REVIEW:UNDER MOONLIT SKIES BY CYNTHIA ROEMER

 

 

UNDER MOONLIT SKIES is the third book in the Prairie Sky series by Cynthia Roemer. The story takes place in 1859 and introduces the reader to Esther Stanton. Esther has just arrived back on the prairie from Cincinnati after being gone for four years, to help her sister Charlotte with the birth of her second child. She is supposed to stay for one month, but the month quickly flies by and when her mother comes to pick her up to return to Cincinnati, Esther is torn. You see, while she is helping her sister she gets friendly with their new ranch hand, Stewart Brant. Stew wants Esther to stay but he has nothing to offer her and feels like she is truly out of his league. So Esther leaves with her mother, and returns to her home and her mother’s choice of a husband for her, Lawrence Del Ray.

Once she was back home, Esther really misses the prairie life and is miserable. She doesn’t love Lawrence and can’t imagine a life without love and faith in it. What should she do? Stew pretty much pushed her back to Cincinnati without telling her how he felt and asking her to stay. Should she marry Lawrence and hope for the best? Should she wait for Stew to see if he shares her feelings? UNDER MOONLIT SKIES consumed my whole day yesterday and once I started reading, I wasn’t about to stop until the very last page.

Stew is just as miserable within out Esther as she is without him. He decides to go to Cincinnati and try to get her to come back to the prairie with him. UNDER MOONLIT SKIES shows us how Stew realizes that Esther only went back because of her over bearing mother. He isn’t about to give up and when he ends up in Kentucky, well, my heart was in my throat. The turn that the story takes, is totally mind blowing and unexpected! Keep in mind, the story takes place in the pre-civil war days and just because someone is free doesn’t mean they aren’t in constant danger.

Cynthia Roemer sure knows how to hook her readers and never lets them go. She will get you emotionally invested in all of her characters, where you feel as if they are “real” people that you know. UNDER MOONLIT SKIES is filled with likable characters that you could see yourself becoming friends with, well, except for Lawrence! Trust me on that one! Once I started reading this wonderful story, I could not put it down. You won’t be able to either.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

 

FROM GOODREADS:

Her life was planned out ~ until he rode in ~ Illinois prairie ~ 1859

After four long years away, Esther Stanton returns to the prairie to care for her sister Charlotte’s family following the birth of her second child. The month-long stay seems much too short as Esther becomes acquainted with her brother-in-law’s new ranch hand, Stewart Brant. When obligations compel her to return to Cincinnati and to the man her overbearing mother intends her to wed, she loses hope of ever knowing true happiness.

Still reeling from a hurtful relationship, Stew is reluctant to open his heart to Esther. But when he faces a life-threatening injury with Esther tending him, their bond deepens. Heartbroken when she leaves, he sets out after her and inadvertently stumbles across an illegal slave-trade operation, the knowledge of which puts him, as well as Esther and her family, in jeopardy.

 

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