Sunday, August 5, 2018

Jane Reviews: A Promise Forged by Cara Putman (plus Giveaway)

A Promise Forged FB Banner copy


About the Book:


Series: Buckeye Promises # 1
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Whisper Valley Press
Released: Originally Released 2010
Re-released: March 21, 2017
169 pages
Kat transformed in front of him. Her chin came up, her fingers stopped twitching with the fabric of her gown, and a real sparkle bubbled in her eyes. It was like watching Snow White come to life when the prince kissed her.

A heartwarming WWII historical from award-winning author Cara Putman:

Kat Miller has dreamed of playing baseball her entire life. When she earns a spot on a team in the All-American Girls Professional Softball League, she finds that things aren’t as glamorous as she imagined. She struggles with long road trips, grueling practices, and older teammates who are jealous of her success. And to top it all off, an irritating reporter is constantly getting under Kat’s skin.

Events in Jack Raymond’s career have left him cynical and distanced from God. He never wanted to write at a small paper, and he certainly didn’t want to be assigned to something as inconsequential as a women’s softball team. Then Kat walks into his life. The fiery, young softball player somehow climbs the walls around his heart and makes him want to hope again.

When lies fly and the league appears to fail, will Kat and Jack’s new love survive?

Goodreads / Amazon
Cara Putman's Website

A Promise Forged Quote 1

My Rating & Thoughts:    🌟 🌟 🌟    (3 stars)

I am not a baseball fan and was a bit worried that this story would have too many baseball references for me to enjoy, but this was not the case. We get to follow along with Kat as she gets recruited for the newly formed All-American Girls Softball League. She is placed on the team for Cherry Hill and a local journalist has been assigned to cover the team. Jack sees how good Kat is and decides to make her the focus of his reports. Just reading about the pace of Kat’s summer made me tired, I couldn’t imagine actually dealing with the schedule she did. While I enjoyed the various interactions between her and Jack, the reporter, I did struggle with the age difference between them. They seemed to be in two very different stages of life and planning a future together at this time did not seem realistic. I really enjoyed how supportive Kat’s family was, they may not have been in very many scenes but their love for Kat was obvious. I felt the Christian message about having a relationship with God was very well presented. I absolutely love the two quotes I have shared here and plan to keep them in prominent places around me as daily reminders.
 

A Promise Forged Quote 2


(I received a copy of this book from CelebrateLit; opinions expressed in this review
are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

JaneReads
Cara Putman Bio

Guest Post from Cara

Each of my books starts with a hook that engages my interest, and then as I play with it, I think it will engage readers. A Promise Forged was no different. For this book I was writing a series of three World War II novels for Barbour. I already had two historical hooks that fascinated me: children evacuated from London to Ohio, a top secret project to break Engima in Dayton, but I needed one more. I knew the lead characters were going to be siblings, but I wasn’t sure what to do with the kid sister. Then I remembered the All-American Girls Professional Softball/Baseball League.

And I started thinking.

What would it have been like to desperately want a chance to play a sport you loved professionally?

And to be part of the nascent league when no one was sure whether it was a good or bad idea?

I decided that was the perfect place for Kat. She was the kid sister with fire and passion. She wanted a chance to prove herself, and this would be the perfect place. Then she needed a hero worthy of her. One who could go toe-to-toe with her and still see who she could be.

He came in the form of Jack, a cynical reporter who is disappointed to be assigned to cover girls’ baseball. But then he gets to know Kat and some of the others. And he sees something in her that she doesn’t see in herself. It’s the beginning of fireworks that he doesn’t think can go anywhere because she has to go home to her senior year of high school.

As I began researching the history of the league, I learned that the AAGPS/BL archives were kept at a small museum in South Bend, a couple hours from where I live. I spent a day there talking with the curator and exploring all the records. Because the league wasn’t expected to last there weren’t many records from the first year. That meant I had to guess about some things like schedules based on what happened in the years after.

A Promise Forged became a book I loved writing. Kat was feisty, Jack was cynical, and baseball provided a great setting. I can’t believe this football loving woman can admit that!

Blog Stops: 


Giveaway:

a promise forged

To celebrate her tour, Cara is giving away a grand prize that includes the movie League of Their Own, a box of cracker jacks, M&Ms and a $20 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/d2ac/a-promise-forged-celebration-tour-giveaway
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1 comment:

  1. Cara PutmanAugust 6, 2018 at 7:39 AM

    Jane, your graphics are beautiful! Thank you so much for reading my novel and sharing your thoughts about it!

    ReplyDelete

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