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The Moon Trilogy #1
Secrets of a Midnight Moon
Every road away from her troubled past leads into the arms of a dangerous man.
After being abandoned by her lover and shunned by her family, Anna Jensen decides to make a new start in the rugged wilderness of the California mountains. But before she can reach her destination and begin her new life as a humble schoolteacher, she's captured by a brooding warrior known only as "Bear." Her kidnapping wasn’t entirely random, though. Bear is actually Nicholas Gaspard, the half-Indian son of the rich rancher who originally hired Anna. He intercepted her for what he believes to be a greater cause. Nicholas is a local hero, rescuing abandoned and abused local children, and he kidnapped Anna to educate them. Anna, furious at being tricked, initially resists. But sparks fly between the reluctant teacher and the complex man, revealing a reckless desire that cannot be tamed.
After being abandoned by her lover and shunned by her family, Anna Jensen decides to make a new start in the rugged wilderness of the California mountains. But before she can reach her destination and begin her new life as a humble schoolteacher, she's captured by a brooding warrior known only as "Bear." Her kidnapping wasn’t entirely random, though. Bear is actually Nicholas Gaspard, the half-Indian son of the rich rancher who originally hired Anna. He intercepted her for what he believes to be a greater cause. Nicholas is a local hero, rescuing abandoned and abused local children, and he kidnapped Anna to educate them. Anna, furious at being tricked, initially resists. But sparks fly between the reluctant teacher and the complex man, revealing a reckless desire that cannot be tamed.
292 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1991
About the author
Jane Bonander
30 books27 followersJane Bonander has always had a flare for the dramatic. Just ask her mother. When she was five, she ran home from kindergarten and scrambled under her parents’ bed, hiding there until her mother came looking for her which was longer than Jane had anticipated, for she fell asleep. When her mother woke her, she told her that a big, hairy monster had chased her home. Since over an hour had passed, the drama of the moment was gone. She sold her first novel, SECRETS OF A MIDNIGHT MOON, to St. Martin’s Press in 1990. Since then she has published twelve more novels and novellas.
Although Jane lived in California for nearly twenty years and wrote most of her novels there, she returned to her roots in Minnesota in 1997, where she makes her home in St. Paul.
Although Jane lived in California for nearly twenty years and wrote most of her novels there, she returned to her roots in Minnesota in 1997, where she makes her home in St. Paul.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 24, 2014
Bodice ripper from 1991 which was free on Kindle when I downloaded.
Heroine is a schoolteacher who thinks she is heading out to a new position as a schoolmarm.
She is kidnapped and locked up by the"half breed" hero.
He tortures her, tells her very little about why he kidnapped her, and semi forces himself in her.
You see the poor guy was used and teased by another blond haired white woman, and he has been "scarred" by this previous love.
Unfortunate our heroine is also a blue eyed blonde and he can't resist her "soft, white skin".
We are battered again and again by how the bad white men brutalized the Local Indians. This subject was treated in a very heavy handed manner.
I finally had enough when the heroine has a miscarriage (hero is the father of this child), she is bleeding and near death, and he dumps her at the doorstep of the town doctor and runs off because he doesn't want anyone to know about him and his involvement in the refugee Indian settlement.
Of course when he shows up again, the heroine takes him back and has sex with him within a few days/weeks of her brutal miscarriage.
Ugh.
Heroine is a schoolteacher who thinks she is heading out to a new position as a schoolmarm.
She is kidnapped and locked up by the"half breed" hero.
He tortures her, tells her very little about why he kidnapped her, and semi forces himself in her.
You see the poor guy was used and teased by another blond haired white woman, and he has been "scarred" by this previous love.
Unfortunate our heroine is also a blue eyed blonde and he can't resist her "soft, white skin".
We are battered again and again by how the bad white men brutalized the Local Indians. This subject was treated in a very heavy handed manner.
I finally had enough when the heroine has a miscarriage (hero is the father of this child), she is bleeding and near death, and he dumps her at the doorstep of the town doctor and runs off because he doesn't want anyone to know about him and his involvement in the refugee Indian settlement.
Of course when he shows up again, the heroine takes him back and has sex with him within a few days/weeks of her brutal miscarriage.
Ugh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2019
Too graphic for my taste in regards to racism, abuse and violence. Also I didn’t really see the connection between the hero and heroine. Nick was a jerk for most of the story.
April 22, 2019
This was such an uninspired read that I was unable to recall anything about the book 6 weeks after I'd finished it. I had to reread it to be able to write a summary and review.
Half-Indian Nicholas Gaspard pulls a slick trick of kidnapping new schoolmarm Anna Jenson; he needs her to teach Indian children in his hide-away school. These children have been spirited away from situations in which they were virtual slaves to whites. However, Anna was hired to teach the white children in a nearby town.
As a product of her environment, Anna thinks Indians were ignorant savages. As she works with the Indian children, she realizes they are just like other children, except for their haunted looks. The person who keeps Anna most off-kilter is Nicholas; one time he seems to like her and seconds later he is cutting and rude. Nicholas is still troubled by the white woman he loved who rejected him because of his mixed ancestry.
Nicholas' half-brother, Marcus (not of mixed blood), is still looking for the teacher who disappeared into thin air. He is aided by his father-in-law; they are also searching for the person who steals Indian children from white homes.
I liked the plot and the unique way of addressing the abuse of Indians by whites. However, the story did not emotionally grab me; it seemed to be a distant story about not very interesting lead characters. Rereading the book did not make it anymore emotionally engaging than the first time.
Novels
Secrets of a Midnight Moon (1991)
Heat of a Savage Moon (1993)
Forbidden Moon (1994)
Half-Indian Nicholas Gaspard pulls a slick trick of kidnapping new schoolmarm Anna Jenson; he needs her to teach Indian children in his hide-away school. These children have been spirited away from situations in which they were virtual slaves to whites. However, Anna was hired to teach the white children in a nearby town.
As a product of her environment, Anna thinks Indians were ignorant savages. As she works with the Indian children, she realizes they are just like other children, except for their haunted looks. The person who keeps Anna most off-kilter is Nicholas; one time he seems to like her and seconds later he is cutting and rude. Nicholas is still troubled by the white woman he loved who rejected him because of his mixed ancestry.
Nicholas' half-brother, Marcus (not of mixed blood), is still looking for the teacher who disappeared into thin air. He is aided by his father-in-law; they are also searching for the person who steals Indian children from white homes.
I liked the plot and the unique way of addressing the abuse of Indians by whites. However, the story did not emotionally grab me; it seemed to be a distant story about not very interesting lead characters. Rereading the book did not make it anymore emotionally engaging than the first time.
Novels
Secrets of a Midnight Moon (1991)
Heat of a Savage Moon (1993)
Forbidden Moon (1994)
August 30, 2014
Sad and kinda graphic. With constant vigilante parties looking for him, Nick still manages to help numerous children. But dealing with one kidnapped white woman and one jealous Indian woman maybe too much.
August 25, 2014
Is a great book to read
September 9, 2014
Not bad
Decent read, if you're looking for something to pass time. Story line has been done many times, but still entertaining.
Decent read, if you're looking for something to pass time. Story line has been done many times, but still entertaining.
September 28, 2014
Secrets
This was an exciting story of love and the difficult situation that occurred between white and Indian people during the settlement of our country.
This was an exciting story of love and the difficult situation that occurred between white and Indian people during the settlement of our country.
March 29, 2017
I'm going with a 2.5 here. It's well written and is basically a bodice ripper, so it has some of that train-wreck nostalgia going for it.
Anna is a teacher who has already been through disgrace in her hometown, so she ups and moves to Pine Valley to be a teacher there. Only when she gets off the stagecoach, she makes the mistake of following Nicolas Gaspard, thinking she's being taken to her new home. Well, she's basically kidnapped by her employer's half-breed son who despises white people - and Anna is no exception. All of her ignorance about Indians just reinforces Nicolas's conviction and makes him treat her even worse. But Anna learns and accepts the people she's taken to live with and the children she teaches (former Indian slaves, now kidnapped back by Nicolas). Nicolas can't seem to help himself from hating Anna, even as (and because) he burns with lust for her and finds himself loving her. All the more reason to treat her like a whore...especially when he learns she's not a virgin and has been fighting him off all this time. But Anna loves him and is willing to forgive him, if only he'd love her.
Anna was kind of pathetic to fall in love with a guy who treats her like Nicolas does. There first coming together isn't so bad, but then Nicolas turns around and basically calls her a whore and so then she's determined to resist him...even though she still loves him. Then he rapes her and continues to treat her as a whore. By that point, even though she still loves him, she at least gives him some serious shit about it and flings some pretty good guilt trips. And it's a good thing he feels guilt, because I hated him by then. I think I might have hated him less if we'd been able to see his POV a bit more to figure out why he was acting that way. He grovels a bit, which is good, but he needed more grovelling. And Nick was a bit of a sick puppy. His relationships with white women had taught him that the rules of the game they play...that even though they say they don't want it, what they really want is to be raped because society won't let them want it. And that's the basis of his action with Anna. That the only reason she was saying no was because that was what was acceptable, but she honestly did want it, so he hadn't raped her. What a mind fuck...you can kind of see how a man wouldn't understand consent in those circumstances. And this was reinforced to him when he found she wasn't a virgin...she'd been acting like on this whole time and then she wasn't, so he figured she was playing "the game." Gah. It took a long while for me to warm up to Nicolas...like 90% while. He was cruel and harsh at the beginning, hateful and rapey in the middle and then cruel to be noble in the end. I did like Anna's resilience and her relationships she develops with all the children and the people in the camp. I also appreciated that she didn't just become "Indian" overnight and she actually did struggle with the rough life of the camp.
Anna is a teacher who has already been through disgrace in her hometown, so she ups and moves to Pine Valley to be a teacher there. Only when she gets off the stagecoach, she makes the mistake of following Nicolas Gaspard, thinking she's being taken to her new home. Well, she's basically kidnapped by her employer's half-breed son who despises white people - and Anna is no exception. All of her ignorance about Indians just reinforces Nicolas's conviction and makes him treat her even worse. But Anna learns and accepts the people she's taken to live with and the children she teaches (former Indian slaves, now kidnapped back by Nicolas). Nicolas can't seem to help himself from hating Anna, even as (and because) he burns with lust for her and finds himself loving her. All the more reason to treat her like a whore...especially when he learns she's not a virgin and has been fighting him off all this time. But Anna loves him and is willing to forgive him, if only he'd love her.
Anna was kind of pathetic to fall in love with a guy who treats her like Nicolas does. There first coming together isn't so bad, but then Nicolas turns around and basically calls her a whore and so then she's determined to resist him...even though she still loves him. Then he rapes her and continues to treat her as a whore. By that point, even though she still loves him, she at least gives him some serious shit about it and flings some pretty good guilt trips. And it's a good thing he feels guilt, because I hated him by then. I think I might have hated him less if we'd been able to see his POV a bit more to figure out why he was acting that way. He grovels a bit, which is good, but he needed more grovelling. And Nick was a bit of a sick puppy. His relationships with white women had taught him that the rules of the game they play...that even though they say they don't want it, what they really want is to be raped because society won't let them want it. And that's the basis of his action with Anna. That the only reason she was saying no was because that was what was acceptable, but she honestly did want it, so he hadn't raped her. What a mind fuck...you can kind of see how a man wouldn't understand consent in those circumstances. And this was reinforced to him when he found she wasn't a virgin...she'd been acting like on this whole time and then she wasn't, so he figured she was playing "the game." Gah. It took a long while for me to warm up to Nicolas...like 90% while. He was cruel and harsh at the beginning, hateful and rapey in the middle and then cruel to be noble in the end. I did like Anna's resilience and her relationships she develops with all the children and the people in the camp. I also appreciated that she didn't just become "Indian" overnight and she actually did struggle with the rough life of the camp.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 29, 2019
OK, I usually never wright reviews for books but HOLY SHIT! I personally HATED the romance in this. It was a straight up Stockholm syndrome with are girl and I did not like it. Like the guy raped you and you say its not his fault because even though you didn't want to do it your where still lusting for him? Not OK
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews