Touch of Enchantment [Hardcover]

Teresa Medeiros (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1997

From the bestselling author of Breath of Magic and Shadows and Lace comes a beguiling new time-travel love story in the hilarious, magical voice that has made Teresa Medeiros one of the nation's most beloved romance writers.

Heiress Tabitha Lennox considered her paranormal talents more a curse than a gift. So she dedicated her life to the cold, rational world of science. Until the day she examined the mysterious amulet her mother had left her and found herself catapulted seven centuries into the past—directly into the path of a rearing black charger ridden by a chain-mailed warrior.

Sir Colin of Ravenshaw had returned from the Crusades to find his castle in ruins, his enemy poised to overrun the land where generations of Ravenshaws had ruled. The last thing he expected was to half trample a damsel with odd garb and even odder manners. But it is her strange talent that will create trouble beyond Colin's wildest imaginings. For everyone knows that a witch must be burned...but it is Colin's heart that is aflame, over an enchanting woman he must not love, yet cannot live without.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Most witches are delighted with their talents, but Tabitha (yes, she's named after the Bewitched character) is not only embarrassed by her talents, she has never honed her skills. Things just happen, especially after she is bequeathed a mysterious amulet that transports her back in time. In this sequel to Breath of Magic, modern girl meets medieval knight. And although Sir Colin of Ravenspeare, Tabitha's knight in shining armor, can't figure out her pajamas and bunny slippers, he is able to look past Tabitha's short hair and modern manner to find true love. Witches aren't exactly welcome in medieval England, so unless Tabitha can convince Ravenspeare to travel into the 20th century with her their future will remain uncertain. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Review

Fresh and bold, Teresa Medeiros plucks her latest time travel romance off the tree, showing everyone what a wonderful romance gardener she is. With Touch of Enchantment, the realm of time passage, witchery, and fairy tales comes alive. The characters are created with vitality and beauty while a truly terrific story of medieval Scotland spins topsy-turvy around them. Our heroine is a twenty-first century witch who avoids her talent like the plague. Tabitha has never been able to control her power and has always been embarrassed by its usual unfortunate outcome. When an amulet of considerable mystery falls into her hands, Tabitha's ever-logical and technical persona takes over, driven with a desire to understand the amulet's use. When a blinding light drops her in the meadows of Scotland facing the fury of a dark knight on a midnight steed, Tabitha's first reaction is to call this little hoax off. Apparently this amulet was something her rather unusual parents cooked up in order to make her take a vacation. When this knight bleeds on her and she is forced to confront his pursuers with a sword she can barely lift, Tabitha's mind begins to grasp the gravity of her situation. Carried back in time to a world where knights defended their ladies and dragons threatened defenseless villagers, Tabitha realizes that the amulet is her only way back to her time...to her safe sanctuary of technology and computers. Little wishes for hamburgers to fill aching stomachs while sitting in Baron Brisbane's dungeon are hardly harmful. It is the bigger wishes that Tabitha has to keep an eye on or her knight may turn into a frog. Her knight in shining armor, Colin of Ravenshaw, is more than she bargained for, with his broad shoulders and muscular chest. Those gleaming tiger eyes of his will be Tabitha's final downfall, wrapping her in their warmth and softness. In each other's arms, the world melts away to a pool of delicious passion, but with their own doubts about their love, the two lovers find themselves in constant turmoil against the fate an emerald amulet seems to have chosen for them. Through it all, Ms. Medeiros combines tenderness and romance with all the pageantry of a truly well-devised fairy tale. As a time-travel romance, Touch of Enchantment is exciting, fast-paced, and imaginative. The scenery is breathtaking, the characters are bold and vivacious, and the plot is just plain fun.Enjoyable, entertaining, and exciting! A brilliant combination of romance, time-travel, and fairy tale! Dark knights and pale damsels...well, almost. Enchantment with a touch of class and fun. It looks like Ms. Medeiros is taking time travel into the next century with this beauty. A truly remarkable plot with imaginative characters.Karen Ellington -- Copyright © 1994-97 Literary Times, Inc. All rights reserved -- From Literary Times --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: San Val (June 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1417716061
• ISBN-13: 978-1417716067
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,058,377 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Teresa Medeiros wrote her first novel at the age of twenty-one, introducing readers to one of the most beloved and versatile voices in romance fiction. All of her books have been national bestsellers, appearing on the New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. She currently has over 10 million books in print and is published in over 17 languages. She was chosen one of the "Top Ten Favorite Romance Authors" by Affaire de Coeur magazine and won the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award for 'Best Historical Love and Laughter'. She is a seven-time RITA finalist, two-time PRISM winner, and two-time recipient of the Waldenbook Award for bestselling fiction. Teresa lives in Kentucky with her husband and two lovably neurotic cats. Her latest Scottish historical THE DEVIL WEARS PLAID was released in 2010 and her first contemporary women's fiction novel GOODNIGHT TWEETHEART was released in January 2011. You can join her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/teresamedeirosfanpage or follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/teresamedeiros . You can visit her website at http://www.teresamedeiros.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, Silly Sequel Set in Medieval Times, January 10, 2005

By 

Dakota "daxydakota" (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Touch of Enchantment (Mass Market Paperback)

I couldn't get enough of TOUCH OF ENCHANTMENT. It was cute and silly, and quite fun to read. The premise of the story is, in the year 2020, reluctant white witch Tabitha gets zapped 700 years into the past by her mother's magic amulet and into the life of beleaguered Scottish knight Colin of Ravenwood. In his company, she does everything from being imprisoned in a cold, dark dungeon to facing a mythical monster in battle. Very fairytale-ish, indeed. I enjoyed Tabitha's dealings with medieval folk and her accidents with magic (as well as all her sarcasm and one-liners). I also thought that Colin, a chivalrous knight devoted to God, was an intriguing hero.

TOUCH OF ENCHANTMENT is the sequel to BREATH OF MAGIC, which is about Tabitha's parents. I enjoyed both books immensely. Each has enjoyable characters and its own unique time-travel storyline. My advice is to read them both, in order. They are great fun and have wacky senses of humor!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sequel to Breath of Magic, April 20, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Touch of Enchantment (Mass Market Paperback)

Set in New York City in 2020, "Touch of Enchantment" begins with 23-year-old Tabitha Lennox finding out her parents have vanished while flying over the Bermuda Triangle. For Tabitha, it's hardly a reason to be alarmed; after all, her mother, being a somewhat inept witch, has disappeared on several other occasions. Unfortunately, this clumsy trait has been passed on to a disinclined Tabitha, who would like nothing better than to be rid of her supernatural "gift".

Nevertheless, during her parents' absence, Tabitha is given a magical amulet, which was used by her mother in a previous time-travel adventure, "Breath of Magic". While scrutinizing the gem under a microscope, Tabitha somehow awakens its dormant time-traveling ability, and she--along with her cat, Lucy--are transported back in time to 1254, to the northern part of England. (Why she ended up overseas instead of in New York I'll never understand, but I suppose it's not really important.)

Upon her arrival, Tabitha meets 24-year-old Sir Colin of Ravenshaw, the seventh laird of Castle Raven in Scotland. He's currently on the run from Roger Basil Henry Joseph Maximillian, Baron Brisbane (Brisbane, for short), Colin's arch rival in this book. Colin has just returned from the Crusades in Egypt and has discovered that Brisbane invaded his land and killed his family while he was gone. Within 24 hours, Tabitha and Colin are "captured by a sadistic madman (Brisbane), thrown into a rat-infested dungeon, and threatened with decapitation." With the help of Tabitha's reluctant witchery, she aides in their escape to Colin's homeland in Scotland, where Colin reunites with Sir Arjon Flenoy (a flirtatious Norman knight who is one of his good friends), as well as reuniting with his loyal citizens, such as timid Jenny (a young girl who was brutally raped by soldiers and has remained mute and afraid ever since), Magwyn (Jenny's strong-minded mother), Chauncey (Colin's obedient young servant), and Auld Nana (Colin's warmly protective, broad-bodied "nanny").

Throughout their life-threatening adventures, Tabitha and Colin inevitably fall in love, despite their sarcastic remarks thrown back and forth. Yet neither are willing to allow a more intimate relationship to develop, not until a pivotal point in the book when Tabitha admits she's a witch. Her confession is more than her typical faux pas; after all, this is the Middle Ages--where witches are burned at the stake. Oops, slight blunder on her part. ;)

Being the devout Christian that he is (having traveled to the Middle East to be a part of the Holy Crusade), will Colin save Tabitha from her fiery fate? Or will he submit to his religion and forgo his developing feelings for Tabitha?

From the first few paragraphs I read in this book, I knew I would enjoy "Touch of Enchantment"; by the end, I was totally bewitched (pun intended). I thought it was a wonderfully romantic time-travel fantasy and most romance fans will love it--and even some non-romance fans will as well (speaking as one). Thankfully, there were no abysmal attempts at medieval speech, only the one scene where Tabitha tries to communicate with her capturers by saying: "Forsooth, kind sir, methinks it most fortuitous thou hast stumbled upon this damsel in distress." Their reply: "What'd she say?" "Hell if I know." (A sample of the type of humor in this book.)

Although I haven't read the first book in this series, "Breath of Magic", I'm certainly going to make it a priority since "Touch of Enchantment" was so good. I really enjoyed Terea Medeiros's lighthearted, humorous take on romance novels, especially since I'm not much of a romantic, but I do like to laugh. :)

Highly recommended to romance fans, as well as other curious readers who enjoy time-travel fantasies set in medieval Britain.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Entertaining Book by Teresa Medeiros, February 4, 2005

By 

Bkeaton "Belita" (GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Touch of Enchantment (Mass Market Paperback)

Tabitha receives an amulet that helps her focus her magic. Unwittingly she errors and finds herself wisked through time to the era of gallant and not so gallant Knights. Sir Colin is returning from the Crusades and being chased by an excellent villian, when he comes upon a this strange looking woman. She is dressed in clothing from the future which make her definately out of character for the era. Fearlessly, she protects the Knight and is mistaken for his woman. He is impressed by her bravery as well. Keeping her wasn't his choice, and when magical things happen she must explains them away, as he is much against magic.
Everyone knows that a witch must be burned, and Sir Colin allows his opinion to be known to Heiress Tabitha. A bumbling witch from the future, Tabitha keeps her secret. Will he want her burned, if he discovers she's a witch?

This story develops quickly, has plenty of action, and held my attention. The villian is perfect, the friends amusing, and the main characters endearing. Some of the side characters are endearing also. I enjoyed to ending as much as all the rest, and frankly would not have minded if the story continued.

Teresa lives up to her much earned reputation of being an excellent writer. I recommend this book to all who enjoy romance with a touch of magic.