I'm determined to finish the Take A Chance Challenge hosted by the wonderful Jenners at Find Your Next Book Here. Challenge #3 of 10 is to read a book from your birth year. The book I chose was The Night of The Seventh Moon by Victoria Holt. When I was younger I went through a period where I read almost everything by Victoria Holt. I just couldn't get enough of her. It's funny, this book was written in 1972 and is still a great read-I think good books just get better with time.
The Story:
Helena Trant's parents found each other in the Black Forest and fell in love. (Hey, it's a romance!) They move to England after Helena's mothers family disowns her for marrying a commoner. Helena is raised on the legends of the Black Forest, and when she is old enough she goes to the same school abroad that her mother went to. On a school outing, she gets lost in the mist on a picnic when she wonders into the forest and meets a handsome guy who happens to be hunting in the woods. They fall in love, but are seperated when Helena has to return to the school and discovers that her mother has died, and must go back to England.
One of her mothers cousins comes to England and invites Helena to go with them to her mothers homeland to help her with her sick husband. Helena agrees. On the Night of the Seventh Moon festival-which celebrates Loke, the God of mischief. Of course she happens to stumble on the handsome guy she met in the wood earlier...they spend 3 days together and then a mystery separates them for 9 years. Will Helena be able to discover the truth before it's too late?
My thoughts: I loved this book! Parts of it were a tad unbeliveable, but it was gothic romance at its best. If you haven't read a book by a Victoria Holt, you don't know what you're missing! The best part? There was not one mention of Jane Austen in the entire book.
Sigh Worthy Meter: High
Swoonworthy Meter: Medium
Number of times I yelled you idiot at Helena: Too many times to count.
