Promise for Tomorrow, A (Ribbons of Steel)

Third book in the Ribbons of Steel historical fiction series highlighting both the expansion of railroads to the near west in the early 1800s and the developing issues surrounding slavery in the south. The Adams family, protagonists in the story, are plantation owners, and middle daughter Carolina

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is the main character highlighted throughout the three book series. I'm rating the series as a whole because it is difficult to read the first book without wanting to find out what happens to Carolina and her siblings and parents. As with other series by these two authors there are definite villains in this series who are either redeemed or receive their comeuppance before the series ends. I enjoyed it, but one must like historical fiction in order to truly like these books.

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I kept picking this book up and putting it down, picking it up and putting it down. For weeks, actually. At one point I even skimmed it, reading pages at a time, from start to finish, trying to find something to pull me in, but it actually had the opposite effect. I realized so much time had passed

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in between the last book and this book. Obviously the author felt that the story had been well enough resolved as well, and had moved forward to find a new plot. But I just wasn't into it anymore. And I really didn't want to hear anything more about railroads.

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This is the third and final story in this series and the authors ended it well, with a hint of more to come (which you will find in the "Ribbons West" series). This is a historical fiction taking place in the mid 1800s. This story takes place when the railroads were being built and a lot of this

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story is based upon what is happening with the railroad progression.

Any story that makes you laugh, cry, get angry, or causes any other emotion while reading it, makes you feel like the author did their job. In this story I felt a lot of anger at certain individuals and wanted to hug and encourage others.

Carolina and James Baldwin are now married and starting their family. But Carolina is determined to keep them together as a family, so she convinces James to pack up their family and follow him to a rural town in the Allegheny Mountains while James works on the Kingwood Tunnel for the B&O Railroad. There you will experience the highs and lows of the family as their family grows, love blossoms and Carolina and James come to understand one another even more. Carolina will have to go back home to where she grew up, to Oakbridge Plantation, and face some challenges there with her loved ones. It is a time of unrest and a time of growth and through it all there is always a "Promise for Tomorrow". A series I am glad I took the time to read as they were full of history, but also of love and real struggles that people would have to face in that day and age. I will look forward to following this family in the next series of books, called "The Ribbon West" series.

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