A review by scorpstar77
Like a Charm by Candace Havens

2.0

I picked up this book because I had an Amazon gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket and it was recommended for people who like the Shanna Swendson series (that started with Enchanted, Inc.). I was disappointed. There was potential in the story, but I kept getting distracted by the actual writing, which was mediocre. If Havens had a better editor, it probably could have come out pretty good; as it was, the red pencil in my head was cutting out and re-working huge passages because they felt forced or unnecessary. All that said, the story was still entertaining, and there were better-written parts of it that came together sufficiently that I could get lost in the story. Basically, a workaholic lawyer (Kira) goes through a tragic experience that she can't remember and is hospitalized, then sent home to her parents in a magical, tiny town in Texas. While there, her childhood idol, the town librarian, passes away and leaves Kira the library - but only SHE can run the library, no one else, because she has special powers to access some higher world of knowledge (and can see ghosts and check out books to the ghosts). There's some romance and a bit of a mystery (the mystery turns out pretty lame) and some parent-child friction, and supernatural elements. If you're looking for a really light (I read it in under 5 hours), unchallenging read because you're sick or on vacation, and you're obssessed with contract law, books/libraries, designer clothes and the supernatural, give this a shot (if you can get it for free or really cheap). Obviously, I got enough pleasure out of it to give it 3 stars, but I rarely rate anything I read below 4 stars, so this is definitely low on the totem pole for me - I'll be listing it on BookMooch.