Mary Jane Magorski's life is dull. She's spent all her time since high school studying and taking college night classes. Three months after earning her bachelor's degree, she still hasn't been promoted from behind the perfume counter at Hastings Department Store. She needs excitement. She needs adventure. She needs a better job. And then one morning, right there behind the perfume counter, she unpacks a box of antique bottles and finds one that glows with emerald light. Noting her interest, her supervisor buys the bottle and gives it to Mary as a birthday gift. Unfortunately for Mary, the exotic gift is the last good thing that happens to her for hours. In short order, she's fired from her job, her landlady kicks her out of her apartment for harboring a stray dog, her purse is stolen, and she's accosted by an amorous drunk in the hallway of the seedy motel where she's rented a room for the night. In desperation, she throws the antique bottle at the man. It shatters against the wall and a strange green fog pours from the broken bottle. When the fog lifts, Mary is stunned to see a six-foot-tall pirate captain. Sinjin Avery is dark, dangerous, handsome, and he now belongs to Mary for two glorious weeks.
Mary's life is no longer dull. She gets excitement; she gets adventure--in spades. She also gets to fall in love. Unfortunately, her gorgeous pirate captain is due to turn back into a green fog shortly. He'll disappear into the bottle forever, unless, of course, the two lovers can find a way to free Sinjin from the spell of the silver bracelet and thus escape the evil machinations of the wicked Jinn Asaf Simoom. Will they make it in time? Or will Simoom trap Sinjin for eternity? Some Enchanted Evening is a roller-coaster adventure, laced with the fantasy of The Arabian Nights, tender romance, and charming characters. Don't miss it. --Lois Faye Dyer
Review
Mary Jane Magorski has lived all of her twenty-five years in Deer Valley, Pennsylvania - a very ordinary life indeed, until the day that she finds an antique bottle while working in Hastings's Department store behind the perfume counter. A few minutes later, she's fired when she refuses her boss's sexual advances. One of her co-workers, Mrs. Lark, gives the bottle to Mary as she leaves the store as a birthday present. Unfortunately, Mary Jane is also evicted from her apartment for taking in a stray dog. She packs up her dilapidated compact car and goes to a motel for the night it is here that Mary Jane is attacked by two strange men. In the struggle, the bottle breaks, and suddenly a swashbuckling man appears and rescues her. To Mary Jane's amazement, the tall dark-haired, chauvinistic pirate, Sinjin Avery, claims to have been trapped in the bottle by an evil Jinn. When the evil Jinn's bracelet was placed on Sinjin's wrist he was forced to live out the Jinn's life enslaved to the bottle. Sinjin must grant two weeks worth of wishes of whoever releases him from the bottle. What he doesn't tell Mary, however, is that the things he brings her are removed from someone else's possession! Within a day, he and Mary are arrested for stealing a red convertible and a million dollars! When she wishes them away they end up in Las Vegas on the run from the authorities. Sinjin has never known a woman who was intelligent and honorable. He begins to gain respect for Mary even as his desire turns to love. But, unknown to both of them, the evil Jinn is out to find Sinjin and take back his powers. Can these two lovers escape his nefarious plan, and find a way to defeat the curse? Alice Alfonsi is such a talent to the romance genre! I love her quirky, sexy stories that blend adventure and humor in equal measure, making for a mesmerizing read. My only complaint (and this is a minor one) is that there weren't quite enough love scenes between Sinjin and Mary. With a hero this sexy, I really wanted to see more of them together! But what is already in the book creates a sultry tale indeed! Alice Alfonsi is pure gold! A treasure to the romance genre, and a growing favorite with romance readers everywhere! A wonderful twist on the legend of the Jinn! Sinjin Avery is a delightful rogue that will make readers' hearts pound with excitement, even as he sweeps them away to a swashbuckling adventure laced with humor and spice! Phoebe Imel -- Copyright © 110198 Literary Times, Inc. All rights reserved -- From Literary Times
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