Summer Moon: A Novel

by Jill Marie Landis

Book Overview

RANCHER SEEKING WIFEA newspaper ad is the desperately needed answer to Kate Whittington's prayers. Abandoned by her mother--the town tramp, raised in a bleak Maine orphanage, and a spinster without... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345440404
• ISBN13: 9780345440402
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Ivy Books
• Length: 388 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.9" x 1.0" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

couldn't put it down

I traditionally read books by Grisham and Koontz but was drawn to this book while browsing the local bookstore. I usually do not read "romance" novels however once I began this I had a hard time finding a place to stop and put it down and finished it in a mere 3 days. I liked the historican aspect of the book and the fact that the author told the story through a variety of perspectives, unlike most books I read. When i finished reading I was disappointed that I would no longer be reading about these interesting charachters. I would be willing to read other books by the same author after experiencing this story.

Another Great Landis Novel

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.

Jill Marie does it again

Summer moon is the story of Kate, an orphan turned schoolteacher and the love she has for Reed an ex-Texas ranger.Corresponding with Reed via letter she falls in love with him and agrees to a marriage by proxy. Little does she know that Reed knows nothing about the letters, and the letters were truly written by Reed's aging father in an elaborate scheme to get him to finally marry.While this plot is certainly nothing new, Jill manages to breath new life into an otherwise tired plotline, with her clear writing style and attention to historic detail.What I like most about Jill's writing is she manages to portray the predjudices and attitudes of the time without the 'politically correct' glasses worn by many romance authors. She simply states things as they are without making the heroine a radical reformer or an instrument of social change. My only real quibble with this book was I thought the hero Reed was a little to self-pitying as a character. If he isn't running away from his problems... IE, his dominating father, his wife who used him for his money, his son's problems acclimating to Anglo culture. He stands around making frustrating 'noises' and using the heroine. I would've much preferred the hero to be more mature and responsible.Surprisingly, the story is interesting enough to read, despite the under whelming hero. I would recommend this book to all Landis fans!

Couldn't put it down!

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.

Tender touching romance

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.