Summer Moon

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. Acclaimed Author Jill Marie Landis Has Gifted Readers With Award-winning Love Stories That Express The Most Intimate Longings Of The Human Heart. With Unique Insight And Irresistible Wit, She Breathes Vivid Life Into Her Characters While Depicting Superb Settings Of Stunning Beauty And Realism. Now, In Her Long-awaited Hardcover Debut, Jill Marie Landis Tells 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 Of 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 Young 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 Searing Letters That Charmed Her Heart. 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. Summer Moon Is A Deeply Moving Story Of Broken Promises And New Beginnings, Crafted By A True Master Of Romantic Fiction. From The Hardcover Edition. When mail-order bride Kate Whittington arrives in Texas to meet her new husband, Reed Banton, she is shocked to discover that he has never heard of her, and she becomes determined to melt the rancher's icy heart