#BookReview ~ On the Night of the Seventh Moon by Victoria Holt #gothic #suspense #romance

On the Night of the Seventh Moon by Victoria Holt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For generations, Victoria Holt has dazzled and entertained millions of readers with her spine-tingling novels of romantic suspense. On the Night of the Seventh Moon is one of her most evocative, magical, and chilling. Come take a journey into a dark and shadowy forest where nothing is as it seems…




On the night of the seventh moon, according to ancient Black Forest legend, Loke, the god of mischief, is abroad in the world. It is a night for singing and dancing. And it is 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 the day she started to live one of them and the enchantment turned suddenly into a terrifying nightmare….



My Review

This was an unusual story that surprised me. The story about Helena Trant and written in her point of view. One day after getting separated from her classmates, she finds a man walking in the misty forest of Germany. The meeting is memorable and she doesn't forget him even after she travels back to England to live with her two aunts. When she's visited by some relatives on her mother's side, they invite her back to Germany to stay with them. During a festival on the night of the seventh moon, she meets the man again. His name is Maximilian. They discover since the first night they met, they've fallen in love with each other. This is insta-love at its finest. They marry and spend a few glorious days together. Eventually, Maximilian has to go back to his father to explain their situation. Helena's relatives come to get her and the next morning she awakes to fina a doctor explaining that she's been viciously attacked and has been given treatment that's basically caused her to live in a dreamworld for a few days. Her relatives and the doctor try to convince her that she was never married, there is no Maximilian and everything that she has experienced recently has all been a dream to protect her sanity from the horrible truth.

It was an unusual story. But told very well. As the reader, even I was confused as to what was real and what wasn't. Was Maximilian real or merely a figment of Helena's imagination? The story progresses, but I don't want to give away any spoilers. She goes back to live with her aunts, trying to go on with her life. There are many twists and turns that eventually lead her back to Germany to discover the truth.

It was a gripping and suspenseful tale that left me turning the pages to discover the truth of Helena's story. The mystery of those few days haunted her for several years. I was so happy when she finally discovered the truth and everything was revealed! The story was well-written and satisfying. Although it was more mystery than romance, I enjoyed every moment of it. I recommend it to anyone who likes to read gothic romantic mysteries.


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Bride of Pendorric by Victoria Holt #BookReview

Bride of Pendorric by Victoria Holt

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Favel Farrington meets Roc Pendorric on the idyllic Mediterranean island of Capri, where she was raised and lives with her father. Roc sweeps her off her feet, taking her from her home by an emerald sea to the ancient family home of the Pendorrics, in Cornwall. His sister and her family await them with open arms, welcoming young Favel. She is the much anticipated Bride of Pendorric, a name that amuses and flatters her.

The castle is beautiful in its way, but the atmosphere is foreboding. Roc's twin nieces begin watching her carefully; even the stones in the courtyard seem to have eyes. On the walls hang portraits of two other Brides of Pendorric--one of them Roc's mother--who died both young and tragically. Favel's fear increases as Roc seems to be growing more and more distant. Has her courtship and marriage been just a deception?

Soon Favel can no longer dismiss as accidents the strange things happening to her. Someone is trying to kill her and she must confront the very real dangers that surround her.

My Review
I think this might be one of my favorite Victoria Holt novels. Bride of Pendorric is a gripping romantic suspense. Favel Farrington falls hopelessly in love with Roc Pendorric when he arrives for a visit on her Mediterranean island home. It is a compulsive and quick courtship, but Favel knows he is the one for her and they marry. Shortly after, tragedy strikes, but Roc whisks Favel away to his home in Cornwall where he introduces his new Bride of Pendorric to his family.

Meeting the family, the neighbors and the villagers would be overwhelming enough, but Favel is still coming to understand her new life as a married woman to a man who is still mostly a stranger to her. As she learns about her husband and the legends surrounding her new home, she begins to wonder if she made a mistake. Is Roc the man she fell in love with or did he have ulterior motives to marrying her?

With each page, the danger escalates as it becomes increasingly evident that Favel's life is in danger. Is it the ghost that is said to haunt the house or is it someone much more closer to her?

There is so much in this story that I don't want to give away any spoilers. The author wove the elements of this gothic mystery superbly. It had everything necessary to instill a sense of foreboding and fear within the reader. I had to turn the pages faster to find out what happened next. And by the climax, I had a list of suspects, each with a clear motive, but I was completely surprised by the ending. The book was a pleasure to read! I can see why other readers have referred to this as a timeless classic.

If you like books like Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, then you'll be sure to enjoy Bride of Pendorric.

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