Pages:
329
Original
date of publication: 1972
My
edition: 2010 (St. Martin’s Press)
Why
I decided to read:
How
I acquired my copy: Barnes and Noble, April 2012
After
running out of fresh Mary Stewart novels to read, I turned back to Victoria
Holt to try and fill the gap. On the Night of the Seventh Moon is romantic
suspense with a bit of a fantasy twist. Set in the middle of the 19th century
and spanning the course of about two decades, this novel is set in the Black
Forest. The Night of the Seventh Moon is the evening on which Loke, the god of
mischief, comes out to play; on one such of these nights, Helena Trant becomes
lost and meets a dark handsome stranger in the forest…
The
concept is a little bit cheesy, the outcome is predictable, and there were a
number of coincidences that were a little bit too much for me. But I loved this
novel. The setting is magical, literally, and the book moves at a rapid pace.
Holt keeps her reader perpetually guessing at the motives of the main character’s
love interest (in a good way; if we were as sure as Helena is about Sigfried/Maximilian’s
motives, the fun would have been completely removed from the plot.
I
also loved the inclusion of German pagan myths, which adds something
interesting and fun to the book. Victoria Holt was also very skilled at writing
about people; I enjoyed watching Helena mature from a naive girl to a young
woman. It’s pretty obvious, however, where the story will go; but getting there
is half the fun of this novel.
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