SPELLSTRUCK

Author: Jaclyn Reding ISBN: 045122065X 2/2007 PARANORMAL Publisher: SIGNET ECLIPSE

Jenna Wren's customers leave her salon feeling physically and emotionally reborn, almost as if by magic—which is truer than they know. Like generations of Wren women before her, Jenna is a "hedge" witch. She channels the mysterious gifts of nature into empowering treatments in her salon. But even a flourishing business and two wonderful children can't keep her from feeling lonely and increasingly frustrated with her ex-husband, Jack. Then one night, over a bottle of chardonnay, Jenna and her sister draft a recipe for the "perfect man." It's meant to be a joke ...until eight-year-old Cassie uses it to test her own spellcasting powers. Cassie has only the best of intentions: a happy reunion for her parents, and a boyfriend for her aunt. But sometimes magic made in moonlight can go seriously awry—and Jenna may have to summon all of her powers of enchantment before she can truly follow her heart.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I am absolutely astounded by SPELLSTRUCK. I have never been so enthralled or taken in by a book at the first page. The entire book is beautiful and left me feeling spellstruck... pun intended.

Jenna Wren is a phenomenal character. She has endured a painful divorce, is raising her two children with the help of her mother, has opened a salon and become successful, all on her own. She also hasn't had a date in over a year. Jenna has worked so hard to get her life back that she has failed to notice that she hasn't taken any time for herself. When the most beautiful man she has ever seen walks into her salon, she thinks that he is too good to be true. She is walking on cloud nine and the only person who has the audacity to bring her back to reality is her ex-hubby.

Even though they have been divorced for awhile, and Jack has obviously gotten on with his life, Jenna still has the unfortunate ability to become completely tongue tied whenever her ex-husband walks into the room. Oh, it isn't that she still loves him or anything crazy like that, it is just that he drives her crazy.

Jack is my favorite hero of all time. EVER. Ok, so I say that a lot, but I am so seriously in love with this man. He is walking machismo and has that easy way of smiling at Jenna that makes her knees give out at the same time that she wants to smack him. He loves her and she doesn't know it yet, but he knows she still loves him and he is going to try everything in his power to get her back. From the moment Jack walks onto the scene, there was no doubt in my mind who the perfect man for Jenna is. I think that in this aspect, the book hit a little close to home for me, so I honestly felt like I could relate with Jenna and her pain over her lost love. I felt her tears and I cried with her as she tries to come to terms with her feelings.

Along for the ride are some wonderful family members that had me laughing the whole time. Nothing like a good ol' fashioned meddling mother to wrong a bad relationship, or a whole slew of ex-in-laws to come strolling into Jenna's life at any given time like living breathing memories of her past. Jenna's children are beautiful, and when her daughter Cassie tries to cast a spell to make her mommy and daddy love each other again, everything goes wrong...or does it??

This story is infused with so much of the feel-good qualities that I look for in a romance novel, that I wanted to go back and read it again once I had finished it. Jaclyn Reding does a beautiful job of giving her characters so much life and spirit and depth, that I couldn't help but fall in love with all of them. This woman and her wacky family and beautiful children and gorgeous ex husband will be added to my shelf of keepers, to be revisited over and over again.

Kristal Gorman