Casting Spells (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: knit shop, naked dress, purple glitter, Book of Spells, Suzanne Marsden, New England (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tongue-in-cheek humor lifts this weird but fun hybrid, part knitting cozy, part paranormal romance, from romance veteran Bretton (Just Desserts). After a classy female tourist drowns mysteriously in an icy lake in remote Sugar Maple, Vt., the Montpelier authorities ask Boston homicide cop Luke MacKenzie to investigate. As Sugar Maple's temporary police chief, Luke soon notices the village's odd ambience. Originally a haven for witches who fled the Salem witchcraft trials three centuries earlier, Sugar Maple is now home to witches, vampires, fairies and trolls. Luke is also attracted to Chloe Hobbs, the half-human owner of the knitting shop Sticks & Strings, who must find Mr. Right if she's to preserve the spell that sustains the town's unusual residents. As sparks literally fly between the two, Chloe's "magickal" side stirs into life. Bretton charmingly depicts how love empowers Chloe and awakens Luke to some major surprises. (Nov.)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* Although Chloe Hobbs’ Sticks and Strings has been named New England’s number-one knit shop two years in a row, the other residents of the quintessential small town of Sugar Maple, Vermont, don’t want to draw attention to themselves. Shape-shifters, vampires, sprites, and other supernatural beings, they live under a protective spell spun by Chloe’s ancestors. Since Chloe is only half magik, with a human father and a sorceress mother, the spell is growing weaker. So the townspeople are busily setting her up with otherworldly males, ranging from trolls to selkies, in hopes that with a paranormal partner, Chloe will find her inner enchantress, and Sugar Maple will once again be safe. Unfortunately, their matchmaking efforts fail, and a woman is murdered, the first homicide since the spell was cast. Luke MacKenzie, the human detective investigating the homicide, is instantly attracted to Chloe. Much to the dismay of the town, the feeling is mutual, and the fate of Sugar Maple hangs in the balance. Bretton (Someone like You, 2005; Just like Heaven, 2007; Just Desserts, 2008) spins an imaginative and charming tale. --Shelley Mosley

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (November 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425223647
• ISBN-13: 978-0425223642
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #238,741 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lovely Magical Yarn!, November 4, 2008

By	Wendy D. Johnson "WendyKnits" (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Up-front disclaimer: I know the author of "Casting Spells," but no one asked me to write this review. I can tell you honestly that I would never recommend a book I did not enjoy.

This is a delightful book about a small town that has a magical secret. At the center of the story is our heroine, Chloe, who runs a wildly successful yarn shop.

(The previous reviewer has created a nice little plot synopsis so I won't repeat it here.)

This book was such an enjoyable read! I am a knitter and loved all the knitting and yarn content throughout the story, but you absolutely don't need to be a knitter to enjoy this book. I read quickly and eagerly, and then was sorry when I got to the end, as I am with all good stories.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Romance + Paranormal makes for a very good read, November 5, 2008

By	armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Chloe Hobbs, resident of Sugar Maple, Vermont, is the only one who cannot see the magic of the town. Chloe has yet to fall in love and come into her own powers as sorcerer and protector of the town. Chloe is the offspring of generations of sorcerers and each only come into their own powers through the gift of love. Chloe's mother found her love in the form of a human.

When Chloe was six years old her parents died in a car accident and left Chloe with resident Sorcha. As Chloe gets older the spell her mother cast on the town gets weaker and weaker. Chloe is now 30 years old and the town has had two incidents of human contact they would rather forget. Only this recent accident has brought police officer Luke Mackenzie into their midst. The town hasn't had a human resident in years nor wishes to do so.

Luke Mackenzie comes to Sugar Maple to investigate the accidental death of his friend Suzanne Marseden. Her body was discovered frozen to death in Snow Lake-and it looks like she had fallen through the ice while ice skating. Under normal circumstances Suzanne would have known how to test the frozen quality of a lake, yet under the influence of alcohol, she skated on it against better judgment.

Luke sets up his police station right next door to Chloe Hobb's Sticks and Strings knitting shop. As the two come in contact with each other, magic starts to happen and they fall in love. Great for Chloe, for she becomes into her powers-and not so great for Chloe, for nothing can last with a human. As Chloe deals with all the ins and outs of magic and trying to find her mother's Book of Spells, Luke deals with greater things like understanding why there are sparks every time he touches Chloe and the suspicion that something is trying to do him great harm.

Barbara Bretton knits a story using the magic of vampires, witches, and fairies. For a town like Sugar Maple that is made up of magical creatures, all things are possible under extra ordinary circumstances, including love between a human and a sorcerer. The question is whether the love of a human and the love of sorcerer can sustain the magick of the town.

Side note: Although I am not a knitter myself, the 10 things you need to know about knitting in general are quite funny as well as the 10 things you need to know about knitting lace and knitting socks in the back of the book are a keeper.

Armchair Interviews says: Excellent read--a mix of paranormal and romance.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Appallingly bad - go buy some acrylic instead, you'll like it better, August 19, 2009

By	New Jersey Mom (Maplewood, NJ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Casting Spells (Paperback)

I got this book largely on the basis of Wendy Johnson's review. I'm a huge fan of Wendy, and usually trust her judgment completely.

However - I found this book dumb beyond belief. The characters were shallow and uninteresting. They reminded me of characters you might find in a really, really bad TV sitcom. I could almost hear the cheesy theme music and canned laugh track whenever one of the two perky sidekicks entered the room. I also found the repeated references to how beautiful all the townspeople were (and then comparing them to various movie stars) - odd. Strange. The repeated references to Chloe's skinniness, then describing her scarfing down bags of Chip Ahoys followed by a pint of Ben & Jerry's to be a bit bizarre as well. It's a fantasy of a type that I find pretty pathetic. (maybe they skipped the part where she stuck her fingers down her throat and made it all come up again.) And Chip Ahoys, seriously? Scorcers who could make a plate of the best gourmet treats appear out of thin air and they're eating rubbish like that? Ugh.

TV sitcom, indeed - together with the commercial interruptions with brand names front & center.

Speaking of which - while I am a lifelong and passionate knitter, I found the yarn-brand-name-dropping extremely gratuitous and annoying. Did Koigu pay for the production of this novel? Or Lorna's Laces? Debbie Bliss maybe? Did they write some of the 5-star reviews here?

Because this is not a 5-star book, not even for a crazy cat-loving mystery-loving knitter. This is quite possibly the worst book I've ever read. Save your money and spend it on some cashmere or something - or even that cheap acrylic you saw at Walmart. It would be a better use of your cash. Seriously.