence this impression.

Overall, it was nice to read a historical-fiction book with the WWI setting. The story gives a good overview of the times and sensitive aspects of culture.

Thank you, Niche Reader, for the ARC.

[Jackie Tryon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book club reading gifted book from Beth

I have read the first 3 books so far and agree they improve with each book. The second was my favorite just because the story had a lot of love and drama which kept me flipping each page. This book is very well written, I was introduced to new aspects of WWI.

I’m looking forward to book 4. The quilt theme is a nice touch. Thank you & keep writing!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book in this series. I’ve enjoyed all three of them…and recommend I
them for everyone!

[Mary Frain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading book 3 of the series after enjoying book 2. I really liked the honeymoon trip around civil war sites. I’ve visited some of them myself and could visualise it. I also thought the dual timeline with WW1 worked well. I didn’t know the US songs from the period. I thought the information about Buffalo soldiers and women’s suffrage was well researched and interesting.
I wasn’t remotely interested in the various cat antics described but I’m sure some readers might be!
I got a bit confused in the modern day story of who everyone was in the large extended family but I just focused on the main characters and it seemed to work.
I was grateful to receive a free advance copy of this book via The Niche Reader.