Start reading Sentence of Marriage (Promises to Keep) on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.

Deliver to your Kindle or other device

 
 
 
Read books on your computer or other mobile devices with our FREE Kindle Reading Apps.
Sentence of Marriage (Promises to Keep)
 
 

Sentence of Marriage (Promises to Keep) [Kindle Edition]

Shayne Parkinson
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)

Digital List Price: £0.77 What's this?
Kindle Price: £0.00 includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
You Save: £0.77 (100%)


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Product Description

Product Description

In 19th Century New Zealand, there are few choices for a farm girl like Amy. Her life seems mapped out for her by the time she is twelve. Amy dreams of an exciting life in the world beyond her narrow boundaries. But it is the two people who come to the farm from outside the valley who change her life forever, and Amy learns the high cost of making the wrong choice. Book 1 of "Promises to Keep".

“I won’t have her forced,” Jack said. “Let her decide for herself.”

Amy knew her father meant it. She could say no if she wanted. But this marriage would make everything all right. They could put all the trouble she had caused behind them. Everyone would be happy again.

Everyone except her.

“Sentence of Marriage” is the first book in the three-volume “Promises to Keep”.

In nineteenth century New Zealand, there are few choices for a farm girl like Amy. Her life seems mapped out for her by the time she is twelve. Amy dreams of an exciting life in the world beyond her narrow boundaries. But it is the two people who come to the farm from outside the valley who change her life forever, and Amy learns the high cost of making the wrong choice.

"One of the best historical novels I’ve had the pleasure to read in years." - WorkingGirl Reviews.

"The story was captivating, the characters real, the dialogue crisp. I admit to having cried and laughed and even having wanted to murder a character and beat another one within an inch of his life — which is simply a testament to how well written these books are." - AmericanEditor.

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 690 KB
  • Print Length: 344 pages
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language English
  • ASIN: B004XWPWPE
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #17 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
  •  Would you like to give feedback on images?


More About the Author

Shayne Parkinson
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Visit Amazon's Shayne Parkinson Page

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
70 of 71 people found the following review helpful
Totally compelling read 29 April 2011
By Booklover TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Kindle Edition
I picked this book up because it was free at the time and I thought it sounded quite interesting. Within a few pages I was totally hooked.

The story revolves around the life of a New Zealand farm girl at the end of the 19th century. Amy has a good life until a new stepmother arrives and turns her family's life upside down. Amy's story is not an easy one to read and there were times when I wanted to get into the book and give her a good talking to. The detail within the story is fantastic and the author's writing style is descriptive and easy to read.

This book is the first in a trilogy and if you enjoy this one you will definitely be buying the next two as they literally carry on from each other (to the point that I wonder if they were originally one big book).

If you like a good family saga then this would be a good choice for you.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By daisyduck1976 TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I LOVED this book! Shayne Parkinson has done a fantastic job of painting a picture of the life of a 19th century New Zealand farm girl. I found myself absolutely enchanted with the comings and goings of Amy's family within minutes of starting to read this book.
It's effectively a historical family saga, so there are highs, lows, surprises, romances, betrayals and more. Added to all of this, there are interesting insights into farm life at that time, something that I knew little about. The character of Amy is very easy to engage with. She seems perfect at first, but is ultimately as flawed as any teenage girl trying to figure out how to bridge the gap between girl and woman. All the characters are very clearly portrayed, even the very minor ones. So much so, that I can picture them all in my mind and towards the end, I started to feel that I actually knew and understood them.
I sympathised with Amy, laughed at Lizzie her cousin, loved to hate Susannah her step-mother, felt exasperated with Jack her father and found myself whizzing through what is quite a long book, at an amazing rate because I was so engrossed in the plot.

I can't recommend this highly enough. There are very few stories of this type around and even fewer that are so well-written. I'm so glad to see that there are 3 more books in the series for me to read. I'm looking forward to all of them!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kindle edition: very well-formatted, no errors or problems that I could see :)
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
This is the first of four books (currently) about the same families living in the rural Bay of Plenty in newly colonized New Zealand. Parkinson is already working on the fifth, set during the first world war. I bought it as I've just returned from NZ, and the book was free to download. I've since gone on to purchase the other three books for about £2 each and am enjoying the series, although have not been blown away. While definite value for money I wouldn't have spent much more on them.
Parkinson has a lovely way of writing, especially conversations between characters. They are realistic and not rushed. I'd say that 85% of the books are made up of 'talking', which is easy to read, but hardly constitutes a great writer.
The main characters are well-developed, not always likeable and varying enough to maintain interest. But crikey there are some cliches. You've got the 'strong' female protagonist, the irritating but likeable friend, the slightly dim but dependable love interest, the 'nasty' love interest, and the evil step-mother (yes really). As you move into the later books the list increases. You can also see all of the plot 'twists' coming a mile off. In the fourth book I predicted a later scene almost word for word.
Although the writing itself doesn't feel rushed, the pace is far too quick, with entire years passing by in about 10 pages. The couples have so many children its difficult to keep track of who belongs to who, and as time rushes by so quickly you get no clear image of the characters. The prose, of which there is not a lot, can be rather boring sometimes and I've found myself skim-reading some parts.
BUT there is something about these books that keeps me reading, often well into the night. Despite the obvious flaws, they are intensely readable. The emotion is what draws you in, with some moments being extremely well-handled and intensely moving. Some of the descriptions of what Amy goes through are surprisingly graphic in terms of violence and sheer unpleasantness. Some parts left me feeling physically sick.
There is some sexual content in all the books, although its never added just for the sake of it, and is sometimes racy but never explicit.
Overall an enjoyable series, but with a good editor it could have been great. If anything it's nice to learn a bit about the social history of NZ, even though the majority of places in the books are fictional. Parkinson's done her research, but needs to work on her writing style if she's to win a large fan-base. It is her first novel however, so kudos for that, I know I couldn't do any better!
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
sentence of marriage
I downloaded this book as it was free,but what a brilliant read,i found it hard to put this book down once i started to read,as the chapters went on i wanted to read on and on,soon... Read more
Published 23 hours ago by kathy
Fantastic book
This is a great saga & the 1st of 4 books. I'm on no 3 and trying not too read too fast but its difficult because I want to know what happens next. Read more
Published 10 days ago by Jeanette
I was hooked!
The storyline was brilliant and I was hooked within the first few minutes reading. The author gave enough historical and cultural detail to make it a really interesting historical... Read more
Published 21 days ago by Heather
Loved it!!!!!!
Absolutely loved this book. I was gripped from the beginning and found it very hard to put the book down. Read more
Published 21 days ago by J
Sentence of Marriage
I choose this book for my new kindle as it was a free book. It was an excellent read and I subsequently purchased the other books in the series. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Caz
Very Enjoyable Read
I got the first book as it was free, but enjoyed it so much that I have read all four books in the series. I was totally hooked reading these books. Read more
Published 28 days ago by G. Smith
breathtaking read!
I really can't fault this book at all. It is an absolutely fantastic read. If you like family sagas, then you will really enjoy this. Read more
Published 29 days ago by ElaineG
Sentence of Marriage
This could be classed as a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, whilst I wouldn't say it has a unique writing voice there is no denying that I got hooked on it and read it in virtually... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sarah
Brilliant series
Amazing how many of these free reads are good novels. Thoroughly enjoyed this, the 1st book in the series. Read more
Published 1 month ago by anniegirl
Awesome
I initially downloaded this as a freebie, but with a guarded impression - very much a "see how it goes" type book. Within the first few chapters I was hooked! Read more
Published 1 month ago by pebbles
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Popular Highlights

 (What's this?)
&quote;
  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1187 &quote;
Highlighted by 19 Kindle users
&quote;
her mother, who had died when Amy was three years old, but they were memories tinged with warmth and affection. &quote;
Highlighted by 3 Kindle users

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums



Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject




i.e., each title must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. GB Privacy Statement Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. GB Delivery Information Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. GB Returns & Exchanges