Bewitched

TEST

It’s fair to say that I enjoyed this novel a lot more than the reader who wrote AAR’s original review back in 2008. This Regency historical has a touch of the paranormal to it, and some of the plot touches are more than a little bit tongue in cheek. I found it charming and I was totally sold on the HEA by the end, even if things did drag a tad in the middle.

Amelia (Amy) Bourne comes from a magically talented family, but when she accidentally turns her uncle’s home cobalt blue, he reacts by curtailing her powers and sending her to London in the hopes she can snag a husband and settle down. Indeed, Amy finds herself madly in love with Sebastian (Fox) Stapleton – after drinking punch at an event.

The plot thickens when the two become engaged and Amy goes to stay with Fox and his family. Amy’s host sends his unfriendly daughter along and once the party reaches the Stapleton home, odd things start happening. Amy has been stripped of her powers, but not her ability to detect the magic of others. She knows that dark enchantments are at work, but she and Fox appear to be powerless against them.

Bewitched tells a story that starts off feeling whimsical, meanders into a feeling of enchantment, and then accelerates into high action. Each third or so of the book has a slightly different feel to it, and these fit the development of the story. On the one hand, I’ve seen other reviewers complain about the sappiness of Amy and Fox’s love story and yet the unquestioning fawning over each other completely fits with what has been happening to them. In the last third of the book, the world around them and their understanding of it changes somewhat and without throwing in spoilers, it’s fair to say that their relationship deepens and they develop a more mature understanding of each other as well.

One thing I liked about this story was its acceptance of the rules of its world. The characters generally take magic as a given in their world, but they’re not entirely passive about it. We see the characters consider when and how to use magic, or whether feelings are real or brought on by enchantments. Leads in paranormal romance don’t always deal with the implications of the worldbuilding, so I found this refreshing.

If you like your historicals with a tinge of magic, Bewitched is available as an eBook and definitely worth checking out.

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Reviewed by Lynn Spencer

Grade: B+

Book Type: Historical Romance

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date: 16/06/21

Publication Date: 06/2013

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Recent Comments …

  1. excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.

I enjoy spending as much time as I can between the covers of a book, traveling through time and around the world. When I'm not having adventures with fictional characters, I'm an attorney in Virginia and I love just hanging out with my husband, little man, and the cat who rules our house.

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