3.5* well written but certain parts of story very similar to a previous VH book I read. ( )

This was a reread for me for bookclub. I originally read this as a teenager back in the 1970s. It was just as readable this second time through. I didn't remember much of the plot even though I remembered vaguely that the book ended happily. I did feel the angst at the horrible things that were happening to Helena. I probably figured out what was going on earlier this time since I've read so many books since I first read this but it was all new the first time through and as a teenager I wasn't quite so savvy. Still the writing was such that you kept wanting to read to find out for sure what was going on and to get Helena through the bad stuff.

It is of course a gothic novel so even though there is a romance the main thrust of the story is the surreal things that are happening to the poor heroine. A fun read altogether. ( )

Time of the Hunter’s Moon by Victoria Holt is a 2013 Sourcebooks Casablanca publication. (Originally published in 1983)

Victoria Holt writes Bodice Ripper?

While attending school, Cordelia Grant and a group of her friends, indulge in a little harmless folklore by gathering at a specific location, at the time of the Hunter’s Moon, in hopes of finding their future husband. Sure enough, a man emerges in their midst, striking up a brief conversation with the girls, paying close attention to Cordelia, especially.

Upon graduation, Cordelia takes a job at an all- girls school. After meeting the mysterious stranger again, only to have him disappear, Cordelia tries to search him out, only to have the mystery deepen. Over time, she tries to put the experience out of her mind.

As it turns out, she has more troubling things to concern herself with. One is a student that needs extra attention, and another group of girls who intend to challenge her authority. But the most upsetting issue is that she has somehow managed to catch the attention of Sir Jason Verringer, a land baron, with a wicked reputation… including the rumor that he may have murdered his invalid wife so that he could marry his mistress.

Once Jason has set his sight on Cordelia, he manipulates, schemes and connives to spend time alone with her. His attentions flatter her, but he also seriously frightens her, especially after his mistress suddenly disappears….

Maybe I have mythologized Victoria Holt over the years, or perhaps I have selective memories. I have not read all of her books, so maybe I read a handful that were tame compared to the others-I’m not sure.

But, this book, written well past the Gothic Romance/Suspense genre’s prime, felt like an attempt by Holt to cash in the wildly popular historical romance/bodice ripper trend of that time, write something that appealed to a more mature audience, and still make her romantic suspense fans happy. The result was a mix of bad writing, and an almost unforgivable attempted rape scene.

If I had been reading a historical romance written in the early eighties by any other writer, I would have braced myself for such an inevitable scene, but I certainly wasn’t expecting that to pop up in a book written by Victoria Holt!

Definitely not one of Holt’s finer moments-

2 stars ( )

Old book that still kept my attention. ( )

3.3 stars

And I had learned the truth of what happened on the Night of the Seventh Moon; I had taken back those six days of my life; they belonged to me and I had been wantonly deceived.

This story was full of gaslighting, obliviousness, and trickery. Helena starts off as a young girl going to school in Germany, she gets lost wandering in the woods and gets "rescued" by a man. This begins her journey of never forgetting him, going back home to England, time jumps, going back to Germany, reunions, lies, gaslighting, more time jumps, more back and forth between England and Germany, a wild card old nursemaid, danger, and truths revealed.

I don't want to ruin the surprises and mystery, so I'm not going to go into detail of the story but there are some spoilers in my previous updates as I tried to figure things out as I read:
30% update
70% update

This was good but the ending kind of jumbled together in a hurry and, dare I say, had too happy of a one?? Some Gothic vibes at times and people wilding out with their scheming. ( )