Keagan Cadagan moves to Springfield, Missouri with her employers the Flannigan’s, she's their nanny and housekeeper, and she leaves her seven brothers behind in Kansas to fend for themselves. When Mrs. Flannigan announces she's going away for a couple of months, it’s not safe for Keagan to stay in the house with Mr. Flannigan and she secretly flees. Woodrome and Hunter Boarding House are looking for a housekeeper and a hopeful Keagan applies for the job. Raymon Woodrome isn’t sure eighteen year old Keagan will be suitable, she seems far too young, and she proves him wrong.

Keagan and Raymon relationship starts off as a professional one, over time they develop feelings for each other and Keagan is worried, as she’s Catholic and Raymon is a Protestant. He’s hardworking, kind, considerate and Keagan is exactly the same and their a perfect match. Keagan teaches Raymon the art of Irish storytelling, dancing and he enjoys the traditional food she cooks and so do the guests at the boarding house.

As time goes on, Keagan worries about her brothers, her former employers have disappeared and things get worse. America enters WW I, all men in Raymons age group have to register for the draft, she's concerned he will be sent off to fight and the Spanish Flu breaks out.

I received a copy of a Promise in Autumn by Barbara Morriss from NetGalley and BookBaby in exchange for an honest review. The narrative is based around real people who lived in America during the early 1900’s, Keagan and Raymon are the nicest of characters and the story has elements of suspense, mystery and crime, due to the Flannigan's pasts and business practices. A sweet and wholesome love story, about the changing of seasons and the uncertainty of life, and four stars from me.

I didn't manage to connect with the main character at all, and it was an extreme sudden of time changing and happening wich made it hard for me to be familiar with the world building and get to connect with what was happening.

Irish Catholic in the the time before World War 1. An interesting story about the life and times...with a hint of mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to review.

Real and compelling story of a young woman in the 1920's. A young and poor Keagan an Irish Catholic girl is thrown into the hard world after leaving her brothers in search of the better life. We fallow her on that journey of her discovering and learning about herself and world around her. Also she is somewhat simple and naive but more then anything religious. At the end her faith is her fuel and thing that keeps her going trough all the hard aches and troubles. She leaves me feeling her strength because she never complains and gives up, she finds the positive in everything around her and isn't afraid of trying. Her hard work pays off. There is lot of hard time in front of her but in her fashion there is one thing that stays with me "Tis the life" says Keagan and truly at the end...that is all that is left.

There is also some mystery involved in the plot line and to be honest that is something that really kept the story going for me for not to be boring at the time. So that kept me invested.

I liked the characters. Even if at times I didn't really care much about them I realized that this is one of those books where you connect with the stories. And I truly did.
Because at the end my heart was broken and I found the hope....I recognized myself in all the "little" life moments.

The tone of the book was raw and really "history bookish" like and as with characters I realized that maybe some way trough the middle that is author decision that I like and approve of.

I don't venture often into the realistic historical fiction but when I do I like to do it with book like this one.
I appreciate the research author put into the book.

Overall , this is quick bittersweet historical fiction read which I recommend, especially if you are fan of the genre.