Sunday, May 31, 2020

MAGIC, ROMANCE, & MORE by Caroline Mickelson


Title:  MAGIC, ROMANCE, & MORE

Series:  Special Gifts Series #1 - #4

Author:  Caroline Mickelson

Publisher:  Caroline Mickelson

Publish Date:   05.30.2016

Category /Genre:  Clean Romance

Recommended for:  16+

Grammar/editing:  received as an unedited ARC / errors excused

Received from:  Caroline Mickelson

Goodreads link: Magic, Romance, & More

Date completed: 05.31.2020



Description from the publisher:

Magic, Romance & More is a collection of four light paranormal romantic comedy novellas including:

Witch Weigh:
Tessa Von Hellengaard is a real witch. Magical spells aside, she’s snarky and selfish, and the other witches in her silent spell coven are fed up with her. Their plan to reform Tessa involves taking away her magic, saddling her with one hundred extra pounds, and sending her to a weight loss spa. For good measure they call in Liam Kennedy, a charming and sexy fairy godfather, to teach her some manners. Desperate to regain her magic and determined to shed the weight, Tessa soon realizes that protecting her heart from Liam will prove to be her greatest challenge.

Magic Wand Ranch:
Fiona Cantrell is a woman on a mission. More aptly put, she's a Fairy Godmother on a mission. Her dream of moving to London is about to come true now that all that stands between her and her new job is a few unpacked suitcases. Or so she thinks until her old boss shows up with one more little task for her to complete before she leaves for Europe. Her new assignment involves a handsome cowboy named Cody, his two rascally nephews, and a mountain of laundry...all of which would be no problem for any self-respecting Fairy Godmother.

While Fiona manages to handle the laundry and the boys, she quickly learns that she's not immune to Cody's considerable charm. It takes everything she's got to stay focused on completing her task so she can head to London. But when tragedy strikes, Fiona realizes that it will take more magic than she has to try to save a life and mend her own broken heart.

Mermaid Inc.:
Adamantly opposed to commercial whaling, Miranda happily trades her fin for human legs when she’s given the opportunity to work as a maid for a man in charge of public relations for a large Japanese whaling firm. Miranda soon finds out that she loves pedicures, favors bikinis over clamshells, and that she’s a natural disaster when it comes to human housework. There’s so much about the human world she doesn’t understand. Why does Justin Lockheed, her handsome boss, make her heart race and her knees weak? And just what is she supposed to do when it comes time to choose between advancing her cause and destroying his career?

Maid for Love:
Despite the fact that her love life is a disastrous mess, Zoe Watson’s cleaning service, Maid for Love, is enjoying record profits. Her crew handles the removal of household dust and clutter, leaving Zoe free to use her special gift for memory alteration to erase her client’s painful memories. But although she can wipe the slate clean for clients, she’s had far less luck erasing the thoughts of her ex-boyfriend, Michael Archer, from her own heart.

So when she runs into Michael, and suspects he might remember her after all, she decides the best way to keep her heart safe is to get close enough to him to modify his memory, without breaking her heart. Or getting caught.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Witch Weigh:

WITCH WEIGH is the first book in the Special Gifts series.  BTW:  WITCH CHRISTMAS is a follow-up story with these same characters and I loved it too.



I loved the movie SHALLOW HAL.  In it, a misogynistic jerk learns that women are more than the sum of their “pretty parts.”  He learns to appreciate their intellect, humor, and personality beyond the joke. (As in, she’s ugly as a dog, but she has a nice personality).  He is ‘cursed’ with seeing a woman’s inner beauty.  So, the self-absorbed diva looks like a hag and the sweet, but over-weight girl-next-door’s charm is all that he can see.



Tessa’s treatment was sort of the opposite of that.  It was similar in that she had to let go of her self-centeredness and narcissisms, but I think she had to learn more.  She is the one cursed to be overweight and worn looking until she learns to give instead of demanding.   Once she learned it wasn’t all about her, more came to her… more friendship, more respect, and more love.  She also had to learn acceptance when her cat was turned into a dog as part of her lesson from the other witches.  Her whole life was upended.  It took a long time for her to figure it all out, because witch, with a B, really means stubborn!



I truly enjoyed the characters, the story, and the setting.  In addition, we’ve now been introduced to Fiona, another Fairy Godmother, and Bethany, Cody’s sister, from MAGIC WAND RANCH.


Magic Wand Ranch:

MAGIC WAND RANCH is the second book in the Special Gifts series.  I read this book first in the series and I was not warned that it was a continuation.  That did cause some initial confusion, but I caught on quickly enough.



This is a very sweet and cute romance.  I think I fell in love with the boys as much as, if not more than the adults!  I was very entertained by this short listen (audiobook) and will definitely listen again.  The conclusion was heartwarming and sigh-worthy.  Cody is a total swoon of a cowboy!



I’m looking through my kindle to see if I have any more of Ms. Mickelson’s books!


Mermaid Inc.:
MERMAID INC. is the third book in the Special Gifts series.  This one does not rely on characters from any previous story, so it can be read it any order.  On the other hand, it seems there may be more to the story of Summer, Miranda’s best friend’s mother.  I’d love to know if it has already been written and what happened!



What if The Little Mermaid was on land for more than boy-lust?  Miranda’s fighting for a cause.  She believes she can make a difference, even if she doesn’t know a toilet brush from a dingle-hopper!  Luckily, Justin is taken by her beauty and her charisma enough to make him more curious about the woman than her resume. 



A fairy tale story twisted around for adults (but still sweet); you know I loved it!  Yes, it’s quirky and a little far-fetched, but sometimes that’s exactly what life needs.  I invite you to suspend your reality and visit under the sea and by the sea as Justin meets Miranda.  At one point, I was even sure I heard frogs singing “Kiss the Girl.”


Maid for Love:
MAID FOR LOVE is the fourth book in the Special Gifts series.  This one also has no crossover characters and could be read in any order to the others.



What a unique gift Zoe has!  The fun part is that she didn’t know that it also has a unique proviso (yes, I stole that word from the Genie in Aladdin).  Her gift of removing memories will not work on one particular person.



This is a sweet and funny romance with a light touch of swoon that has me smiling days after I finished reading it.



Note:  While I received this book as a gifted ARC via Booksprout, my opinions are my own and are given freely.



Special Gifts Series:

1.      Witch Weigh

2.      Magic Wand Ranch

3.      Mermaid Inc.

4.      Maid for Love

Also from Caroline Mickelson:

·         A Love So True

·         A Pine Island Christmas

·         Witch Christmas

Christmas Central Series:


2.      Mrs. Saint Nick


4.      The North Pole Prize

5.      The Christmas Makeover

6.      Eve’s Christmas Wedding

7.      A Very Marisol Christmas

8.      The Christmas Kilt

Miss Prim & Proper Mysteries:

1.      Summer in the Bayou

2.      One Night in the Bayou

3.      A Bayou Wedding

4.      A Sinful Mistake

Santa Rosa Royal Romance Series:

1.      A Royal Chef (Midnight in Monterra)

2.      A Royal Christmas Wish (Christmas in Monterra)

Sophia Mancini Mysteries Series:

1.      From Mangia to Murder

2.      Lights Out in Little Italy

Your Invitation to Romance Series:

1.      The Wedding Favor

2.      The Wedding Chapel

3.      The Wedding Charade

 


















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