Breath of Magic
By Teresa Medeiros
Publisher: Bantam
Release Date: January 5, 2011
(Originally published by Bantam.
February 1, 1996)
Arian Whitewood was sent by her ailing grandmother to live
with her mother and stepfather in colonial Massachusetts. Arian’s mother died
before Arian arrived, and her stepfather, who sincerely loved his wife and
promised to care for her daughter, has struggled vainly for a decade to turn his
white witch stepdaughter into a proper Puritan. Arian tries to cooperate with
his efforts, but her supernatural abilities cannot be contained. When her
stepfather asks for help from a minister, the result is a witch trial that
concludes with Arian undergoing the water ordeal. Fearing that she is about to
die, Arian casts a spell that goes awry, sending her, her emerald amulet, and
her broomstick from Gloucester in 1689 to New York City in 1996.
Eccentric tycoon Tristan Lennox has cynically promised one
million dollars to anyone who can prove the existence of magic outside the
parameters of science. When a broomstick-riding Arian, dodging helicopters,
lands in the courtyard of Lenox Tower where the magic contest is being
conducted, Tristan is convinced she is a fraud. Feeling the need to keep an eye
on her, he houses her in his penthouse apartment while his team of experts
examines Arian’s broom to determine how it flew. Tristan, jaded and distrustful
of almost everyone, is suspicious of Arian, angry with the chaos that she
creates, and reluctantly intrigued by her. Arian is learning to use her own
gifts and adjusting to life in a world that seems to her to be filled with
unimaginable wonders and fearsome dragons. Tristan eventually learns to trust Arian
and his feelings for her, but the two must survive many dangers before they can
claim their HEA.
To enjoy this novel fully, you must be willing to suspend
disbelief and accept this story as you would a fairy tale. If you can do this,
you will be charmed by the effervescent Arian and gradually won over by the
wounded loner Tristan. I adored them both. The secondary characters are also
deftly drawn. The villains are appropriately heinous, Sven, Tristan’s bodyguard,
and Michael Copperfield, Tristan’s Native American best friend and legal
adviser, are scene-stealers. There is adventure and mystery in the plot, but it
is the humor that makes the book special for me. Arian’s encounters with
twentieth century plumbing and her first shopping trip to Bloomingdale’s are
laugh-out-loud funny. They are among my favorite funny scenes ever even though
I generally prefer more cerebral humor.
If you are looking for a bewitching romance to read for
Halloween, I highly recommend Breath of
Magic. The sequel, Touch of Enchantment in which Arian and
Tristan’s genius daughter travels to the 13th century, is almost as good.
Another delightful bit-of-witchery romance is Jill Barnett’s Bewitching, with one of the best
epilogues in romance fiction. Why not make one of them—or all of them—part of
your Halloween celebration?
~Janga
Do you have a favorite witchy or ghostly romance?
Do you have a favorite witchy or ghostly romance?
