Maximilian Oceanus arrives in Spellbound Falls just in time to save Olivia Baldwin from an overly aggressive suitor, only to find himself attracted to the beautiful, if rather aloof, widow. And although Mac has come to Inglenook to get a handle on fatherhood, his newly discovered six-year-old son has set his sights on finding his father a wife.
Olivia, however, is busy getting Inglenook ready for its new season, so she doesn’t have time to deal with her growing attraction to the dangerously seductive Mac. Besides, weird stuff seems to happen all around him. Take the fact that her seatbelt keeps getting stuck in his presence, or locks magically open for him without keys, and that he seems to have a talent for sensing things. Never mind the three lost albatrosses walking down the road in the middle of the night. Since when are there albatrosses in Maine?
But despite Olivia’s resistance to falling under the sexy man’s spell, Olivia is having trouble fighting her longing. Because she knows Mac is just the man to unlock the powerful passion deep within her….
Olivia, however, is busy getting Inglenook ready for its new season, so she doesn’t have time to deal with her growing attraction to the dangerously seductive Mac. Besides, weird stuff seems to happen all around him. Take the fact that her seatbelt keeps getting stuck in his presence, or locks magically open for him without keys, and that he seems to have a talent for sensing things. Never mind the three lost albatrosses walking down the road in the middle of the night. Since when are there albatrosses in Maine?
But despite Olivia’s resistance to falling under the sexy man’s spell, Olivia is having trouble fighting her longing. Because she knows Mac is just the man to unlock the powerful passion deep within her….
~~
If you follow me on Twitter you probably read some of the worries I had Monday night about this turning into a 'hero teaches the heroine the error of her ways' kind of romance. I hate preachy and similar to my feelings about heroines who have to overcome a feeling of 'shame' I have no patience for it. I like my heroines crazy and messed up and I want a hero who loves her just the way she is.
I was so happy to find out that Max was actually underestimating just how sane Olivia was under her surface crazy. Olivia is more of a behind the scenes mover and shaker - she doesn't have an interest in battling people head on for things that she can make happen in a more roundabout way. As someone who deals with life in a similar fashion, this was an attitude I could definitely get behind.
Combine this with Chapman's classically wonderful characters and you've got a very nice romance. Max and Henry were great, both unsure on how to navigate the tricky road to father and son, and almost every 'small town' person who popped up had a purpose and added to the story. Though I would say some people might as well have had a huge 'HERE I AM' sign over their heads because the mystery of who they were wasn't all that hard to figure out. But hey, for a contemporary romance the mystery of a character's backstory isn't that big of a deal and the connection between Max and Olivia was more than enough to make up for any perceived lack.
Overall Feeling - B-
Series - 1) Spellbound Falls 2) Charmed by his Love (May 29, 2012)
**These books are connected to the Midnight Bay series - see Mystical Warrior
