The Promise of Dawn, by Lauraine Snelling, is the first book in the Under Northern Skies series. It is a branch off the Red River series, connecting cousins Ingeborg and Gunlaug of Norway. The many social issues addressed in this novel include loyalty, slavery, taking advantage of loved ones, and the importance of education.
Rune and Signe Carlson accept an offer from Rune’s uncle, Einar Strand, to pay their family’s passage to America. In exchange for this, they agree to work on his farm to repay their debt. With their limited English and Signe expecting their fourth child, they sail for America, only to find that Uncle Einar and Aunt Gerd are hard hearted people who expect constant hard work. As Signe helps restore Gerd to health, the woman begins to change. Einar, on the other hand, becomes more and more difficult to live with. Rune and Signe struggle to find a way to respectfully repay their debt and yet demand fair treatment.
I enjoyed this book very much. Having read many books by this author, I had great expectations and was not disappointed! I certainly appreciate modern conveniences much more after reading about the hard work in this story just to survive. I found myself sympathetic to Rune and Signe’s plight, standing up for their children and yet remaining respectful to another adult.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
Kara
I received this book free from the publisher and was not required to write a positive review.
