Yesterday’s Promise is on of those novels that can make you cry one minute then burst out laughing the next. I was instantly drawn to the main character, Hannah Johns, and her adorable little toddler, Davey. The handsome Brock Ellis who had left Hannah crying in a hotel room the night after their wedding…not so much. Until Brock’s problems were revealed. For a while, his boyish charm and surprising sensitivity softened my heart toward him, until he did the unthinkable and shattered Hannah’s heart a second time.
This book challenges pre-conceived ideas and misconceptions of single-parenthood and reminds us of the importance of looking past the superficial. Hannah Johns, a Christian woman who finds herself raising a toddler alone, has an impenetrable faith that draws others to her and to her God. I admired her purity, gentleness and open-hearted love, until her kindhearted nature put her in a place of total emotional vulnerability. Then, as Brock Ellis twisted that knife even deeper into her already wounded heart, I longed for vindication. Suddenly, I didn’t want Hannah to be the nice, gentle, forgiving Hannah anymore. I wanted her to walk away and harden her heart. But at a time when I would have been wallowing in self-pity, Hannah drew closer to God and trusted in His plan. And ultimately, it was her faith and total surrender to the will of God that brought about her ultimate healing.
Reviewed by: Jennifer Slattery