Blue Moon Promise: Under Texas Stars, Book 1

Book Description:Lucy Marsh's worldly resources are running out, but she's fiercely determined to care for her younger brother and sister. When she discovers that their father's recent death was no accident, Lucy is eager to leave town. She accepts a proxy marriage she believes will provide safe refuge. But trouble follows her to Texas where her new husband is surprised to suddenly have a wife and children to care for.Nate Stanton always hoped he'd marry someday, but running the family ranch meant he had no time for romance. When his father deposits Lucy Marsh-a city girl-on his doorstep, with two siblings in the bargain, he expects ranch life will send her running on the first train out of town. But Lucy is made of tougher stuff than Nate imagined. When danger moves in, Nate finds he'd give anything to protect Lucy and the children he's grown to love. Even if it means giving up his ranch.Blue Moon Promise is a story of hope, romance, and suspense . . . immersing the reader in a rich historical tale set under Texas stars.Once again, Colleen Coble creates a book that I love!I have always been intrigued by women who had to marry someone they didn't know. I can't even imagine it. Colleen Coble took that to a whole new level by writing a story about a women who had never even seen the man she was going to marry! But, she had to marry him to take care of her family.From the very beginning of this book, I felt very involved in the story and felt connected to the danger, the mystery and the characters developed in the book.There were times that Lucy's dialogue didn't sound natural but it was easy to overlook that and appreciate her role and her passion for holding her family together in difficult times.Lucy and Nate are faced with building a marriage from nothing and it was fun to watch them learn about each other and learn about being married. Marriage is not easy and this book brings out the messages of perseverance, faithfulness and trust.Colleen Coble also presents a wonderful message to all women. We need to allow God to have control of our lives and let Him orchestrate the details. We do not have to put the pressure on ourselves to perform for God's love. He loves us as we are and He wants to work in our lives.I fell in love with these characters and I'm looking forward to the next Colleen Coble book!

I gave this one four stars because I couldn't give it 3.5 and I did enjoy the story. Lucy and Nate were both likeable characters and the mystery and romance were balanced nicely. I had a few issues (along with other reviewers) with the way the movement and scene description jumped and skipped but it was minor and only slightly annoying to me. My biggest problem with the story was that it wasn't believable. Nate accepted the marriage by proxy too easily and Lucy and Nate both stated throughout the book that they were one in God's eyes and had to work on the marriage. I think that was a bit of a stretch that any woman would hold a man to a promise that he never made himself and basically say that God would hold them to it even though they were tricked. Also, the lack of fear and cautiousness by the characters after the threats to their lives and actual attacks on them was extremely annoying to me. No one changed their behavior, freely wandering about the ranch alone (and even off the ranch alone) etc., after knowing they had been followed to Wichita Falls by men who had possibly killed Lucy's father. Jed finds a man looking into their home, confronts him and is attacked and threatened and it is hardly mentioned later as a cause for concern. I have read other books by Colleen Coble that I enjoyed much more than this one and will continue to read more from her in the future. I'm moving on to the second book in this series next :)

This is the second time I have read this book and am enjoying it even more the second time.Lucy was a young woman in charge of her 3 year old sister and her 12 year old brother. Her father had died in a buggy accident. Jed, the 12 year old was also in the accident, but survived. He remembered his father telling him about some secret, but could not remember what the secret was. Their father had owned a pawn shop and had been robbed shortly before the "accident". They were living is an old house/apartment, upstairs, and she was working to make ends meet. That day she had lost her job and was wondering how she would support her siblings, when a man stopped at the door and asked her if she would move with him to another state and marry his son. She would get married by proxy before they left, but the son, Nate, did not know anything about it. Lucy had been stalked by a man who came to the door and demanded she give him the "coins", but she knew nothing about them, but was very afraid he would come back and attack them, so she said yes, and went to live with a man she had never met and was now married to.Nate was not happy at all to be "saddled" with a wife he didn't know, but Lucy and Nate were both Christians, so they were both determined to make this marriage work. However, as could be expected, they formed a bond, and decided they would at least be friends.Then, it seemed the robbers found where they were and Jed got hit on the head, their barn was burned down, and many other things happened.This book is great! Has everything I look for in a book - romance, Christianity, suspense, - keeping me on the edge of my seat. I recommend it to everyone. Loved it.

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4.5 stars. Collen Coble is one of my all time favorite authors. I haven't read a book of hers that I didn't like and this one is no exception. Looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

This book kept me in suspense till last word. I recommend it to anyone who likes to be inspired as well.

Love this book! Well written.