CHARMED BY HIS LOVE – Janet Chapman
A Spellbound Falls Romance , Book 2
Jove
ISBN: 978-0-515-15090-2
June 20012
Contemporary Romance w/ Magic

Spellbound Falls, Maine

Magic lies buried in the mountains of Maine. Whether it has always been so and merely awakened when a wizard transported ten Highland warriors—and their horses—from twelfth century Scotland to the twenty-first century, or whether the magic came with them. I'll leave that to others to decide. Since then, however, the mountains and shoreline of the state have brought other visitors and magic to the area. Was it magic that created the earthquake that split mountains to turn the lake at Spellbound Falls into an inland sea, without so much as a bit of damage around it? The answer to that is yes. As one might imagine, the new sea is changing things in the area, what with scientists coming to investigate and the sea becoming a tourist destination.

In the years since those highlanders came, settled, and raised families, certain powers have arisen within them. One who chooses to ignore any such stirrings in himself is Duncan MacKeage, who has contracted to build a road from Spellbound Falls to run higher up the mountain to a new resort being built by Maximilian Oceanus (one of those new arrivals with magic of his own.) The contract will take Duncan into close contact with a local widow and her four children.

The earthquake turned Peg Thompson's land into lakefront property. The new road will run right by her place. Her four-year-old twin sons are especially excited by all the big machinery nearby. They've already been scared off by one of the “mean” scientists, so when Peg sees a man carrying Jacob, the sensitive twin, and six-year-old Isobel nearby facing off with him, she doesn't ask questions; she attacks! And encourages the bold twin, Peter, and eight-year-old Charlotte to come help save Jacob! But it isn't the “scary” man…it's only Duncan trying to keep the kids safely away from harm. And here he is with a tigress on his back and being kicked and pummeled from all sides. Only later does an embarrassed Peg realize that the gentleman did not fight back.

This, then, is the fateful meeting between a very masculine male with some rather old-fashioned ideas about women, and a highly independent modern woman for whom the word “feisty” might have been coined. Neither will be able to turn off the developing attraction, but fight it they will.

Peg was widowed three years ago and has absolutely no plans to ever marry again. She's among the fifth generation of the women in her family who have all lost husbands who died before they turned thirty. Peg's Billy died in a freak accident on his thirtieth birthday. Both her mother and her aunt remarried, and their new husbands didn't last long either. There is a curse, you see.

CHARMED BY HIS LOVE is another example of Janet Chapman's magical writing…dare I say spellbinding? Duncan and Peg are great characters, likable, funny, and slightly exasperating at times. They will also move you. The plot goes forward apace, both the romantic portion and the suspense. (Not everyone is thrilled with all the changes taking place.) The supporting cast includes several people from the Highlander series and the Midnight Bay series. CHARMED BY HIS LOVE can be read alone, and so can its prequel, SPELLBOUND FALLS. Then, if you haven't read any of the earlier series, odds are you'll hurry to the bookstore or library to do so.

What I like most about Ms. Chapman's characters is their humanity. They may have special powers, but they have hearts that can love and souls that matter.

Jane Bowers