Laura Frantz writes with such depth of feeling that the words flow off the page and into my mind’s eye with seamless ease. The fantastic word imagery paints beautiful landscapes and creates characters with such realistic ease, that you feel that you are right there in the story with them. I could almost hear the tumble of the waterfalls, the rush of the water as it flowed over rocks and heard the birds singing in the trees as the leaves softly rustled in the background.

Temp & Sion’s story isn’t an easy one to read. There is heartache, devastation, and loss. Sometimes the heartache and loss are so real you can feel it, and sometimes you may not want to see all the devastation. However, dear reader keep in mind that to write a real story you have to be true to the realities of this life, In all its messy bits it makes the tender moments of joy that much sweeter. But don’t despair, it’s not all loss and heartache, amid the backdrop of that is the tender grace and love freely given to us all.

The characters in Moonbow Night are so rich in detail and depth that it may take you several chapters to really get to know them, and understand what they are going thru. But if you stick with them, you won’t be disappointed. They will stay with you long after you’ve read the final page and closed the book and just maybe you can add to their story in your own imagination.

A Moonbow Night transports readers to a perilous time for everyone trying to make a life in the New World. Native Americans are fiercely fighting to perserve the life they have known while new settlers are trying to carve out a new life for themselves on the frontier.

The characters in A Moonbow Night depict everything we would expect from those living on the frontier. Courage, strength, ingenuity, and a relentless work ethic. Both Sion and Tempe are fascinating characters throughout this novel. I loved meeting them and going on this journey with them.

The highlights of this book for me were the setting. I loved this glimpse into a world that is so unknown to me and all the bits of pieces of Daniel Boone and the settlements. However, I found the first half of the book to be a bit drawn out and I did become a bit bored with it at times. But the latter half of the story brought tension and I soon found myself unwilling to set the book down.

While I wouldn't put this towards the top of my list of favorite books by Laura Frantz, I'm still glad I picked it up. If you enjoy Historical fiction, particularly that of the frontier, be sure to look into this one. And if you are like me and find the first part a bit slow, stick with it, it'll be worth it in the end.

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.**

5 stars-
One of my favorite movies is “The Last of the Mohicans” with Daniel Day-Lewis. What I love about that movie is how I am drawn so completely into the time period and the absolute heartache and day to day survival of the characters. The intense emotion of Hawkeye and Cora’s relationship is heart wrenching and amazing. It is exactly the same with Laura Frantz’s novels. I do not open them expecting non-stop action or light hearted fare (although they can certainly have both at times). I open them expecting my heart to become completely invested in the characters and all of their fears and joys and to be completely swept away to a time long ago and a very different America.
As I read Sion and Tempe’s story my heart felt every hurt of Tempe’s heart and every joy as well. I love that Tempe and Sion were confident in their surroundings, in understanding the dangers of when and where they lived. In Laura’s stories I appreciate that her characters are smart, not necessarily in the book sense but in common sense. They know the land and the people where they live and they don’t make immature, impetuous decisions. So many books base their storylines on silly things the characters do and poor decisions they make. Tempe and Sion were thoughtful and deliberate in their choices and I liked that.
I love how Laura transports you back to the early days of a fledgling America, often even before we declared our independence from England. She does such an amazing job of bringing that time period to life and making you feel as though you are a part of it. You get such a realistic view of just how difficult it was to forge out a life on the frontier. I loved that she included Daniel Boone and his family in this story as well. I do not know very much about Daniel Boone and was unfamiliar with the event that she relays in the story, but I was so intrigued I found myself googling it on the internet to learn more. Including real people and events makes the story that much more believable. And Laura’s research is amazing. I always know I am going to read not only a brilliantly written story, but a superbly researched one as well.
This was an amazing story and I impatiently look forward to reading the next book in this series. Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read and review this book.

I loved The Frontiersman's Daughter, The Colonel's Lady and Courting Morrow Little; The Ballantyne Legacy series was not of the same caliber, still good but not as good. I'm so excited that A Moonbow Night did not disappoint! The frontier, with family dynamics, Indian troubles, adventure, a love that could be real, along with historical tidbits made for an engaging read. There were a few moments when I thought maybe I had missed a book before this one, I found myself a little confused and wondering at times, but it all came together and left me longing for more great fiction like this from Laura Frantz. Well done!

Laura weaves a story that spellbinds you from the beginning, her attention to detail is rich and vivid. With each sentence you are transported to the 1700's, walking the trails with the surveying party. I could feel the spray from the waterfall and see the lights from the fireflies. I even dreamt I was in Kentucky walking with Tempe, and Scion. I love books that transport me to another place and time, and A Moonbow Night did just that. Scion is a favored hero. He had a special way with Tempe. Tempe was a perfect heroine, her abilities to track and shoot were fun.

We're only eight days into the new year and this book is already on my top reads list for 2017!

This is a must read!!

First of all, if you haven’t ever heard of a moonbow, it’s pretty much what it sounds like. A lunar rainbow.

Secondly, let me just say that if you are looking for a “Hallmark” style book, keep on walking. Laura Frantz doesn’t do anything halfway and this is proof!! There’s a reason why she is my favorite such a popular author.😉

So, let’s get into it.

Ever heard of Daniel Boone? Well, you are going to learn a LOT about him and the things he did during his life. Laura always incorporates so much history and geography in her books. It’s incredible how much I learn with each one. Of course, it’s mixed with such great storytelling and really deep characters that you barely realize you you learning (not that I mind. I am a HUGE history buff).

You will fall in love with Tempe and Sion as you read this story. They work through great loss, crippling fear, and the hardships of life on the unpioneered frontier; both individually and together. Their faith is tested and their lives are fluidly changing. Nothing unrealistic here. Only the eye opening realism of life in “Kentucke” 1777.

I adored everything about this book! LAURA FRANTZ is tops in Christian Historical Fiction. Amazing author. I feel that this is going to be a top title for 2017, destined to be read time and again. I didn't want to leave its page.

Step back into prerevolutionary Kentucke with a tale befitting Daniel Boone himself.

Temperance Tucker has always been smart living out in the Kentucke wilderness with her family. She’s a good shot and quiet as a mouse when out and about in the woods. In fact, people only hear her if she wants to be heard. But she has had her share of family tragedy with her father’s expulsion from Virginia and her own romance’s tragic end. She is content with being at the family home of the Moonbow Inn which has the occasional traveler, mostly surveyors and such. But when Sion Morgan appears in the wilderness one day, she starts to see more to the man than meets the eye. He too has had his share of tragedy in the wilderness, but is now content being a surveyor partner with a map maker for the King. But when the local natives start to close in around their establishments to get them out of the land, can any type of romance succeed? More importantly, will anybody live through it?

Throughout much of this book I found myself drifting back to Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper. Partly because of when it is set, but also just the dynamic between the characters. This one was interesting because of the Kentucky frontier and how everything tied into Daniel Boone. I love it when a story makes me go do my own research to compare the facts to the fiction. Frantz did a great job with the back story of the murder of James Boone and how that tied into Tempe’s life. The scene where Five Killer has captured Sion’s survey team and is leading them back to hack to his camp really paralleled the final scene in Last of the Mohicans as well. I’d say that the author is a fan of this time period and probably of all of The Leatherstocking Tales as well.

If this era of time is of you interest, I highly recommend this book. If you are just a fan of historical fiction, give this one a try as well. Well done.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

As I read A Moonbow Night, it was as if I was transported to another time and place in history. Laura Frantz has created a delight to the senses. I honestly don't know how she does it. Rarely do I read a book that can capture the sights, sounds, and smells of eighteenth century life so vividly. Even nature is given a life of its own throughout the story, and is almost a character in itself.
       My senses were not the only thing stirred in this story. This was a tale of love, deep loss, grief, and courage to open oneself up to experiencing peace and joy through God and one another. I thought Tempe's fearlessness as a result of her grief was an interesting part of her character. She did not fear death, which actually gave her the ability to experience life, particularly life in a dangerous time and location. 
      Typically, I'm drawn to the romantic tension in a story. I'll admit...I love action, adventure and a good plot line...but I'm a hopeless romantic at heart. This story did have a building of romantic tension, although not quite as intense as some of Frantz' previous novels. From the beginning, this tale was different...and not in a bad way. I was so lost in the intensity of the setting and the action that was building in the story, an overdose of romantic moments would've seemed forced, in my opinion. The way they were written fit right in with what was happening in the moment, and it created a nice balance.
        I would definitely recommend this book, as well as Laura Frantz' other novels. I actually took time to reread two of her books this year and can't say enough about how wonderful they are. I always wait in eager anticipation when I see that she has a new one coming out. You can connect with Laura on Facebook and Instagram.

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, to give an honest review, which I did.*

When Temperance "Tempe" Tucker's father commits a crime in Virginia, he and his family flee to the wilds of Kentucke. After a disastrous encounter with a group of Shawnee, the Tucker family establishes an inn along the Shawnee river to serve the various settlers and frontiersman in the region. Surveyor Sion Morgan and his crew find themselves repeatedly drawn to the delicious food, medical care, and lively conversation of the Moonbow Inn as they work to survey the western edges of the American colonies. As the dangers of his journey become more and more evident, Sion finds himself relying on Tempe's survival expertise, and eventually asks her to serve as a guide for his crew. Tempe accepts the position as a way to lead these strangers away from the Moonbow, and keep her father's secret safe. Will the constant dangers of the wilderness bring Sion and Tempe closer together, or will the constant threat of death only strengthen their individual resolves to never love again?

Once again, Laura Frantz brings pre-Revolutionary America to vivid life in A Moonbow Night. Frantz's portrayals of the struggles and hardships of America's early settlers, the tense and complicated relationships between British loyalists, colonists, and Indians, and the utter beauty of a lost wilderness are nothing short of fascinating. The plot took a while to get going, but once Tempe and Sion embark on their joint adventure, I couldn't make myself stop reading. Sion definitely evokes a Hawkeye-type vibe, but I particularly loved the choice to make the heroine just as capable on the frontier as the rugged frontiersman. Even the secondary characters-- Tempe's family, Sion's crew, etc.-- were well-developed and engaging characters. Tempe and Sion's romance was equally complex and believable, with each of them having to decide whether or not love is worth the inevitable pain than comes with it. Equal parts exciting adventure and sweet love story, Frantz's latest is yet another work of art.