Moonshadow

by Susan Wiggs

PASSION'S SURRENDER

Brash, beautiful Jessica Darling preferred to forget what she'd done to survive her destitute childhood. Now, her shameful past safely behind her, she found contentment as the governess of two motherless children - until their long-lost father returned unexpectedly to take them.

Fletcher Danforth, imprisoned for five years in the colonies, felt little love for anyone - except his son and daughter. He would take any risk to claim them from their guardians - even blackmail Jessica into marrying him! But as the sweet passion of moonlit nights claims them, Fletcher discovers the healing power of Jessica's love, only to realize he may have lost all hope to win her heart.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance

367 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Susan Wiggs's life is all about family, friends...and fiction. She lives at the water's edge on an island in Puget Sound, and she commutes to her writers' group in a 17-foot motorboat. She serves as author liaison for Field's End, a literary community on Bainbridge Island, Washington, bringing inspiration and instruction from the world's top authors to her seaside community. (See www.fieldsend.org) She's been featured in the national media, including NPR's "Talk of the Nation," and is a popular speaker locally and nationally.

According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable." She is the recipient of three RITA (sm) awards and four starred reviews from Publishers Weekly for her books. The Winter Lodge and Passing Through Paradise have appeared on PW’s annual "Best Of" lists. Several of her books have been listed as top Booksense picks and optioned as feature films. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have made national bestseller lists, including the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times lists.

The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book. Readers can learn more on the web at www.susanwiggs.com and on her lively blog at www.susanwiggs.wordpress.com.

Reviews

[Misfit · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have mixed results with Wiggs' books, some are keepers for a reread and others, like this one, are dry as dirt and best left to obscurity. I generally love Colonia America settings, but this one just didn't fly. The H and h have no chemistry and are unable to talk to each other to resolve their big misunderstandings. The kids should be cute, but instead they're annoying, especially the oldest brat and the trouble he tries to stir up. I also didn't care for the native American twist and the relationship of the H to the Mohawk tribe - it just didn't ring true and was more like another unneeded plot twist.

Don't bother, I read this so no one else has to.

[Lynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jessica Darling is a street urchin of unspeakable parentage who is taken in by a French madame. Incredibly, and in spite of being taught in a house of ill repute, she is transformed into a fine and proper lady and lands a governess position with a prominent family. Fletcher Danforth is part Mohawk, and he has been imprisoned for years at a fort in the colonies. Upon his release, all he wants to do is to be reunited with his children but his estranged wife has returned to England with them. Fletcher forcefully uses Jessica to get his children back.

I thought the narrator made Fletcher sound more severe than I would have read him, but both he and Jessica had crazy mood swings. One moment they would be overcome with love and passion for the other, and the next, something is taken out of context or misunderstood, the passion does a 180 and they freak out. The continuous emotional flip flop of the characters just got so old. And the misunderstandings! There were so many misunderstandings. They just went on and on and on. When one of them is finally on the verge of a confession, they are cut off by the other. Or they are struck dumb when an explanation is demanded. It literally went on for the entirety of the story. Right up to the very frickin end.

I did not have a favorite part, but there were lots of LOL descriptive lines. Unfortunately I can’t list my favorite one here and keep it clean, but here are a couple:

“His scent, that of wild timber and outdoor places, held all reason at bay”.

“Bending low over the stallion’s neck, thighs gripping the chestnut sides, he absorbed his mounts supple strides. With the sunlight bringing blue highlights to his midnight hair, he looked as untamed and elemental as the forest-clad mountains rising above the river.”

This story is made up entirely of unspoken things, hurt feelings, and hot and cold passions. And bickering. Lots of bickering.

Moonshadow was difficult for me to finish, but I really liked the one other book I have read by her, (The Hostage), so I will give this author another try.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so disappointed with this book. It set up so many interesting and worthwhile potential directions for this narrative, and then let every single one of them fizzle. Whats more the writing isn't even bad, the author does some very good character work, but when it came to the plot its like she had so much she wanted to say that she just couldn't figure out how to slim it into one story and so gave up altogether. That's what I get for researching romantic subplots by reading full on romance stories.

[Jean Carroll]

Historical aspects are engaging , as are the characters. The main two characters are a bit exaggerated, Jessica full of forgiveness, yet independent; Fletcher, mean, but insightful.

[Marilyn Getts · Rating 1 out of 5]

Written in 1989, and it feels like it. Listening to it was painful.

[Vilate Van Leeuwen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not a book about surrendering passion. It’s a book about rape and forced indentured servitude.

[Amanda Tague · Rating 4 out of 5]

Predictable, but good. Spicy and wholesome at the same time.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover gives the wrong impression. This is not the steamy romance the artwork suggests. Instead, it’s a much quieter, more restrained, and character-driven historical novel, which may surprise readers going in.

I really enjoyed it. I appreciated learning about Fletcher’s Mohawk traditions and the backdrop of colonial unrest, which added depth and texture to the story. Jessica Darling’s life was especially interesting to follow—from her harsh and unconventional childhood, to a more acceptable upbringing in England and navigation of city life as a single woman, and then confronting those differences again back in the States. The contrasts in her experiences were thoughtfully handled.

If you go in expecting atmosphere, history, and character growth rather than heat, this book delivers.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty good book considering I usually don't read that time period. first of hers that I read.