Serene Moneto believes in family honor above all else, even her own happiness. Promised by an arranged marriage to a man she does not love, Serene battles to do the right thing for her family. When the German soldiers kill her father, for helping a wounded American soldier, she realizes her life will never be the same. Believing it is her father’s wish she takes the handsome young American into her home and eventually her heart.

Miles Coulson survives the battlefields of Italy only to face death in a small restaurant in Rome. He knows that his presence in the Moneto home places Serene and her family in danger, but until he is well enough to walk he has little choice. It is not until he has left that he realizes just how much danger the beautiful Italian girl he has fallen in love with will have to face.

A Daughter’s Promise by Christine Clemetson is set in war torn Rome during WW II. The forbidden love story that develops between Serene and Miles is both heartwarming and compelling. Ms. Clemetson had me turning the pages time and again wanting to find out if these two would find their happily ever after. Serene’s love for one man and her sense of obligations to her father’s wish for her to marry another is an emotional roller coaster that seems true to the time frame of the story.

While much of the story is well written, I did find some of the dialogue between the characters contradictive at times. I’m not sure if it was meant to add drama to the scene or to show conflict for the characters, whatever the reason it didn’t work for me.

In all I found the story an interesting read and would like to read more of Ms. Clemetson’s work.

Reviewed by: Sandie