The Vow (The Birch Creek Ranch #2) by B. E. Baker

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Women's Fiction, Romance
Content: Clean

 

Three stubborn women, each of whom made a promise. Who will yield, and who will break?

Abigail made a vow to her husband before he passed, one she could not, would not break. But life hasn’t been easy without him by her side, and her children grow more with each passing day. Sometimes it feels like she’ll be alone forever.

Amanda is tired of being a mess. She wants to achieve, to impress, to excel. If that means changing who she is, even changing her entire life, then so be it.

Donna has learned the truth about the world the hard way. You either attack, or you’re attacked yourself. She doesn’t like being the villain, but she’s done being a patsy. She's determined to carve out a place for herself, no matter what.

These women have all returned to Birch Creek with big plans, but the future loves to surprise us. Can their vows keep them on target? Or will they decide it’s more important to follow their hearts, no matter how bad the fallout?

 

I absolutely loved the first book in this series The Bequest, so I was really looking forward to reading this one. This starts off not too long after the first book ended, with the summer over and the kids starting school. Both moms are still dealing with the challenges of their jobs and living on the ranch. 

I really liked the growth of Amanda in this book, and how she learned to be herself and work off her own strengths, rather than try to be like Abigail. Abigail has lots of great qualities, but there are also things that she needs to learn as well, and I don't think she is as put together as she appears to be. I really connected with Amanda in this book and could see similarities in our personalities. That made me enjoy her character the most this time around.

As for Abigail, she seems so put together on the outside, but is falling apart on the inside. I thought she finally started loosening up and letting go a bit in this book, which was great, but at times I wanted to hit her over the head when it came to her relationship with Steve. The promise Abigail made to her husband before he died, was one that I thought he never had the right to ask her to make, and while I could understand why he felt the way he did about it, that didn't make it ok. Through much of the book, Abigail worried about whether she was making the right decisions because of her children, and I get that, but there is a line there. No parent should have to sacrifice their true happiness for their children's happiness and well-being. Children benefit from having parents who are in happy, healthy relationships. I think they know when we aren't happy, and it affects them. I think Abigail may be coming to see that, and I like that growth for her character. It just took a frustratingly long while to get there. 

The addition of Donna's character was a surprise, but I liked it. I enjoyed reading her journey of growth and learning to stand up for herself. It will be interesting to see if her character continues to have a point of view in the series, and if she will also find love.

While reading these books, I thought a lot about the kids and their behaviors. I may be reading too much into it, but I like the way the book shows the differences in the kids and how they are dealing with things. Amanda's kids have been a bit unruly, especially her oldest daughter. She really cares deep down but seems to put on this front of not caring for her mother. It's her way of acting out because of all they've been through. Her younger daughter chooses to disappear and not be heard. A lot of it is aided by Amanda's personality type and parenting style. 

On the flip-side Abigail's kids seem way too well behaved. It's mentioned they have a fear of disappointing their mother. I also think they want to make things easier on their mom because of what they've all been through. This is also aided by their mother's personality type and parenting style. On the surface this seems good but isn't exactly healthy either. I just like the way the book seems to be showing the different ways not only the grown-ups, but also the kids, can end up acting when they go through something tragic.

Story-wise, I like the self-reflection and feelings these books pull out of me. I can see things that I have in common with both Abigail and Amanda from time to time, although as I said, this time it was mostly Amanda. Plot-wise, I thought this book tied some things up nicely, but also left some threads waiting to be resolved, which is a good way to end a book in the middle of a series. I did think the thing that happens at the end with a certain person driving up and making a big reveal was a little bit too coincidental, but that's a small gripe that I can overlook. I'm looking forward to continuing on when the next book is released.

Thanks to the author for providing me with an ARC of this book.