Review: Reluctantly Charmed

Reluctantly Charmed, Ellie O’Neill

Amanda

Expected publication: March 17th 2015 by Touchstone

Paperback, 416 pages

Source: e-ARC from Edelweiss

Ireland is one of those places that I’ve yet to visit but love to read about. I know it’s not all green hills and Guinness but those are so fun to daydream of over a good book!  So between Ireland, the pretty cover and the description for Reluctantly Charmed I was sold.  I’m so glad I was because this was just the light and refreshing book I wanted.  Kate McDaid finds out that she’s inherited something mysterious from a long-ago aunt, also named Kate McDaid, if she publishes 7 messages left along with the will.  The messages turn out to be 7 steps given by the fairies to Kate about reconnecting the fairies and mortals.  Kate has a laugh over the other Kate’s determination to have her message heard and goes along just to see what happens.  A lot happens.  Some magic, some romance and a bit of a reality check about celebrity.  Kate learns that some people take the fairies very seriously.

Kate isn’t your typical damsel in distress chick-lit heroine.  She’s not lighting the world on fire at work perhaps, but she has a job that she likes, she has good friends and is close to her parents, she has a crush on an inappropriate man.  Then come the Seven Steps. I loved that Reluctantly Charmed was able to get more serious with Kate – but still didn’t take itself too seriously.  Kate gets in over her head-but gets her own way out.  She didn’t need a hero to save her in the end -just her own wits.  While I saw the romance coming, the end of the Steps was not at all what I would have predicted and I really liked how it all played out.

I would definitely recommend this for a cute spring read and after this delightful debut I will look forward to O’Neill’s next book.

4 stars!

Thank you Touchstone and Edelweiss for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review!