Summer Moon [Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged] [MP3 CD]

Jill Marie Landis (Author), Kathy Garver (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 2005

The tender tale of a woman without choices who risks everything for one last chance at happiness. RANCHER SEEKING WIFE - for Kate Whittington, the modest words in a newspaper ad are the answer to her desperate prayers. Daughter of a dockside harlot and raised in a bleak orphanage, she has no prospects in the unforgiving Maine village of her birth. Correspondence from the lonely Texas widower looking for a mail order bride sparks tempting dreams of a house, a family and a future in a land filled with possibilities. Kate arrives at the magnificent Lone Star Ranch eager to meet her new husband. Instead she is greeted by the news that Reed Benton has been wounded during a raid on a Comanche village and has returned with a prisoner - a wild-looking boy who may be his long lost son. Even more shattering, however, is the fact that Reed has never heard of Kate, never wrote the letters that charmed her soul. Reed Benton doesn't want a wife. But he does need someone to look after the boy - a bitter reminder of a past ravaged by lies and betrayal. It will take a miracle to heal these two damaged souls . . . Or the faith of one woman with nothing left to lose but her heart.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Following a slew of well-received romance paperbacks (Come Spring; Blue Moon; etc.), Landis serves up a tender, satisfying historical romance as her hardcover debut. Born in 1842, Kate Whittington, abandoned daughter of the Applesby, Maine, town tramp, is raised in a cloistered orphanage. Approaching spinsterhood at the age of 30, Kate answers the newspaper ad of Reed Benton, a widowed Texas rancher seeking a mail-order bride. After months of correspondence, she agrees to a marriage by proxy, packs her bags and heads off to the Texas frontier. When she arrives at Benton's sprawling Lone Star ranch, she is surprised to discover that her new husband is a Texas ranger who defends the frontier against Native Americans, has recently been wounded during a raid on a Comanche village and has captured an eight-year-old Comanche boy he believes may be his long-lost son, Daniel. Even more surprising, Reed Benton denies having ever placed the ad, written the letters or married Kate. Devastated by her crushed dreams yet determined to tame young, wild-haired Daniel, who is fierce in his conviction that he is a true Comanche, Kate agrees to stay on at the ranch to take care of the boy. As Reed convalesces, he finds himself lusting after Kate despite his suspicion that she is a charlatan, responsible for their sham of a marriage. Fully recovered, Reed returns to the frontier as a ranger, only to return to the ranch soon after because Daniel has run away. Kate and Reed team up in their search and not only find the boy but also discover that they have fallen in love. This sweet but not-too-sugary romance is a breezy, beach-blanket read, offering up well-developed characters, a compelling plot line and a pleasing slice of Americana.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Kate Whittington is caught between a rock and a hard place. The orphanage in the Maine seacoast village where she grew up and later taught has closed. As she scans the newspaper's help-wanted ads, she finds that a Texas widower wants a mail-order bride. After corresponding with the rancher, Kate is married by proxy to Reed Barton. When she arrives at his home, she is told that he had been wounded in a raid on a Comanche village and had brought a boy home with him who was thought to be his son, captured by Indians five years earlier. Reed swears that he never heard of Kate, never wrote to her, or received any letters from her. He makes it clear that he doesn't want a wife but needs someone to care for his son. The wild, frightened little boy touches Kate's heart and she agrees to stay. Well-developed characters drive this story. Daniel Barton struggles to find his identity in the white world. He had Indian parents who loved and cared for him, and he now finds himself in a foreign culture with people who don't understand his ways. His story is reminiscent in some ways of Cynthia Ann Parker's story in Carolyn Meyer's Where the Broken Heart Still Beats (Harcourt, 1992). An interesting and heartwarming story set in the latter half of the 19th century on the Texas frontier.

Carol Clark, formerly at Fairfax County Public Schools, VA

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• MP3 CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on MP3-CD; MP3 Una edition (October 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596006153
• ISBN-13: 978-1596006157
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,332,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JILL MARIE LANDIS'S twenty+ novels have earned distinguished awards and slots on such national bestseller lists as the USA TODAY Top 50 and the New York Times Best Sellers Plus. She is a seven-time finalist for Romance Writers of America's RITA Award in both Single Title and Contemporary Romance as well as a Golden Heart and RITA Award winner.

Her works include historical romances, contemporary single title romance with a hint of suspense, inspirational historical romances, and most recently the new Tiki Goddess Mystery series that launched with the successful Mai Tai One On.

Jill Marie resides in Hawaii with her husband. When she's not writing or sitting on the beach reading, she enjoys visiting with family and friends, raising orchids, working in her garden, plunking on the ukulele, dancing the hula and quilting, but not all at once.

She enjoys hearing from readers at www.jillmarielandis.com
facebook, and at www.thetikigoddess.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tender touching romance, July 30, 2001

By 

Sheri Melnick (Enola, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Summer Moon (Hardcover)

The setting is the coast of Maine. The year is 1869, and Kate Whittington is a twenty-nine year old spinster teaching at the Catholic orphanage where she was left by her mother at the tender age of nine. One of the sisters tells Kate that their orphanage is to close and relocate to Minnesota. Because her mother was a prostitute, Kate has difficulty finding another place to live, not to mention a place to work.

She discovers an advertisement in a newspaper where a Texas rancher is looking for a wife. She begins corresponding with the rancher and becomes enthralled with him after reading his letters. Kate and Reed Barton are married by proxy, and she travels to Texas to be with him.

Upon her arrival in Texas, Kate discovers that Reed has been wounded when on a mission as a Texas Ranger. She nurses him back to health, only to discover that he neither wrote those letters to her nor wanted her as a wife.

Though she is devestated, Kate agrees to stay on as Reed's housekeeper and care for his eight-year old son Daniel. This proves difficult as Daniel has recently been found after having been captured by the Comanches five years ago.

Reed is shaken by his attraction to Kate as he has sworn off love thinking it an unnecessary emotion. His marriage to his first wife was difficult at best, and he is consumed with guilt concerning the manner in which she died.

SUMMER MOON is an incredibly touching story that gives you an eyewitness view into the heart of the hero and heroine. Kate is such a remarkable woman, gifted with the ability to love though constantly faced with rejection, first from her mother and later from Reed. She is such a likeable heroine that one finds oneself crying with her as she faces heartache. Though damaged by his father's betrayal and the strained relationship with his first wife, Reed is strengthened by Kate's unconditional love enabling him to overcome the demons of his past. This is a truly superb novel, one that leads you on an emotional rollercoaster ride that will not soon be forgotten.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Landis Novel, July 8, 2003

By 

K. Morgan (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Summer Moon (Mass Market Paperback)

Summer Moon is the story of Kate Wittington, a woman who at the age of nine was dropped off at an orphanage by her prostitute mother. When Kate is twenty-nine the orphanage closes and she must decide what she's to do with her life. She answers an ad in the newspaper for a woman to be a mail-order bride. She takes a chance and answers the ad and is the lucky woman who is chosen to be the wife of Reed Benton. When she arrives in Texas she finds out the shocking truth. She married Reed Benton by proxy but he knows nothing of their marriage. It seems they were both tricked by Reed's father, Reed Benton Sr., a devious and scheming man who devised a plan to get his son back home to the Lone Star Ranch. When Reed Jr. returns to the ranch, wounded, and with his son who has been raised by the Commanche for the past six years he finds out he's married to Kate. Since he's wounded and can't care for his son he hires Kate on as his housekeeper and caregiver to his son Daniel.

This book was very entertaining and very easy to read. The characters were very life-like and well developed. Every character in the book has a purpose and they serve their purpose well. Ms. Landis seems to have thought out her character before she began writing. Even the secondary characters are well rounded. They all add to the story in their own way.

Summer Moon moves along at a steady pace. Again, the storyline seems to have been well thought out before the book was started. The author clearly had every scene planned out and this makes the book very enjoyable to read. The book doesn't seem choppy or hurriedly put together. It just seems like a well planned book about everyday characters on the Texas frontier.

Summer Moon is an excellent read. I was able to finish this book in just two days. I couldn't put this book down. I wanted to find out what was going to happen but at the end didn't want the book to end. I felt like I personally knew the characters and could feel their emotions. Summer Moon is a great book and will make a great addition to any romance lover's or Western romance lover's library.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!, August 23, 2001

By 

"bobnjen07" (Laguna Niguel, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Summer Moon (Hardcover)

I enjoyed Summer Moon very much. Jill Marie Landis is a wonderful story teller - she keeps you captive with her great plot, and with her fabulous dialogue makes you feel her stories. I especially enjoy her historical facts that must require a lot of research, but are so woven in the story that you just get swept away. This novel made me feel a part of the Texas history, and I loved the main characters! I have read ALL of her books, and recommend them highly. Curl up, and enjoy her amazing ability to weave a romantic tale.