MAGIC SPELLS by Christy Yorke
Bantam Books, 1999There's something magic going on in the small town of Pendleton, Vermont--some of it good, some of it bad, and all of it connected to Jane Gregory and her family. Jane's grandmother is a witch. Her mother had a way with animals. And it seems Jane has inherited some kind of power. When she was a teenager she cast a magic spell to make a boy fall in love with her--the wrong boy. He died in a drunk driving accident the night before their wedding, leaving her pregnant and devastated. But his memory has a grip on her that is ... unnatural.
Seven years have passed, and Jane's son can't talk. She believes she is somehow responsible, and she takes on that guilt along with every other emotion that crosses her path. Jane is an angst sponge. She has two men in love with her--one a good man but married to a nice woman he doesn't love. And the other a carbon copy of her long-dead lover. But she can't love anyone until she deals with the past.
Magic Spells is an extremely compelling read, though not seamless. I found myself irritated with Jane sometimes. I wanted to shake her and say, "Just get over it!" I don't feel the "magical world" was adequately explained--there was no rhyme or reason to how the magic worked. I adored the character of Jane's grandmother, but I really didn't understand her actions toward the end of the book. But I couldn't stop turning the pages.
This book is so well written, so captivating, the characters so real, I shouldn't even be quibbling over small things. It's a worthy investment of time and money and I look forward to more of Christy York's work.
Four Stars
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