Customer Reviews

The Moon and the Stars (Leisure Historical Romance)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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

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!

is the best way I can describe this book. The characters are nothing special and their problems are far from engrossing. I didn't believe any of it and honestly didn't care. I found myself laughing at the ridiculous situations, language and overly dramatic writing in this book. This might be the worst romance I have read.

This book reminded me of romance books in the 80's. I loved it. Page after page I just got sucked in deeper until I closed the book with a happy sigh. Most of the time I don't enjoy this time period 1868 in Texas but Constance O'Banyon really wrote this book well. This book had everything you need to create a good romance: a dashing hero, a beautiful feisty heroine, someone who always seems to interfere with the hero and heroine, and, most of all...PASSION! It was written with an amazing level of intensity and feeling that my heart was pumping furiously with the palatable passion in the story. The relationship between the leads is endearing. I found the characters to be multi-dimensional and the author weaves a mystery into the story without slowing it down or interrupting the romantic flow. The interaction between the leads was great. This book is sharp and fast-moving. Filled with Lovable and exciting characters. This was a very entertaining book. This book was a pleasure to read and I couldn't put it down until it was finished. Filled with Lovable characters, exciting and not too heavy mystery twists.

Unlike most romance novels, the "hero's" Wade is not perfect, he's not a rake, nor is he nasty, mean, or an arrogant idiot! ... I will let you discover just what kind of man Wade is BUT he's truly lovely to read about.

I love a book with lots of drama! The characters are colorful and unforgettable and make you want to yell at them one minute, next give them a shoulder to cry on , Next laugh out loud, and next feel their passion. A wonderful hero, an engaging and spunky heroine, a mystery to be solved, and a large heaping of danger and action. I laughed so hard at the dialogue and wit in between the characters. I was sad to have it end, but satisfied at the ending!

Man looking at some of these reviews I have to wonder did they read the same book I did? Because let me tell you there was nothing exciting or intresting or passionate about these character! Blah story Blah romance Blah sex I mean really what did they find intesting cuase I can't find a thing hence the one star. Very boring book don't waste you money Please trust me there are ten times better authors out there buy another book but not this one it really sucked. I didn't even finish it, it was that bad.

Caroline is a woman on the run from her vicious brother in law who murdered her husband on their wedding day. She finds a tiny town to set up her life in, but always is looking over her shoulder, knowing that her brother-in-law will stop at nothing to find her. When she sees Wade ride into town, she knows that her brother in law, Brace, has found her. Of course, Brace told Wade that Caroline murdered her husband and Wade is happy to bring a murderess to justice. Of course the predictable happens. Wade and Caroline fall in love with each other and believe the other doesn't care about them.

There is no sexual tension in this book. By the time they got to the kissing, I was already bored with the book. The author fails to develop the character of Brace, consequently, when he arrives on the scene, there is no drama or excitement. The book felt forced and the characters hard to believe. The obstacles to Wade and Caroline being together didn't seem real. I really love reading a book and feeling that, "Are they going to be together or not????" This book lacked that element. My favorite part of the book was the cover. That was the only part of the book that made my heart beat faster, for it is a gorgeous and romantic cover.

The MOON AND THE STARS is a phenominal book! I loved it! The characters live and the plot of THE MOON AND THE STARS just sings with action and romance. The sexual tension between the hero, a bounty hunter we'd all like to be hunted by, and the heroine, just feisty enough to make us proud, sent chills down my spine. I read far into the night because I couldn't seem to put the book down. Constance O'Banyon's books never fail me and this book is certainly one of her best.

Bravo Constance!

I like O'Banyon's books, have been a fan for over 20 years. This book is up to her usual excellent standards. If you like well-written, historically accurate romances set in Texas, then COB is the author for you. Romantic Times gave this book a wonderful review. I'm wondering why she and her editor are getting such vitriolic attacks in this forum. Let's try burying the hatchet, but not in Ms. O'Banyon or her editor.

I liked the book, but I didn't love it. The romance took forEVER to happen. The story just kept going and going... Whoever said the female lead was dumb was sort of right. She was kind of...I don't know, she didn't really use common sense. The worst thing she said was "What does a doctor know about how to take care of my body?" Hello!!! That's his job, blondie! The hero was almost too nice. There was never actually a feeling of trepidation, or suspense. You kind of had a feeling you knew what was going to happen all along.