Review: Promises Made Under Fire
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 25, 2013
Charlie Cochrane's Promises Made Under Fire broke new ground for me. Historic fiction has been my thing for years, but I can honestly say this is the first time I've sampled gay fiction. Unfortunately for Cochrane, I don't feel I have enough experience with the genre to give much of an assessment on that score. Being a newbie I have yet to develop a base line of comparison, but I will offer up what commentary I can regarding the rest of the material.I liked this one for a couple of reasons, first and foremost being my personal experience with war letters. Cochrane does a superb job recreating the sentimentality surrounding correspondence exchanged between servicemen and the loved ones they've left behind. Having been in that position I needed that to come through in this piece and I'm happy to say Cochrane exceeding my expectations.I also liked the subtle romantic tones of the book. Society tends to overemphasize love in times of trial, but Cochrane takes a different route, letting her characters develop their feelings in gently evolving increments. In turn this  allows her readers to understand not only the cast's initial attraction and developing affection, but also the isolation and uncertainty men in their situation must have been felt.Being at a bit of disadvantage when in it comes to the material I feel like I can't give Cochrane's work quite the justice it deserves. Still, I enjoyed the story and think it a very interesting historic piece.