Dakota Home (Dakota Series #2) [Mass Market Paperback]

Debbie Macomber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2000

Buffalo Valley has found new life. People have started moving to this town—people like Lindsay Snyder, who came as a teacher and stayed, marrying local farmer Gage Sinclair. And now Lindsay's best friend, Maddy Washburn, has decided to pull up stakes and join her in Buffalo Valley, hoping for the same kind of satisfaction. And the same kind of love…

Jeb McKenna is a rancher, a solitary man who's learned to endure. Maddy—unafraid and openhearted—is drawn to Jeb, but he rejects her overtures. Until one of North Dakota's deadly storms throws them together…

Those few days and nights bring unexpected consequences for Maddy and Jeb. Consequences that, one way or another, affect everyone in Buffalo Valley.

--This text refers to an alternate Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber returns to Buffalo Valley, North Dakota, a close-knit farming community struggling to survive in an increasingly industrial world. "Never say die" is the motto for Buffalo Valley and its resilient citizens, including newcomer Maddy Washburn, first introduced in Dakota Born, her best friend, teacher Lindsay Sinclair, Lindsay's husband, Gage, and Jeb McKenna, a local rancher whose tragic accident has left scars much deeper than the loss of his leg. More and more isolated since the tractor calamity, Jeb does not welcome pretty Maddy's friendly overtures. But when Maddyy is stranded in a vicious winter storm, Jeb saves her life, warming her with his own body heat--and steamy caresses. Jeb feels the ice encasing his heart start to thaw with each sweet embrace. In this second installment in a trilogy, longtime Macomber fans and new recruits will welcome Buffalo Valley's extensive cast of quirky characters with open arms. --Alison Trinkle

From Publishers Weekly

Buffalo Valley's depressed economy has taken a turn toward recovery in this second installment in Macomber's trilogy set in contemporary North Dakota. Buffalo Bob's bar is flourishing, Rachel's weekend pizza delivery has become a full-fledged restaurant and Sarah has a waiting list for her quilting classes. But the main attraction this time is Maddy Washburn, who bought the failing grocery store and, through clever marketing, has revived the town's interest in shopping locally. One of Maddy's new customers is Jeb McKenna, a farmer who lost his leg from a tractor accident four years before and now prefers a reclusive existence on his ranch to socializing in town. A blizzard sends Maddy into Jeb's arms long enough for the pair to fall in love (thus importing another romance from Dakota Born), but Jeb still considers himself a cripple and refuses to allow Maddy a permanent place in his life. Macomber closes book two with a cliffhanger, leaving readers anxiously awaiting the final installment to this first-rate series. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Mira (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551666022
• ISBN-13: 978-1551666020
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,111,943 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

With more than 100 million copies of her books sold worldwide, Debbie Macomber is one of today's most popular authors.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author is best known for her ability to create compelling characters and bring their stories to life in her books. Drawing on her own experiences and observations, Debbie writes heartwarming tales about small-town life, home and family and enduring friendships. Every book features the delightful sense of humor that readers around the world clamor for.

Debbie is a regular resident on numerous bestseller lists, including the New York Times (55 times and counting), USA TODAY (currently 63 times) and Publishers Weekly (23 times to date). She is the first-ever recipient of the "readers' choice" Quill Award for Romance Fiction, for 44 Cranberry Point, the fourth book in her highly popular Cedar Cove series. Debbie has also been honored with a RITA® Award, a Romantic Times BOOKreviews Career Achievement Award and is a multiple winner of both the Holt Medallion and the B. Dalton Award.

Her recent books include 92 Pacific Boulevard, 8 Sandpiper Way, 74 Seaside Avenue and Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Cookbook, as well as Twenty Wishes, A Cedar Cove Christmas, Summer on Blossom Street and The Perfect Christmas.

For more information on Debbie and her books, visit her Web site: www.DebbieMacomber.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a hero!, January 20, 2001

By 

Beachreader "BeachReader" (Port Townsend, WA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dakota Home (Dakota Series #2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Everytime I read a Debbie Macomber book I wonder why I don't read more of them. I enjoy her easy-going style so much. With over 100 books to her credit, it's difficult to read them all but I am sure going to try! Jeb McKenna is a North Dakota bison rancher who had lost a leg in a farming accident four years earlier and has been somewhat of a recluse ever since. His sister has tried a ploy to get him to meet a newcomer to town, Maddy Washburn (friend of Lindsay Snyder Sinclair, heroine from the first book) who has just moved to the tiny town of Buffalo Valley, North Dakota after having been somewhat responsible for a terrible tragedy in her job as a social worker back in Savannah. Maddy and Jeb are attracted to each other but Jeb feels that he is totally unworthy of a woman such as her. But when a blizzard forces Maddy to take refuge at Jeb's house for several days, all that changes. Debbie tackles the difficult issue of the mechanics of Jeb making love to Maddy wearing his prosthesis in a delicate and realistic manner. I am absolutely falling in love with this hero and in the fictional town of Buffalo Valley which reminds me a lot of the little North Dakota town where my father was raised. She has kept me up past 2 AM now three nights in a row (first with DAKOTA BORN and now with DAKOTA HOME). I highly recommend this series which will conclude with ALWAYS DAKOTA in May.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dakota Home, August 27, 2000

By 

Donna Z (The Villages, Florida; United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dakota Home (Dakota Series #2) (Mass Market Paperback)

I just finished the book today, and I just loved it! It is the second part of a trilogy by the author, and I got so immersed in the characters that I hated for the book to end. The main story with Maddy and Jeb was fantastic, as were the other stories, mostly Buffalo Bob and Merrily. The writing reminds me of Nora Roberts, and from me, that is the BEST PRAISE I can give to any author. I most highly recommend the books,(Dakota Born if the first book), and I am anxiously waiting for the sequal in May of 2001.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner for Macomber, July 21, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dakota Home (Dakota Series #2) (Mass Market Paperback)

In Buffalo Valley, North Dakota, new grocery storeowner Maddy Washburn refurbishes her store while falling in love with reclusive rancher Jeb McKenna, who lost a leg in a farm accident four years ago. Jeb's sister Sarah loves Jeb's friend Dennis, but still remains married to a philanderer she has not seen in a decade. Buffalo Bob loves his Buffalo Girl, but she flits back and forth into his life, leaving him heartbroken when she goes.

Joanie and Brandon love each other, but seem heading towards divorce. Heath and Rachel make a perfect pair so why are they only occasionally dating? It appears none of these couples will find a lasting happiness in the foreseeable future.

New York Times best-selling author Debbie Macomber returns to Buffalo Valley, North Dakota to display the lives of several couples. Though complex with many subplots, the contemporary rural romance works because each character is fully developed and understood by the reader. As she did with the series first novel, DAKOTA BORN, Debbie Macomber provides her audience with a stirring novel that will surely return the popular writer to all the lists.

Harriet Klausner