The Cowgirl Jumped Over the Moon

By: Linda Ballou

Narrated by: Scott Glennon

Gemcie and her Irish Hunter, Marshal, are about to capture the World Cup when a nasty fall dashes their chances. While she is mending, her arch rival seizes this opportunity to catch a ride on Marshal, and to seduce her young husband. Confused and dazed by her new circumstances, Gemcie heads for the high Sierras hoping the majestic spires that captured the heart of the father she never met will provide the answers she seeks.

She finds strength and solace riding solo on the John Muir Trail, but a bear attack ends her time of introspection and places her in the care of a solitary cowboy manning a fire lookout. Brady shows her love and gives her the courage to get back in the saddle. Haunted by images of Marshal being abused by his owners, Gemcie returns to rescue him and fly high with him once more.

Ballou's prose gallops ahead at breakneck speed as she takes you along on this wild ride.

©2015 Linda Ballou (P)2017 Linda Ballou

Is it wrong to fall in love with your narrator?

I was thrilled to get an audition from a man who said he loved the story and that he misted over a couple of times while reading the book. Scott Glennon lives in Colorado so he has a little cowboy in him, and he is an emotional guy! Perfect!
Hearing my words come back to me enriched by his inflections and emotional interpretations is really exciting for me. He has given each character vocal nuances that are terrific. I find myself getting teary eyed as I listen to my words and come away feeling that we have both done a good job.He put a lot of energy into the story and worked hard to get it right. I love Scott's delivery of The Cowgirl Jumped Over the Moon and hope you will too! Linda Ballou

A Ride That I Wouldn't Mind Taking More Than Once

Gemcie seems to have it all at the beginning of this story. But she shows how quickly things can change. We get to see her grow and to realize her limitations of things she cannot change. She takes us along on her journey of self-discovery. One thing this story made me come to realize is this is one where I need to "set the mood". I look forward to the time when I can listen to her story again.

I live not too far from a fairground that has just started an American Quarter Horse show and I can't think of a better way to listen to the beginning of this book again. The sad part, I'm not as brave as Gemcie to take a trek through the High Sierras. Maybe I'll just take walks through some of our local parks and call it a day. And getting on a horse? - I'm afraid of heights so I'll just enjoy them either from a seat or with my two feet planted firmly on the ground.

Mr. Glennon does a satisfactory job in telling us the story. I don't mind that he doesn't do a perfect job in making his voice sound female. He does a great job in having me picture an evening scene with people sitting around a blazing fire. As we sit there making s'mores and having our warmed drink of choice, he's telling us this story. And it's one where he will only tell it to us in parts so that he always leaves us in suspense. I could also picture him doing the same while leading us on a trail ride telling us other tales that get us ready for his next part of the tale.

Ms. Ballou had me thinking of my childhood. I have loved to read since I was very small. As I was growing up, I was voracious about any book that had horses in it. At some point that just stopped and my head turned toward romances. Our author reminded me what I loved about those books I read so long ago and for that I have to thank her. She also reminded me how much my neighborhood has changed. We used to have a farm at the end of my street. As I delivered papers, I would stop and say hello to the horse they had. I could almost picture it as a place that Gemcie would be. And I'm so glad that I had a chance to "meet" our author and Gemcie.

I voluntarily reviewed an Audiobook copy of this book.

STEAMY WESTERN ROMANCE.

GOOD STORYLINE, WELL WRITTEN AND EASY TO FOLLOW. FUNNY, INTRIGUING ROMANCE. STEAMY.
NOT CLEAN FOR YOUNG LISTENERS.

ACCEPTABLE FOR MATURE AUDIENCE

NARRATOR IS GREAT AND EASY TO FOLLOW.

Beautiful story

This was an amazing story of crashed dreams and rising from the ashes. Linda Ballou takes the listener into a beautiful wild country and over fences so vividly. Scott Glennon narrated like no one else can. This story was definitely worth listening, I have to rate it as 10 stars out of 5.

A Wonderful Book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! What an amazing adventure for the Heroine of the story... The storyline is great and her journey through her own discoveries, the pains both physical, mental and of the heart... and the resulting climax of happiness and goals achieved is well worth the listen! This was a book to be proud of! and major kudos to the Author! The Author's notes at the end were the final glory... as she conveys just how closely the book relates to all things she has known or experienced! I have not looked yet, (I am still basking in the flood of good memories from this book!), but I hope she did write the sequel... I can only dream of that journey, which would be the ultimate perfection of a life lived to the most! The Narrator did a super job as well... I HIGHLY SUGGEST THIS BOOK!!! This book was provided free of charge in exchange for a fair review of the book... Thank You!

Great story

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request, via Audiobook Boom, and have voluntarily left this review." This story of healing and rediscovering life after a tragic accident is well-developed and told in such a way that it is easy to follow. The beginning of the story is a little strange but as you listen you get more involved. I loved the mother. The narrator kept me listening even when the story started to drag. This is a good story to listen to when stuck in the house with an injury.

Horse lovers dream

This was a great story about a girl, her horse and dreams. Scott Glennon did an amazing job with the narration and I highly recommend this author and narrator! I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A story of triumph

This story is full tragedy and triumph. The tragedy of divorce and being hurt. The triumph of healing and working towards want you want! I couldn’t put this down. I stayed up all night to finish it. I will be listening to again.

I Enjoyed This, And I'm Picky

As an author myself, I feel bad leaving less than stellar reviews. But while I enjoyed this, I can't rave about it. Then again, I'm very picky.

What I didn't like:

The narrator mispronounced some words. Not place names, just somewhat unusual dictionary words. Also his emphasis sounded off at first, but after he settled in he was pleasant to listen to.

The story had a couple elements that strained credulity, such as a deus ex machina check that arrives in the mail. Granted, the title was inspired by a children's rhyme, but most of the story is based in reality. Also the story's pacing could be slow at times.

Horror of horrors, there are scenes with no horses! That's because this is Gemcie's story. I realize this is not a fair criticism, but I did find myself wanting even more horse content.

What I did like:

The horse scenes, of course! Finally a novel involving horses that's not about racing! I most enjoyed the trail ride parts.

Vivid descriptions of nature and wildlife. The listener gets a vacation in the mountains.

Brady's job was interesting. I liked Brady in general, till the contrived spat near the end

Humorous bits

(I received this audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review.)

Enjoyable

I received this audiobook free in exchange for an honest review. The author has a lyrical way of writing that I quite liked. She put a lot of depth into the book, with details of riding, show jumping and what goes into show jumping, as well as the beautiful mountains that the main character finds herself in. Overall, it was a very enjoyable book to listen to.

I did have some problems with the way the narrative seemed to jump around at times; sudden switches of topics. Now this might have been because I wasn't seeing the physical writing of the story, so didn't know if there were breaks, or italics, or other visual cues to help with that, but overall, the flow of the story was pretty good.