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Simply Magic
Granted four wishes after saving the life of an enigmatic stranger, a destitute Phoebe Hightower miraculously inherits a saloon in Rimshot, Nevada, along with obstinate ex-Federal Marshal Riley Burnett and his adorable small daughter, but Phoebe finds that it will take more than magic to melt his icy heart. Original.
304 pages, Paperback
First published May 15, 1999
3 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Kathleen Kane
20 books11 followersMaureen Child was born 28 September 1951 in California, USA. She and her husband enjoy traveling, usually taking road trips with her parents. When she’s at home, she is kept busy with her two grown children and a somewhat confused golden retriever named Abbey. She is busy writing her next book.
Under her own name, Maureen Child writes short contemporary novels—books she loves to write because of their fast pace and condensed story telling, she is also writing funny, contemporary paranormal romances. Over the years, she’s written under lots of different names and she prefers the term ‘pseudonym’ to ‘alias’. As Ann Carberry, she wrote western historical romances. As Kathleen Kane, she wrote not only Americana romances, but western paranormal romances as well. As Sarah Hart, she wrote one really spectacular western paranormal that is still one of her favorites. And once, Ann Carberry even wrote a Victorian historical which she absolutely loved doing. She writes paranormal romance novels under the pesudonym of Regan Hastings. Now, a USA Today best selling author of more than ninety romance novels and novellas, she is a five time nominee for the prestigious Rita award from Romance Writers of America. One of her novels, A Pocketful Of Paradise, was made into a CBS-TV movie called The Soul Collector, starring Melissa Gilbert, Bruce Greenwood and Ossie Davis.
Under her own name, Maureen Child writes short contemporary novels—books she loves to write because of their fast pace and condensed story telling, she is also writing funny, contemporary paranormal romances. Over the years, she’s written under lots of different names and she prefers the term ‘pseudonym’ to ‘alias’. As Ann Carberry, she wrote western historical romances. As Kathleen Kane, she wrote not only Americana romances, but western paranormal romances as well. As Sarah Hart, she wrote one really spectacular western paranormal that is still one of her favorites. And once, Ann Carberry even wrote a Victorian historical which she absolutely loved doing. She writes paranormal romance novels under the pesudonym of Regan Hastings. Now, a USA Today best selling author of more than ninety romance novels and novellas, she is a five time nominee for the prestigious Rita award from Romance Writers of America. One of her novels, A Pocketful Of Paradise, was made into a CBS-TV movie called The Soul Collector, starring Melissa Gilbert, Bruce Greenwood and Ossie Davis.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 18, 2017
A wonderful love story! All about learning to trust, learning to love with a little bit of magic to help it along. I am not a fan of paranormal, time-travel, etc but this story had a little magic that was very cute and tolerable for me. The only thing that stood out as being silly was the hero kept running his hands thru his hair in frustration and each time, the author would say how he would do so and then squeeze his head so tightly and then use some example like his head exploding like a melon, etc. I found those examples silly.. but overall it was a very enjoyable love story.
June 17, 2024
I always enjoy a little touch of magic.
July 30, 2018
Funny and a joy to read.
March 2, 2024
Cute little romance. Felt a bit dated but still readable.
January 25, 2023
Down on her luck after her fathers death, the heroine is struggling to find a way to survive the upcoming winter without employment or money for food. When she saves a man from an attack, she is confused by his odd offer of 4 wishes but to give him peace of mind she accepts, not thinking much of it. Then, one particularly cold night, she wishes to be somewhere warm and comfortable. Unexpectedly she then receives the most unexpected news that her great uncle has died, leaving her his share of a Hotel in Nevada.
The hero is not a man comfortable with town life. He would much rather have the open space of his old job as a marshal but now that his wife is dead and his daughter motherless, he's forced to retire from his travels and make a home running the saloon in the town he wants nothing to do with. He's not cut out to be a father, he even doubts the child is his, but until he can get his parents in law to come an retrieve her, he must keep her safe. He wants nothing to do with the high society miss who's now his partner and he certainly didn't expect the spinster to be a pretty young woman. Together they are at odds without one another and argue more than they talk. She takes an instant dislike to him considering how distant he is from his daughter and the condition of the hotel/saloon he's run until now. But there is attraction , no matter how hard they fight it. Still, he refuses to surrender to it. Once his daughter is safe and cared for in the hands of her grand parents, he can leave town and be free again. The heroine frowns at this and he knows she disapproves of him leaving his daughter but she doesn't understand how ill equipped he is to care for a child. He's no good for her. Life carries on and as they fix up the hotel and battle the vandal who strikes periodically, the characters fall deeper and deeper into the danger of developing feelings. Despite their strained relationship they share more with each other than they have ever shared with anyone and this swap of secrets creates a trusting bond between them. The heroine falls in love with the surly man who thinks so lowly of himself but is obviously a decent man. He in turn fights his feelings despite his actions betraying them. When the hotel is set on fire and the heroine very nearly dies, his blind panic at the possibility of her death should have been a clear indication of his love for her but still he resists. It's not until he literally has some sense knocked into him that he realizes he has a chance of losing his family if he doesn't find the courage to love.
I really liked this book. From the start, the characters grabbed me and roped me in, especially the hero. This man who had this little girl to care for and who had no idea what to do, could be so damn sweet because he was so unsure. He may convince himself that he wanted to roam free again but the true reason was the doubt he could offer her a loving home. But he was a great father. He would do things to make her happy and when he saw tears in her eyes, it broke his heart. He let the heroine into his heart quickly but it took so long for him to realize it. He spoke to her of his fears and his insecurities and confided in her and this bond caused him as much pain as it did him good. Because he was afraid of his feelings towards this strong woman as well. He would seek out a good fight to forget about how much he craved the heroine but after the adrenaline rush, he would still seek her out. I thought that was sweet. The heroine too was a marvelous character who could be so personable and insecure at the same time as she doubted that any man could ever love her even as she was falling head over heels for the hero. What this book also had was a great array of supporting characters like the Butler who was also quick with a sarcastic comment but charmingly uncomfortable with sentiments. Also the local shop owner and the cook were great and added a communal feel to the story. I am in love with this author and so far I can saw all of her books have been a success. I really anticipate reading more because she has a gift of creating memorable characters.
The hero is not a man comfortable with town life. He would much rather have the open space of his old job as a marshal but now that his wife is dead and his daughter motherless, he's forced to retire from his travels and make a home running the saloon in the town he wants nothing to do with. He's not cut out to be a father, he even doubts the child is his, but until he can get his parents in law to come an retrieve her, he must keep her safe. He wants nothing to do with the high society miss who's now his partner and he certainly didn't expect the spinster to be a pretty young woman. Together they are at odds without one another and argue more than they talk. She takes an instant dislike to him considering how distant he is from his daughter and the condition of the hotel/saloon he's run until now. But there is attraction , no matter how hard they fight it. Still, he refuses to surrender to it. Once his daughter is safe and cared for in the hands of her grand parents, he can leave town and be free again. The heroine frowns at this and he knows she disapproves of him leaving his daughter but she doesn't understand how ill equipped he is to care for a child. He's no good for her. Life carries on and as they fix up the hotel and battle the vandal who strikes periodically, the characters fall deeper and deeper into the danger of developing feelings. Despite their strained relationship they share more with each other than they have ever shared with anyone and this swap of secrets creates a trusting bond between them. The heroine falls in love with the surly man who thinks so lowly of himself but is obviously a decent man. He in turn fights his feelings despite his actions betraying them. When the hotel is set on fire and the heroine very nearly dies, his blind panic at the possibility of her death should have been a clear indication of his love for her but still he resists. It's not until he literally has some sense knocked into him that he realizes he has a chance of losing his family if he doesn't find the courage to love.
I really liked this book. From the start, the characters grabbed me and roped me in, especially the hero. This man who had this little girl to care for and who had no idea what to do, could be so damn sweet because he was so unsure. He may convince himself that he wanted to roam free again but the true reason was the doubt he could offer her a loving home. But he was a great father. He would do things to make her happy and when he saw tears in her eyes, it broke his heart. He let the heroine into his heart quickly but it took so long for him to realize it. He spoke to her of his fears and his insecurities and confided in her and this bond caused him as much pain as it did him good. Because he was afraid of his feelings towards this strong woman as well. He would seek out a good fight to forget about how much he craved the heroine but after the adrenaline rush, he would still seek her out. I thought that was sweet. The heroine too was a marvelous character who could be so personable and insecure at the same time as she doubted that any man could ever love her even as she was falling head over heels for the hero. What this book also had was a great array of supporting characters like the Butler who was also quick with a sarcastic comment but charmingly uncomfortable with sentiments. Also the local shop owner and the cook were great and added a communal feel to the story. I am in love with this author and so far I can saw all of her books have been a success. I really anticipate reading more because she has a gift of creating memorable characters.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews