Guest Review: Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton

Today I have my best friend, Aislynn, from Stitch Read Cook stopping by to do a guest review of a great new witchy read that she loved. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this paranormal romance.

Casting Spells (Sugar Maple #1) by  Barbara Bretton
Genre:  Paranormal Romance
Pages:  320
Published:  November 2008
Publisher:  Berkley
Source:  Bought

Sugar Maple looks like any Vermont town, but it's inhabited with warlocks, sprites, vampires, witches and an ancient secret. And Chloe Hobbs, owner of Sticks & String, a popular knitting shop, has a big secret too. She's a sorcerer's daughter in search of Mr. Right and she's found him in Luke MacKenzie, a cop investigating Sugar Maple's very first murder. Bad news is he's 100% human, which could spell disaster for a normal future with a paranormal woman like her.

Aislynn's Review:

This book combines so many elements that I love - yarn, knitting, witches and a slew of amazing paranormal characters.  Known around the US as the place to shop for yarn and learn to knit; Chloe has her hands full with Sticks & Strings.  In a small Vermont town called Sugar Maple everything is perfect, except that the town is populated with Vampires, Witches, Weres, Ghosts and every other type of magical creature you could imagine!

For the first time, Sugar Maple has a murder.  Which brings Luke MacKenzie, unfortunate for him - he's human.  The only other human in town (or part human) is Chloe.  Who also happens to be the Mayor!  These to have some great chemistry which builds through out the story.  Luke's temporary office just happens to be next door to Sticks & Strings.

One of the things I really loved about this story was how all the different characters interacted with one another.  How they protected who they were and what they were from Luke and his investigation.  Everyone looked out for one another, which is one of the great things about small communities.

This story has some great twists, turns and unexpected moments.  I don't want to give too much away about the story, but this is a great start to a new series set in Sugar Maple.  It has earned a spot on my library wall and Barbara's books will easily be added to my Auto-buy list.  I recommend this to anyone who enjoys paranormal romances and knitting based books!