LOVE'S MAGIC SPELL

Author: Kelly McDonough ISBN: 1590883462 (ebook) 11/2004 FANTASY Publisher: Wings ePress

Marketing wiz Lisa McDonald never expects a fairy godmother to appear and turn her life upside down. But, that's exactly what happens when Lucienda, a rather large five foot nine inch black woman, zaps Lisa into a wedding with the owner of her company--her wedding! Before she knows it, Lisa is married to Josh Evans, the man of her dreams. The only problem is when Lisa left 'normal' life, Josh was engaged to Serene Ridgemont, the conniving gold digger. In Lisa's 'normal' life, Josh was engaged to Serene Ridgemont. As Lisa's quirky fairy godmother tells her, magic can only give her opportunities she might not otherwise have had.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

LOVE'S MAGIC SPELL is a cute twist on the popular Cinderella fairy tale. Only this time, the fairy godmother has a penchant for bargain basement sneakers and Cinderella has 5 nights, instead of one, to make her Prince Charming fall in love.

Lisa's fairy tale starts when her fairy godmother (Lucienda) appears at her workplace. She knows Lisa has the hots for her company's owner and multi-millionaire playboy, Josh Evans. Before Lisa can tap another key on her computer, she suddenly finds herself whisked into her dream world, walking down the aisle in a white dress and veil to become the wedded wife of her dreamy prince. However, there's just one teeny, tiny, slight catch...

While Lucienda has the magic to grant Lisa's dream, she hasn't the power to gift her Josh's heart. Lisa must win that on her own before the 5th night is over. That sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. Not only does Lisa have to win his heart, but she must do so while remaining a virgin. This, while sharing the same room and same bed with Josh, and fending off a sexy, ex-fiance who just happens to show up on their honeymoon, and would give her perfectly manicured pink fingernails to win Josh and his megamillions back.

The wise-cracking godmother was a hoot, and I enjoyed the overall concept of this story and the underlying abstinence-until-married theme. I did, however, have a few minor problems with the story that left me just a bit perplexed.

For one, I'm not sure I could be so calm and collected while my newly wedded husband issued a dinner and bar invitation to his recently deposed ex, who just happens to show up at the same honeymoon resort, unattended. For two, gentleman or not, in a delicate situation like that, wouldn't it have made more sense for Josh to politely say, "Thanks, but we've other plans for the evening," rather than create what surely would be an awkward and uncomfortable situation for his new wife? I understand the reasoning as to why McDonough created that scenario and how it fit into the plot, but like it, I didn't, and that dislike transferred to the two main characters: to Josh, for creating the awkward situation, and to Lisa, for just sitting back and allowing it all to happen. I guess I'm just not as forgiving nor chivalrous at heart as either of these two seemed to be.

That aside, LOVE'S MAGIC SPELL reads quickly, and McDonough gave me quite a few chuckles, especially where the scene stealing Lucienda was concerned. LOVE'S MAGIC SPELL is quirky and cute if you're looking for a humorous and different sort of fairy tale.

Nancy Davis