Review: A Wizard ... indeed
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 25, 2012
Book: A Wizard for Christmas (part of the Protector series)Author: Dorothy McFallsRating: PG (slight violence - a creature attacks a woman and there a couple dead bodies but they aren't described in detail - just that they are dead)Bookshelves: Chicago, fantasy, fiction, paranormal romance, romance, USA, wizardSetting: present day Chicago, Illinois (USA)Characters: Holly, HadrianSynopsis: Holly was an orphan who grew up to be a loner. When her friends ask her about her Christmas plans, Holly lies and says that she's going to her family's home where all sorts of fun things happen (like a cousin who keeps the memory of her dead "uncle" Burl Ives alive by singing Christmas songs to the family). But a strange ... stranger keeps popping up in her neighborhood. Hadrian is a Protector and knows that Holly is not what she thinks she is. She's really a wizard, or, as they call themselves, a Protector. And Hadrian knows that to defeat the big baddie on the lose killing innocent mortal Chicagoans Holly will have to learn the truth and start to trust someone other than herself.Review: I was not a huge fan of this novella. In the beginning of the novel, I found Holly to be a dynamic character and that her interactions with the mysterious Hadrian were intriguing. But, the author fell flat creating a completely three dimensional world with Hadrian and Holly at the center.  Very quickly, Holly became the kind of heroine that I despise: insular; never listening to anyone else (especially those with more experience that can help her); and one that runs away from problems (both real life and perceived problems). She spends more than 3/4th of the books hating Hadrian and running from him and then in the last few pages (when the ultimate confrontation occurs), she totally flips her stance on the matter. Magic played a very, very small role in the novella and was discussed only as a cursory item (which is strange since the title is A Wizard for Christmas).