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Title: On the Night of the Seventh Moon
ISBN: 0345470389
Author:
Victoria Holt
Publicate Date: 1995-03-01
Publish: 1995-03-01
List Price: $19.00
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $12.97
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $11.88
Amazon Merchant Price: $17.10
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Memories of my youth
I read this first about a gazillion years ago, in my early teens. I was, in fact, addicted to the novels of Victoria Holt for several years and probably read most of those available at the time. This one stuck in my mind, and when I had the urge to read Holt again, it was the first one I looked for.
I must say that Holt is not a great writer. Her narrative is often clumsy, with exposition that is often so obvious it makes my head hurt. However, in spite of that, and in spite of stretches of text which move very slowly, I thoroughly enjoyed rereading this book. Possibly it has to do with the memory of my youth, but I think it's more than that. I think that in spite of her technical shortcomings, Holt does manage to capture the genuine quality of a good gothic. There is mystery and danger here, and a heroine who, though egregiously manipulated by external forces is never feckless. And there is fade-to-black sex, which is sort of refreshing in a genre which has become dominated by heaving bosoms and raging manhoods loosely bound together by a bit of plotishness.
Gothics are a very specific taste, so I'm not going to assume that everyone who loves romances will love this novel. Rather, I'd say that if you enjoy stories about love against the odds, dusted with some darkness and mystery, then you may well enjoy On the Night of the Seventh Moon.
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2: Favorite Victoria Holt
I first read this book probably fifteen years ago. It has been my favorite Victoria Holt book ever since--and yes, I have read all 32 books she penned under that name. To tell anything about this would be to give too much away so I'll just say this: The romance was breathtaking; the action was, in a way, believable; and the intrigue was shocking. For those of you who need a basic description, here's what the back of the book says:
On the Night of the Seventh Moon, according to ancient Black Forest legend, Loke, the God of Mischief, was abroad in the world. It was a night for festivity and joyful celebration. It was a night for singing and dancing. And it was a night for love.
Helena Trant was enchanted by everything she found in the Black Forest--its people, its mysterious castles, its legends and lore. Especially its legends of love.
Until, one day, she started to live one of them and the enchantment turned suddenly into a terrifying nightmare....
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3: One of her best!
This is my absolute favorite novel by Victoria Holt. I cannot praise it any more than anyone else has.
But I must correct the amazon description of "However, Holt creates elaborate characters and sets the narrative in the fabled and romantic Black Forest of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time of the Napoleonic Wars."
The book is set in the Black Forest, yes, but the Black Forest is in Germany(and technically was in Bavaria, which was a kingdom within the German Empire after the unification of 1870), and the book was set in the Victoria era.
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4: Unquestionably My Favorite Holt Novel Yet.
I have read some Holt novels I didn't even feel were worth bothering to review because of my lukewarm attitude toward them. This is far from the case with On the Night of the Seventh Moon. If you don't like filthy romance books full of corny, eyerolling garbage like Stephanie Laurens seems to insist on dishing out, complete with their relentless bludgeonings of copulation scenes and weak plots, I urge you to pick this book up instead.
From the beginning I was mesmerized by Holt's characters and rich, complex weaving of romance and the evildoers who would keep Helena and Max apart for a decade until they find each other again. In fact, everything about this book had me so enthralled that I couldn't put it down until the very end. Holt has the ability to write adventurous romantic novels that don't make you want to throw up when you read them, and that's something most authors can't lay claim to. If you like your books clean and well-written, Seventh Moon is destined to become one of your favorites, and I would never steer you wrong about that. I know you will really enjoy this particular novel, because it is just that outstanding.
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5: Awesome!
I love it when an author can write a story about two people in love and keep the story clean without explicit sex. This author knows how to write a love story that will keep you reading from one page to the next until the end. I'm very impressed with her work on other novels as well as this one.
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