Review: Magick & Moonlight by Marie Lavender
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 19, 2014
I picked up this novella on a whim for a quick read. Jessie, a practicing Wiccan, runs a small candle and gift shop in Yachats, Oregon. Ethan Hamilton, an ex-cop, has recently relocated to the area to escape a past he would rather forget. I thought the premise had a lot of promise, although somewhere along the line the story fell flat for me.When Ethan comes across Jessie dancing naked in the woods around a cauldron under the full moon, Jessie is afraid her secret will be exposed. Ethan offers to drive the crazy naked woman home wrapping his coat around her. (As a heads up I would like to warn others not to leave a personal item behind when you offer to drive the crazy naked woman home from the middle of the woods.) I am pretty sure Jessie did not walk out into the woods naked but no effort to pick up her clothes was taken, and from that point on my belief was shaken enough to not buy into the story as much as I wanted to. Once she is home Jessie begins to fret about being identified as a witch and casts a love spell on Ethan to protect herself from exposure.The only fantasy element was the casting of the love spell, which Jessie knew would come back in a bad way. Otherwise, the story is about the journey of two souls who needed to find each other. Ethan, a hard-nosed cop, who refused to believe in magic and Jessie, an insecure Wiccan, who was raised with magic all around her. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Perhaps you should take the risk and give it a try.FYI: Some sexual situations that are not too graphic.Format/Typo Issues: I found no significant issues.**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy.** June 11, 2014