Lonestar Secrets (Lonestar Series, Book 2) [Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Colleen Coble (Author), Aimee Lilly (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 2009

Can a secret be kept forever? Five years ago, Shannon Astor left the beautiful high-mountain country of West Texas as a single mother. She was desperate for a fresh start…and a way to keep the secrets of her past buried. It almost worked. Until a chance to make a better life for her daughter leads her right back home. To the very place of the past betrayals. But it also leads Shannon to horse-trainer Jack MacGowan—her handsome high-school nemesis, now a widowed father. His daughter looks so startlingly like her own that Shannon can’t help but question the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s birth. Wary of each other’s intentions, Shannon and Jack reluctantly join forces to untangle a deep mystery that swirls around Shannon’s parents, a lost Spanish treasure, and a legendary black stallion. If Shannon can learn to entrust her secrets to the man falling in love with her, the truth just might set her free.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Evangelical Christian novelist Coble offers up a Texan-style serving of ranch, rodeo and rambunctious interpersonal conflicts. Single mom Shannon Astor returns to her hometown in Bluebird Crossing with her daughter, Kylie, in tow, to take over as local veterinarian. Immediately upon arriving at her late uncle's dilapidated house, Shannon is faced with a dead farmhand. Before readers can recover from that episode, Shannon gets an emotional revelation involving Jack MacGowan, a wealthy landowner who ruined her reputation years earlier. Now, she must decide what to do with her newfound knowledge, and in quick succession her life is threatened, her daughter's birth father re-enters her life, and she must put to rest demons from the past. Fans of Coble will enjoy the light banter and easy conversational tone of this story, but too many unlikely and unrealistic plot complications detract from what could have been a satisfying love story. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

RITA finalist Colleen Coble lives with her husband, Dave, in Indiana. She is the author of thirty-five novels and novellas including Lonestar Sanctuary, the Rock Harbor Series, the Aloha Reef Series, and two Women of Faith™ fiction selections, Alaska Twilight and Midnight Sea.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Oasis Audio; Unabridged edition (July 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598596071
• ISBN-13: 978-1598596076
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,165,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Colleen Coble is the author of more than forty books, most of them bestsellers. Some of her most recent novels are Lonestar Angel, The Lightkeeper's Ball, Blue Moon Promise, and Anathema, an Amish suspense. One of her most popular series is the Rock Harbor mystery series featuring Bree and Samson, a search-and-rescue dog team. She has won the Carol Award numerous times as well as romance and mystery awards. She lives in Wabash, Indiana with her husband Dave.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This sequel is even better than the 1st of the pair: "LONESTAR SANCTUARY", April 19, 2009

By 

Harold Wolf "Doc" (Wells, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lonestar Secrets (Lonestar Series #2) (Crossings Book Club Exclusive) (Hardcover)

UPDATE-UPDATE-UPDATE
BUY BOTH LONESTAR BOOKS, READ QUICKLY. "Lonestar Homecoming," Lonestar book 3 is to be released in April, 2010.
But first, READ BELOW AND DISCOVER ABOUT THE "LONESTAR SECRETS."

Mystery/romance author, Colleen Coble, has written a "deluxe" duo of stories in her "Lonestar" pair of books. She weaves mystery, suspense, adventure, and Christian romance into stories as big as the Lonestar state this time. Lots of horse ranch action as well.

Single and the new local Veterinarian, Shannon Astor, with daughter, Kylie, move to a ranch beside Bluebird Ranch (from "Lonestar Sancturay".) She meets Faith, a 5-yr-old twin image of Kylie, but daughter of Jack, whose wife, Blair, is dead. Jack was also responsible for rumors that forced Shannon away from this area after high school. Shannon's daughter's real twin, died on the day of its birth, the same day Jack's wife gave birth, in the same clinic, with the attending nurse for both mothers being the aunt of Blair. It's obvious, a twin was switched with Blair's deceased girl.

Confused? Author Coble does a much better job of setting up the story. All that activity is just the beginning. A lawyer jokes to Shannon, that since Jack's Senator father is rich and powerful, her best solution is not a court fight but marrying Jack, the guy she loathes. Impossible! Impossible? Well...

Then there is Mary Beth, friend in trouble that disappears;
Tucker Larve, mustang buster & enemy of Jack;
Shannon's dead parents, mine accident???;
Rev./Vet. Grady & Dolly O'Sullivan (from Lonestar Sanctuary);
plus Rick, Allie, & Betsy Bailey (also of the previous book);
and Felipe Mendoze, a very dead ranch hand;
and...well, again, it's hard to believe that all this and more is packed into only 316 pages. With this complex of a mystery (and romance), there are no wasted words by Colleen Coble. It's why she's become one of my and other's favorite contemporary authors.

You will want to move to Bluebird Crossing, West Texas, yourself after this read. It's really not a MUST reading the first book, "Lonestar Sanctuary", prior to enjoying this story, but your missing out on another 5-star opportunity if you don't. Put a saddle on your horse--buy both, you'll be glad you did. And check out other Colleen Coble books on my reviewed list. GOOD STUFF.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lesson Worth Learning, September 20, 2009

By 

R. J. Carpenter (Indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lonestar Secrets (Lonestar Series, Book 2) (Paperback)

When I first started reading LONESTAR SECRETS and the mystery of the twins was revealed early on, I thought that would make the book predictable, and I was a little disappointed. I sure am glad that I kept reading!

This story is Shannon's story, and the mystery surrounding the twins is only a part of it. There are other mysteries in the book. What happened to Shannon's roommate? What do her kidnappers think Shannon has? Did her parents find the Spanish treasure they were seeking?

None of these were the biggest mystery for me, though. As I read through the book and watched Shannon's character change, I wondered if she would ever trust again. After the things she had endured, I figured she certainly had reason NOT to trust. Shannon receives the message, throughout the book, that love is a choice, and it was interesting to me to watch her as that message finally began to make sense. I think all women--all people--can identify with not wanting to trust after you have been hurt. If you don't make the decision to trust again, I think you certainly live less of a life than you could. Shannon Astor does make that choice, and in the process, she finds what she's been dreaming of. Watching her character evolve enough to love again was what made the book worth reading for me.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Horses, Romance, Hidden Treasure..., June 20, 2009

By 

Winter Woodridge "A Book, A Quilt, A Cat.." (NH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonestar Secrets (Lonestar Series #2) (Crossings Book Club Exclusive) (Hardcover)

I loved this book. I read Lonestar Santuary and couldn't wait for Lonestar Secrets. I adore a good story and when you add horses to the mix, its a double scoop of yummy..
I love how the author creates female heroines that are not perfect Barbie doll type people. You feel like these women are people that could live next door to you...
There is a scene in the book where the horses are trapped by wildfire and the way the author describes the details, it will stay with you a long time...Amazing!!
I can't wait for the next Lonestar book...