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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
2.5 stars., October 13, 2005
This review is from: The Moon and the Stars (Leisure Historical Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)
To escape her evil brother in law who turned her into a widow on her wedding day, Caroline flees her hometown to reinvent herself out west. Her life is fairly peaceful for several years until Wade Renault, a French bounty hunter shows up to take her home to face murder charges. Her pleas and whines fall on deaf ears for the most part, but gradually, they erode his hard heart until by the time she falls deathly ill, he's willing to consider that Caroline might be innocent. Wade is even willing to marry her to provide her with safety and adopt a little boy they meet in their journey. However, the evil man who hired him is not willing to let the matter drop and comes to take care of the matter himself.
*** Though the book sports a lovely title and cover, there's just a lack of logic that weakens the overall effect. Why did Caroline go with Wade, and what made them fall in love is a mystery. The evil brother in law is more of a stock cardboard type villian than a complex character. There is a sweetness, however, that is a redemptive point to the novel. ***
Reviewed by Amanda Killgore, Freelance Reviewer.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
terrific nineteenth century American romantic suspense thriller, July 27, 2005
This review is from: The Moon and the Stars (Leisure Historical Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)
On her wedding day in Charleston, Caroline Duncan became a widow when she believes her stepbrother-in-law Brace arranged her husband Michael's murder. Knowing that Brace will take her, Caroline flees, hiding until she surfaces in 1871 using the surname Richmond in San Sebastian, Texas until bounty hunter Wade Renault arrives to escort her home to face a murder rap.
As he takes her back with him, Caroline swears she is innocent; at first Wade's cynicism from his years of hunting criminals leaves him disbelieving her, but soon he begins to see holes in his client Brace's story. Still he has doubts as he wonders if he just wants Caroline to be innocent because he is falling in love with her. Instead of taking her to Brace, Wade hides Caroline in his Louisiana home thinking that if he married her she would be safe. However, Brace finds them and abducts Wade's adopted son Jonathan, leaving it up to courageous Caroline to confront her murdering nemesis.
This is a terrific nineteenth century American romantic suspense thriller starring two caring likable individuals. Readers will admire Caroline who tosses her lifestyle away to elude her murdering brother-in-law. Wade is a perfect counterpart starting off with not only distrusting his prisoner but assuming she probably killed her husband. He soon regrets his pre-opinion as he sees how kind and caring she is. Though Brace is too evil to matter except as a threat, historical romance readers will enjoy Constant O'Banyon's exciting tale.
Harriet Klausner
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You CAN judge a book by its cover!!, August 2, 2005
This review is from: The Moon and the Stars (Leisure Historical Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)
This is one of the most beautiful covers I have ever seen! In an age when so many bookcovers are computer-generated and generic-looking, Leisure must have been excited about this book to put so much into the artwork.
And rightly so.
Bitter-sweet, poignant, and tender are just some of the words that I would use to describe this tale of romantic misconceptions and misunderstandings. Both the hero and heroine are the embodiment of courage and honor; it just takes them a while to see those same qualities in each other.
I teach Shakespeare, though I am an avid reader of many genres, and I have to say that Ms. O'Banyon understands human nature in a way I rarely see portrayed by today's writers of historical fiction. Her characters, Caroline Richmond and Wade Renault transcend 19th-century Western/Southern culture and would be believable in any time period. (Their banter is reminiscent of the witty exchanges between Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing) Here's to you, Ms. O'Banyon, the Bard of the Brazos!
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