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A review by booksuperpower
The Time of the Hunter's Moon by Victoria Holt
2.0
Time of the Hunter’s Moon by Victoria Holt is a 2013 Sourcebooks Casablanca publication. (Originally published in 1983)
Victoria Holt writes a 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 odd 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 is a 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!
I'm sure long time fans will enlighten me as to whether or not I am likely to encounter this situation again in her books- or if this was an anomaly- but for me-this was definitely not one of Holt's finer moments-
2 stars
Victoria Holt writes a 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 odd 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 is a 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!
I'm sure long time fans will enlighten me as to whether or not I am likely to encounter this situation again in her books- or if this was an anomaly- but for me-this was definitely not one of Holt's finer moments-
2 stars