Call It Magic by Janet Chaman

I don't think love needs magic, but it's a little fun to mix the two.

Katy McBain disappeared, then came back to existence in Maine.  For some reason she was propelled to become an elite part of a fire and rescue team.  And she's good at it.

Granted, the few other women on the team are distant from the intruder, yet the boss, Gunnar Wolfe, is harsh, demanding, and totally devoted to her safety.

Gunnar doesn't make a habit of falling for women, let alone so fast.  He knows Katy is hiding something.  He'll figure it out.  

Katy is concentrating on her new profession.  That helps keep her mind off of her three weeks in hiding.  Although, another distraction is Gunnar.  She can't believe she may have met the one.  She's been told it'll be fast and intense when she meets the man made for her.

Making mistakes is all part of the game.  The game of work, life, and love.  She's made mistakes in all and wonders if all can be forgiven.

Leave it to Gunnar, and he'll let her know.

A great story of love and magic along with mistakes that can have a happily forever after!

Happy reading,

Dawn

Spellbreaker by Charlie N. Holmberg

 Orphaned as a little girl, Elsie Camden now does her best to survive the 1880's Victorian London, England as an assistant to a stonemason, Ogden.  

I've always felt London such a magical location.  Now I have my chance to experience a London truly full of magic!  In Elsie's world, there are spellmakers and spellbreakers, and it's well known that magic is used especially among the rich males. 

Elsie keeps her spellbreaking ability undercover and only uses it when called on by the team that can hopefully give her a license to be legit.

At this time, London has a bunch of murders to Masters of magic.  Bacchus, a knight near his Master title, requests Elsie to help him break spells.  Not only does she astound him with her ability, they both secretly have love building a connection.  Under the unwritten rules, a romance is out of the question.  

That's until the mystery of the murders is connected to Elsie's spellbreaking and Bacchus wants to protect her, whether he should or not.  

Quite a white-knuckle story as Elsie is in constant danger, her housemates are involved, good and bad, and Bacchus is the only one left to tie up the loose strings.  And can they solve the murders, stay alive, and reveal their feelings in this era of class distinction?  I sure hope they find a way because they are perfect for each other!

Happy reading,

Dawn

 

A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan

 Five generations of witches isn't an easy occupation to retain.  It begins in England in the early 1800's.  Five sisters live in secret of their magic.  Former witches, family or not, have been murdered in torturous ways.  The rouse of a trial amounted in supposition and circumstance.

Nannette knew to be careful, but of all the sisters she had to continue the lineage.  They lived in near recluse, except for the farm market days, and a few necessary visitors.  If nothing else, magic can bring a man to her doorstep and a babe in her womb.  There's a price to pay when using magic.

Daughter after daughter is born to relive the line of witches and use magic when no other options present themselves.  

Veronica, in the more modern twentieth century wants the same, a daughter.  She also wants love.  

Vale'ry is deep in the midst of WWII.  He is on the frontline until he's wounded.  

Veronica tends his wounds, tends his mind, tends to his emotional need. 

Will this be the first kindling out of love, not necessity?  Can love and a daughter be the simple magic Veronica finds?  And a man to love who loves her in return?

Well written and deeply emotional.  The lives of a witch is not as magical as our fantasies would like to create.  It's real life of struggles and pain.  The idea of turning everything perfect with a few magical spells is far from the life the Orchie'res' family of witches will tell you.

Happy reading,

Dawn  

Wild Irish Heart (Mystic cove Series) by Tricia O'Malley

 Get a book in the mail, and you never know what will happen.

Keelin O'Brien received a mysterious, old journal in the mail.  It was from her grandmother, far from Massachusetts in Ireland.  This must mean her grandmother, Fiona, had passed, or why else would she have parted with her secrets?

Keelin knew there was something special about herself, and now was the time to find out.  Also, Ireland would be a perfect place to study the ocean and prepare her thesis.  Mostly, she wanted to know about her grandmother. 

Keelin planned to spend the summer at her grandmother's cottage.  Not only did she walk into a great surprise upon arrival, but she also met several eligible bachelors that had no idea how to woo a lady.  That didn't matter because she preferred different, eccentric, unique, or whatever the Irish way was called. 

Flynn certainly fit all of those, and Keelin still didn't know what to do with him when she got a special feeling every time he turned up.  

No matter, she had more important things to figure out, including what to do with her magic.  Those things that were so different about herself didn't come from her imagination.  She had a lot to learn about how she can help heal the world, or at least the community around her.

Flynn acted as Fiona's handyman.  He was as gorgeous as silent.  Keelin had trouble reading his thoughts, but he popped up at all the right times.  The first indication that he wasn't an ogre appeared as a fury puppy as an  "I'm sorry" for  his distant attitude.

Was there hope for Keelin to finish her thesis, learn her magic, and break through Flynn's hard shell?  The cool nights, a mysterious cove, and the enchanting greenery of Ireland cast its magic on Keelin's visit.

Happy reading,

Dawn
  

Magical Midlife Madness by KF Breene

Funny is good.  Funny is relief.  Funny is necessary when life has unexpected disruptions.
So if the global problems or personal issues cast a dark shadow, I suggest reading Magical Midlife Madness.
Jessie, forty, divorced, empty-nester, and looking for an adventure wants to take control of her life.
Staying with her kooky parents is out of the question, so she takes a position as a caretaker of the old, creepy house she knew from her childhood.  No pressure, no stress.
Austin Steele runs the sleepy town that the old house is situated in.  He's built better than any man in a magazine.  He's also protective of this town, and with Jessie moving into the Ivy House, he has mixed feelings.
A lot of strange things move and appear in the Ivy House as Jessie warms up to the comfort she feels.  This includes the live-in butler who is always around wearing his funny-looking cape and the gardener who has awfully long nails and teeth.  They're harmless.
Then there's the neighbor, Niamh, who's a hoot and can drink Jessie under the table even if she's 400 years old.  
All the afore-mentioned are waiting to see if the Ivy House accepts Jessie.  Jessie has no knowledge of magic, but the magic in the house knows her.
Austin Steele can't help but smile, which he's never been known to do, every time Jessie is around.  Shifters of his kind get awfully protective of who they choose and Jessie needs a protector until she decides if she's staying or leaving.
And that's how the story goes.  Gradually, the shifters admit their magic.  Gradually Jessie allows herself to consider the reality of magic.
And gradually, with a gallon or two of wine tasting, Austin Steele and Jessie find an attraction hard to avoid.
The great part of the story is the comical actions of the old shifters bumping into a new battle while Jessie makes her own decisions.
I very much recommend this light-hearted read!

Happy reading,
Dawn


 

Match Making for Beginners by Maddie Dawson

Watch out where the gold dust sparkles and splashes the air because that is where love is wonderful and real.

And if you can’t see the shimmers, mistakes will be made.  Marnie can see the love in the air, but not for herself, so she’s not any better off in the mistake category than you and me.

At her first marriage to Noah, she meets the groom’s Great Aunt Blix.  Blix has the touch of magic, the books to cast spells, and a true belief in love for a life time no matter how many men it takes!

The marriage ends after two weeks.  Marnie falls into the idea that settling and being “normal” is her best choice.   Just ask her fiancé, Jeremy.  Yet, Blix has no intentions of letting Marnie off the hook that easily.  Marnie has a great life ahead of herself and don’t think it’s getting back together with Noah, settling for a sweet but boring man, Jeremy, or being alone.

But how can Blix help Marnie after Blix dies?  I didn’t want her to die as I loved her as a character, but I didn’t feel she was gone when Blix left her Brooklyn triplex to Marnie with a condition.  Live in it for three months.

Marnie has to learn about love, how she can be a matchmaker, and what true love entails.  With built in tenants in Blix’s home, Marnie meets Julia, Lola, Sammy, and Patrick.  All have parts in creating her Big Life and it’s nothing but grand when a Thanksgiving fiasco sets it in motion.

Adorable story that I nearly passed up!

Happy reading,

Dawn