Review: Goddess of the Hunt

Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare

I've been anticipating this book since I read a favorable review in Publisher's Weekly describing it as "all the best of romance in one novel". Now I'm not one to run out and buy a new-to-me author or a debut author right away. My limited book buying bugdet makes be very cautious in my purchases. But when I also read a good review on Dear Author I rushed out to buy this and it went to the top of my TBR pile. Boy, I'm glad I did.

The plot: Lucy Waltham has loved her brother's friend Toby since she was 12 years old. Now, when it seems he's to propose to another woman, Lucy decides she'll have to seduce him. Unfortunatelfy she has no experience in seduction. Fortunately, her brother's friend Jeremy Trescott is available for her to practice with.

This book uses two of my favorite plot devices. I love books set at a house party, in this case at a hunting party at the Watham's country estate. This setting allows for a small cast of characters a few of which are hopefully well developed and opportunities for privacy for the h/h.

I also love the friends to lovers plot. In Goddess of the Hunt Jeremy and Lucy are not friends since she has always been the tag-along younger sister to her brother and his friends, but still they have known each other for years. They just begin to see each other in a different light. After three kisses Jeremy is absolutely sure that he wants Lucy. Lucy needs a bit more convincing that she doesn't, in fact, love Toby. But Jeremy can be very persuasive.

It's amazing to me that this is a debut. The writing is first rate and seemless. Dialogue is very real and amusing. But I think what made this stand out is the "scenes", for lack of a better word, that the author uses to tell the story. They are creative and fresh. There are many instances of this but I think the best one is how the author gets the h/h to marry. The easiest way to force a marriage is to have the h/h be caught in a compromising situation. I've read a zillion of those scenes and I've come to expect them. In GOTH a compromising letter is found that could be easily explained away. EXCEPT Jeremy wants her and sweetly steps forward to accept responsibility. There were several scenes that were done so well that I had to go back and reread them before finally putting down the book.

In summation, Goddess of the Hunt was a fine debut and I look forward to the next two books in the trilogy.

My grade: A-