Round Table Review—
Devil Moon: A Mystic Romance
by Dana Taylor
Reviewer: Beverly Forehand
Maddie Harris has her life completely in order. She's a successful assistant principal with her own home. She has loyal friends and a loving family. She's perfectly happy with her life. So what if people think she's a bit prim and that her routine borders on anal-retentiveness? Maddie has everything she ever wanted--so why is it she needs to keep telling herself that? Why is it that too much wine, a few chocolate bars, and a case of the blues finds her strolling on a moonlit lakeside looking for trouble? Surely, its just a case of monthly madness--she couldn't be looking for anything more--her life is perfectly fine the way it is. She likes stability and comfort. Excitement, whirlwind romance, and midnight romps are something confined to paperback romances and youthful indiscretions, right?
Phil Wilcox had it all--wealth, fame, and a family. He was a football star that married the Homecoming Queen and had a beautiful baby girl. How is it, then, he wonders, that he ended up the coach of a small town high school football team teaching history on the side? He hardly sees his daughter or his ex-wife and his relationship could best be described as frosty. All he wants now is to clean up his act and gain his eleven-year-old daughter's confidence. Romance is something he doesn't want or need. Women only bring complications, and love, well, that's nothing that he can even hope for after all the screw-ups in his life. But, when a late night fishing trip throws him into the arms of a mysterious beauty, he finds himself wondering if he was wrong about what he wanted and needed in life.
DEVIL MOON: A MYSTIC ROMANCE is a lovely romance full of whimsy, comedy, and bittersweet twists. The characters are real and compelling, filled with the little foibles that drive us all and make them automatically identifiable. Maddie and Phil are driven by their own delusions of themselves, by their personal fears and misapprehensions as to what life is really about, what they can hope for, and what they need. These characters have settled--they believe that there are no happily ever afters, when they are suddenly confronted with a story-book romance. The surprises and sweetness found in DEVIL MOON are as charming as any Cinderella tale. So what if Prince Charming wears sweats and drives a pick-up, or Snow White is a bit anal and wears power-suits? Isn't it possible to have it all? Isn't it possible to find what you've looking for without even knowing you were looking?
I loved this book. It made me laugh and cry. People who love romances from Jan Karon to Jane Austen will instantly find this book irresistible. The characters are wonderful, the writing is compelling and witty, the plot-twists are unexpected, and the love story is both steamy and sweet. Don't miss a chance to curl up with DEVIL MOON this winter. This book and a cup of cocoa are just the ticket for the winter blues!
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E-book available at Amazon.com & Smashwords $2.99
