Review: A Feel-Good Romance Just In Time For The Holidays
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 25, 2012
I will admit to being a bit of a Scrooge during the holiday season. Bah Humbug and a fa la la la la to you too is my standard greeting to all Christmas well wishes. It's just something about this time of the year that doesn't quite put me in the best of moods and I can't wait to see it come and go. On top of combining the two things I despise the most - crowds and shopping  - my family circle seems to get smaller this time of the year and if we're lucky enough not to receive a visit from the Grim Reaper, the memories of those who've went on before us  tend to make the holiday a little less cheery. With that said, I usually avoid books with any sort of Christmas-theme whatsoever.  This is such a well-known fact that Kristin called me out when I recently received a request to review a Christmas novel and accepted.Kris: You did read the title of the book, right?Me: Yes.Kris: It has Christmas in the title.Me: I know.Kris: That means there's a good chance it will have something to do with Christmas.Me: I know.Kris: You don't like Christmas stories.Me:  I know.Kris: You don't like Christmas.Me: I know.Kris: Are you feeling alright?Me: Yep.Kris: Ummm....okay.I don't know exactly why I decided to add a Christmas story to my TBR list - it might have had something to do with crossing something or another off of my bucket list before 21 December 2012 or it might have been that the author mentioned that it was a "short read" and the blurb mentioned something about a witch in London and I piqued my curiosity just enough for me to have a go at it. Whatever the reason, I am so glad I read this book.As mentioned previously, The Magick of Christmas by Susan Mac Nicol is a fairly quick read that I lost myself in within moments of reading. It tells the story of Stacey, a young witch in London with a serious crush on a guy who happens to frequent the same coffee shop she does. Stacey admires him from afar until a chance encounter puts her face to face with her crush. Being a witch who normally plays by the rules, Stacey can't help but to cast an attraction spell in hopes of making him notice her. When the spell seems to work, Stacey is elated but soon starts to wonder if her Mr. Right would think she were so wonderful had she not cast him under her spell.I don't want to say too much more about the plot because I don't want to give anything away but this story had me grinning from ear to ear throughout! I adored the character of Stacey, a down-to-earth witch with a big heart and a wicked sense of humor. I really like how her powers revolved more around simple spells and mischief making and how she knew that pretty much whatever she put out was going to come back to her so she regulated her spells with a conscience. Stacey also has what she perceives to be a serious flaw - she has a limp - and because of it she is very self-conscious when it comes to her ability to make her crush notice her. This made her so much more real to me because who among us doesn't have some flaw that others barely take notice of but we allow to keep us from going after what we really want? I see this more among younger women like Stacey. I'm too old to care any longer about any perceived flaws I may have but I so identify with these feelings.Nick, Stacey's crush, is so...wow.  I mean, sure the guy has a great 'arse' and all but the lengths he went to to show Stacey how he felt about her - I actually sighed out loud as I clutched my Kindle to my chest and smiled.This was a great book that I enjoyed reading and would recommend to anyone looking for a holiday read that is sure to tug on your heartstrings. This is definitely a feel-good romance! The love scenes were hot, the dialogue was so well-written that the characters seemed to come alive on the pages and by story's end I found myself believing that there might actually be a bit of magick in Christmas.Read More of My Reviews at Not Now...Mommys's Reading[...]