Cheryl Wyatt’s debut novel, A Soldier’s Promise, is a delight. It all starts when an eight-year-old boy sends a letter asking for a pararescue jumper to visit. He’s a little boy with big health problems and this is his wish. That wish sets in motion a chain reaction of romance and healing that propels this book from page one to “the end.”

Joel Montgomery is a pararescue jumper who will go any place but home to Rescue, IL. The book follows his unit as they race from natural disasters to other assignments, making the military assignment real and portraying the soldiers in a positive life. Cheryl’s background as a military kid is clear throughout the book, both in her handling of Joel’s career and the impact a military upbringing had on both main characters as children.

Amber Stanton is the heroine, a special needs teacher at a private school in Rescue. From the moment she first sees Joel, she’s smitten. But large obstacles remain in their path. She is a multi-dimensional character that I rooted for from page one.

This book is very well written. Cheryl writes with a very active and descriptive style that pulls you right into the scene without bogging you down with too many details. A hard balance to strike that she finds with ease. The plot is filled with all kinds of realistic conflict that seems destined to keep Amber and Joel apart. There were times I wondered how they’d get together, even with the book being a romance and the conclusion pretty much assumed.

Bradley is a child character who adds to the richness of the plot and conflict without being a prop to add the cute factor to the book. And the emotional and spiritual journeys the main characters take were filled with twists and turns that kept the tension and pages turning.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read the next!