Review: Laced with Magic by Barbara Bretton

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade (August 4, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425227529

From the back cover: " Ever have the feeling that the fates finally got it right? That's how I felt when I met Luke MacKenzie. And no one could have convinced me otherwise-not the trolls, selkies, or spirts who also call Sugar Maple, Vermont, home. Bit since I live in a town that thrives on secrets, why am I surprised that the man I love has a few of his own? Beccause out of nowhere his ex-wife has suddenly shown up, claiming to see the spirit of their daughter, Steffie- a daughter I knew nothing about.

Now it seems Steffie's spirit is being held hostage by a certain Fae leader. And if I weave a spell to free her spirit, my nemesis will also be free- free to destroy my yarn shop, all of Sugar Maple, and everyone in it. But if I don't, Steffie won't be the only one spending eternity in hell. I'll be joining her cursed with a broken heart."

My thoughts: I really never read books with a paranormal theme to them but this one sounded interesting to me mainly because it is set in Vermont and the protagonist owns a knitting shop. It also involves a romance. All good things!

It's an interesting premise: in a picture perfect town, a la Norman Rockwell, all is not what it seems on the surface; the town is populated with vampires, selkies, witches and shapeshifters. Chloe, half human-half- sorceress woman and Luke, totally human man fall madly in love. When they say sparks fly, they mean it literally. Golden sparks fly from fingertips to fingertips of the two lovers.Things are not all idyllic though and are about to become complicated.

When Luke's ex-wife, Karen, comes to Sugar Maple and seeks his help finding their late daughter Steffie, Chloe tries to do what she can to move the process along. Not knowing what she is up against, Karen goes off by herself to try to find Steffie. Chloe and Luke must step up the pace to thwart Isadora, a powerful fae leader Chloe had managed to banish a long time ago. With a little assistance from an unexpected source, Chloe comes up with an idea. Unfortunately, this will involve a fight to the finish confrontation with Isadora. With only hours to spare, Chloe and Luke must manage to find Karen, save Steffie's soul from Isadora's hostage and at the same time save the entire town of Sugar Maple. Will evil prevail or will magick triumph?

At first, I was a little bit leery that the characters would be too "weird" for me. Happily, it turns out they weren't. In fact I really liked the characters and got engrossed in the story right from the beginning. The ending was dramatic and had an unforseen twist to it. Have I found a new genre to explore? Maybe, although I do know I am definitely going to read Casting Spells, the first book in this series. The ending of the book leads me to believe there will be a third. If you are a fan of romance with a little bit of
paranormal drama thrown in, you just might fall under the spell of Laced with Magic. 3.5****

Barbara Bretton is the author of numerous books. To see the complete list of all her books or to read an excerpt from Casting Spells and Laced with Magic, please visit her website.

A big thank you to Dorothy at VBT for a review copy and allowing me to participate in the tour.