"The Lure of Song and Magic" by Patricia Rice

Disclaimer: I own this book.  Patricia Rice is a new-to-me author.

Time & Setting: California, United States, present day.

Plot: Dylan Oswyn (Oz) has been looking non-stop for his 5 year old son, Donal, who was kidnapped.  A cryptic online tip from someone he only knows as the "Librarian" tells him to find Syrenne, a former teen singing idol, who supposedly is now working in a daycare center.  When he finds her, she certainly doesn't look at all like what he was expecting.

Pippa (short for Philippa Seraphina Malcolm James Henderson) voluntarily retired from her very successful singing career as Syrenne, after some rather tragic events and a very public meltdown.  She lives a peaceful life, by choice, and enjoys working with the small children in the daycare center.

When Oz finds her and suggests that she basically come back to the spotlight, she outright declines.  However, once she finds out the reason why Oz wants to bring her out, she feels that she has no choice as the life of a little boy is in the line. 

Characters: Oz and Pippa, the main characters, proved to be hard to resist (at least to me).  The book is basically a contemporary with paranormal elements, so I was not particularly enthused about it when I bought it, but seemed interesting based on reviews I read about it in other blogs.  I went in not expecting a lot, but I got "hooked" by the characters, and then the story, from the very first chapter.  Oz has a type A personality which makes him seem a bit assoholic at times, but it didn't put me off.  I also liked Pippa, despite the fact that she was very scared about herself and her "abilities", for very good reasons.  Pippa is someone that has known a lot of emotional suffering, yet she has managed to survive.  Headbutting was to be expected, but thankfully, I wasn't put off by it.  Oz also had certain abilities, and I guess that made him less of an ass as would have been expected under different circumstances.

I know that I have at least one other book by Patricia Rice, but I don't think I've read it, plus it is a historical romance, so I am placing her in my "author new to me" category.  I would love to see more books following this one, hopefully involving Oz's brothers, who intrigued me.  I guess we will have to wait and see.

I felt that the book flowed smoothly, I didn't find anything that threw me and the pace was quick.  The mystery surrounding Dylan's kidnapping/disappearance unraveled adequately and it was rather interesting to follow the unraveling of that mystery, while watching Oz and Pippa fall for one another.

I definitely recommend this title to lovers of both paranormal and contemporary romance.  I will try and read the historical romance shortly, to see how it compares. 

Mireya

"Spellbound Falls" book 1 of the Spellbound Falls series by Janet Chapman

First the disclaimers:
(1) Janet Chapman is one of my favorite authors.  I didn't particularly enjoy the first three of her books that I read (this was several years ago, and they were the first three books in her Highlander series).  Obviously, I didn't give up on her or I wouldn't be writing this review.
(2) I purchased this book.

Time and Setting: Maine, United States, present time.

Plot: The action takes place in Spellbound Falls, Maine, United States, shortly after the events that take place in "Mystical Warrior".   Mac Oceanus, the hero in "Spellbound Falls," played an important part in "Mystical Warrior".

Maximilian (Mac) Oceanus and his six-year-old son, Henry, temporarily move to Spellbound Falls to join a family camp ran by a young widow.  The camp was recommended by Trace Huntsman, the hero of "Mystical Warrior"  The camp specializes in assisting families communicate better with each other by sharing camp activities.  Since Mac is trying to learn how to be a father and to get to know his little son better, it seems like a good idea to give it a try.  He makes arrangements to arrive a few weeks before the camp actually opens, to give himself and Henry a headstart.  Since he has pretty much lost most of his power (read previous book to learn why and how), that definitely seems like a good plan.  Little did he know what was waiting for him in Inglewood.

Olivia Baldwin runs the Inglewood camp that Mac and his son go to.  Though the actual property belongs to her in-laws, she's the one that has made the camp what it is: a retreat for families that need help.  Olivia lives there with her 8 year-old daughter, Sophie.  Olivia accepted the early arrival of Mac and his son as he paid her a nice sum that will help her fix a few things around the camp that she couldn't take care of earlier, as she didn't have enough money to do so until then.  had no idea who Mac is and much less, how he's going to impact her life and change things around.

I utterly enjoyed Mac and Olivia's story.  Usually I find children in a romance a bit distracting, but the kids in this book played an integral part and it was cute to watch them interact with their respective parents and each other.  There was a substantial cast of secondary characters, including the heroines in books 2 and 3 of this series.  They all helped in moving the story along.

Even though I did read this book in pretty much one sitting, I did think that the way Olivia dealt with a series of issues was a bit too quick and convenient.  She seemed to take everything too much in stride, including the fact that the man she fell in love with was a supernatural being.  However, if you like this author's work, this is something that you will likely overlook.  As usual, she does provide a heartwarming story with very appealing characters that draw the reader in.


Characters: As it has been my experience in most of her previous books that I read, I fell in love with the main characters on the spot.  I thought Olivia's reactions to certain things were endearing, and her own insecurities made her very sympathetic to me.  Mac is domineering, but he doesn't come across as an obnoxious Alpha.  He comes across as a very protective very sure of himself  male.

The secondary cast of characters was attractive and helped move things along.  I would have loved to see a bit more conflict involving Olivia's mother-in-law or her suitor, the middle aged Simon, but I guess there is only so much that can be done when a story needs to be told within a certain number of pages/words.

As a side note, even though this book is part of a series, and it actually spins-off a previous trilogy (Midnight Bay), you don't really need to read the previous book to be able to follow the plot in this one.  I do think, however, that if you try this one first, you may end up wanting to read the previous one, and from the previous one, you are bound to end up wanting to read the whole thing.  Mac's background can be found in book 3 of  the Midnight Bay series.  So if you get confused, that's the one to start with.


Mireya