Suddenly Spellbound

Kindergarten-teacher-slash-sorceress Ivie McKie has officially sworn off magic. With her father back from the dead—just in time for her upcoming wedding to sexy former magician Jackson Blake—Ivie has plotted a course straight to happily-ever-after-ville. And she won’t let anything get in her way this time.

But Daddy Dearest has something sneaky up his sleeve. When “just one more spell” goes horribly wrong and detours her into the path of her father’s dangerously hot new apprentice, Ivie has to scramble to get the magic… and her love life… back on track.

Along the way, she encounters a promise made before she was born, a clan of Scottish sorcerers in kilts, and yet another goat.

*May Contain Spoilers*

 

Erica Lucke Dean writes a fun, laugh out loud, story of seduction, spells, and prenuptial agreements in Suddenly Spellbound. I didn't read the first book, Suddenly Sorceress, but that didn't detract from the novel. Ivie is a young woman who can't seem to stay out of trouble - fires, explosions, sprinkler systems... Not to mention, the FBI. Readers will enjoy watching Ivie as she dodges dangerous situations and tries to keep her magic under control.

 

Ivie McKie is a sorceress whose magic had been blocked most of her life by her father. The same father that accidentally turned himself into a dog and then a cat. Since Ivie's new to the whole 'magic' thing, she doesn't know the rules of society. Especially the part about arranged marriages. Readers will really like Ivie, simultaneously feeling sorry for her and being jealous of her ability to make two smexy men fall for her. (I use the term smexy as a mix of smoking hot and sexy). Ivie is a girl who wants her happily-ever-after and will fight to get it. Though it's hard to fight against someone who's put a spell on you! I'm sure the first book laid a strong foundation for a reader/character connection with Ivie but this book creates that all by itself. The mayhem and madness only add to the excitement, making lovers of chic-lit unable to put it down. The only thing I didn't like about Ivie is her assumption that lying will protect her. And she learns that lesson the hard way.

 

The plot begins with a simple favor for Ivie's dad. But readers will soon realize that nothing is simple when it comes to Angus. After he puts a binding spell on Ivie (one that he doesn't quite finish due to broken glass), Ivie becomes uncontrollably attracted to Liam though she knows she's in love with Jack, her fiancé. But years ago, Angus made a promise. A promise that demands Ivie's hand in marriage. Maybe a little magic can get her out of this heap of trouble she suddenly finds herself in... but then again... maybe someone will end up as a goat. If that doesn't make you want to read Suddenly Spellbound, I don't know what will. Oh wait! Magical viagra??

 

Rating: 3.5/5 Cups



The Girl With No Name

Banished from her village, a young shape shifter sets out on a journey to find her place in the world...

The first of four "Before the Fairytale" stories, "The Girl With No Name" is told in a deceptively simple storybook style with the flavor of an original Grimm's fable, but don't expect your typical once upon a time scenario. This is a coming of age tale humorously interwoven with social commentary.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Iscah gives her fairy tale an enchanting beginning with her novel, The Girl With No Name. A young girl, a shape-shifter, begins her adventure by leaving behind a village that never accepted her to find her father. When she finds him as nothing more than a stone in a cemetery, she decides to continue on in search of knowledge. She craves the knowledge of the magic she possesses and soon decides to become the greatest sorceress the world has ever known. 

The girl, who never chooses nor discovers her name (at least in this book), is rambunctious, brave, meddlesome, and inherently good. She passes out magical medicines and potions to help other people. She cures a blind man, giving him the ability to see once again, creating a reputation that perfectly precedes her. The fact that this main character has no name gives her a universally open connection to readers. She could be anyone, anything, which allows readers to form an immediate, magical bond. 

The plot of this book is to set up the fairy tale that will undoubtedly follow. Readers share the girl's journey to find her father, they watch her fall in love, help the people she comes into contact with, and essentially grow into herself. With no parental guardianship, no one there to guide her, the girl must rely on herself and the abilities that she was born with to make her way in the world. Readers will revel in her slight mistakes, her ever-growing quick wit, and the extraordinary journey she begins. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups