"For fans of Laurell K. Hamilton"

Although it was discovered how to combine physics and sorcery over a half-century ago, not all states have passed laws that makes it legal to practice. Even though Petra Field doesn't have a magical bone in her body, her parents are both powerful wizards so she had to move to a place where magic is acceptable. Seattle is a Mecca for wizards and since Petra now lives and works there; she calls a wizard agency to remove the magical bloodstain from her carpet.

When Vorador answers Petra's cry for help, he's more interested in the woman than the rug. When she denies the sparks that flare between them, the wizard tries to remove the bloodstain only to find a hole in the floor under the rug that leads to the Hotel California in another dimension. Vorador realizes that Petra's cat is the sister of his partner's lover. Someone placed an amnesia spell on her so she doesn't recall who tried to murder her sibling. Petra stubbornly needs to find out who bewitched her carpet while Vorador prefers she keeps out of it so she stays safe. Both of these wannabe lovers are in danger from a powerful wizard who hides in plain sight.

Garthia Anderson has written an enjoyable romantic urban fantasy that will appeal to fans of Rosemary Edgehill and Jody Lynn Nye. On an earth where magic works, readers will want to believe in the fantasy. The protagonists squabbles are a form of foreplay that add a piquant sense of humor to the story line. It is to be hoped that Ms. Anderson will write more stories in this fascinating universe.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted February 26, 2003

Honorable Mention for 2003 PEARL Award
- Best Fantasy/Magical Paranormal Romance

Summary

Debut Novel

With enchanted blood on her carpet, a house full of Merlin-wannabes unable to clean it up, a petulant cat, and houseguests scheduled to arrive momentarily, Petra Field needs a miracle. She gets a wizard, a whole lot of unwanted sparks, and a man-sized hole in the middle of her living room—a hole into which her feline promptly disappears. Vorador hasn't felt so incompetent since his days as an untried sorcerer. The girl who leaps after her cat and into his arms causes his simplest spells to backfire—quite literally setting his hair ablaze. And though she claims to be no conjurer, he knows that he's never felt so bewitched, for Petra has a mesmerizing energy of her own: love.