The Lost Enchantress
Coughlin's first novel since 2002'sThe Cupcake Queenis an engaging paranormal romance. When Eve Lockhart outbids Gabriel Hazard for an antique pendant, he declares that owning the object is a matter of life and death for him. Two men with strange powers attack, and Eve is shocked when she and Gabriel magically fight them off, after which he suddenly disappears with someMatrix-like moves. Her grandmother, a witch, might have some answers, but Eve has denied magic since a family tragedy struck 20 years earlier. She delves into her legacy, Gabriel studies her history and professed magical naïveté, and soon passion flares as they are menaced by an evil power connected to the pendant. The romance and plot are well constructed; the only unsatisfying aspect is Eve's backstory, which manages to be both cursory and too detailed.(Jan.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.