Review: Contemporary fantasy or paranormal?  Wherever you categorize stories with witches and magic!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 26, 2014
“The Legacy of Buchanan’s Crossing” by Rhea Rhodan is an entertaining fantasy novel that centers around Cayden Sinclair who is struggling to deal with the responsibilities that she is supposed to assume from her grandmother, the current Warder of Buchanan’s Crossing.  The trouble is that she is supposed to be supported by a Keeper and the current candidate, Clint MacAllen, is firmly a non-believer who is oblivious to the concept of witchcraft or anything else arcane.  Remarkably, his very pragmatic company is named Green Man Construction, a title that has its own mystical significance.  He will need to see past the eccentric appearance that Cayden projects in order to defeat the evil that threatens not only his livelihood and his very soul, but also will usurp the power that has been protected at Buchanan’s Crossing at such great cost.This story features an unconventional heroine who has an opinionated familiar and a very reluctant hero to convince.  On the face of it, this is a typical fantasy story that starts off relatively slowly but the tale gathers momentum and character as it progresses and combines the traditional trappings of witchcraft with a fun modern twist.  I adore the croakings of the crow, aptly named Nevermore, even as I cringe at his dexterity at aiming his raspberry laced poop to punctuate his sentiments.  Cayden definitely follows her own path in life and is a testament to the importance of looking beneath the surface to find the true value of a person but her tenacity and efforts to fulfill her obligations are inspiring and her arguments with Nevermore are hilarious.  The hero is somewhat frustrating and lacks a bit of depth although some of his actions are understandable and his background dictates that perhaps he should have been better versed in the world that he becomes immersed in.  There is a faint hint of a paranormal flavor with a reference to vampires but most of the tale focuses on the struggle for the power of the Crossing.  This is an entertaining tale and I look forward to reading other stories by this author.I received this title as a gift. Night Owl Reviews