Review: A compelling contemporary romance with a spark of the paranormal
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 14, 2012
Mariah is not one to believe in fairy tales coming true, but little does she realize one might be in the cards for her. Just a year before while vacationing in Mexico she put on a wish bracelet (along with a couple of her friends) and wished for the one thing she'd wanted for years. Though Mariah writes off the whole thing as fantasy, she knows she must wear the bracelet until it comes off on its own. She forgets about the whole thing until it does fall off and she meets a wish fairy who swears Mariah will get what she wanted. It takes a little convincing, but she begins to believe when the man she wished for suddenly comes back into her life. The only problem is she is limited to forty-eight hours before the wish expires and there are some catches the fairy initially fails to mention that could ruin everything. Now that Mariah is finding love, she has to get her happily ever after and will do whatever it takes to make all her dreams come true.I admit I didn't expect much from this short novel. It sounded like something I probably wouldn't even be able to finish. Yet once I started reading, the story really grabbed my attention. Mariah is a strong and independent woman, but she isn't afraid to dream and take chances. She has a sweet and soft side that helps you relate to her. When Tucker shows up, you root for her to find the love she wants with him. I will warn he isn't quite as easy to relate to in the beginning. This could be due to the fact I am not much of a poker fan and this guy made a living as a professional poker player. Definitely not my kind of dream guy. Yet I hung in there for Mariah's sake and eventually found myself really liking Tucker as more of his background came out. Despite it being a short novel, you get enough details to help you understand the two main characters and feel like you know them fairly well by the end. Even some of the side characters were great and helped flesh the story out.There are a couple other things that could be considered both strengths and weaknesses for the novel. One, there are a lot of sex scenes and they begin early on in the story. I had hoped to get a little more warmed up to the characters first and that threw me off a bit. On the other hand, you learn a lot by what they are thinking and saying during those scenes. Tucker and Mariah met many years before so there is a lot of reminiscing even as they jump back in the sack together. Also, the author does an excellent job of writing sizzling scenes that most any romance reader could appreciate. I wish the story had been longer and more drawn out (there was a lot of room for growth) but I also understand writers like to tell the story as they see it. You don't have to deal with all the misunderstandings that are often used as ploys to prevent the H/h from finding their Happily Ever After (HEA) more quickly. It was refreshing to see the two characters forthright and upfront about their feelings without all the holding back you often see.There were a couple of instances where the dialog seemed a bit weird to me, but most of the time I had no problem with it. The ending was the best part. It tied everything up and even provided for some comedy (I won't say how, you'll just have to read it). All in all, this was a novel I don't regret trying and believe it is one most romance readers will enjoy. It looks like this is the first in a series so I plan to check out the ones that follow "All In". I have faith they will be at least as good as this one.