Dare, Tessa. Goddess of the Hunt. Ballantine, 2009. ISBN 978-0345506863 368 pp. $7.99

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Tomboy Lucy has her sights set on a childhood friend and longtime crush Toby, who is courting Miss Sophia, a young woman with an impressive dowry. As practice for wooing Toby away from Sophia, she decides to test her feminine wiles on another longtime friend, Jeremy Trescott who just happens to be an earl. The first kiss is bumbling, the second less so, the third magic. Typical romance shenanigans follow– each likes the other, but won’t admit it right away, miscommunications ensue, etc etc etc.

Goddess of the Hunt is better written, with slightly more depth of character than some of the cheesy romances I’ve read, but overall was pretty formulaic and predictable. I thought the sex to plot ratio was unusually high (an observation, not a judgment). The writing was sometimes a bit over the top, but balanced with banter and nice period details.