Tess Thompson

Stella raised good boys that became good men. Atticus, Caspian, Rafferty, Soren and Thad: all different, all unique, but all hard-working, dependable and caring. When Jasper Moon came into their lives he provided the role model those poor boys needed and together he and Stella showed them a warm, wonderful family life and how beautiful the love between a good, strong man and a nurturing, tender woman could be. Life is pretty good now for them all at the Crescent Moon Ranch in Bluefern, Montana. Stella and Jasper have been married more than twenty years and those boys are now grown, each with a role at the ranch or in Bluefern that suits their skills and interests. Atticus has just been reunited with Annie, his soulmate and the love of his life. One brother happily tucked away. Let’s move on, then.

Caspian is up next. When they were young all the boys were bullied, mistreated or ignored by their father Rex. Stella did her best to protect and defend them, and then Jasper loved them unconditionally and they became the Moon family, but those hurts inflicted by Rex cut deep and some of his cruel barbs were hard to forget. Caspian may have had the worst of it. He struggled in school, was slow to grasp some things, and was convinced he was dumb because of it. A perception reinforced by his uncaring father. Worst of all, he loved to cook, and Rex never missed the opportunity to ridicule him for it. Turns out he was dyslexic, but Rex would have none of testing or medication and poor Caspian struggled and just did the best he could.

Twenty years later Caspian successfully runs the restaurant and is the talented chef at the Crescent Moon Ranch. But old wounds are still there and he’s convinced romance is not for him. Who could ever love him, who would want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere in Montana with him? He’s resigned to the occasional date that leads nowhere. Until – until – Elliot Young applies for the position of pastry chef. He wants to be irritated because she’s late for the interview but instead finds himself tongue-tied and nervous, feeling that there is something oh so right about being around this woman. Awww, Caspian, our fingers are going to stay crossed for you for the rest of this book.

Elliot hasn’t had an easy childhood either. Never knew her father, her mother suffered from depression and committed suicide when Elliot was eleven years old, and the aunt who lovingly raised her from that point on has recently died. To make matters worse, Elliot has a stalker. She’s gotten a restraining order but it’s all so stressful she leaves her job, gives up her apartment, closes down all social media and decides to move away where she (hopefully) can’t be found. Bluefern, Montana might just be it.

From the minute they meet Caspian and Elliot dance and tiptoe around each other. Caspian is the boss and afraid to step over any lines; he’s so careful about it that Elliot is almost convinced he doesn’t even like her. It’s funny and sweet to watch them just about give in to that magnetic pull and then jump back, and it’s heart-breaking to learn of their past pain and struggles and to see their current fears and uncertainty.

Harvest Moon is a delightful addition to this delightful series. Stella and Jasper are as marvelous together as always. Atticus and Annie together again are heartwarming. All the Moon men are handsome and charming (even Soren who hides it well) and fun to get to know better with each book. Author Tess Thompson does her usual excellent job of reuniting us with characters we know and love while giving us a close-up, in-depth look at the brother in the spotlight. Harvest Moon is well plotted and perfectly paced, switching viewpoints between Caspian and Elliot, and surprising us with a really unique twist that you probably won’t see coming but that fits into this extremely satisfying story.

Thanks to the author for providing an advance copy of Harvest Moon as part of her ARC team. I thoroughly enjoyed it and cannot wait to see who’s up next and what the next part of their story will be. Get your tissues ready because you’ll need them when you laugh and cry, and then read this book and the rest of the series, and then just make your way through everything Tess Thompson has written. You’ll be glad you did.… (altro)

Swoony Moon was just the book we needed as the second in the Crescent Moon Ranch series by always fabulous author Tess Thompson. Mama Moon, the first book in the series, left us feeling warm and fuzzy and smiling, except for one little thing: Annie Armstrong and her father Mark left Bluefern, Montana after Jennie Armstrong’s betrayal and death. It was the right decision. They couldn’t have survived the scandal and the gossip, the stares. But Atticus Moon and Annie had been best friends literally forever; they had decided by the age of eleven that it was only natural they would always be together, they would someday marry.

Life was good for the Moon family in the following years. Jasper Moon coming into their lives was a godsend. The five Moon boys thrived now with two loving parents and a warm, comfortable, supportive environment. Mama Stella had always worked desperately to provide for her boys and to show them they were loved, and with Jasper now by her side life was so sweet. Life was good for Annie, too. Her father remarried a wonderful woman and she loved and was loved by her stepmother and stepsisters. She realized her dream of becoming a big Hollywood star.

But there’s still a ‘what-if?’ lingering there. Twenty years have passed. Atticus and Annie lost touch as they grew up and now there is just an occasional text, if that. How might things have worked out between them if not for the tragedy, the move, for life? Well, they just might find out, since Annie returns to Bluefern after her life in Hollywood becomes a catastrophic, humiliating disaster. She’s not thinking about romance, but about safety and comfort, to get back if she can some of that belonging she always felt with Stella and her boys, and to look at her past and her mother’s devastating actions head on. As it happens, Atticus has recently returned to Crescent Moon Ranch as well. His big success in the tech world has allowed him to finally come home and be there for his family if they need him.

The other Moon boys - Caspian, Rafferty, Soren, and Thad – have grown up into the men their child personalities hinted they would be. They are still close and the entire family welcomes Annie with love and open arms and help her work through the past as much as they can. Especially Atticus. He hasn’t forgotten Annie any more than she has forgotten him. There is definitely a spark there.

But just how can that work? They’re not children anymore, they are adults with adult history, lives and careers. She lives in Hollywood. He’s come back to Montana to escape that insane pace. Leave it to author Thompson to figure that out for us. Atticus was the sweetest little boy and is the sweetest man. Annie is . . . just Annie. How can you know her and not love her? Not want to be in her orbit? The good boys are now good men. Some with stronger personalities than the others, but all unique and interesting – and hopefully each of them will be the subject of another book in the series. Jasper and Stella are as magical together as ever.

Thanks to the author for providing a copy of Swoony Moon as part of her review team. It was the perfect place to pick up again with these wonderful characters, so sweet, so enjoyable, so satisfying. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope for an addition to the series soon. I leave this review voluntarily; all opinions are my own.… (altro)

If you’re going to read a Tess Thompson book make sure you have your box of tissues handy, because you’re going to cry. With sadness, with joy, with anger, with frustration, with despair, with hope, with contentment. Just trust me, you are going to cry. It’s like those television commercials where you find yourself crying when you least expect it. With Thompson’s books you are so immediately invested in the characters that everything they do, everything that happens to them, is meaningful.

Mama Moon is the first of the Crescent Moon Ranch series, a series I hope goes on forever. A dozen years ago Stella McKinnon was full of promise, ambition and dreams. She was leaving Bozeman, Montana, going off to school to become a veterinarian, and would come back and care for all the animals in town. But she found herself in a situation and had to make a choice. And now she’s drained, washed out, worn out. Never left Bozeman, never became a vet, never followed her dreams because a rodeo cowboy named Rex Sharp caught her eye and captured her heart. Showed her what she thought was affection, something she never received at home. Rex never wanted to be a rancher, never really seemed to want Stella. He has a pattern of leaving Stella “because the pull of the rodeo is too strong” but coming back a few weeks or months later, having realized she was what he wanted all along. Or so he says. When he tells her he’s leaving again, this time feels different. Stella realizes that whatever love she felt for him is finally gone, eroded, she’s stopped seeing him through that filter of hope. The only good thing she’s ever gotten from him is her five young boys, and that’s the one thing she wants. That and the ranch that has been in her family for generations. The ranch she is perilously close to losing.

Stella vows to herself to do whatever is necessary to keep the ranch and make a home there for her boys. They are a handful – of course they are, 5 boys ranging from 11 to 3 – but they are good boys. Their mama loves them and has taught them well. Rex may be gone but Stella has her best friend Jennie to support her as she’s always done. She has friends, and Iris, who was more like a mother to her growing up than her own mother. She’ll make it. And flirting and dating and relationships are the farthest thing from her mind. She sees herself as “rode hard and put up wet” (I love this expression, reminds me of hearing this when growing up in the country), and what man in his right mind would want this pale, tired, wiped-out woman who, oh yes by the way, has five young sons.

But then she meets Jasper Moon, the manager of the new bank branch that just opened in town, Jennie’s boss. Kind of a city slicker (leather loafers – where are his boots??) but not really. He’s smart, sensitive, strong. Raised by a single mother he knows how to take care of things, and soon he discovers he wants to take care of Stella and those boys.

To say any more would take away the pure joy you’ll experience reading Mama Moon for yourself. Stella is a wonderful woman and deserves to be happy and cared for. Atticus, Caspian, Rafferty, Soren and Thad are adorable. Each of them unique but so much Stella’s sons. Jennie and Mark are there for Stella as always. Their daughter Annie and Atticus have a deep bond, one that seems destined to run forever. Jennie seems a little off, but Stella will try and find out why. Jasper settles into town as if he was born there: rebuilds his ranch house, enters the pie-baking contest, becomes a valued part of the community. But everything does not go smoothly. There are surprises, shocks even, betrayal, hopelessness. You’re going to need those tissues. But through it all, the goodness of people, the love of family, the desire to protect shine through.

Thanks to the author for providing a copy of Mama Moon as part of her review team. I never met a Tess Thompson book I didn’t love and don’t ever expect to. Mama Moon was emotional, inspirational, and utterly satisfying. I leave this review voluntarily; all opinions are my own.… (altro)