Healing Montana Sky

The Montana Sky Series, Book 5

By: Debra Holland

Narrated by: Natalie Ross

Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

After a grizzly bear kills Antonia Valleau's trapper husband, she packs her few worldly possessions, leaves her home in the mountains of Montana, and treks to nearby Sweetwater Springs, seeking work to provide for her two young sons.

Reeling from the loss of his wife during childbirth, Erik Muth must find a nursing mother for his newborn daughter to survive. For their children's sake, Erik and Antonia wed, starting a new life together on his farm on the prairie. But it's no easy union. Antonia misunderstands Erik's quiet personality. He finds her independence disconcerting. Both hide secrets that challenge their growing intimacy.

When Indians steal livestock from farms around Sweetwater Springs to feed their starving tribe, the outraged townsfolk demand retaliation. Erik and Antonia must work together to prevent a massacre. Will a marriage forged in loss blossom into love?

©2015 Debra Holland (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Good Book about how love conquers hurt!

If you could sum up Healing Montana Sky in three words, what would they be?

Good story about hardship in 1800's

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked Eric very real and practical

Have you listened to any of Natalie Ross’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, narrator was real great!

sweet story

It's not the type of book I usually listen to but it was a really nice story. I will probably buy one more in this series.

Great story

Good, relaxing story to listen to. No violence to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Sorrow, resilience and love

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I loved this story. It was heartbreaking, but life was harsh back in the early days of the west. The hero and heroine talk to each other, understand each other's grief, and work hard to create a new combined family together. So strong and inspiring.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Antonia is a determined woman. She is smart and willing to do whatever is necessary for her children and family.

Which character – as performed by Natalie Ross – was your favorite?

Natalie Ross does a fantastic job on all the characters. It was amusing when the children were talking.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Bury the grief. Live for the family.

Series

I have become hooked on this sappy heartwarming series. Each one has its little obstacles and goofy sappy stuff but it is fun to listen to when driving highways full of crazies.

Healing Montana Skies

Great story, great reader. I'll try her other books. I like having the two voices. More realistic

WONDERFUL! 💗

This is one of my favorite books! I have read it so many times and enjoyed every one of them.

This is a clean book about finding love after tremendous loss. It pulls at your heart and makes your soul pray for these two brave but hurt people.

I recommend this book for anyone who wants to read romance book that is about finding love that will last a lifetime and who doesn't want the sex that is in most romance novels. It is a truly remarkable and rewarding book!

Tear Jerker Romance

Ms Holland did a wonderful job creating an emotional story of two people and three young children dealing with loss, heartbreak and learning to love again. While I thought that this might be a historical novel, it's more of a chick book. I found it most interesting that the couple spent quite a bit of time getting over the cultural differences that existed between a farmer and a trapper's wife. Both main characters showed a lot of integrity and dealt with situations in different ways. This is not my genre, but I managed to finish and enjoy it. Regardless, I can spend my time with other stories.

Superb

As with all previous book I truly enjoyed this book. The Mutha, Carters, Thompsons, Barrett’s are honest, caring people. Can’t wait to relisten to book 6

An Emotionally Intense Historical Western Romance!

Where does Healing Montana Sky rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Healing Montana Sky was an extremely emotional story - more so than any of Debra's other books I've read - but the tale was engrossing and I didn't want it to end. It's very hard to compare it to others I've listened to as it's the first I've listened to that dealt with the loss of loved ones and of the process of moving on from the loss. Even while addressing the sorrow, the book did not leave me sad, but rather hopeful for a new tomorrow.

What did you like best about this story?

Some sections were admittedly difficult to read, but there were plenty of bright spots to offset the sadness. There was also much wisdom to be savored in the characters' thoughts and words. While there is much sorrow in the tale, there's also positivity and the threads of a bright future. I was not depressed at the end, but hopeful for a new tomorrow.

Which character – as performed by Natalie Ross – was your favorite?

I would have to say Antonia. Natalie aced her accent while keeping Antonia's words clean and clear. I had feared I would have issues understanding Antonia when I transitioned from the kindle version, but I did not thanks to Natalie's voicing of Antonia's character.

Please know that I read the first half of this book and listened to the remainder; It was an easy transition and I thoroughly enjoyed both editions. As Natalie has for the previous books, she does a great job capturing the essence of each of the characters and seamlessly differentiating between them. She has a very pleasing voice and, under her care, the story flows smoothly and quickly keeping listeners spellbound.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were two. The first was when Antonia opened a book at her first home. She could not read and had never held a book before. It made me feel so fortunate to be able to read.
Here's a very short snippet from that scene:
She stopped before the shelf of books and took one down. She'd never held a book before and reverently turned the pages, looking at the incomprehensible print and wishing she could understand the meaning of the words.
Henri drifted close to peer over her arm. "What's that?"
"A book. There be stories in here."

The second was when another rancher shared how he had coped and learned to love again after losing his wife as Erik had done. I felt it was a very moving scene with much wisdom shared. Here's a short snippet from that scene:
“The guilt passes?"
Jonah nodded, his eyes grave. "Mostly." He took off his hat and ran a hand through his shoulder-length blond hair. "Hard to be grieving one wife and yet developing love for another." He put his hat back on. "Confusing as all get-out."
Erik let out a slow breath, relieved to be understood. "Yes."
"You can treasure the memory of one and love the reality of the other.”

Any additional comments?

HEALING MONTANA SKY by Debra Holland is a realistic, emotionally intense installment in her Montana Sky series. It's always a treat to revisit Sweetwater Springs, Montana and the interesting array of characters who populate the area, many of whom I've become quite attached to, thanks to the previous books.