Witchcraft

by Jayne Ann Krentz

A story of mystery and passion from a best - selling romance author - Mystery writer Kimberly Sawyer lives alone and likes it that way. But when she is threatened by a hooded figure, and a blood-red rose with a needle thrust into its heart is left on her doorstep, she knows she needs protection. So it seems like perfect timing when Napa Valley vineyard owner Darius Cavenaugh returns to Kimberly’s life, offering help and a place to stay. But how did he know she needed him? Was it the deep, intuitive intimacy of a soulmate . . . or was it witchcraft?

Genres: Romance, Mystery, Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Suspense, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1985

About the author

The author of over 50 consecutive New York Times bestsellers, JAYNE ANN KRENTZ writes romantic-suspense in three different worlds: Contemporary (as Jayne Ann Krentz), historical (as Amanda Quick) and futuristic (as Jayne Castle). There are over 30 million copies of her books in print.

She earned a B.A. in History from the University of California at Santa Cruz and went on to obtain a Masters degree in Library Science from San Jose State University in California. Before she began writing full time she worked as a librarian in both academic and corporate libraries.

Reviews

[Rainz ❤️rainnbooks❤️(on a break) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oopsie, back to back books in the romantic suspense genre but again audiobooks with 5 hrs of audio seemed the best choice for my listening trial efforts. Yeah, I am getting there, without stopping the audio and downloading an ecopy.

I do love Jayne Ann Krentz in all her writing avatars as Jayne Castle or Amanda Quick. So I was fairly sure I would enjoy this story in spite of the fact this was first published almost 20 years ago. There is nothing extraordinary about the story especially if like me, you have been gobbling books for more than half of your life. But I loved how Krentz characterizes her heroine Kimberely as quite independent and deciding to live life on her own terms and I also liked the clear-cut and no-nonsense attitude that Darius displays.

The audiobook read by Lesa Lockford was fantastic, I just fell in love with how she voices Kimberely coz you certainly get that matching vibe with that character and I think the narrator did a freaking good job.

So romantic suspense audiobooks seem to be working for me as I have no patience to listen to a thriller over the course of 5 days, so might go on with listening to more of such books that I enjoy.

[Sarah (is clearing her shelves) · Rating 2 out of 5]

28/1 - After two chapters the writing seems a bit weak and the way it's written seems to assume the reader knows something that she doesn't - the back story between Kim and Darius. Kim keeps thinking about 'that night' and 'what happened' a month ago, but it's not until the 'thing that happened that night' has been mentioned 3 or 4 times that it actually gets explained. I felt like it was a tension-rachetting plot device which didn't actually rachet anything except my irritation at such a transparent ploy. To be continued...

29/1 - I really can't believe that a woman of the 80s would have unprotected sex with a man she's known for 3 days (not counting that time 2 months ago when she rescued his nephew), and numerous times, without knowing whether he's going to be around in a month to support her through the results of the pregnancy test and the STDs test. I also don't believe that she would marry a man who hasn't expressed any particular feeling towards her. And as if any woman would marry a man she still calls by his last name, although maybe this particular woman would, as despite being an outspoken, independent woman of the 80s she seems to be an idiot. Because the whole plot seemed so unbelievable the romance was very blah, I didn't feel any connection between Kim and Cavenaugh (it's even spelt weirdly). The witchcraft angle was almost completely missing, it was all just illusions of grandeur of a crazy old woman. One more thing, in the scene where she gets up to get a drink of water the night Cavenaugh first arrives at her house, how does the unnamed punk with the silver dagger know that she's going to be at the kitchen sink at that particular time in order to see him standing outside the window looking menacing in his cowled robe? I mean, he could have been standing there all night, and she might never have gotten up that night or she might have had an ensuite from which to get her glass of water. Obviously we've discounted the use of witchcraft to divine her intentions, so that just leaves us with another silly and irritating plot device that didn't fool anyone.

[AlwaysV · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read my favorite author's classic story was pretty entertaining ❣️It was still a great read but pretty awkward here and there. Especially, a disillusioned witch who believed she could call up the dark power!

Darius Cavenaugh and Kimberly Sawyer could do miscommunications like no other HEA couples! OMG 💥 She thought of him as; arrogance, overbearing, domineering, stubborn machismo ‼️ While her fantasy man had to be someone identical to herself; self-sufficient, self-contained loner with no emotional ties or responsibilities to anyone other than her and himself ‼️

But in the end, Dare & Kim were so irresistible! I loved when they tried hard to compromise, to get to know each other and finally to let their love and passion unite their lives for all time!

What a wonderful read! Sharing one of my kind of Happy Ending scenes 💝

“But I expect that’s why love got invented,” he stated confidently.

“To help men and woman communicate? An interesting anthropological theory, Cavenaugh.” . . .

He brought his body into hers, possessing and possessed, and Kimberly clung to him. The witchcraft that swirled in the darkened room was a very ancient kind, and it wrapped the two lovers in the softest of spells. Kimberly and her beloved Cavenaugh gave themselves up to it with delight, united in a passionate comprehension of each other that went beyond words.

[Mari · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 - 3.5 ***

This was a RU listen. The book is over 20 years old and it shows. Typical older Jayne Ann Krentz romance.

Kim saved Darius' nephew from kidnappers who claimed to be witches. Darius promised to help Kim in the future if she needed it. Kim is getting threatening gifts and needs protection. Manly man Darius steps in to take charge.

Kim isn't a bad heroine and she's not a doormat throughout the book but she gives into Darius way too quickly. Kim has had no relationship with her grandparents, nor does she want one. Darius goes behind her back and arranges a meeting because he thinks he knows what is best for Kim. Big red flag there. You can't trust a man who doesn't respect your wishes. Kim sort of leaves Darius but takes him back almost immediately slipping into doormat territory. That's the way romance books were written 20 years ago.

[Diane ~Firefly~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

After Kim saves Darius's nephew from kidnappers, he promised to do anything to pay her back. When she is being threatened, he gets her to move into his house with his sister, nephew, aunt and aunt's friend. It is a bit overwhelming for Kim as she grew up with just her mom and is used to being alone and making all her decisions.

It is a typical JAK book. While she is one of my favorite authors, this is not one of my favorite books. Dare is a bit too controlling and believing that he always knows best. I mean he opened her mail from a law office the second time he met her.

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply magical little romance novel.
Perfect for when the brain needs something light & fluffy!

[Kathy Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story, originally published in 1985, was an entertaining romantic suspense title.

Kimberly Sawyer is an author who writes romances; Darius Cavenaugh is a winemaker. They meet when Kim rescues Darius's seven-year-old nephew who was kidnapped and is being kept in the house next door to her beach house. Darius vows deep gratitude and promised to help if Kim every needs anything.

A few weeks later, Kim receives a red rose which seems romantic until it warms up, opens up, and reveals a needle stuck through it. Kim in unnerved and gives Darius a call but hangs up before she talks to him. She has second thoughts about calling a man who intrigued her but is incredibly busy with his winery and his family.

Later that evening, Darius shows up at her beach house during an awful storm. He'd been thinking about her and used her call as an excuse to visit. When Kim sees a hooded figure brandishing a silver dagger outside her house, Darius manages to convince her to come stay at his home.

Kim doesn't know how she'll deal with all the activity that surrounds Dare since she has been alone since her mother's death some time earlier. Despite letters from a law firm, she has decided not to meet with the grandparents who convinced her father to divorce her mother and put both of them out of his life. Now, he's passed away and the grandparents are interested in meeting her since she's their only heir. Kim resents them for the actions they took which hurt her mother and has no interest in them or their money. She has developed an odd vision of what family responsibilities include and is trying to paint Dare with the same brush.

Dare forces a meeting which indicates to Kim that he really doesn't love or understand her and causes her to run from him. He isn't the ideal character that she had created in her mind and she is hurt despite having fallen in love with him.

It takes a dangerous situation and some actual conversation to convince her that Dare is the right man for her.

I liked both Kim and Dare and I liked the growing relationship between them despite the mutual misunderstandings that threatened to torpedo their romance.

[V ❣️ · Rating 1 out of 5]

“Oh, God, Kim. Come to me, lady, and let me make love to you. I’ve been aching for you. You don’t know what it’s been like having you in my house but not in my bed.”

Oh no, oh no. This was not good. First of all, what is with the characters repeating time frames? Drink every time someone says, “two months ago.” Obnoxious.
Kim saved Darius Cavenaugh’s nephew from very dumb kidnappers TWO MONTHS AGO. Cavenaugh wants to thank her… with his body. (Yuck) So, after a strange rose appears with a needle pointed through it at her house, she agrees to stay with Cavenaugh and his eclectic family. They profess their love for each other even though they barely know one another and have absolutely nothing in common. Cavenaugh is arrogant, narcissistic, has anger issues, and is just all around a really disgusting excuse of a man.
“Standing with his feet braced slightly apart, adrenaline pouring through his system, he knew he was poised to reach out and grab her. He wanted to pull her down onto the bed and shut off the flow of her resentment with the kind of lovemaking that would remind her of just whose woman she was.”
Does this sound like someone who you would want to be with?! Apparently, Kim does!!! Ever since they meet again, he controls every aspect of her life. Says it’s for her own good, but it’s really for his. He wants Kim to be a submissive and agreeable woman, wants her to put away her silly “feminine” notion of romance aside. He is so fucking gross.
I’m giving this a 1.5 instead of the 1 simply because the thriller aspect was hilarious. Kidnappers and killers who think they’re a part of the occult, but are really just turkeys. (Kim’s words, not mine.)
I usually love these older romances because they’re stupid and a part of their time / nostalgic - but this was one of the worst accounts of abuse ever and for the author to try to make it seem romantic? Straight to jail.
Also, what’s with this import export business? Is he fucking Art Vandelay?
1.5/5

[Sharyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is funny reading a book first published in 1985 because a man wouldn't act like the hero does in this book today. Kimberly Sawyer is a romantic suspense novelist living alone when she thwarts a kidnapping. The uncle of the boy owes a debt to her, so when she realizes someone is stalking her, she calls him but hangs up. But Darius Cavenaugh is not a man to be turned down. This romantic suspense novel is dated, but still a fun read. Krentz has certainly improved over the years.

[Diane Morrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read from Krentz. I enjoy reading her earlier works and seeing how she developed into the writer she is now. I liked these characters and the plot of this book. Looking forward to reading more from this wonderful author.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cheesy 80s romance.

[TINNGG · Rating 1 out of 5]

I made it halfway, and skimmed the ending.

The author generally has strongish heroines who are not obnoxious about it. She also generally has alphas who are not obnoxious about it. I guess there's always a dud somewhere.

I've been somewhat puzzled about the overlooked, and apparently harmless acquaintance who never seems to fall under suspicion until he or she makes a big move and does something everyone notices. Because really, if these supposedly intelligent people observed a bit, the signs were already there. Their aunt gains a friend who is always plying people with herbal teas. The nephew is kidnapped by witches according to him. Nobody ever suspects... Wow.

So some stalker starts sending the heroine disturbing items 2 months later (she essentially rescued the kid). The H - kid's uncle - shows up and insists on her moving in with the family (with the aunt and her friend the tea lady). Something spooks the h...ok, why do you go to the kitchen to get a drink of water in the middle of the night? Do you not have dixie cups in the bathroom? So she goes along with him. To the house where the instigator of the mess hangs out. Right. Because nobody is bright enough to connect dots.

The last chapter features their wedding where he was practically avoiding her to give her space, and wasn't planning on visiting her for a wedding night. Why exactly did she say "I do" anyway? I think if I was living under the guy's roof and he'd been avoiding me for 6 weeks "to give me space", I'd have said "no" and left.

Anyway... I'd rather read something else.

[Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was one that I had a tough time putting down. The book title is a little misleading, but hey it was a decent read. I felt like it had a touch of 50 Shades of Grey. The love story was a bit of a let down on how it builds. I did enjoy the book, just didn't love it.

[KyleeJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not your typical modern romance. Don't be turned off by the occult sounding title. This was my 1st Jayne Ann Krentz, but definitely not my last!

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quite honestly, this is one of the worst books I've ever read.

I read a ton of M/F romance in my time (admittedly not in the past few decades) and I honestly don't recall any book in this genre being quite this bad. Yes, there were some real dogs that contained miniscule plot while concentrating on 'erotica' (Bertice Small anyone?), but this is at a level beyond that. Not only is the plot a minimal structure (and poorly built at that) that only exists to bracket "hot sex scenes", but the male MC is just about the most abhorrent Neandertal I've ever encountered in a book. He is a macho, manly, testosterone-driven Man (with a capital "M"), and the author takes great pains to remind us of this fact by having him remind the female MC of this fact (because she is apparently too female stupid to grasp what is seemingly a basic universal law in the mind of the author.)

My reactions throughout reading this chauvinistic garbage ranged from a mere "Gak" to feeling my head explode. I will demonstrate what I mean by providing a few examples of the caveman thought process that the book actually seems to celebrate:

Here's a conversation between the male MC and his sidekick Starke:

"Because I don't always agree with or approve of what she thinks or the way she thinks."

Starke gave him a mildly astonished look. "Why should you. You're a man. She's a woman."

At first blush I was the most appalled by the "Me Man, you woman" comment, but in rereading it I think I might be angrier now at the bit about how the male MC (aka The Man) presumes a mere woman requires his approval of what she thinks.

The author does have the female MC put up an occasional token resistance to being treated like the little woman, but then she'll have the female MC immediately reconsider, justifying his actions and words via tortuous and inexplicable inner musings, which leads to her coming back to him like a beaten dog . . . her reasoning (if I can call it that) being that's 'just the way he is' and that she has to accept that 'because she loves him'. The author even provides us with a verbal 'tell' when she caves in, which is the extremely revolting sighing of these two words of surrender: "Ah, Cavenaugh." 🤢🤢 Yep, guaranteed to turn my stomach every time.

Worse yet, there are multiple instances of quasi-rapey behavior that somehow doesn't get called out as being quasi-rapey. There are a number of scenes where the male MC appears to subscribe to the school of thought of "act first, ask for permission afterwards", which would be obnoxious enough under any circumstances, but is particularly sickening when applied to sexual interactions; the author gives no indication that she has ever even heard of the concept of consent, much less how to apply it in depicting an intimate relationship.

Now I give you example #2, where the female MC is arguing with the male MC (aka 'token resistance'), and the male MC simply cannot wrap his tiny little reptilian brain around the concept of her not understanding his side of the argument because, you know, a woman should never question what A Man is trying to tell her.

"Give me a chance, Kim. This wasn't the way I wanted everything to go, damn it!" He ran a hand restlessly through his hair. His whole body was seething with frustration and anger. Standing with his feet braced slightly apart, adrenaline pouting through his system, he knew he was poised to reach out and grab her. He wanted to pull her down onto the bed and shut off the flow of her resentment by raping her with the kind of lovemaking that would remind her of just whose woman she was."

Pardon me for a moment while I go vomit.

There is so much wrong here that I wouldn't even know where to start. Apparently the author equates aggression and chest-beating exhibitions of toxic masculinity as some sort of exciting (?) romantic behavior. (Especially since the MC acts like this throughout the entire book.) Personally, I was rooting for the female MC to hit the guy with some bear spray and then kick him in the nuts, but no such luck.

In short, I found this book painfully godawful and I wouldn't even consider it as being suitable for lining a bird cage. My recommendation would be to avoid it like the plague.

[Penelope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: WITCHCRAFT is not a book about occult practices or the paranormal. This is a light book of Romance fiction with a HEA.

Nearly 4 Stars for WITCHCRAFT, an “Oldie” Proximity/Danger Contemporary Romance novel written by Jayne Ann Krentz, published 1986. I remember the novels of the 80’s and WITCHCRAFT was one I read. I can read them now and enjoy (most of) them with nostalgia, of a simpler time. Some readers, especially new, won’t enjoy a story from this era and would best look elsewhere. I listened to the audio version narrated by Lesa Lockford (1.2x) and felt she voiced the characters nicely.

MY RATING GUIDE: 1= dnf/What was that?; 2= Nope, not for me; 3= This was okay/cute; 3.5= I ENJOYED THIS; 4= I liked it a lot; 5= I Loved it, it was great! (I seldom give 5 Stars).

Darius Cavenaugh/MMC is 38 and the head of Cavenaugh’s Winery, a successful family owned Napa Valley vineyard. Cavenaugh first met Kimberly 2mos earlier when the Cavenaugh family experienced a tragedy, bringing Darius and Kimberly abruptly together. When they parted, Darius stated he would answer a call from Kimberly anytime, anyplace. Kimberly Sawyer/FMC, 28 and single, is a published author living along California’s remote northwestern coast. She is working on her upcoming novel when a creepy gift is delivered to her home overnight which she rightly believes is to be a threat. It is only the beginning.

JAK (aka Jayne Castle, Amanda Quick) is one of my favorite authors from years ago (like Linda Howard and Karen Robards). I grab one of her books when I feel like a light, easy read, and a temporary escape from reality. WITCHCRAFT, pub 1986, was written in a time before Safe Sex meant “wear and carry condoms” or current technology was available (iPhones, internet, laptops) and when heroes were occasionally bossy alphas and made arrogant decisions (which they later regretted). ;)

READER CAUTIONS - Readers who prefer Clean fiction may wish to look elsewhere.
VIOLENCE - PG. Not graphic or particularly dark.
PROFANITY - None.
SEXUAL SITUATIONS - Yes. Scenes of intimacy occur several times.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I was being kind, I would say this book has not aged well. I'm not kind.

There's a number of problems in the "love" story of Kim and Darius, but perhaps we can distill them down to a couple major points.

1) Kimberly was totally delusional. All the characters seemed to have weird, rigid ideas about what was a masculine or feminine trait, but Kim was the worst. She often excused Darius's controlling, manipulations, or out-and-out gaslighting her as his "over-powering manly desire to fix everything." She also has very rigid views on family obligations and a bizarre belief that any family might intrude on a pure, telepathic bond between lovers. Still, you could sympathize with her a little more than the other characters - she was wary of large, powerful families after her father abandoned her and her mother, cutting them off completely. Also, she's built a nice life for herself writing, and seems to genuinely appreciate her solitude while still enjoying the company of others. Then she saves his nephew and Cavenaugh crashes into her life...

2) Darius Cavenaugh is worse than Christian Grey and I will fight you on this. When Kimberly does a good deed, and saves a young boy from kidnapping, his uncle decides to totally take over her life. Seriously, despite the fact that Kimberly is a grown-ass woman, making her way in the world perfectly fine, Cavenaugh is determined to control her. Throughout the course of the novel he forces Kim to move in with him, bullies her life choices, contacts her estranged relatives and sets up a meeting with them without her permission or knowledge, springs said meeting on her as a surprise, and threatens her. Most serious of all, he rapes her multiple times in the most lurid "love" scenes I've ever read.

Seriously, I have 9 more minutes left on this audiobook and I'm done. I have a feeling the characters are headed toward a completely undeserved reconciliatory sex scene and honestly, I can't listen to another one of those.

I remember really liking Jayne Ann Krentz in the 1990s and early 2000s, but now I wonder how much I'd like them if I re-read them now.

[James Sivers · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. I noped out on the first sex scene. The whole thing up to this point was already pretty bad as far as a story with any cohesion goes, but at the point in the first few chapters where they first have sex after knowing each other all of a day, I just lost all respect for the author and the book. The FMC is whisked away to the MMCs home, by his decree for her own safety because she previously did... Er something (it's never said before now) for Scott... Who we only just found out is his young nephew... Okay fine. Wobbly start, but fine. Then, she gets her own time on the large property (a vineyard) and she goes into a shed beyond the boundaries of the property which she was told not to go beyond for her safety. MMC confronts her and tells her that "she doesn't know what it's like to have her in his house and that he wants her" (paraphrased) as if she has actually been there a long time and there is actually history to support such a statement. Then they have sex. In the shed.

Yeah, sorry. I'll tolerate sketchy plots, but they have to make internal sense and you can't throw me a line like that without any history (between the characters) to back it up. Hard "no more, thank you."

[H.Cleary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a good read. The male character was awful, calling the woman ‘a witch’ I bought this book because I thought the heroine was one and it was a fantasy novel but she isn’t, he just uses it supposedly as a term of endearment but it sounds instead like a term of abuse. There are also a number of times when she clearly says ‘no’ to him and he totally ignores her and then she does this awful thing of submitting and making out she is glad he pushed her into having sex with him. He also says ridiculous stuff such as ‘men and women think differently’. What the hell? What was the author thinking? This must have been written at a time when supposedly ‘strong men’ acted like this, like they know best. I hated this and I normally like JAK novels. Who on earth thought it was a good idea to republish this? Offensive gender stereotyping and propagating stuff.

[Brianne Sturgis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not one for romance books so when they are super cheesy such as this one, I find myself cringing throughout. Multiple times I threatened to toss the book if Kimberly let Cavenaugh get away with some of the controlling things he would do. I couldn’t get passed how fast they moved along in their relationship. Who asks someone to marry them maybe after a week? Many times I would have ran as far away as possible if i Had been Kim. Red flags everywhere! And the plot was easily figured out from the beginning which I was disappointed in. I knew immediately who the villain was and couldn’t figure out why Kim or Cavenaugh couldn’t put the 5 piece puzzle together. However the book did move along nice and quickly and was easy to read and Kim was mostly likable so that was a plus

[LenatheCat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. Okay. Hmm. I wasn't sure if I was reading a romance, mystery or thriller when I first started reading this, but it soon became apparent it was a smutty romance with some faint mystery/occult elements.

I enjoyed this; the story was interesting, the main character was likeable, and I like the vague occult elements - though the twist was reasonably obvious. I even enjoyed the relationship that forms between the hero and heroine - they loved each other and it was quite adorable.

Despite liking this book and the relationship between the main characters, I didn't love the hero of the book. He was arrogant, pushy and very domineering. This book came across as super misogynistic.

Overall, this was enjoyable despite making me cringe more than a few times.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I desperately want to yell Introvert, introvert, INTROVERT at the book/Dare. :-) And I do like Dare but my god, for this day and age, he is way too male unilateral/categorical. (And I think that about the fictional time too.) I HATE people who thinks they are always right. And I know a few. Both genders. (Age does seem to moderate that ... apparently unless it is one's parent.)
I am having an extremely hard time rating this. Because I cannot disagree more with the h/h dynamic. Thank god Jayne moderated her style. Her heroes always are strong, and controlling to some degree :-) but nothing like this.
So I'll go with three stars even though some deserves 4 and some absolutely is 2. :-)

[Denise Pellegrini · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess it's not really fair to judge a book published in 1985 by 2023 standards, but I found her treatment of her heroine to be distressing, and her "hero" to be a narcistic, misogynistic bully. He's convinced he can get her to do anything he wants simply by kissing her and fondling her breasts. And he gets away with it, mostly. She does occasionally show some fire, and lets everyone know she's not to be taken lightly, even protecting herself from the bad guys a couple of times.
Fortunately, Ms. Krentz's more recent heroines can not only take care of themselves, but also rescue the hero at times. Even more satisfying is that the couples are treated as equals. No more simpering heroines waiting for the big, strong man to rescue her.

[Shavona Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jayne Ann Krentz is an excellent author. I wish it would have been updated to today's cultural standards. I can't believe Kim, the main character put up with this guy. Today's women are strong and independent of which Kim constantly insisted she was. However, Darius was controlling and made life changing decisions for her, without consulting her and Kim went along with it. Who does that these days? The male character in this book was a control freak and any woman in her right mind should run as fast as she can in the opposite direction. That said, the mystery plot was entertaining trying to figure out the "who done it". Lesa Lockford was excellent as the narrator.

[Kasey Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read something from the ‘80’s

In all of the political correctness of 2022, it was entertaining to read a story that reflected the brash stereotypes and profiling of forty years ago. He refers to her “female thinking” and she refers to his “masculine arrogance” as the characters portray the gender roles of the era. The story is fairly good, but the proofing leaves a bit to be desired with a lot of missing quotation marks and a few random hanging paragraphs.
Worth the read so long as you leave high standards behind.

[Julia David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kim wants to finish her book but receives a sinister message. When she helped a little boy, she didn't know just how it would change her life. The little boy's uncle, Darius, knows that Kim is the one for him. Now, there is a strange person after Kim, and he will do everything to protect her. Kim will not let anyone run her life and if she gives in to Darius, he will run her life. She wants a life partner, not someone to rule over her. Can Kim and Darius find a way to come to a compromise? Will Darius be able to protect her if she keeps pushing him away?

[JerrieGayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witchy vibes and romance with potential, but not quite my match.

This was a short, quick read with an intriguing premise, so I decided to see it through. While the story started strong, the plot lost some momentum along the way. The characters could have used a bit more depth, and the instant love followed by months of pining wasn’t quite my style. Still, there were a few charming moments that I appreciated. Readers who enjoy a lighter romance with a touch of mystery may find this one more to their liking.

[Joy]

One of the better early Krentz books, even though the hero Cavanaugh and the author Krentz both take it for granted that it's right for him to be the one giving orders. Kimberly's emotional life seems authentic for a romance of 1985. She is being pursued by an unidentified witch or witches, and the supremely attractive Cavanaugh takes her for protection to his heavily walled vineyard estate. His busy, welcoming family gives Kimberly culture shock.

Read 2 times

[Catarina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ridiculous.

I’ve come to expect a good intrigue, interesting characters and independent women from this author. Kim, the main character, talks a lot and never follows through. Let’s herself be managed and patronized and then there is the whole tossing down on beds thing. Pleeeeease. Bring back some women of consequence, not more I say no but mean yes bimbos.

[Connie · Rating 1 out of 5]

That's it, I am not reading any more of Krentz's work. This is the absolute first time in my life that I wanted to slap a character and tell her that she is an idiot for loving that man. He is such a jerk! She is smarter than that and I can't believe she doesn't see it. I am still furious that she is such a dope. (Clearly, I need to get a life.)