Customer Reviews

The time of the hunter's moon

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book constantly reminds me of The Demon Lover. It viberates with the same passion as the latter. While Hunter's Moon may not appear as glamourous as The Demon Lover at first glance, it has a sweeter plot, a tenderer hero, and hence a more romantic story overall. Also, if you enjoy lively repartee between the hero and heroine, with him being thick-skinned and her seemingly prudish, this book will be a treat.

Oh....this was such a good book! I was so sad to see it end! I love the fact that you never know who did it...even when you think you do. An excellent and enjoyable read!

I do not own the book but I have read it and it is terrific for someone who loves a good mystery, anticipation for romance, and enjoys the history of the 18th century. This is an old-fashioned romantic novel and is the best. I have read most of her novels and she always writes in 1st person which makes you feel like you are the character that she is writing about and that you are apart of this mystery and romance.

With the mystery part of it, she keeps it suspenseful enough to carry it throughout the novel and has some interesting twists to the key behind the mystery.

The romantic part of it is not so graphically detailed. The main character ends up finding romance but it's exciting and the thrill behind it is that the character keeps her guard up trying to resist this man's charms. There is the thrill behind the man that's peristently pursuing her for romantic reasons and the possibility for love. The author always makes the male character a man that might have quite an exciting past but he always manages to respect the main character that he is pursuing.

She has been my favorite writer since my mother made a recommendation on this. You can imagine how some books may be dry and not capture your interest. I can read this book many times more!

Anyone who has ever read anything by Victora Holt or any romance novel for that matter will know just where this one is going - impovrished young woman probably an orphan, just beginning a career as a teacher/governess in late 19th century England finds herself involved in a mystery/facing danger pursued by one or more handsome mem, at least one of whom is somehow unsuitable but in the end solves mystery and finds love, fortune and happiness.

If it is so trite and predictible why then 5 stars? Because it is so much fun reading the descriptions of the romantic settings, trying to stay ahead of the author figuring out just who is a good guy and who is a villian, seeing just what little twists and turns the plot will take and how the heroine will manage to emerge triumphant and with virtue intact.

The heroine of this story is Cordelia Grant, who is 19 when the novel begins, a student in an exclusive Swiss boarding school. Her parents died long ago in Rhodesia but her guardian, Aunt Patty, has sent Cordelia to the school to prepare her to join the staff of the girls' school that she runs. During her last few weeks in Switzerland Cordelia and her friends meet a mysterious, handsome stranger who appears and disappears from Cordelia's life over the next few months. Alas Cordelia's family fortunes have taken a turn for the worse forcing her to seek employment in another school. There she meets yet another handsome man, the local lord with a scandalous past. Soon Cordelia must find herself torn between these two and yet another handsome man but before she can find romance for herself she must find justice for an old friend and protect her students from an old threat.

This will probably never make any lists of 'great literature of the 20th century' nor be on any school's required reading lists but it is a great book to curl up with and spent a few hours blissfully wasting time.

This is one of my all-time favorite Holt books. I loved the creepy setting, the entire plot, the haunting legends, and the hero. I can never look at an old crumbling ruin now without thinking of this book. A must-read!

There is a legend that says a girl will meet her future husband at the "Time of the Hunter's Moon". Cordelia goes into the forest with her friends, and she meets a man. Is he her future husband? After finishing school, she goes home to England. On the way home, she sees this man again. Once home, he comes and visits her, then disappears. She keeps him in the back of her mind, and heads off to teach school in Devon. There, she meets Jason, a wealth heir to the Verringer estate. He falls I love with Cordelia, and she with him. There is one problem: he is said to have murdered his wife and mistress! About this same time, her encounter with the man in the forest comes up again, and things turn deadly!

I loved this book so much, I re-read it as soon as I finished.

Holt is one of my favorite authors. Her tone, nuances, and the way she takes us all over the globe make reading her books a fun trip. Not so with The Time of the Hunter's Moon. The pace was very slow, but my biggest complaint is her leading man, Sir Jason. Sir Jason is, in a word, a complete brute. He tries to force young Cordelia from her purity and her morals, which is totally unacceptable. Make no mistake: rape is a crime of power and not a crime of passion. I have no regard for selfish, controlling men. Healthy relationships are based on mutual respect and trust. I don't wish ill of any person, but I guess this is ok to say since Sir Jason is just a character: I wish that he had stayed over the cliff that he went over. ;-)

Victoria Holt really knows how to spin a yarn, and I've really enjoyed her other books. This one clips along and has some interesting plots turns, but you never really respect the main character, Cordelia, because of her attraction to a man who doesn't exhibit a great deal of solid character, and in fact in one scene attempts to rape her. At the end of the book I felt like her life would go downhill from there. Also, I guessed the keys to the mystery very early in the book.

This was my first introduction to Victoria Holt's work, although I had heard good things about her books. I have to say that I am not impressed. It was easy to discern what was going to happen, although I kept reading hoping that there would be a twist. There was not. Instead, I had to read the entire book, just to find out that what I suspected was happening, was indeed happening and although the herione was an intelligent and cautious character, she was unable to clearly see what was before her. This was disappointing and seemingly out of character. There were other instances in the book where I felt other characters would suddenly act out of character and it felt like the author needed them to act a particular way so that the plot could happen.

My biggest issue with this book, however, is the relationship between the heroine and her romantic interest. His determined pursuit of her is almost endearing but turns dangerous and menacing when he attempts to lock her in a room and rape her! Although the heroine responds in the manner that one would expect, I certainly didn't expect her to end up marrying him!! There are several places in the book where the author implys that because it was done for love than it is excusable. The internal dialogue of the heroine understandably conveys her confusion and mixed emotions about the event but one wonders, What is the author trying to say? That a rape victim actually wanted to be raped? That there is romance in this??! Think twice before reading this book. It is poorly written, lacks a strong and interesting plot, and conveys a very misleading and dangerous message. I truly think the author thoughtlessly threw this book together.