Goddess of the Hunt is Tessa Dare’s debut novel and the first in a trilogy of historical romances. Those clever marketing people at Ballantine Books are releasing the books back-to-back over three consecutive months, so eager readers won’t have long to wait to find out what happens next.
Lucy Waltham is bored and spoiled. Due to various circumstances, she’s reached the age of nineteen without having had a traditional London season. She lives with her brother Henry, his perpetually pregnant wife, and her senile aunt in rural Waltham Manor. The highlight of her existence is when Henry’s three friends come to visit, which they do on a fairly regular basis. Over the years, they have indulged Lucy’s desire to join them while they hunt, swim and fish. During that time, Lucy developed an unrequited crush on Toby and has decided he’s her ideal man. When Lucy learns of Toby’s impending engagement to the beautiful and wealthy Sophia Hathaway, she knows she must act quickly in order to secure his affections. As ladylike behaviour is not her area of expertise, she decides her only chance is seduction. And who better to practice upon than staid and reliable Jeremy Trescott?
Jeremy is the reluctant Earl of Kendall following a childhood tragedy. His one solace is the steadfast friendship of his school friends Henry, Felix and Toby. He has always regarded Lucy with brotherly affection but is utterly overwhelmed when she decides to use him as target practice in her scheme to seduce Toby. Forced to see Lucy in a new light, Jeremy struggles against his growing attraction towards her while trying to steer her away from the unreliable Toby. When scandal looms, Lucy and Jeremy are forced to examine their feelings for one another and decide where their hearts truly lie.
Goddess of the Hunt is a strong debut. It’s smoothly written and tightly plotted. The characters are engaging and the secondary characters who will be featured in the next two books of the trilogy are intriguing enough for me to look forward to their stories.
My criticism of the book lies in Lucy’s character. Admittedly, she is very young and has led a fairly sheltered life, but her naivety grated at times. For the first half of the book, she’s heedless of others and thinks only of herself and her own desires. Thankfully, this improves in the second half of the story, once the action moves to Jeremy’s home. Jeremy is more beta than alpha which might not be to every reader’s taste. I liked him and I could readily believe he and Lucy would make a good match.
A totally irrelevant aside: the cover model actually looks like the description of Lucy in the book. This is so rare these days that it’s worth mentioning. From what I can tell from the description of Sophia Hathaway, the cover model for Surrender of a Siren also resembles her.
Although Goddess of the Hunt is not a perfect read, it’s a solid historical romance which should appeal to fans of Georgette Heyer. Tessa Dare shows exceptional promise and I’m excited to read Sophia Hathaway’s book later this month. Grade: B
Further Books in the Trilogy:
Surrender of a Siren (2009) by Tessa Dare - Book 2 in the trilogy
A Lady of Persuasion (2009) by Tessa Dare – Book 3 in the trilogy
{ 15 comments }
Hi Sarah,
After reading your review I go: “Oh interesting, interesting and WTH is Georgetta Heyer? LOL I hope I like Lucy, naive or not I don’t enjoy self absorbed leading female characters. As long as she redeems herself!
It seems that some readers have an issue with Lucy. I thought she was refreshing and acted very much her age. I had more an issue with Jeremy who would brood for no reason. He needed Lucy to snap him out of it. Tessa’s writing is so lovely.
Very nice review. I have this in my tbr. I didn’t realize the other two books were coming out so soon.
@Leontine Have you ever read any of Heyer’s books? My fave are her Regency comedies, such as ‘The Reluctant Widow’ & ‘Cotillion’.
@katiebabs See, I had no issues with Jeremy. Yes, he did tend to brood and I thought he and Lucy were good for each other. Have you read the next two in the series?
@Mandi I am a huge fan of interconnected books being released back-to-back. I’d rather wait a little longer for an author’s new series and then read them close together. I have neither the patience nor the willpower to put the first books aside until the later ones are released a year or more later.
Sarah — Your review reminded me of one of the logic questions you get on the LSAT (standardized exam for law schools in the US). If Henry’s happily married, and Lucy falls for Jeremy, and Sophia and Toby have separate books, then who does Felix fall for? LOL!!
@Magdalen Felix is married to Sophia’s shrew of a sister, so he’s already found his ending, happy or not! The trilogy isn’t about the four friends, although two of them are heroes in their respective books.
I considered leaving out the information about whose book is which. However, it’s perfectly obvious from fairly early on in this book that Sophia and Toby are wrong for each other, so I don’t think it’s a spoiler. Tessa Dare also has blurbs and excerpts for all three books up on her website, so the identities of future heroes and heroines is no secret. Very pretty website, by the way. I must add a link to it in my review.
Bummer. I liked my version better, but then I’ve not read the books. Yet.
@Leontine She is a very golden oldie! She was a prolific English author who wrote tons of historical romances – many of them Regencies – and several mystery novels. Her first book was published in 1921 and the last was released after her death in 1974. Here’s a Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgette_Heyer
My favourites are her humorous Regencies, such as ‘The Reluctant Widow’, ‘The Nonesuch’, ‘The Unknown Ajax’, ‘Cotillion, ‘Black Sheep’, and many more.
Excellent review Sarah. I picked this one up and can’t wait to start it. I love this kind of theme – falling in love with the friend of a sibling.
:O No reading of Heyer??? :O
She has some brilliant books. I second Sarah’s recommendation!
And now I am going to have to contemplate lifting my historical ban, and maybe picking this one up.
I heard good things about this one in DC and was hoping to get a copy. I didn’t score one – but made up for it when I got home. Now it rests happily in my TBR pile along with so many others.
@ames I’m a fan of the friends-to-lovers theme in general. I’ll look forward to reading your review.
@Edie There have been a few strong debut historical authors of late. I am fed up with the Regency period as a setting so I’m often a harsher critic of Regency romances than of those set in other time periods. Dare shows real promise and I’m curious to see how she develops in her next two books. She’s less angsty than Meredith Duran but not as light and fluffy as Julia Quinn.
@KristieJ I think you might like this one, Kristie. Lucy can be a pain at times but Dare’s style is smooth and very confident for a first-time author. Actually, she doesn’t make many of the typical first-time author mistakes. I wouldn’t have guessed it was her first novel had I not known before buying the book.
I don’t have the next 2 books yet, but I will be getting them.
@katiebabs Mine are on pre-order!