Summer Breeze (Coulter Historicals, #2) in Romance Series Lists

May 11, 2008 Julianna rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-romance, read-2008

Reviewed for www.thcreviews.com

"3.5 stars" 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 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 t Reviewed for www.thcreviews.com

"3.5 stars" 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 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 say 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 a couple spend 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 and part was Joseph stubbornly holding Rachel at arms length, but the primary issue was how Joseph handled Rachel's agoraphobia. 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. 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 rather 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. It was really lovely, but he just didn't seem like the right character for the speech. 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 pretty dull and redundant. Also, Joseph's love letter to Rachel in his waning years was extremely 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 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 very adamant about not making love to her until they were married. While I found the sentiment to be commendable, the timing of his proposal almost made it 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 rather 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 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 I agree with another reviewer who pointed out the oddity of the diary never being 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, but also very sad that they had loved each other for decades and 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, but 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 makes me curious 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 Coulter. It appears that 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. ...more

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Mar 20, 2008 jenjn79 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: stars-5, reviewed, favs-reread, info-full, favs-all-time, author-catherine-anderson, genre-romance-historical-frontier, series-coulters-etc

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Summer Breeze is an absolutely wonderful book. I'm glad I decided to buy it after looking at it about 4 different times. At that point, I'd only read 1 of Anderson's books, about a year previously, and wasn't too sure if I liked her stories. Since then, I've grown to love them.

This book is sort of set in the Coulter family series. The main Coulter books are set in the present, but she has now set a sub-series in the past that tells the stories of some of the ancestors. This book is the 2nd one i Summer Breeze is an absolutely wonderful book. I'm glad I decided to buy it after looking at it about 4 different times. At that point, I'd only read 1 of Anderson's books, about a year previously, and wasn't too sure if I liked her stories. Since then, I've grown to love them.

This book is sort of set in the Coulter family series. The main Coulter books are set in the present, but she has now set a sub-series in the past that tells the stories of some of the ancestors. This book is the 2nd one in that sub-series - I haven't read the first.

Anyway, I love this book. The storyline was fabulous. Very emotional. You're just sucked into the story and the characters' trials and tribulations. Rachel's pain and fear is very real, and a very plausible reaction to what she experienced. I enjoyed the introduction of Joseph into her life and how she dealt with that, and how he insinuated himself in her life. It was a very sweet, yet tragic, story. Everything that happened just worked, from the characters to the romance, to the plot.

This is actually a frame story. The beginning starts off in the present, with the remaining unmarried Coulter son, Tucker, finding a journal in his parent's attic; Rachel's journal. He and his mother decide to read it and that's when the story shifts to the past. The last chapter moves back to the present and ends with Tucker's mother showing him a letter that had been passed on to her. The letter was one that Joseph had written to Rachel shortly before his death, after they'd been married for like 50+ years. It was an incredibly beautiful letter. I was pretty much sobbing. I usually don't like epilogues that jump way in the future and tell me how things ended with the couple. I don't like knowing how things end in that sense. I can't say I loved having it happen in this book, but it was still beautiful, and a wonderful representation of the love Rachel and Joseph found during the story.

I think the only thing I can criticize a little about the book as a whole was that at times the historical authenticity seemed suspect. I can't say for sure. I'm not all that familiar with social-historical aspects of that time period. But a few things just didn't quite fit. It didn't take all that much away from the story, though. I could look past it.

All in all...great, great book. I highly recommend it. ...more

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May 09, 2010 Dyanne rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance-historical, 2010

I am starting to read C Anderson as all my GR friends love her. I know I have read a few, but can remember which, so..... I had read this before and it was just as sweet and enjoyable story as it was the first time.

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