According to ancient Black Forest legend, on the Night of the Seventh Moon, Loke, the God of Mischief, is at large in the world. It is a night for festivity and joyful celebration. 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 -- especially its legends. But then, on the Night of the Seventh Moon, she started to live one of them, and the enchantment turned suddenly into a terrifying nightmare.

From the moment Helena is rescued from the forest mists by a young horseman, her heart is held captive by this mysterious young man. 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 reader will soon be caught up in the intrigues that keep Helena from living the uncomplicated life of a bookseller's daughter. A grand example of the gothic romance.

I read this in high school and it has stayed with me since. I was happy to find my own copy.