What do you think?
Rate this book
Prairie Moon
Living on a rundown farm at the edge of a small Texas town, Della Ward is haunted by the bittersweet life she once lived with an adoring husband who died too soon. Once a laughing, carefree soul, Della is now a widow with only guilty memories for company. Until the day she sees a rugged stranger riding across the prairie toward her house. His presence awakens Della’s heart, but she can never imagine the ways this man will forever change her life.
Lawman James Cameron believes in settling debts and living by honor. It may have taken him ten years to arrive at Della’s door, but he’s finally here and is determined to tell her the truth about the day her husband died. But one look at the woman whose picture he has carried with him for years and he knows that the truth may destroy them both. For Cameron will have to face the past and force Della to do the same before either of them can have a future . . . or each other.
Lawman James Cameron believes in settling debts and living by honor. It may have taken him ten years to arrive at Della’s door, but he’s finally here and is determined to tell her the truth about the day her husband died. But one look at the woman whose picture he has carried with him for years and he knows that the truth may destroy them both. For Cameron will have to face the past and force Della to do the same before either of them can have a future . . . or each other.
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
4 people are currently reading
312 people want to read
About the author
Maggie Osborne
30books494followersaka
Margaret St. George
Maggie Osborne is the author of I Do, I Do, I Do and Silver Lining, as well as more than forty contemporary and historical romance novels written as Maggie Osborne and Margaret St. George. She has won numerous awards from Romantic Times, Affaire de Coeur, BookraK, the Colorado Romance Writers, and Coeur du Bois, among others. Osborne won the RITA for long historical from the Romance Writers of America in 1998. Maggie lives in a resort town in the Colorado mountains with her husband, one mule, two horses, one cat, and one dog, all of whom are a lot of aggravation, but she loves them anyway.
Margaret St. George
Maggie Osborne is the author of I Do, I Do, I Do and Silver Lining, as well as more than forty contemporary and historical romance novels written as Maggie Osborne and Margaret St. George. She has won numerous awards from Romantic Times, Affaire de Coeur, BookraK, the Colorado Romance Writers, and Coeur du Bois, among others. Osborne won the RITA for long historical from the Romance Writers of America in 1998. Maggie lives in a resort town in the Colorado mountains with her husband, one mule, two horses, one cat, and one dog, all of whom are a lot of aggravation, but she loves them anyway.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
March 18, 2019
What a awesome, beautiful , heartbreaking story about forgiveness, friendship, love!
Beautifully written, nice developed characters.
Strong and intelligent heroine. Honourable and almost honest hero!
What a twist!!
What a bad times!! Wars , civil wars never will do the good!
Safe read
Beautifully written, nice developed characters.
Strong and intelligent heroine. Honourable and almost honest hero!
What a twist!!
What a bad times!! Wars , civil wars never will do the good!
Safe read
November 1, 2015
Maggie Osborne is a queen of western HR genre. It was a sad day when she decided to retire from writing. I love her heroines-strong, independent, and admirable women. And her heroes! Honorable, decent and strong men without turning into alpha males. You know the author did a fair amount of research for her books to make them historically sound. This book is no exception.
This is the story of courage, perseverance, honor, and love between a man who did not care if he lived or died and a woman who once loved life and no longer cared.
Della Ward, a widow of a confederate soldier, is living on a run-down farm at the edge of a small Texas town. Her dreary existence is a far cry from a privileged life she had before the Civil War. Then one day a stranger rode to her farm claiming he was with her husband the day he died. He also had Della’s wedding photograph and her husband’s last letter. The stranger, James Cameron, is a law man/bounty hunter who became a legend for his fearlessness and bravery. He’s also carrying a terrible secret, a debt of conscience to Della, the debt that can destroy them both. Reluctant to divulge the secret, James vowed to help Della in any way he can even if it involves traveling to Atlanta to confront Della’s in-laws about a custody of her daughter.
Main part of the story is centered around protagonists' travel to Atlanta. The author pieced together a wonderful mosaic of the 1870s American frontier and beyond, of wide open prairies, of small towns and bustling cities, of hardship and perseverance, of colorful characters along the way. The setting is so real you feel that you are part of the journey.
Although not my favorite by the author, it’s still so much better than many books of the genre.
This is the story of courage, perseverance, honor, and love between a man who did not care if he lived or died and a woman who once loved life and no longer cared.
Della Ward, a widow of a confederate soldier, is living on a run-down farm at the edge of a small Texas town. Her dreary existence is a far cry from a privileged life she had before the Civil War. Then one day a stranger rode to her farm claiming he was with her husband the day he died. He also had Della’s wedding photograph and her husband’s last letter. The stranger, James Cameron, is a law man/bounty hunter who became a legend for his fearlessness and bravery. He’s also carrying a terrible secret, a debt of conscience to Della, the debt that can destroy them both. Reluctant to divulge the secret, James vowed to help Della in any way he can even if it involves traveling to Atlanta to confront Della’s in-laws about a custody of her daughter.
Main part of the story is centered around protagonists' travel to Atlanta. The author pieced together a wonderful mosaic of the 1870s American frontier and beyond, of wide open prairies, of small towns and bustling cities, of hardship and perseverance, of colorful characters along the way. The setting is so real you feel that you are part of the journey.
Although not my favorite by the author, it’s still so much better than many books of the genre.
March 17, 2022
I decided to delete my previous review on this book out of respect to MO.
I think I was just frustrated because I’m reading shitty book after shitty book. This book really wasn’t bad, my mood was, and that’s not fair to the author.
Hindsight, MO did a great job with these characters, it was just slow development all around. If you are in the mood for a slow book, and you have the patience to wait (basically until the end of the book) for any resolution, then this is for you.
The characters were enigmatic…and that was clearly what MO was going for, so I can't complain about that. The whole book was guided forward by a secret that should have been revealed 10 years prior. One character was suspicious and hardened because she had been traumatized in the past. The other was low-key obsessed with our heroine and felt trapped in his secret because of his fixation with her.
It was all melodramatic but lacked passion. I hate that. That’s really what ruined it for me. I wanted these two hurt characters to let go, but MO couldn’t let them do that with the big secret coming between them. Maybe in a different mood I would not have minded so much, but right now I am craving passion in my books! This one just didn’t deliver.
I think I was just frustrated because I’m reading shitty book after shitty book. This book really wasn’t bad, my mood was, and that’s not fair to the author.
Hindsight, MO did a great job with these characters, it was just slow development all around. If you are in the mood for a slow book, and you have the patience to wait (basically until the end of the book) for any resolution, then this is for you.
The characters were enigmatic…and that was clearly what MO was going for, so I can't complain about that. The whole book was guided forward by a secret that should have been revealed 10 years prior. One character was suspicious and hardened because she had been traumatized in the past. The other was low-key obsessed with our heroine and felt trapped in his secret because of his fixation with her.
It was all melodramatic but lacked passion. I hate that. That’s really what ruined it for me. I wanted these two hurt characters to let go, but MO couldn’t let them do that with the big secret coming between them. Maybe in a different mood I would not have minded so much, but right now I am craving passion in my books! This one just didn’t deliver.
April 14, 2021
James Cameron has traveled to a small rundown farm in Texas to find Mrs. Della Ward. He explains to Della that he was with her husband when he was killed during the civil war. He gives Della the unfinished letter that her husband was writing to her when he died. Della has mourned her husband for nearly ten years, carrying guilt because of the things she said to him in her last letter. She lives a nearly penniless existence on a monthly stipend that her in-laws send her. James sees the condition of the farm and decides to help fix it up before he leaves...and before he tells her the real reason he came to see her.
Author Maggie Osborne always gives the reader well developed and interesting characters. Della and James are no exception. Not only does Della live with the guilt about her last words to her husband, but she also has given up her baby daughter to her in-laws because she couldn't support her. James Cameron worked as a lawman and bounty hunter after the war. He was made famous by a penny novel written about him and his gun. Strangers trying to outdraw a gunslinger in the streets have put a target on his back.
It wasn't too hard to guess James' HUGE SECRET. The reader was told early in the book, but James kept putting off telling Della until nearly the end of the novel. The pacing of this book was rather slow. I usually love this author's books, but I found the unexpected twist in the story to be unsatisfactory. My rating: 3.5 Stars.
Author Maggie Osborne always gives the reader well developed and interesting characters. Della and James are no exception. Not only does Della live with the guilt about her last words to her husband, but she also has given up her baby daughter to her in-laws because she couldn't support her. James Cameron worked as a lawman and bounty hunter after the war. He was made famous by a penny novel written about him and his gun. Strangers trying to outdraw a gunslinger in the streets have put a target on his back.
It wasn't too hard to guess James' HUGE SECRET. The reader was told early in the book, but James kept putting off telling Della until nearly the end of the novel. The pacing of this book was rather slow. I usually love this author's books, but I found the unexpected twist in the story to be unsatisfactory. My rating: 3.5 Stars.
February 21, 2012
Skip this one. Her other books are better. I wasn’t engaged. I wanted it to be over.
STORY BRIEF:
Ten years earlier, Della was married to Clarence a Confederate soldier. He was killed in battle. She was pregnant and living with Clarence’s parents in Atlanta. The parents didn’t like her and sent her to live on a small farm in Texas without her daughter. She receives a small amount of money each month to live on. Della still grieves for her husband and her daughter.
James was a soldier in the Civil War. He was there when Clarence died. Clarence wrote a letter to Della which James has been carrying for ten years. Finally he travels to her Texas home and gives her the letter. He stays a while, fixing things like the barn roof. Now he offers to finance a trip taking her to Atlanta to visit her daughter, and they do this. After the war James became a fast-draw-gunslinger-lawman-bounty hunter. Someone wrote a book about him making him famous. Now he is always on the alert for hot shots who want to kill him and show that they’re faster.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
This was not a fun romance story. The last fifty pages were kind of good, but I’d throw out the first 300 pages. It was sad, vague, too much pondering. The subject matter was a downer with Della grieving for her lost husband, daughter, and her lost life. And then James was troubled with guilt about killing soldiers during the war. I never understood why James waited ten years to give Clarence’s letter to Della. He should have visited her sooner. Finally things start happening at the end. But even then I didn’t like some of the things in that part of the story. I didn’t like the way Della got mad at James and left him. I didn’t like the way they planned for Luke to solve James� problem. I would have done it differently. What they did was too risky. I liked James. He was giving, generous, loving. I admired his skills. He was a lawyer and a fast draw lawman. Nothing pulled me in about Della.
DATA:
Story length: 358 pages. Swearing language: mild, including religious swear words. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 7. Setting: Around 1875 Texas, Atlanta, and traveling between. copyright: 2002. Genre: western historical romance.
OTHER BOOKS:
I’ve read the following Maggie Osborne books. Dates are copyright dates.
3 ½ stars. The Wives of Bowie Stone 1994
4 stars. The Promise of Jenny Jones 1997
3 stars. A Stranger’s Wife 1999
4 stars. I Do, I Do, I Do 2000
4 stars. Silver Lining 2000
2 stars. Prairie Moon 2002
STORY BRIEF:
Ten years earlier, Della was married to Clarence a Confederate soldier. He was killed in battle. She was pregnant and living with Clarence’s parents in Atlanta. The parents didn’t like her and sent her to live on a small farm in Texas without her daughter. She receives a small amount of money each month to live on. Della still grieves for her husband and her daughter.
James was a soldier in the Civil War. He was there when Clarence died. Clarence wrote a letter to Della which James has been carrying for ten years. Finally he travels to her Texas home and gives her the letter. He stays a while, fixing things like the barn roof. Now he offers to finance a trip taking her to Atlanta to visit her daughter, and they do this. After the war James became a fast-draw-gunslinger-lawman-bounty hunter. Someone wrote a book about him making him famous. Now he is always on the alert for hot shots who want to kill him and show that they’re faster.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
This was not a fun romance story. The last fifty pages were kind of good, but I’d throw out the first 300 pages. It was sad, vague, too much pondering. The subject matter was a downer with Della grieving for her lost husband, daughter, and her lost life. And then James was troubled with guilt about killing soldiers during the war. I never understood why James waited ten years to give Clarence’s letter to Della. He should have visited her sooner. Finally things start happening at the end. But even then I didn’t like some of the things in that part of the story. I didn’t like the way Della got mad at James and left him. I didn’t like the way they planned for Luke to solve James� problem. I would have done it differently. What they did was too risky. I liked James. He was giving, generous, loving. I admired his skills. He was a lawyer and a fast draw lawman. Nothing pulled me in about Della.
DATA:
Story length: 358 pages. Swearing language: mild, including religious swear words. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 7. Setting: Around 1875 Texas, Atlanta, and traveling between. copyright: 2002. Genre: western historical romance.
OTHER BOOKS:
I’ve read the following Maggie Osborne books. Dates are copyright dates.
3 ½ stars. The Wives of Bowie Stone 1994
4 stars. The Promise of Jenny Jones 1997
3 stars. A Stranger’s Wife 1999
4 stars. I Do, I Do, I Do 2000
4 stars. Silver Lining 2000
2 stars. Prairie Moon 2002
May 23, 2022
С Prairie Moon се върнах години назад, във времето, когато бях дете с апетит към всякакви приключения. Обожавах книги като " Том Сойер ", " Приключенията на Хъкълбери Фин ", " Квартеронката ", " Ямайски марони ", " Железният път " , " Последният мохикан"... Уестърните и историческите приключенски романи украсяваха дните ми. А междувременно им подражавах, катерейки се по дърветата, скитайки из царевичните ниви и гонейки нищо неподозиращите котки из село. Сигурно съм ги виждала като последните индианци на моя територия, знам ли?
Всеки герой за мен беше уаууу!!! Прериите ми се струваха безкрайни места на свободата. А " Малка къща в прерията " беше изпълнена с очарование!
Maggie Osborne беше нов автор за мен. Но вече съм си набелязала следващата нейна книга, която ще разлистя скоро. Защото Prairie Moon си беше точно уестърн като любимите ми. Само че сега аз вече го четох като човек с различен мироглед и философия. Като запознат с човешката природа. Като някой , който трудно се доверява и има собствено мнение за нещата. Така вече разбирах героите с техните сурови характери, с недоверчивостта им и със собственото им изстрадано отношение към света. А Osborne описваше толкова достоверно и реалистично всяка мисъл и емоция, сякаш виждах пред себе си как героите променят израженията си и как прекосяват териториите с мисълта за целта, към която вървят и с противоречащите си емоции, преживяващи ден след ден.
Онова, което тровеше душите им беше миналото. Оставило кървящи белези, то ги следваше и ги лишаване от идея за бъдещето. Компромисите бяха немислими! Прошката беше невъзможна! А дните се нижеха без възможност за утеха.
За мен беше изненада да открия за пореден път как мозъкът ни се стреми да ни пощади от шокиращи случаи в живота ни. Как изтривайки събития, той ни дава шанс да се запазим, да се изправим, макар и нестабилно и да продължим напред. Дори когато нататък всъщност е просто съществуване. Защото на някои хора определени неща сякаш не са им писани. Желанията им живеят в сърцето им, носят ги в себе си като копнеж, но никога не успяват да се приближат до сбъдването им...
В слушалките ми звучеше Actin Up на HUUXX, над мен клоните на черешата криеха усмихнатите лица на идващото лято, а аз се надявах на някаква милост за Дела и Камерън.
Всеки герой за мен беше уаууу!!! Прериите ми се струваха безкрайни места на свободата. А " Малка къща в прерията " беше изпълнена с очарование!
Maggie Osborne беше нов автор за мен. Но вече съм си набелязала следващата нейна книга, която ще разлистя скоро. Защото Prairie Moon си беше точно уестърн като любимите ми. Само че сега аз вече го четох като човек с различен мироглед и философия. Като запознат с човешката природа. Като някой , който трудно се доверява и има собствено мнение за нещата. Така вече разбирах героите с техните сурови характери, с недоверчивостта им и със собственото им изстрадано отношение към света. А Osborne описваше толкова достоверно и реалистично всяка мисъл и емоция, сякаш виждах пред себе си как героите променят израженията си и как прекосяват териториите с мисълта за целта, към която вървят и с противоречащите си емоции, преживяващи ден след ден.
Онова, което тровеше душите им беше миналото. Оставило кървящи белези, то ги следваше и ги лишаване от идея за бъдещето. Компромисите бяха немислими! Прошката беше невъзможна! А дните се нижеха без възможност за утеха.
За мен беше изненада да открия за пореден път как мозъкът ни се стреми да ни пощади от шокиращи случаи в живота ни. Как изтривайки събития, той ни дава шанс да се запазим, да се изправим, макар и нестабилно и да продължим напред. Дори когато нататък всъщност е просто съществуване. Защото на някои хора определени неща сякаш не са им писани. Желанията им живеят в сърцето им, носят ги в себе си като копнеж, но никога не успяват да се приближат до сбъдването им...
В слушалките ми звучеше Actin Up на HUUXX, над мен клоните на черешата криеха усмихнатите лица на идващото лято, а аз се надявах на някаква милост за Дела и Камерън.
September 27, 2011
Time Frame: Late 1800's
Period: Post Civil War (10 years after)
Place: Texas, later in the story - journey to Atlanta Georgia
Lead Characters:
H - James Cameron: Lawman, Bounty Hunter, Gunslinger, "Legend"
h - Della Ward: Spirited Confederate Civil War Widow presently living in a shack in Two Creeks Texas (for the past 9/10 years)
Secondary Characters:
Luke: Wild West Frontiersman sworn to kill James Cameron as demanded by his Indian wife for the killing of her nephew by (H).
Gypsys: brief encounter on the trail out/into Santa Fe.
Ward Inlaws: (h) parents of her dead husband
Secrets
Deception
Tragedy
Madness
Months long journey across Texas to war ravaged South
Realistic, Intelligent, Mature characters
5+ Rating
Until I read this, was my favorite story by Osborne. This book is now running neck 'n neck. Such a GOOD book...Such a talented author.
The plot focuses on the two main characters and their evolving relationship.
James Cameron has come to Two Creeks Texas on a mission...a deadly secret which he intends to confront and his determination to make "right" the 'wrongs' of his secret's results in the life of Della Ward (h).
For 10 years since the war ended, our (H) has become a deadly, dangerous lawman/bounty hunter well known throughout the West. Every fast draw is attracted to the 'glory' of being the ONE to kill him.
For those 10 years he has carried an oil clothed packet in his duster and at last arrives to give it to it's rightful recipient - Della.
The secret is always in the background, influencing the growing love and desire the (H) has for this spitfire woman.
I wanted to add pics for these wonderful characters. But although I figured how to do that a couple times, I've now lost my know-how. Damn. Clint Eastwood would make the 'perfect' James Cameron. Still haven't found Della's image. Well, it's just as well because if I could add pics, it would take me forever to get my review completed. :D
Period: Post Civil War (10 years after)
Place: Texas, later in the story - journey to Atlanta Georgia
Lead Characters:
H - James Cameron: Lawman, Bounty Hunter, Gunslinger, "Legend"
h - Della Ward: Spirited Confederate Civil War Widow presently living in a shack in Two Creeks Texas (for the past 9/10 years)
Secondary Characters:
Luke: Wild West Frontiersman sworn to kill James Cameron as demanded by his Indian wife for the killing of her nephew by (H).
Gypsys: brief encounter on the trail out/into Santa Fe.
Ward Inlaws: (h) parents of her dead husband
Secrets
Deception
Tragedy
Madness
Months long journey across Texas to war ravaged South
Realistic, Intelligent, Mature characters
5+ Rating
Until I read this, was my favorite story by Osborne. This book is now running neck 'n neck. Such a GOOD book...Such a talented author.
The plot focuses on the two main characters and their evolving relationship.
James Cameron has come to Two Creeks Texas on a mission...a deadly secret which he intends to confront and his determination to make "right" the 'wrongs' of his secret's results in the life of Della Ward (h).
For 10 years since the war ended, our (H) has become a deadly, dangerous lawman/bounty hunter well known throughout the West. Every fast draw is attracted to the 'glory' of being the ONE to kill him.
For those 10 years he has carried an oil clothed packet in his duster and at last arrives to give it to it's rightful recipient - Della.
The secret is always in the background, influencing the growing love and desire the (H) has for this spitfire woman.
I wanted to add pics for these wonderful characters. But although I figured how to do that a couple times, I've now lost my know-how. Damn. Clint Eastwood would make the 'perfect' James Cameron. Still haven't found Della's image. Well, it's just as well because if I could add pics, it would take me forever to get my review completed. :D
March 7, 2011
Della Ward has lived an isolated existence since her husband was killed in the Civil War. Living in a remote western farm she spends her days regretting the last letter she wrote to her husband. James Cameron is haunted by his past as well. He has spent the last ten years struggling with the decision to go to Della Ward and give her a letter and photo that her husband had on his position when he died. James struggles with the death of Della's husband, but he will have to tell her the truth if he is ever going to move on with his life. He owes Della that much, at least.
Prairie Moon is a very tender and sad love story. Della and James both have an incredible amount of baggage. I like that Ms. Osborne doesn't reveal everything at once to the reader but rather dished it out a little at a time to keep the reader interested in what is going on. Once the reader does discover what both of these characters have gone through, especially Della, their heart will break for them.
There were a few things about the book that kept me from giving it a higher grade. James keeps a very big secret from Della for most of the book and the reader knows that eventually Della is going to find out James motivation for coming to her. James allows Della to make untrue assumptions about how her husband died and he doesn't correct her. When the truth does finally come to light Della reacts just the way James had feared. That bothered me about her. After everything she had learned about James and all the time she spent with him she should have handled it better. Eventually these two do get their happy ending, but boy did they have a long journey of heartbreak to get there.
Prairie Moon is a very tender and sad love story. Della and James both have an incredible amount of baggage. I like that Ms. Osborne doesn't reveal everything at once to the reader but rather dished it out a little at a time to keep the reader interested in what is going on. Once the reader does discover what both of these characters have gone through, especially Della, their heart will break for them.
There were a few things about the book that kept me from giving it a higher grade. James keeps a very big secret from Della for most of the book and the reader knows that eventually Della is going to find out James motivation for coming to her. James allows Della to make untrue assumptions about how her husband died and he doesn't correct her. When the truth does finally come to light Della reacts just the way James had feared. That bothered me about her. After everything she had learned about James and all the time she spent with him she should have handled it better. Eventually these two do get their happy ending, but boy did they have a long journey of heartbreak to get there.
January 11, 2012
This was the last book I picked up in 2011, as my "bedtime read". I'd heard so much about it here and on Paperbackswap that I knew I had to read it, being a fan of both Maggie Osborne and western historicals. I was not disappointed.
Della and James are both wounded souls, tormented by a shared event during the Civil War: Della because she lost a husband and James because he is the one that killed him. Both are grieving losses that have affected them in profoundly different ways. Della has been transformed from a debutante with the world at her feet to a widow who is struggling to stay alive on what is basically a dirt farm in rural Texas. James is now a lawman/bounty hunter who has to watch his back at every opportunity for those wishing to "make a name" for themselves by killing him, while living with the memory of the one man he wished he hadn't had to kill.
I say that I can, but who can ever really imagine the horrors of the Civil War? Neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother. So much bloodshed that our country endured. I liked that Osborne wrote this in a way where no one side or faction took the blame. This is just a story about two people profoundly affected by the choices of others and the choices they were forced to make. 4.5 stars
Della and James are both wounded souls, tormented by a shared event during the Civil War: Della because she lost a husband and James because he is the one that killed him. Both are grieving losses that have affected them in profoundly different ways. Della has been transformed from a debutante with the world at her feet to a widow who is struggling to stay alive on what is basically a dirt farm in rural Texas. James is now a lawman/bounty hunter who has to watch his back at every opportunity for those wishing to "make a name" for themselves by killing him, while living with the memory of the one man he wished he hadn't had to kill.
I say that I can, but who can ever really imagine the horrors of the Civil War? Neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother. So much bloodshed that our country endured. I liked that Osborne wrote this in a way where no one side or faction took the blame. This is just a story about two people profoundly affected by the choices of others and the choices they were forced to make. 4.5 stars
January 21, 2010
I typically love everything Maggie Osborne writes but this book was the exception.
The story just doesn't seem like it was written by Maggie Osborne. The heroine has let circumstance rule her life and is too weak willed to do much of anything about it until big hunky dude with a crush on her walks into the picture and takes matters into his own hands. Blech. I'm very disappointed and now I'm grouchy too. What happened to crusty and original female characters like "The Promise of Jenny Jones"?
The story just doesn't seem like it was written by Maggie Osborne. The heroine has let circumstance rule her life and is too weak willed to do much of anything about it until big hunky dude with a crush on her walks into the picture and takes matters into his own hands. Blech. I'm very disappointed and now I'm grouchy too. What happened to crusty and original female characters like "The Promise of Jenny Jones"?
July 9, 2010
MO writes her characters with such amazing emotions, considering they are just words on a page. PM takes place about 10 years after the Civil War. Della is working on lonely farm way out in Texas. One day a blue eyed, gun slinger came riding onto her property with a letter from her husband that he wrote on the battlefield the day he died. So begins James and Della's story. They are two individuals with deep secrets that could very well tear the fragile relationship to peices. That is what is great about MO's writing, there is no magic, no werewolves, no sparkling vampires, just two people making their way back East on a journey of discovery about themselves and what is in each other's hearts. Lovely!
December 28, 2015
Dnf at 37% At this juncture, I couldn't care less what happened to any one of them that's how detached I am from the story. Maggie Osborne is one of my favourite authors, I don't know what happened with this one. I can't explain...
May 1, 2021
3.5 Stars
A Western love story about two people who were affected deeply by the Civil War. Della Ward lost everything when her husband was killed in the war. His parents hated her for being a Yankee by blood and sent her away to live alone on a rundown Texas ranch. Cameron James became a lone gunman, enforcing law and hunting down criminals, seeking atonement for the lives that he was forced to take in the war. The last man that he killed at the end of the war was Della’s husband Clarence. When finding a wedding photo and some deeply personal correspondence in the dead man’s pocket, Cameron vowed to bring them back to his widow. But when Cameron meets Della, and he sees the life she has been forced to live because of him, he can’t bring himself to tell her. It comes out that he was with her husband when he died, but he lets her assume all sorts of wrong things about him. She starts to feel things for Cameron, but she has her own deep guilt of her last words to her husband that were hateful and that she had given up their baby to his parents.
"The war will never end for you and me, will it? I'll go on hating myself for a letter that never should have been written. You'll go on trying to atone for doing your duty. We can't change the past, and we can't let it go."
Desperate to make things right for Della and stalling to tell her the truth, Cameron offers to take her on a trip across the country to find her long lost daughter in Atlanta. I liked their trip � it wasn’t fraught with the dramatic perils that you find in other westerns. I liked the companionship that grew between Della and Cameron as the weeks went by. The liked the growing attraction and inner turmoil of both characters. I liked how Cameron was a man of few words, but I didn’t care fir Della’s occasional whininess/hysterics. I loved Osborne’s Silver Lining and Foxfire Bride, and I will continue to look for other books by her.
A Western love story about two people who were affected deeply by the Civil War. Della Ward lost everything when her husband was killed in the war. His parents hated her for being a Yankee by blood and sent her away to live alone on a rundown Texas ranch. Cameron James became a lone gunman, enforcing law and hunting down criminals, seeking atonement for the lives that he was forced to take in the war. The last man that he killed at the end of the war was Della’s husband Clarence. When finding a wedding photo and some deeply personal correspondence in the dead man’s pocket, Cameron vowed to bring them back to his widow. But when Cameron meets Della, and he sees the life she has been forced to live because of him, he can’t bring himself to tell her. It comes out that he was with her husband when he died, but he lets her assume all sorts of wrong things about him. She starts to feel things for Cameron, but she has her own deep guilt of her last words to her husband that were hateful and that she had given up their baby to his parents.
"The war will never end for you and me, will it? I'll go on hating myself for a letter that never should have been written. You'll go on trying to atone for doing your duty. We can't change the past, and we can't let it go."
Desperate to make things right for Della and stalling to tell her the truth, Cameron offers to take her on a trip across the country to find her long lost daughter in Atlanta. I liked their trip � it wasn’t fraught with the dramatic perils that you find in other westerns. I liked the companionship that grew between Della and Cameron as the weeks went by. The liked the growing attraction and inner turmoil of both characters. I liked how Cameron was a man of few words, but I didn’t care fir Della’s occasional whininess/hysterics. I loved Osborne’s Silver Lining and Foxfire Bride, and I will continue to look for other books by her.
December 11, 2023
What a page turner! 358 pages in two days! I think that is my best yet for 2023!
Overall, I enjoyed Della and James' story. It sorta reminded me of Silver Lining + Jenny Jones - with the child theme intertwined throughout the novel. I did not expect that twist at the end though... wow!
Overall, I enjoyed Della and James' story. It sorta reminded me of Silver Lining + Jenny Jones - with the child theme intertwined throughout the novel. I did not expect that twist at the end though... wow!
October 8, 2018
A good story, but with a very predictable black moment and resolution. Intriguing characters, and an interesting plot, but not my favorite of Ms. Osborne’s books.
April 13, 2013
Not one of my favorites. It felt like there was something missing.
3.3
3.3
October 1, 2013
It was going so well, folks, until the truth was revealed. It reads like an almost light romance, but the resolution begs for another type of book. One with lots of references to Freud, perhaps?
February 1, 2015
Just OK. Pretty good until it fell apart at the end.
January 15, 2024
I'm curious. How many books have been written about a man searching out a woman after encountering her husband in war? This is the second book I've read using this exact premise. And the same war - where one man is a Union soldier and the other is a Confederate soldier. Both male protagonists have an item from their "enemy" after they died that leads the surviving soldier to the respective widow to deliver a message.
Prairie Moon was published in 2002. Barbara Ankrum's "Chase the Fire" was first published in 1991. In Ms. Ankrum's story, the item was a locket with a picture of the dead soldier's wife in it. In Prairie Moon, it was two letters and a wedding picture. So the reader will have Ms. Osborne's story figured out before finishing the first chapter.
It's a good book and even though I knew how it would end, I finished it. It earned two stars instead of three because I found it hard to believe it took ten years for James Cameron to finally approach Della Ward about delivering the letters and photograph he obtained from her deceased husband. There's another reason, but I won't divulge it because it's a "spoiler".
I still recommend this book to readers who enjoy historical western fiction. Ms. Osborne is a good writer, so I will continue to read her work.
Prairie Moon was published in 2002. Barbara Ankrum's "Chase the Fire" was first published in 1991. In Ms. Ankrum's story, the item was a locket with a picture of the dead soldier's wife in it. In Prairie Moon, it was two letters and a wedding picture. So the reader will have Ms. Osborne's story figured out before finishing the first chapter.
It's a good book and even though I knew how it would end, I finished it. It earned two stars instead of three because I found it hard to believe it took ten years for James Cameron to finally approach Della Ward about delivering the letters and photograph he obtained from her deceased husband. There's another reason, but I won't divulge it because it's a "spoiler".
I still recommend this book to readers who enjoy historical western fiction. Ms. Osborne is a good writer, so I will continue to read her work.
April 19, 2025
Five stars all over! Maggie Osborne is fast becoming one of my favorite authors, especially in Historical Western Romances. So far, I have read five books of hers and all of these books, I love so much. Every book is well written with the pacing that is just to my taste; characters are well-developed and feel very human and real. Story-wise, she can stitch up scenes and conversations and plots that feel very authentic to the time and settings. She is that type of author that really takes you back to the gritty period of the old west without trying too hard.
Silver Lining- 4 stars
The Promise of Jenny Jones- 5 stars
Foxfire Bride- 5 stars
Shotgun Wedding- 4.5 stars
Prairie Moon- 5 stars
All her books that I have read are seriously so good! Now, this book, Prairie Moon is also one of the best I have in western genre. I cried ugly tears on some moments, just like I also cried with Foxfire bride. I can’t remember but I also felt like I shed tears for The Promise of Jenny Jones.
Silver Lining- 4 stars
The Promise of Jenny Jones- 5 stars
Foxfire Bride- 5 stars
Shotgun Wedding- 4.5 stars
Prairie Moon- 5 stars
All her books that I have read are seriously so good! Now, this book, Prairie Moon is also one of the best I have in western genre. I cried ugly tears on some moments, just like I also cried with Foxfire bride. I can’t remember but I also felt like I shed tears for The Promise of Jenny Jones.
November 28, 2018
Listened to audio book to rest my eyes today O boy! Even though I set narration speed to x 1.25 it still took ages to finish the book. Nothing is like actually reading a book at your own pace.
Any how, as for the book itself; as usual Maggie Osborne writes very well however, planing of the book and plot of it is kind of slow and unexciting.
There were two surprises about who paid her monthly all those years and the fact about her daughter towards the end of book which were good twists.
Any how, as for the book itself; as usual Maggie Osborne writes very well however, planing of the book and plot of it is kind of slow and unexciting.
There were two surprises about who paid her monthly all those years and the fact about her daughter towards the end of book which were good twists.
May 22, 2021
Parts were very good, especially with the H. I liked the idea of him finding out about the life the guy he killed during the war. But the h....she was so stupid sometimes. Not about how she tricked herself into thinking her baby was still alive. Not dealing with her other traumas. It was other things she thought or did, smaller things, that I just wanted to slap her. 2.5 stars. The heat is meh...2.5 stars as well. Narrator was 3.5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2023
2023 Pop Sugar Reading challenge- a previous fave category-somewhere you want to go-Texas
3.5
This was better than I thought it would be. I'm generally not all that into romance or westerns, but the twist that the man had killed her husband in the war and she didn't know made it pretty interesting.
3.5
This was better than I thought it would be. I'm generally not all that into romance or westerns, but the twist that the man had killed her husband in the war and she didn't know made it pretty interesting.
June 25, 2019
2019 Jun 3/5
This read pretty well - both protagonists were engaging - however the whole plot itself in the end turns on its own head and the craziness is not properly explained and its bit stupid - so less stars. Nice build up otherwise. A bit mediocre for Osborne
This read pretty well - both protagonists were engaging - however the whole plot itself in the end turns on its own head and the craziness is not properly explained and its bit stupid - so less stars. Nice build up otherwise. A bit mediocre for Osborne
June 21, 2021
3.25. Listened the the audio book. Slow listen and didn't love the narration. Story was pretty good but also a bit slow for me. I have loved some of this author's other books but the story, the pace, were not as compelling.
June 22, 2017
A bit slow and predictable, but I like the olden day setting. (Just for the record...or tape...or disc, this was the last cassette I listened to in the Sebring before switching to CD's in the Aura).
March 4, 2020
Loved it.
August 13, 2020
Heartbreaking but such an amazing story of forgiveness.
January 15, 2021
The moment I read what happened to the daughter I cried. I think I won’t ever forget this book because of that thing solely. Such beautiful writing. And I loved the ending!
August 6, 2021
Amazing
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.