Under Her Spell by Eliza Daly
Release Date: October 15, 2012
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Pages: 192
Source: book provided by the author for review
When a series of failed relationships and business ventures has Monica Jackson doubting her self-worth, she turns to spell casting to attract positive energy and the opportunities needed to achieve her goals. But can Monica’s belief in spells restore her belief in herself?
Monica creates a spell to find her soul mate, and one to ensure the success of her new romantic event planning company, Enhance Your Romance. Monica is confident she has found her niche until divorce lawyer Reed Walker opens a practice next door to her office. The anti-marriage slogan plastered on his office window and his down-on-love clients quickly prove detrimental to Monica’s business. When his arrival appears to trigger a string of bad luck, Monica fears one of her spells sent negative energy into the universe and it has returned to her threefold. Although Reed is beyond sexy, and she admires his self-confidence, she’ll do whatever it takes to get the universe back on her side, and Reed out of her life. No way is she losing another business.
Reed finds himself attracted to Monica’s beauty and her optimism. His job and his parents’ divorce have made him a pessimist, especially when it comes to love. However, he soon finds that Monica’s pro-love attitude is rubbing off on him, causing him to lose his edge. If Reed doesn’t distance himself from Monica, he’ll likely destroy his reputation as a pit bull divorce lawyer.
Can Monica and Reed look past what they might be losing to realize the love they have found?
Review: How do you describe a novel that has romance, a little magic, quite a few examples of friendship and support between women, a heroine who fiercely defends her independence and values, opposite a hero with a cold, calculating approach to love and marriage? Women’s fiction, I guess.
This is a rather refreshingly different type of romance. Monica, our heroine, runs a company that specializes in running romantic events. You want to propose marriage/surprise your love on St. Valentine’s Day/surprise your significant other on his/her birthday? Get in touch with Monica, she’ll set it all up for you. For a fee of course. And therein lies the problem. While getting clients isn’t difficult, getting paid very often is. Monica. has been involved in several different business ventures before, which failed to succeed. But she’s sure she’s on to a winner this time. Well, she was sure. Until that hot shot divorce lawyer, Reed Walker, moved in next door. Very bad for business.
Oh, the irony! When they first met, she had a flat tire and he’d reveled in playing Sir Galahad to this beauty who had just materialized out of nowhere. Then he discovers that she’s a romantic event planner while he’s a divorce planner. Instant conflict.
Monica’s friend cum assistant, Jordan, who dabbles in psychic phenomena, isn’t above throwing a little magic into the mix, with results which often create more trouble than they solve. Monica even sets about trying to convince some of Reed’s customers to try their relationship again, with positive results, it looks like Reed, not Monica, will go under. But other problems are engaging Reed’s attention. His mother, who was badly bitten in a divorce battle many years ago, is now in love with and planning to marry a much divorced man and is totally refusing to sign a prenup.
Is Monica hoping for too much? She’s currently giving bed and board to a cousin who has just walked out on a cheating husband. Is there really such a thing as happy ever after? Or is it just a little too much to hope for?
How can a woman who plans romantic dinners awash with roses and serenaded by gypsy violins, possibly love a man like Reed who prefers prenups to proposals and gives their relationship a fifty per cent chance of survival? Well, that’s the hook that will keep you turning the pages. Eliza Daly is a new author for me, but this romance novel, set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has ensured that I’ll be on the lookout for more work from this author in the future.
The book has its share of hot and steamy scenes, so do keep that in mind. Recommended for readers who like romantic stories about human relationships and their various twists and turns.