Customer Reviews

Rainbow Season

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Have you ever read a book that captured your attention from the very first sentence, captivated you and took you to another place and time, and became more important to you than food or sleep? THIS is one of those kind of books. I read both this story and it's sequel Rainbow Promise back to back nights. While I am exhausted while writing this review, I have a grin on my face I as I recount this amazing love story.....(one that is CEMENTED on my keeper shelf!)

Luke "Digger" Turner has returned to his home town after serving a prison sentence for a rape that he did NOT commit. He was raised by an abusive alcoholic father and a grandmother that blamed him for his mother's death. He was raised in absolute poverty. He was raised without love or kindness. He is one of the most "tortured" heroes that I've ever read. Sadly, he spent much of his adolescence fighting, drinking, and sleeping with "loose women" as a way to cope with his reality.

Sarah McGowen has always lived in her sister's shadow..... not quite as pretty, not quite as smart, and not quite as charming. She considers herself an old maid at 25 years of age and spends her time helping her sister care for her children and pining over her brother-in-law. As much as she is jealous of her sister's personality and looks, nothing is as hard as watching her sister's marriage to the man she loves...and can never have.

When Luke gets out of prison he desperately needs a "break". He needs to earn money so that he can get to a place where he can sharecrop and carve out a life for himself. Luke's reputation is so damaged that no one will even look at him. He goes to Mr McGowen, Sarah's father for a job, and surprisingly is offered one on the spot.

I think one of the saddest parts of this story is seeing Luke's shame. He feels like a "nobody" and does not feel worthy of "anything" that resembles kindness. It is heartbreaking to see.

Sarah is EVERYTHING he's ever wanted. She is "good" and "kind" and "pure". Traits that he longs for but again....feels unworthy of. An attraction between the two starts very early, but hold on for the ride, because these two have much to overcome before they can ever be together. Their HEA comes late in the story, but the friendship that develops between them is the strength of this book. Sarah slowly and surely begins to chip away at the "hardness" of Luke, and Luke slowly shows Sarah what a treasure she is and leads her out of her sister's shadow. Remarkable transformations.

Please trust me and purchase this book. You won't be sorry! Also do yourself a favor and purchase The Rainbow Promise which is it's sequel. It is in essense continuing story of Sarah and Luke which is good.......(because I will guarantee you, you won't be ready to say goodbye!)

I had read this book at the age of 21 and it really touched my heart. The characters Luke and Sarah were unique in their own respect. Luke practically an outcast, who was blamed for his mother's death by his father. He was on a self-distructive path. Sarah a "good girl" deeply infatuated with her sister's husband. She was resigned to the fact that she would carry this love to the grave, knowing that the only happiness coming from this was her sisters unhappiness. She didn't want that. Sarah and Luke found each other and saw what everyone else was so blind to see in each other. Two people that seemed so different yet are the same.

I have worn out more than one copy of this book. The author creates characters so steeped in the late 1800, mid-western culture. Maybe it just appeals to my mid-western roots, but I found this simple tale so romantic, heartfelt, touching and hopeful.
Sarah works and lives on the farm with her parents. Content with things, secretly a wild romantic, and tragically in love with her sister's husband. Or so she thinks.
Digger Turner is the misunderstood man, seen as trashy and bad. With an ingrown sense of fairness, both Sarah and her father see something different in Luke "Digger" and offer him something he has never had before. A chance.
Through unexpected tragedy, Sarah finds herself needing Luke. His honor keeps him by her side. Her circumstances offer him his dream. Together they find love.
It is the most romantic, loving story I've read. Honor, redemption, love and committment in the truest sense of those words.

I don't usually buy a book based solely on other reviewers opinions - I've been burned too many times doing it, BUT, let me say that in the case of THE RAINBOW SEASON, all the good reviews and raves listed here, are 100% correct.

What decided me to take a chance in purchasing this book is knowing from my own past reading that Lisa Gregory, aka Candace Camp, is an expert at writing romantic sexual tension between her characters. This romance certainly has that, but what I didn't expect, and pleased me more, was the depth she gave to Luke, a man who's been neglected, accused, and abused all his life.

Just read this brief outtake from the author's description of Luke's thoughts, following his first introduction into the story:

"Sighing, he stood up and started again toward his shack. You could never shake it, that sick fear in your stomach, the wanting to hide, until it boiled in you and then you started slamming things--and people--around. Living was hell, always had been, and that trial and jail had been a special hell. Nothing could make him go back to prison; he could not stand to think about it. Even being back here in Willow Springs was better than that. Except that Willow Springs was worse than before. Pa didn't have the farm anymore, and everyone was more contemptuous of him than ever...That was why he had tried to hire out. Tried was the word; nobody would take him. They just looked at him, scared or scornful or mad, until he wanted to smash their faces. Only McGowan had hired him.

That was the thing; that was what made him feel mixed up inside. McGowan had said yes and had looked at him with a sort of kindness. And that daughter of his had called him Luke. Why had she done that? He had been called Digger for so many years, he hardly knew he had another name. But somehow it was surprisingly pleasant to be called Luke, like she thought he was a person...He had a job, and he could touch the earth again and sweat and broil in the sun and work until he ached, and that would be good. It had been a long time."

Take a chance on THE RAINBOW SEASON. I don't think you'll be sorry.

I read this book 15 years ago and remember it clearly today. The emotions the characters Luke and Sarah shared seemed to pull me into the story of their lives. This to me is a mark of a good writer. One who makes you feel as if you are there and experiencing the lives of the characters. I read this on a loan basis and the friend who had the book no longer has it in her collection. I wish I could locate a copy for my collection of favorites. If not just to read it again would be a tremendous treat. If anyone out there has it I would love to buy it or read it, please contact me.

The love story of Luke and Sarah has haunted me for fifteen years. THE RAINBOW SEASON was the first historical romance I had ever read and I have never forgotten the passion shared between the two characters. A must read for anyone that can locate a copy. Mine was loaned out and never returned. If anyone knows where I can get a copy please e-mail me.

this book has never left my soul...I read it almost 10 years ago, and I have never forgotten it. The tenderness in the words are as vivid in my mind today as they were when I first read the book. I would love to find a copy.

I was asked what book I would recommend for a summer read and I replied "Rainbow Season". I read this book for the first time in 1982 and I still think it is a wonderful read.

I read this novel 10 years ago and I never been able to forget its haunting but beautiful story. Luke and Sarah's lives were realistic,and the author easily got me transported and lost in their world.The plot was uniquely different,unlike any other I have read.I would love to get a copy for my own personal collection,so that I can relive this absolutely wonderful journey of Luke and Sarah.This is with no doubt the best historical romance I have ever read.

What is so unique about this book is that it is a good old-fashioned believable love story. The main characters are flawed, as in real life. Another unique aspect of this book is that the hero is just as vulnerable as the heroine. He is not described as an emotional "rock", always there to save the day. Lisa Gregory, aka. Candace Camp has shown in this novel that there are no social barriers in love and that everyone deserves a chance to live down a bad reputation. I have read this novel four times. I believe anyone who reads it will end up reading it again and again. Truly a tasteful, sensitive, well-written novel.