Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Signet (2006), Paperback, 432 pages
Description
New York Times bestselling author Catherine Anderson explores the history of the beloved Coulter Family with this timeless tale that will make you believe in the power of love... The year is 1889, and Rachel Hollister hasn't set foot outside her house in five years. Ever since a savage attack left her family dead, she's cordoned herself off from the outside world, afraid to let anyone into her home--or into her heart. But now trouble has appeared on her doorstep--and suddenly she has no choice but to let a handsome rancher invade her well-guarded existence... Confirmed bachelor Joseph Paxton grudgingly offers to take up temporary residence at the Hollister ranch--even though it's obvious that Rachel doesn't want his protection. But once he catches a glimpse of his beautiful young ward and her remarkable spirit, he'll do anything to make her see the refuge he's offering in his embrace--and the splendor that exists beyond her front door. Otherwise he'll just have to build a safe haven big enough for the both of them. … (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Darla
A prequel to her contemporary Coulter family stories, and very much in the same style. This time the heroine is agoraphobic. As usual, she presents the disabled character with realism and affection. Rachel has been barricaded inside her kitchen for 5 years, since barely surviving the massacre of
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her family, aided only by her laconic ranch hand Darby. When Darby is shot in the back and suspects the killer has returned, he enlists Joseph, a neighboring rancher, to watch over Rachel. The townspeople are a little too sweet and everyone's just a little too understanding of her need for walls and security, particularly in a time when psychology was not common knowledge. Show Less
LibraryThing member ssic27
This one of my favorite books by Catherine Anderson. I loved the chemistry between Joseph and Rachel. The back story of her childhood and the reason why she is a "hermit" was well done. My favorite part of the book was at the end - the letter from Joseph to Rachel. Highly recommended.
LibraryThing member mom2lnb
Summer Breeze was a pleasant read, but the first 2/3 of the book was rather slow and at times, mundane. In my opinion, this was due in part to story limitations because of Rachel's agoraphobia. She interacted with few characters other than Joseph, and all those interactions were limited to her
While Joseph and Rachel were both certainly likable, I can't say that they really stood out as memorable to me. In my opinion, Catherine Anderson has a talent for writing heroes with more beta-like characteristics, but her alphas thus far have fallen rather flat for me. Joseph was definitely an alpha who could be very stubborn and even a bit prickly at times. He denied his feelings for Rachel for a large part of the story, constantly saying that he liked his freedom and had no intentions of marrying, but then rather suddenly proposed, which was another reason that the relationship was a little hard for me to believe. Joseph was very physically attracted to Rachel, but so adamant about not making love to her until they were married, that it almost made his proposal seem like an excuse for sex, even though I know that wasn't the author's intention. Also Joseph was a very plain-spoken man who always said what was on his mind, which for some readers may be endearing, but didn't really do anything for me. Overall, Joseph was a good and admirable man, just not really my favorite kind of hero. I suppose that the agoraphobia made Rachel a very unique and somewhat memorable character, but other than that one aspect of her life, she just didn't stand out to me either. I think that part of it was once again, the storytelling limitations due to her affliction that made her seem very ordinary and also her suppressed memories of her family's deaths made it difficult to get inside her head to fully understand her condition, as she never really expressed her feelings about the tragedy. Rachel was a sweet and lovely girl who I liked and wanted to connect with, but again just never completely did. The bottom line for me was that in most romance novels where one protagonist has a major obstacle to overcome, the other one is usually doing everything he or she can to aid in their recovery, and all of their efforts are part of what makes the story so romantic. In Summer Breeze, I felt that Joseph spent more time facilitating Rachel's disability than helping her to overcome it, and in the end, they failed to really light that romantic spark for me.
The secondary cast was strong and varied. Readers get a decent visit with Ace and Caitlin from Keegan's Lady, as well as their son little Ace. Joseph's other two brothers, David and Esa, play substantial roles, particularly David, who I would have guessed to be the next member of the family to get a story, but that is not to be the case. There was also a brief mention of Patrick (also from Keegan's Lady) and Faith from the novella, Beautiful Gifts, and even a quick nod to Luke Taggert, the hero of Simply Love, a completely unrelated book except that they both take place in Colorado. I also liked the appearance of Tucker Coulter and his mother from the present day in the prologue and epilogue, and how Ms. Anderson used this story as an inspiration for his own future romance in Sun Kissed, though as another reviewer pointed out, it was rather odd that the diary was never mentioned in the main body of the narrative. I really enjoyed Joseph's dog, Buddy, who was quite the character. I thought it was very cute how Joseph would talk to Buddy and Buddy would “talk” back. Ms. Anderson has a talent for creating love not just for the young, but the young at heart too. I liked the secondary romance between Rachel's ranch foreman Darby and her spitfire aunt Amanda. I thought this senior love story was very sweet, although I have to say that it was rather sad that they had loved each other for decades but had basically been kept apart by a big misunderstanding. All the residents of No Name really came together in a loving show of frontier community oneness, when they each contributed to Rachel's courtyard, though one has to wonder why they didn't try to reach out to her sooner instead of leaving her to languish in solitude for five years. There was also the distasteful, bullying Pritchard clan who had a longstanding feud with Rachel's father. All in all this was a very well-rounded supporting cast, though I have to say that a few of them reminded me very strongly of some characters from the Little House on the Prairie television show, which make me wonder if that is where Ms. Anderson got her inspiration for them.
Summer Breeze is the third story in the Keegan/Paxton Family series (aka Coulter Historicals). It is preceded by Keegan's Lady and the novella, Beautiful Gifts, from the anthology, The True Love Wedding Dress. At present, Ms. Anderson is working on the next book in the series which will probably be released sometime late next year or in early 2010, and will feature Eden Paxton and Matthew Colter. She also has plans to eventually write stories for David and Esa Paxton as well. Even though Summer Breeze was not one of Ms. Anderson's best novels, in my opinion, it was still a pleasurable read that was worth the time spent on it. I intend to continue this series when the next book comes out, and look forward to continuing my exploration Ms. Anderson's backlist until then.
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safe, barricaded room. Hence, most of this part of the story felt like little more than an average frontier couple going through their daily routine. Around the time that Joseph and Rachel got married, things picked up a bit, but I have to admit that the sensuality was extremely mild throughout the entire book with nothing even resembling passion occurring until about 2/3 of the way in. This would not have bothered me except that I wasn't feeling a strong connection between the two protagonists already. One might think that having two characters spending the majority of their time together day and night would lead to some really deep and expressive emotions, but for me, it did not. I think part of this was the previously cited limited scope of their interactions, part was Joseph stubbornly holding Rachel at arms length because he simply didn't think he wanted to marry anyone, and part was Rachel's inexperience with men. The latter in particular made it difficult for me to completely buy into the strong, abiding and passionate love they supposedly shared. Rachel had lived like a hermit, seeing no one at all except for her elderly ranch foreman for five years, and then she falls in love with the first handsome young man who comes into her world. It would certainly be understandable for Rachel to develop an affection for her protector, but since she hadn't ever had a romantic relationship or even kissed a man before closing herself off from the world, I had a hard time finding her certain knowledge of Joseph being “the one” entirely believable. Also, all the folksy colloquialisms, many of which I had never even heard of, were overused to the point that they became a bit annoying to me, and there were other phrases that seemed a bit anachronistic. Additionally, there was a scene where Ace expounds on the true meaning of a long happy marriage as though he's been down that road when in reality, he's still a virtual newlywed himself, which seemed a little out of place to me. For me, the best part was the strong, suspenseful ending and a sweet epilogue. The mystery aspect of this story was good, and kept me guessing all the way to the reveal of a surprise villain, although I would say that Joseph's retelling of the whole story to Rachel in the second-to-last chapter was a little dull and redundant. Also, Joseph's love letter to Rachel in his waning years was very romantic. Overall, this was just a light, easy read.While Joseph and Rachel were both certainly likable, I can't say that they really stood out as memorable to me. In my opinion, Catherine Anderson has a talent for writing heroes with more beta-like characteristics, but her alphas thus far have fallen rather flat for me. Joseph was definitely an alpha who could be very stubborn and even a bit prickly at times. He denied his feelings for Rachel for a large part of the story, constantly saying that he liked his freedom and had no intentions of marrying, but then rather suddenly proposed, which was another reason that the relationship was a little hard for me to believe. Joseph was very physically attracted to Rachel, but so adamant about not making love to her until they were married, that it almost made his proposal seem like an excuse for sex, even though I know that wasn't the author's intention. Also Joseph was a very plain-spoken man who always said what was on his mind, which for some readers may be endearing, but didn't really do anything for me. Overall, Joseph was a good and admirable man, just not really my favorite kind of hero. I suppose that the agoraphobia made Rachel a very unique and somewhat memorable character, but other than that one aspect of her life, she just didn't stand out to me either. I think that part of it was once again, the storytelling limitations due to her affliction that made her seem very ordinary and also her suppressed memories of her family's deaths made it difficult to get inside her head to fully understand her condition, as she never really expressed her feelings about the tragedy. Rachel was a sweet and lovely girl who I liked and wanted to connect with, but again just never completely did. The bottom line for me was that in most romance novels where one protagonist has a major obstacle to overcome, the other one is usually doing everything he or she can to aid in their recovery, and all of their efforts are part of what makes the story so romantic. In Summer Breeze, I felt that Joseph spent more time facilitating Rachel's disability than helping her to overcome it, and in the end, they failed to really light that romantic spark for me.
The secondary cast was strong and varied. Readers get a decent visit with Ace and Caitlin from Keegan's Lady, as well as their son little Ace. Joseph's other two brothers, David and Esa, play substantial roles, particularly David, who I would have guessed to be the next member of the family to get a story, but that is not to be the case. There was also a brief mention of Patrick (also from Keegan's Lady) and Faith from the novella, Beautiful Gifts, and even a quick nod to Luke Taggert, the hero of Simply Love, a completely unrelated book except that they both take place in Colorado. I also liked the appearance of Tucker Coulter and his mother from the present day in the prologue and epilogue, and how Ms. Anderson used this story as an inspiration for his own future romance in Sun Kissed, though as another reviewer pointed out, it was rather odd that the diary was never mentioned in the main body of the narrative. I really enjoyed Joseph's dog, Buddy, who was quite the character. I thought it was very cute how Joseph would talk to Buddy and Buddy would “talk” back. Ms. Anderson has a talent for creating love not just for the young, but the young at heart too. I liked the secondary romance between Rachel's ranch foreman Darby and her spitfire aunt Amanda. I thought this senior love story was very sweet, although I have to say that it was rather sad that they had loved each other for decades but had basically been kept apart by a big misunderstanding. All the residents of No Name really came together in a loving show of frontier community oneness, when they each contributed to Rachel's courtyard, though one has to wonder why they didn't try to reach out to her sooner instead of leaving her to languish in solitude for five years. There was also the distasteful, bullying Pritchard clan who had a longstanding feud with Rachel's father. All in all this was a very well-rounded supporting cast, though I have to say that a few of them reminded me very strongly of some characters from the Little House on the Prairie television show, which make me wonder if that is where Ms. Anderson got her inspiration for them.
Summer Breeze is the third story in the Keegan/Paxton Family series (aka Coulter Historicals). It is preceded by Keegan's Lady and the novella, Beautiful Gifts, from the anthology, The True Love Wedding Dress. At present, Ms. Anderson is working on the next book in the series which will probably be released sometime late next year or in early 2010, and will feature Eden Paxton and Matthew Colter. She also has plans to eventually write stories for David and Esa Paxton as well. Even though Summer Breeze was not one of Ms. Anderson's best novels, in my opinion, it was still a pleasurable read that was worth the time spent on it. I intend to continue this series when the next book comes out, and look forward to continuing my exploration Ms. Anderson's backlist until then.
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LibraryThing member Fairydragonstar
Sweet and romantic yet intense
LibraryThing member N.W.Moors
After her family is killed, Rachel Hollister is afraid to leave her house. She's barricaded herself inside with only a ranch hand to do chores and get supplies. When he is attacked, it's left to neighbor Joseph Paxton to help out the frightened woman.
The premise of the story is interesting and the
The premise of the story is interesting and the
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romance is good. Joseph initially has no interest in supporting Rachel beyond what he promised, but he gradually falls in love with her and vows to help her. I was a bit surprised that no one in town or the neighbors had volunteered sooner, so their enthusiastic support seemed a bit unwarranted, but it doesn't detract from another good story in this series. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2006-01-03
Physical description
432 p.; 6.8 inches
ISBN
0451217101 / 9780451217103