Starry Montana Sky

Montana Sky, Book 2

By: Debra Holland

Narrated by: Natalie Ross

Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

The telegram Samantha Sawyer Rodriguez holds is her key to freedom: her late uncle, Ezra, has left her his ranch in Sweetwater Springs, Montana. At last, she and her young son will have a true home, and she can finally pursue her dreams of raising her prized miniature horses and building a sanctuary for wayward orphans.

Prosperous rancher Wyatt Thompson has long coveted that river property. It’s bad enough that Ezra’s niece refuses to sell it, but worse by far that she’s stubborn, proud, and breathtakingly beautiful. The lovely widow and her adopted sons awaken memories of a shameful past he’s struggled to overcome. Yet when Samantha’s safety is threatened, he’ll risk everything to save the unexpected family he’s come to cherish.

In this follow-up to Wild Montana Sky, her acclaimed USA Today best-selling romance, Debra Holland sweeps listeners back to that majestic, historical landscape in an extraordinary story of redemption, courage, and tender, steadfast love.

©2012 Debra Holland (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

A beautiful and sweet story.

This was a beautiful and sweet story and a wonderful continuation of a fun town of characters. This book introduced new characters to love and brought back those I already loved. I enjoyed the narration as well and will look for more books read by Natalie Ross.

What a stirring story!

What a spirited story of how prejudice and arrogance were overcome by the prevailing truth of love. Samantha was a loving lady with quite the quick temper while Wyatt was the man of prejudice and wrongly placed beliefs of his own. Yet Ms. Holland arranged her saga to show how all opinions of these two characters and all others in her well written words were shown how truth, forgiveness and love can prevail to form a better life for all concerned!
Wow! Thank you Ms. Holland for using your talent and giving us this wonderful tale of LOVE and adventure. Indeed! The performance was impeccable as well! Thank you Ms. Ross.

Montana sky series

This is the first time I have read a book written by Barbra Holland. I lam so excited to continue with the story series of Montana Sky. She held my interest from the fist page to the last.

Wonderful is the Word!

This is a story of two people finding love, overcoming obstacles, loving troubled children with antics, and lovable small horses. The writer of this wonderful story kept me enthralling to the very last word. The narrator has the talent to keep you thinking that you are right there with the character. Superior combination.

Enjoyable listen.

I enjoyed this book and the story of Samantha as she bravely sets out to establish a new life for herself and her son in Montana. Wyatt is an equally strong character and as the story develops so too does the relationship between them bringing equal parts of emotion, humour and adventure.

Heart warming

Held my attention, couldn't wait to hear what happened next. Heartwarming story of family love, can't wait to read the next book.

My Musings

An emotionally charged romance with endearing characters and a heartfelt plot. I particularly enjoyed the delightful children. Happy reading and listening!

An Expansive Story You'll be Glad you Stepped Into

Starry Montana Sky, the 2nd book in the series, is even more gripping than the first. But still do yourself a favor and first read or listen to Wild Montana Sky, as all of those characters are brought forward to Starry, which then includes new ones who become this story's focus. And there's lots of story to focus on, one I enjoyed even more than Wild, which says a lot. Author Debra Holland brings you into the minds of the men, women and children as they are all striving to be more than what they were yesterday. There's excitement and more than a few portions of suspenseful action. And of course, romance and camaraderie. But nothing simplistic here, Debra's descriptions and dialog flow beautifully, without being grandiose. Natalie Ross is back again as narrator, and her array of voices suits each character to a T. Once you start, you'll be hooked.

I love this series!

This is so much that I enjoyed about this book. Samantha moves to Sweetwater Springs after her uncle passes away and he leaves is ranch to her. Samantha has been living with her father-in-law since her husband passed away. I love how strong Samantha is to fix up her uncle's ranch, raise her son, and adopt other children.

Wyatt has been raising his daughter since his wife died. You can tell how much he cares about his daughter and how much he still misses his wife. If you read Mail Order Brides of the West: Lina, you will get to meet Wyatt's wife. She is only a small part of the story, but it does give you more background on Wyatt.

I have enjoyed this series. I have read everyone on audible. I like hearing the story. It makes me feel like I'm a part of the town. I'm looking forward to more stories about Sweetwater Springs.

A Lovely, Clean Western Romance!

Would you listen to Starry Montana Sky again? Why?

I would listen to it again! The characters and story are so heartwarming. I love, also, the feeling it gives me - that I'm right there with the characters seeing Montana as they saw it. The story gave me the warm fuzzies when I listened to it the first time and I'm sure it would again!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Starry Montana Sky?

One of the most memorable moments of STARRY MONTANA SKY was the desperate search for Wyatt's daughter when she was missing. My heart was in my throat during the search. Another occurred in the caves - that scene had me holding my breath. I felt that I was crouched over within caves within them. AND when Samantha utilized one of her Falabellas to pull an injured party from the cave, I was in awe...

Which scene was your favorite?

One of my favorite scenes involved the rebuilding of the school's outhouse that had been maliciously destroyed... twice. When the outhouse was rebuilt... twice, a celestial display was carved over the door in honor of Samantha. I know it sounds strange, but you'll have to read it... it's quite a moving moment that still makes me smile thinking of it.

A second favorite scene was Debra's description of the Montana sky as Wyatt drove to Samantha's place was evening. Following please find a quote from that scene illustrating Debra's beautiful writing:
On the road leading from his ranch to Samantha's, Wyatt drove his surrey up a small hill and caught his breath as the beauty of the large crescent moon dangling just out of reach over the crest A full moon would have been plump with luminescence, yet the pearly surface of the sickle still cast enough light to shadow his surroundings and seemed close enough that once he drove to the top of the hill, he'd be able to touch the bottom horn or at least toss a rope around it. He slackened the reins, slowing the horse, knowing that the higher he climbed, the sooner the illusion of closeness would disappear and he wanted to preserve for a moment the fantasy that the moon was within his grasp.
The stars, by contrast, were distant pricks of diamond light farther out than a man could dream. He sighed. Life as a rancher or as a rancher's wife was not moon and stars easy or romantic. What would put stars in Samantha's eyes?

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did laugh, then swoon and alternately almost cry at parts. The characters' trials, tribulations and wants became mine.

Any additional comments?

Natalie Ross returns as the amazing narrator. She continues to do a great job capturing the essence of the characters and seamlessly differentiating between them. Under her care, the story flows smoothly and quickly keeping listeners spellbound. Her pauses, accents and mannerisms enhance this delightful tale.

Supporting characters shined. They are diverse from Samantha's son, a half Mexican and half American, to one of her adopted children who is an American Indian. Social issues such as bullying and racial discrimination are addressed within the story. In addition, I enjoyed reading how the characters coped with extreme adversity.

Debra's writing, as always, is first rate. If you are looking for a book with a rich storyline, set in gorgeous Montana, teeming with suspense, with a plethora of action and engaging, genuine down-to-earth characters whose stories will keep you turning the pages until the very end, then I highly recommend STARRY MONTANA SKY. For lovers of heartwarming, western historical romances, it's a must-read!