Customer Reviews

A Little Light Magic

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After I bought this book, I saw it on the recommended read shelf at Books A Million and I have to agree. It's a keeper. The characters are well developed, especially Nick who, as his brother Alex points out, is caught between a rock and a hard place when he falls in love with a woman who desperately wants a baby NOW while he's had enough heart-wrenching trauma with his daughter Leigh to last a lifetime. (His relationship with his teenage daughter led to some lively conversations with my daughter about boys and trust and following your instincts.)
Rick's family dynamic will make you laugh and cry. Someone in the cast of characters will almost certainly remind you of someone you know. The counterbalance of Tori's lack of family reminded me of the movie 'While You Were Sleeping' where the lonely heroine is drawn into a crazy but loving family and must figure out if she belongs and with whom.
For those who spend or spent their summers at the Jersey Shore, the setting of this book around Atlantic City will bring back some great memories.
As I said at the beginning, I highly recommend this book.

This is a wonderful book. It has characters that you care about, makes you laugh and makes you cry. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I was sad to see it end. I hope that there will be more books about the Santangelo family in the future.

Victoria "Tori" Morgan has been alone for a long time; her parents are dead and recently Great-Aunt Millie Whitaker passed away. She has no one so it did not take much of a decision to move to the house she inherited from her late Great Aunt on the Jersey shore. Her plan is to convert the dilapidated "pachyderm", at least the front, into a new age shop selling tarot cards, candles and crystals, etc. She hires contractor Nick Santangelo to renovate the edifice to state code.

Tori believes that Nick agreed to take on her job due to a magician Cajun candle given to her by a witch. Nick has enough flakes in his household without dealing with another one though he is attracted to her. His teenage daughter insists she is in forever love; his Nonna is a shoplifter; his brother works for him though they differ on the meaning of work as he wants to be a starving actor living off his brother until he gets his break; mom has menopause issues that make her a walking time bomb. Finally there is Tori who wants him to sire her baby, but does not want him.

The magic of this joyful romance is the changes in the lead couple. Initially Tori comes across as an eccentric flake with no concept of business or relationships while Nick appears as a nasty know it all; as they become acquainted with A LIGHT LITTLE MAGIC called love, they seem to blossom. Although the plot is thin, fans will enjoy this fine character driven tale as the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Harriet Klausner

Victoria "Tori" Morgan wants to open her new age shop Destiny's Gate in the home she inherited but first she needs to fix it up.

Nick Santangelo is a contractor. He also has a seventeen year old daughter named Leigh. When his secretary Doris begs him to help out Tori, Nick agrees to at least go out and check out the place. When he arrives and sees how bad a shape the place is in, he tells Tori that she would be better off dumping the place. One thing that Nick is unprepared for is Tori's beauty. He tells Tori that his crew is too busy to take on any more work and leaves. About a year ago, Tori was given a bundle of magical candles but a witch. Tori figures it couldn't hurt to light one as she is desperate to help. She lights a white candle. Before she knows it, Nick comes walking back through the door and informs Tori that he will take on the job himself. He will come in the evenings.

Tori has been having some really bad pains. She goes to the doctor and is told that she has three options: She can either have surgery, take hormone pills or have a baby. Tori ops for choice number three but there is just one problem...Tori is single. Will Nick be the man for Tori?

My favorite person in this book is Luke's grandmother, Noona. Her favorite pastime is shoplifting expensive merchandise. Tori is like a wild child. SHe moves to the ruthum of her own music, whereas Nick is a rule follower. I like that Tori was able to get Nick to loosen up. Though I do feel a little bad for Nick having to put up with three women all the time...his mother, his daughter and his grandmother. For a light summer read, I recommend this book.

Totally enjoyed this book; as the others commented these are people you can relate to and feel all the wild, crazy, deep emotions they do. A fast, emotion tugging book that has you cheering for each person as they face different challenges of life.

So Joy Nash ... PLEASE give us more of the Santangelo family; does Johnny find fame and fortune? Do Leigh and Jason fall deeper in love? Does Rita find what she is searching for? And of course there lingers the question of a baby. Help us out here; we want MORE!

Thanks for a great read!
ps: Loved the Atlantic City treasures.

I've sighed with contentment over Joy Nash's DRUIDS OF AVALON series and listened to my heart pound in my ears while reading her IMMORTALS stories. So I wondered how she'd do with A LITTLE LIGHT MAGIC, a tale set on the Jersey shore. As usual, Joy works her magic and I am completely drawn into her characters' lives.

Her heroine Tori is the delightfully quirky owner of a New Age shop in possession of some magic "hoodoo" candles. Her hero Nick is the hunky contractor who agrees to take on her little "repair" project in order to get her shop open in time for the solstice. She's high on the metaphysical world and his feet are set firmly on the ground.

They're perfect for each other.

Joy Nash peoples her novel with achingly real secondary characters with their own very real issues--Nick's teenage daughter struggling with whether or not to put out for her popular boyfriend, his shoplifting grandmother, and his menopausal mother who lies about her secret weekly trysts. Joy has a knack for creating characters who breathe on their own. I loved it!

So, give your summer the kick off it deserves with Joy Nash's A LITTLE LIGHT MAGIC. You will thank me.

Picked this up because it was set in my husband's hometown location, LOVED IT! Please continue the story with the other brothers:)

"Once I was hooked on the story, I couldn't put it down. I had to finish the story and find out what happened between Tori and Nick and their conflicting pursuits. And even when I was done reading the story, the sweetness and the characters themselves stayed with me. This book is one of those books that will not only leave you with a smile on your face, but one that you will think fondly of for years to come." - Jacquelyn R. Ward

"A Little Light Magic" is the kind of classic romance you don't find enough of these days. The flawed but sympathetic lovers find their way together despite building renovations, a kleptomaniac grandmother, and a difficult teenaged daughter. Tori longs for a large family while Nick has too many over-involved relatives. Yes, there's a touch of voodoo magic but you can believe in it or not, as you choose.

Joy Nash writes intensely sexy yet emotionally satisfying love scenes between Tori and Nick. She wields humor brilliantly and reduced me to helpless laughter by the end of an intimate encounter between Nick's daughter and her boyfriend. Nick's tie- and scene-stealing grandmother is always good for a chuckle too.

This book is the perfect read when you want to both laugh and cry your way to a happy ending. I LOVED it!

This book had me from the first sentence of Chapter 1!! I believe that there was a spell put on this book to hook you into in (just kidding). If life hadn't intervened I would have completed the book not long after I began reading. Right from the moment when Nick steps out of his truck and walks up and assesses the building, you get caught up into it. All the characters are well written, especially Nonna. If I had 4 thumbs, that's how many thumbs up I would give it (do big toes count?!) This is a book that you don't want to end. Well done, and I can't wait to read more of her books!!