Teresa Medeiros

'Tristan Lennox – founder, CEO, and primary stockholder of Lennox Enterprises – offers one million dollars to anyone who can prove that magic exists outside the boundaries of science.

So, this book was goofy as hell, but probably obviously when it's about a twenty year old woman who is being tried as a witch and then gets transported to the futuristic 1996.

Arian has been shuffled around all her life, she never knew her father and her mother was a courtesan in King Louis IV court. When her mother marries a Puritan, the natural next step for a courtesan from Versailles, Arian is forced to be sent away from her grandmother and travels to America to be with her mother. Except her mother has died but the stepdad didn't get the romance genre memo about being wicked and isn't a bad chap, except he's a Puritan. So whoopsie, Arian now has the devil in her and is thought to be a witch. But hold on, Arian did make candlesticks dance around the dude's head, so saints preserve me, I had to kind of side with stepdad at this moment.

Before Arian's mother left one of her johns, she stole an emerald amulet and gave it to Arian. Whenever Arian clutches the amulet, whatever she wishes to happen, happens! Arian thinks she is a witch! But, Arian, my gal, it's 1680ish Witch Hysteria, let's be a little more careful. However, Arian did get the romance genre '90s memo about hot blooded heroines and she clutching that amulet for all she's worth.

Puritans always get the memo and the new Reverend in town is ready to drown a witch. Shocking, it's made out that he seems to have the hots for Arian and if she agrees to stay with him in his attic Red Room, he'll save her soul (I want you all to keep this hovering in your mind). Arian not about him and while they throw Arian into the lake to drown, this random Scottish woman (seriously, the most random character) steals back Arian's amulet from the Reverend and throws it into Arian's hands as she's drowning. Arian thinks a goofy rhyme/spell.

Arian's now in 1996 flying on a broom in the sky.

Bring in our billionaire who has put out a challenge to prove that magic is real with a prize of 1 million dollars. Arian shows up on her broom and crashes his party. The rest is probably obvious with 1600s Arian saying and doing goofy things when she doesn't understand 20th century things and slowly warming the heart of the cold cynical billionaire. There was some funny cute moments from this aspect.

He groaned. Christ, it was worse than he thought. He wasn't dying of a heart attack. He was falling in love with a witch. He didn't need a cardiologist. He needed an exorcist.

What wasn't predictable was the tie-in billionaire Tristan had with the amulet and a certain Reverend. I'm going to put the tie-in stuff in spoilers, so skip if wanting to be clueless going into reading Tristan made his bills as a tech genius inventing some super computer but has a cloud over him after his partner disappeared years ago and Tristan was found with blood on his hands. The partner's dad has tried forever to get him convicted but no body, no crime. The partner's dad is a ̶m̶a̶g̶i̶c̶i̶a̶n̶ illusionist (Michael!) randomly and lurks around being creepy. Somehow he knew the amulet around Arian's neck is...The WARLOCK!!!! Warlock was an invention by Tristan that would give you whatever you asked for while holding it. It disappeared with his partner the night his partner tried to kill him for it. Why Tristan started the magic competition, to lure his partner with Warlock out. Tristan has fallen in love with Arian but now he thinks she's in cahoots with his partner to take over his business and Arian goes through it as she realizes she's not a witch. It gets revealed that Arian's father is Tristan's former partner....AND THE REVEREND. Did you keep what I told you to in your mind??? I thought Reverend/partner didn't know he was her dad but when Arian gets sent back to 1600s, he reveals he knew??? And when Tristan time travels back to save Arian, Reverend/partner taunts he was going to go to the future with Arian and live as man and wife spending Tristan's money????? I don't know, y'all.

I can not write a coherent review of this book, I feel like only over mimosa brunch could I get out everything there was to ̶q̶u̶e̶s̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶d̶l̶y̶ talk about this story.

After the middle falling in love, rinse repeat of Tristan feeling betrayed then loving Arian, time traveling, and REVEREND WEIRDNESS, there was the eventual HEA. And a little thrown out maaaaaybe about Arian's witchy possibilities.… (mer)

The bride is Gwendolyn Wilder, the only maiden in a Scottish glen where most of the time virginity is only a memory at 15; the beast is Bernard MacCullough, laird of the glen who has returned to his broken-down castle to find out which of the villagers of Ballybliss betrayed his parents to the English. Bernard has kept his people away from Castle Weyrcraig by pretending to be the “Dragon.” He and his best buddy, Tupper get their provisions by sending threatening shopping lists to the village. The mention of "innocent blood" in one message leads the frightened glen folk to tie Gwendolyn to a stake in the castle courtyard, in case the Dragon has a taste for virgins...which seem to be in short supply in the village. Bernard cuts her down and gives her room and board. He’s afraid that if he lets her go, she’ll reveal and upset his plans for revenge. As the Dragon visits her under cover of darkness, so that she won’t recognize him, Gwendolyn falls in love with him. I guess scales don't bother her all that much. He doesn’t seem to mind that she’s a bit on the chubby side. He likes her curves, her spirit, and her intelligence, which also seems a bit lacking in this village. Before she gets a chance to offer him her virginity, though, the villagers return to slay the Dragon themselves. To save Gwendolyn’s life, Bernard reveals himself to his people. Heartbroken when she learns that her "sexy beast" (her word) ...is just another guy, she's angry, disappointed, relieved, all, in equal measures, then she rushes home, where she has spent much of her life tending to her mad father, who the traitor Bernard has been searching for. When he learns her secret, Bernard tells Gwendolyn he’ll spare her dad if she’ll marry him. After an awkward few words and a couple of chapters that they declare their love, and Gwendolyn's virginity, or now lack of, is no longer a problem, the couple move quickly to happy-ever-after. I've read some of Teresa Medeiros' "witchy" romances which she does really well. Fairy tales, dragons, and virgins????...not bad but not really her best.… (mer)