Summer Breeze (Coulter Family Historical Book 1)

I was so touched by this story that I hate that I finished it. The characters are so real. The language and situations true to the time. Lots of smiles, love, new friends, that I'll miss.

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 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.

Rachel’s tragic past broke my heart because not only did she lose all of her family members in one day, but her trauma has forced her to hide inside her family home in fear for her life for 5 years. Having been grazed in the head with a bullet and left for dead she has no memory of her family’s killer so when her beloved friend and ranch hand Darby is shot and Joseph comes to the rescue her life takes a sudden and terrifying turn. I loved Joseph’s protective nature, his empathy for Rachel’s plight and the antics of his dog Buddy who befriends Rachel while the two help her learn to trust again. Slowly but surely this unlikely trio build a relationship that will be threatened when Rachel’s past comes back to haunt her. Heartwarming and filled with myriad emotions this book is historical fiction at its very best.

First of all, I absolutely love this author's style of writing. I've read all but one of Catherine Anderson's historical romances, and never ever have I been left disappointed. She has a talent for grabbing a hold of you in the first few pages and never letting go. Of course every reader has a personal opinion as to an author's best book, but anything written by Ms. Anderson is sure to be above and beyond most romances being published today. This tale has a unique twist in that both the prologue and epilogue feature two characters from her contemporary series. At the opening, Tucker Coulter finds Rachel's diary and asks his mother Mary where it came from. After a short explanation, they then begin to read it together.SUMMER BREEZE was really hard for me to rate and I seriously debated between four and five stars. After first meeting Joseph Paxton in "Keegan's Lady" I couldn't wait to read his story. Both he and Rachel were warm, kind, lovable, and truly wonderful people. While their love story is sweet, I don't think its Ms. Anderson's best however. It was missing much of the adventure most of her other books offer, although there is a big mystery concerning who killed Rachel's family, which kept me guessing until the very end. My main problem was I simply didn't feel the chemistry between this couple as strongly as I normally do and although really sad at times, I wasn't moved much emotionally, until I got to the epilogue...I don't know why Ms. Anderson waited until the very end to give that connection that was missing for me otherwise. When I read Joseph's letter to Rachel during the epilogue, she finally got me! I was honestly moved beyond anything I rarely ever feel. My throat literally closed up making it hard to breathe, and I could hardly see for my tears. Needless to say I was a mess when I finally closed the book. This has to be one of the most beautiful and touching endings I've ever read. Overall I think it was a solid four star story, except for the epilogue which was a definite five stars. All in all it was a truly memorable book by an amazing author and I would easily recommend anything she's written, Summer Breeze included =)Below is a list of the entire "Keegan/Paxton" series and reading order for those who don't already know:Book 1 - KEEGAN'S LADY (Caitlin O'Shannessy & Ace Keegan)Book 1.5 - BEAUTIFUL GIFTS (Faith Randolph & Patrick O'Shannessy) A novella that originally appeared in "THE TRUE LOVE WEDDING DRESS" anthologyBook 2 - SUMMER BREEZE (Rachel Hollister & Joseph Paxton) This story also ties into Ms. Anderson's "Kendrick/Coulter/Harrigan" contemporary seriesBook 3 - EARLY DAWN (Eden Paxton & Matthew Coulter) This story is pretty much a prequel to and also part of the "Kendrick/Coulter/Harrigan" seriesBook 4 - LUCKY PENNY (Brianna O'Keefe & David Paxton)

It was nice getting a little modern touch to the story with Tucker finding the diary of Rachel and Joseph which leads into their historical love story. I will enjoy Tucker's story when it comes! I will also say this book works well stand-alone since I have yet to read Keegan's Lady which is the "prequel" about Joseph's brother, Ace. I have it but just not read - too many books, too little time!As other reviewers have laid out the storyline so well I will not belabor the point. Rachel retreated to a very sheltered life, barricaded in her kitchen for five years since her family was massacred at a lovely June picnic. Darby, the aged ranch foreman, has been her only contact during those years and assisted her by keeping the ranch going, selling the cheese & eggs that are a result of the ranch and building the real walls that kept everyone away. But when he is shot in the back, he begs a neighboring ranch owner (Joseph Paxton) to guard and protect Rachel.While Joseph's brother David, the marshal of Noname, seeks to solve the shooting and perhaps even the unsolved massacre of Rachel's family, Joseph is left trying to protect a frightened Rachel from pretend or perhaps real danger. She turns out to be a vision of loveliness, a wonderful cook and a woman with heart. She awakens all the heroic bones in his body as well as awakening other feelings! As Kleypas most often writes "love at first sight" books, this is no different. The romance is pleasantly written with enough angst and sexual tension to make it exciting. I loved all the secondary characters which are well described and add depth to the storyline. The townspeople are wonderful in their attempts to open up Rachel's world and allow her to hear birds and feel the summer breezes again. Will they succeed in this endeavor? Can Joseph convince her to marry him in the end? Is someone really out to kill her and could it be her feisty Aunt Amanda?While I enjoyed this book immensely, there were some problems. It is rather unrealistic that Rachel would have been left alone in her "madness" without town and doctor intervention. Also, she seemed to recover from agoraphobia rather quickly too when the mystery is resolved. A bit TOO perfect, Rachel was beautiful, well-read, great cook, cheese-maker and seamstress. Even having been orphaned at 17, it was a bit much to believe ... but this is fiction. Despite these things, it is not a book to be missed for its wonderful portrayal of how love conquers all - a predominant theme in Kleypas books also.Another reveiwer mentions this and it is true. The Epilogue which contains a letter from Joseph to Rachel when he is aged and dying is so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes!

What a sweetheart Joseph Paxton is in this story. Tenderness, patience, thoughtfulness...he has them all. Rachel Hollister, his neighbour whom he has never met, is suffering from what we now know to be agoraphobia and is locked away in one room of her ranch house with one old family ranch hand/ friend to care for her. This is the result of a traumatic event in her past.Joseph and Rachel meet when Darby, the old ranch hand is shot in the back and begs Joseph to look after Rachel, believing her to be in danger.I don't wish to give anything away, but for me the epilogue was a clincher and brought a tear to my eye. The only reason I did not give it five stars had nothing to do with the story, but the family tree at the beginning. I did not like seeing the death dates of beloved characters I had read about.

This is a new to me author that someone recommended for a good slow burn featuring a strong, salt of the earth alpha. This was an historical story too which is great for escaping into. I liked this but I didn't love it. It seemed a bit slow at times, with some parts of the plot feeling a bit repetitive. If it was in ku I'd probably try another but it isn't and I didn't enjoy it enough to justify buying any more.Complete story, part of a series.

Good book

Das Buch hat mich tief bewegt. Der letzte Liebesbrief den Joseph seiner Rachel kurz vor seinem Tod schrieb ging mir richtig an die Nieren. Einfach toll wie sprachlich faszinierend C. Anderson grosse Gefühle in Worte fasst.

Love all her books