OVERHEXED - Vicki Lewis Thompson
Hex Series - Book 1
Onyx
ISBN: 978-0-451-41248-5
October 2007
Paranormal Romance

Big Knob, Indiana - Present Day

Sean Madigan knows that he is drop dead gorgeous, and in his youth he took full advantage of it. But lately, he is not interested in anything having to do with the opposite sex. He just wishes that the women of his hometown, Big Knob, would take the hint. Living in a small town where everyone knows everybody else, and practically every woman that Sean has had sex with is in his face every minute of every day, is exhausting. Sean has a theory -- that Big Knob's landmark, which resembles a one hundred and ninety-two foot phallus, is what makes the women of his hometown focus entirely too much on sex. Sean has even tried changing his looks to make himself more unattractive, hoping it would stave off unwanted come-ons, but that did not work. But when Sean confides in Big Knob's new residents, Dorcas and Ambrose Lowell, about his problem, he finds that maybe all he needed is to be a little hexed.

Maggie Grady is a property scout for SaveALot and is hoping that a trip to Big Knob will save her job. Every time Maggie finds a property for SaveALot, their competition seems to always find out about it and outbids them. Maggie suspects that someone at SaveALot's corporate headquarters is a spy, but her boss only wants results, not unproven claims. Unfortunately, Maggie has competition for the property, Sean Madigan. The property's dilapidated house was once Sean's childhood home, and he has been saving his money to purchase it. Maggie is determined not to back down, but so is Sean, and not even an attraction between them that blazes hotter than an inferno is going to stop either of them.

OVERHEXED is a charming, entertaining, funny, and sexy romantic tale. It's interesting to have a male character being sexually objectified and surrounded by women who will not take no for an answer. Readers will root for Sean, who realizes he is missing something but does not yet know how to articulate it to himself, and is realistic enough to know that at times his good looks are a benefit. Maggie is a straightforward, career-oriented woman who will not be deterred from doing her job even when she is very attracted to a man.

Secondary characters include the inhabitants of Big Knob; Dorcas, a witch, whose potions sometimes do not work out according to plan; Ambrose, Dorcas's husband and a wizard; a family full of skunks, and George, who, I predict, is unlike any minor character readers have yet to run across in a story.

OVERHEXED starts off a little slow, but when it picks up readers will be pleasantly surprise. A story that will warm even the most cynical reader's heart this fall season, I recommend OVERHEXED.

Nickole Yarbrough