This has been, by far, my most favorite book in this entire series. I loved the characters and the heartfelt moments. It’s such a short book, but it really delivers a good punch to the feels. I cared about all of them and it’s been a long time since I’ve been this emotionally invested in a romance book. I really enjoyed it!

Asher is working on keeping family , job and hearth intact in the small town of Mindalby when Flynn comes to town to distract her. Decisions about if he will stay in this small town to find a future together with her as the town is struggling to survive. Another good addition to this series with outback , small community and changing time.
Ebook from netgalley and publishers with thanks. Opinions are entirely my own.

Lauren K McKeller is an author that I instantly one click whenever they have a new story out because I know I will not be disappointed with this author writing. I was not disappointed with this story with this author flawless writing and ability to write a story that instantly captures my attention, I enjoyed the storyline of this story and the characters within the story.

I am back in Mindalby with this book and getting to know more people from the town that have been hurt with the closure of the cotton mill, this time we meet local girl Asher Easterby and journey with her to a HEA with Flynn Carmichael who is in town for work, a job that may be a problem to a lot of people and there is a lot of heart-ache to jump first.

Asher is a single Mum and working at the real estate agency in town, she grew up in this town and has worked hard to become a good mother, she is close to her Dad who has now lost his job because of the mill closure but is estranged from her mother who left town when Asher became pregnant. There is a lot happening, her father has turned to drinking and Asher is trying to help him and her mother is pushing for a reunion life is hard but when she meets newcomer Flynn there is a spark, a spark that is the last thing she needs at the moment or could it be what she does need?

Flynn has been sent to Mindalby to try and buy the old mill, thinking the best he goes out to try and get it for his boss, but when he realizes what his boss wants if for he starts to do a re-think you see Flynn holds a secret that makes him think more about a future for the town and when he meets Asher while renting an apartment he feels a pull like never before but with what is going on with him will it be worth taking a risk.

This story is filled with heart-ache but there is also some very heart-warming scenes as Asher and Flynn work through what is happening in the town, with Asher’s father and other characters from the community, the author tackles alcoholism and sickness and the emotions that go with these and unemployment that is affecting the town, Flynn is a very caring hero and he and Asher make a fabulous couple, they are there for each other and other family members, I really did enjoy this one and am enjoying this series.

More than a promise by Lauren K Mckellar.
Mindalby, a small town, a community, a home. But when the mill that supports the local cotton farmers and employs many of the town's residents closes unexpectedly, old tensions are exposed and new rifts develop. Everyone is affected and some react better than others, but one thing is certain: living on the edge of the outback means they have to survive together, or let their town die.

Asher is barely keeping her head above water, which is impressive given the drought–stricken land around her. Between her job at the real estate agent, her father's reliance on the bottle, her estranged mother's pushy texts, and her gorgeous daughter, Dakota, she has no time for relationships…even if Flynn Carmichael is the most beautiful man she's ever seen. But Flynn is only in Mindalby for a short time, and Asher and Dakota have no space in their lives for a man not willing to put down roots.

This was a good read with likeable characters.  I did like some of the characters but I found it slow in places.  3*.

Wow. I’m still reeling a couple hours after finishing reading this book, because it is emotionally INTENSE. Be warned; if any of the following trigger you, you might want to give this one a miss. Cancer deaths, cancer treatment, violence towards pregnant women, alcoholic parents, abusive parents.

This is another in the Mindalby series of Australian romances about a small outback town thrown into turmoil when the cotton mill suddenly closes down. Asher is a single mother, working at the local real estate agent where times are as tough as everywhere else… everyone wants to sell up and get out of town, but nobody’s buying. Her job’s definitely in jeopardy. To add to her worries, her father (who works at the mill) is descending deep into a pit of alcoholic depression.

Into this scenario comes Flynn, a Sydney city boy working for Vale Enterprises, a possible buyer for the mill and maybe a saviour for the town. Flynn’s got his own troubles, though. Diagnosed with cancer at eighteen, he failed to reach the academic heights his father expected… and now, just when he has the opportunity to make a reputation for himself as a business negotiator, the cancer’s back.

Sometimes the story seems like Flynn and Asher just lurching from one crisis to the next without getting time to take a breath, much less fall in love. I totally got why Flynn made the decision to keep his chemo treatment from Asher; considering the amount of pressure she was under, adding to it would have been nothing short of cruel, asking her to bear his burdens as well as her own.

There are no magic bullets here. There’s death (of a side character who has a significant effect on Flynn) pain, money worries, fear for the future, and all those things real people have to suffer with in real life. This isn’t a book if you’re looking for an escapist, light-hearted read, but it is a great one if you’re looking for characters who are incredibly real and engaging, who you’ll begin to root for as soon as you meet them on the page.

This isn’t a book for everyone. I’d say it belongs almost in literary fiction rather than romance, despite the strong love story running through it. The HEA… well, because there are no magic bullets with cancer, it’s really only an HFN (Happy For Now). After all the trauma Asher and Flynn had been through, though, the hopeful note the book ended on was good enough for me. Five stars for a powerful and very real read, but don’t be looking for escapism here.

More Than a Promise is a very well written romance. I enjoyed the plot, characters and setting. This author is new to me and I really enjoyed her writing. Certain I will be reading more of her books.

With the closure of the Mindalby cotton mill, the whole town was suffering. Asher Easterby worked for the local real estate office, but with no houses sold since the mill closed, things were looking grim. She was worried about her father, who had lost his job at the mill and taken to drinking far too much. And her adorable three-year-old daughter, Dakota kept her on her toes – and wondering how she would keep a roof over their heads and food on the table if Asher lost her job as well.

Flynn Carmichael arrived in Mindalby from Sydney to work through negotiations for his boss to buy the cotton mill. Flynn was under the impression his boss, Harvey Vale, was planning to re-open the mill. But the town had formed a co-op to have the mill owned by the town – they just had to raise the funds needed. So, what would happen to the future of the mill and the townsfolk?

Flynn and Asher’s attraction to each other was immediate (of course, it’s a romance novel!) but Asher knew he was leaving town after a few short weeks. She didn’t want her heart to be broken again, nor her daughter’s…

More Than a Promise by Aussie author Lauren K. McKellar is the 3rd in the Mindalby Outback Romance series – a set of novellas all written by different Australian authors. Set in the NSW countryside, where the harsh conditions really did make living a challenge, we meet a range of characters in each book who show their various strengths. Recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read and review.

I loved this book in the Mindalby Outback series. Asher has been through a lot and finds it hard to trust newcomer Flynn, but she doesn't count on Flynn's perseverance, but Flynn has secrets that may be a deal breaker. I thought the relationship that Flynn built with Nash Hammer helped them both to deal with their problems. Asher's relationship with her dad who was an alcoholic was a tough one that I think was dealt with really well. This book highlights many issues, illness, alcoholism, unemployment and small town struggles.

Thanks to NetGalley and Escape Publishing for a copy in return for an honest review.

The third book in the Mindalby Outback series is written by Lauren K. McKellar and introduces readers to more of the exceptional women who live and work in the heartbreaking conditions that sometimes come hand in hand with outback life.

More Than a Promise is another wonderful story of trials and heartache, hope and despair and a brief glimpse of what could be. With engaging characters and great world building too, this is another fabulous story that will keep me coming back for more.