I didn’t receive this book in time to read it at Christmas but it would have been just as enjoyable if I had read it in the summer. How could it not be – it’s by Sharyn McCrumb!  I’ve loved her books for many years and Nora Bonesteel is one of my all-time favorite literary characters.  For some reason, this little Christmas treat slipped by me so I’m particularly pleased to have found it now.

There are two storylines in this short novella. One has Sheriff Spencer Atwood and Deputy Joe LeDoone reluctantly dealing with the arrest of a man for a traffic violation.  The second has Nora Bonesteel dealing with a spooky visitor at the old Honeycutt house, which brings make memories of the past.

While there’s not length enough for a lot of character development, it’s a totally charming book filled with the author’s wonderful sense of humor and the mystical atmosphere of the Appalachian Mountains.  Pure enchantment.

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and am under no obligation to review it.

"Indubitably, magic is one of the subtlest and most difficult of the sciences and arts. There is more opportunity for errors of comprehension, judgment and practice than in any other branch of physics." – Aleister Crowley

"Processed sugar is poison." – Sandra Tennison (Ben’s mom) – Ben 10: Ultimate Alien

Doctor Grace Woodruff is special. A newly-minted doctor, she works hard and cares for her patients. Especially Isabella, better known as Tink, or Tinker Bell, the young cancer victim who wraps her tiny hands around Grace’s heart. Tink, whose time is so very, very short. Grace wants desperately to do something, anything, to help. And she does.

Now, terrified by what she has done, and suffering the agony of losing her beloved grandfather, Grace returns to her mountain home to take over the family’s herb business, the business they have run since the time of her great-great-great grandmother Lily, the famous Woodruff Herb Farm. But peace is not to be found.

"There’s something wrong with our mountain, Gracie-girl. You’re the only one who’ll hear it too.”

Frightened and confused, Grace has no time or patience for the author who shows up on her doorstep, unannounced, with a reservation to stay for a week at the Woodruff cabins – a reservation that should have been cancelled when Grace sent her workers away for a two week vacation so she can get her life, and her blooming powers, under control. Nick Crowe is supposed to be writing a book on how the meth trade affects families – but it soon becomes apparent that he is a lot more than he claims.

More Than Magic is AWESOME magical urban fantasy. Donna June Cooper grew up the granddaughter of a coal miner in the Appalachian Mountains, and her knowledge of and great love for the mountains shines through in her work. Poverty and the misery, grief and destructive nature of the meth trade is a strong theme. But the beauty of the land, the magic and history, the Appalachian Granny Women who heal all those who are in need, all these things play a part in creating this marvelous first book in the Books of the Kindling series.

And, there are the stars. The vast expanses of the universe, spinning above the mountains, the immeasurable depths and brilliant lights.

"Pops had told her the new name (Star Crossing) was much more descriptive than the old Woodruff Meadow, since he often had to stop on the road to the house to let a few stars cross."

This is a magical tale, a tale of wonder and joy, of loss and heartbreak, and the ties of the miraculous nature of the Earth. Make a cup of cocoa, gather up a quilt and a soft pillow, and turn on your favorite soft music. Then curl up in your favorite chair and simply immerse yourself in a world of beauty and magic. It is well worth it.