Bewitching is a phenomenal paranormal/historical romance by Jill Barnett.  Ms. Barnett has provided readers with a well-written book loaded with outstanding characters.  Joyous MacQuarrie is a witch.  But her magic doesn't always turn out the way it should.  Alec Castlemaine, Duke of Belmore is rigid and a bit of a stick in the mud.  Joyous and Alec's story is loaded with drama, humor, sizzle, action and magic.  I loved every page of this book and look forward to my next book by Jill Barnett.  

After years imprisoned on Devil's Island for a murder he never committed, escaped convict Hank Wyatt knows how to survive and believes his luck has finally changed. But when he stows away on board a ship destined to sink, his luck turns bad. He doesn't know if he can last an hour when he is marooned on a deserted island with a beautiful, know-it-all blonde attorney and three orphaned children. Suddenly looking out for number one doesn't seem to be enough. 

San Francisco attorney Maggie Smith wants to have a good cry. Thoroughly modern, wealthy, and bright, her unwanted holiday turns bad when she is suddenly cast in the role of mother and forced to battle wits and hearts with the most arrogant, pig-headed man she's ever met. 

Fate has thrown this makeshift family Robinson together, and kismet tosses in a 2000 year-old floating bottle filled with magic. Is the chance for a love more powerful than they could ever imagine only a wish away? Father Goose meets Donovan's Reef in this funny and tender historical romance about misfits who find that life might not be so bad after all...if they can do the impossible, and find a way to be family.

*Bookish meme created by Moonlight Reader

Last week I went through Prime Reading and NOOK's free books sections looking for new material for my e-readers. My spreadsheet now stands at almost 220 books. I had to break up the list of new additions so as not to screw up my followers' eyes.

*HR = historical romance  *CR = contemporary romance  *PRN = paranormal romance

*CL = chick lit     *CM = cozy mystery

Added to NOOK:

1. Loving the Hawke (The Seven Curses of London #1) by Lana Williams (HR) 

2. Death Down Under (Ruby Bay Mystery #1) by Samantha Silver (CM/CL)

3. Poison in Paddington (Cassie Coburn Mystery #1) by Samantha Silver (CMCL)

4. The Locked Room Murder (Bluebell Knopps #1) by Nancy McGovern (CM/CL)

5. Better Off Wed (Annabelle Archer #1) by Laura Durham (CM/CL)

6. Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case (Jayne Frost #1) by Kristen Painter (PRN/CM)

7. The Vampire's Mail Order Bride (Nocturne Falls #1) by Kristen Painter (PRN)

8. Mask of Duplicity (The Jacobite Chronicles #1) by Julia Brannan (HR)

9. Romance Grows in Arcadia Valley by Various Authors (anthology) (CM)

10. Mail Order Bride Amelia (Silver River Brides #1) by Karla Gracey (HR)

11. A Lady of Esteem (Hawthorne House #0.5) by Kristi Ann Hunter (HR)

12. Out of the Storm (Beacons of Hope #0.5) by Jody Hedlund (HR)

13. First Impressions by Elizabeth Johns (HR)

14. Tabitha (Girls from the Mountain #1) by Vikki Kestell (HR)

15. A Rose Blooms Twice (Prairie Heritage #1) by Vikki Kestell (HR)

*Takes a Breath*

16. Appalachian Serenade (Appalachian Blessing #0.5) by Sarah Loudin Thomas (CR)

17. At Your Request (Apart from the Crowd #0.5) by Jen Turano (HR)

18. Waiting for Dawn (Team Hope #0.5) by Susan May Warren (CR/SUSPENSE)

19. Alejandro's Sorceress (The Cardinal Witches #1) by Alyssa Day (PRN)

20. Mad for Love (Highland Brides #1) by Elizabeth Essex (CR)

21. The Three Fates (The Empress of Rome #3.5) by Kate Quinn (HR)

22. Millie Marries a Marshal (Brides of Grit #2) by Linda K. Hubalek (HR)

23. Secrets to Reveal (Highland Wolves #1) by Tilly Wallace (HR/PRN)

24. Sorceress Awakening (Gargoyle and Sorceress #1) by Lisa Blackwood (PRN)

25. Daughters of Darkness by Various Authors (anthology) (PRN)

26. Girl's Guide to Witchcraft (Jane Madison #1) by Mindy Klasky (PRN/CL)

27. Love's Beginning (Eagle Harbor Short Story) by Naomi Rawlings (HR)

28. Wonderful (Medieval Trilogy #1) by Jill Barnett (HR)

29. The Case of the Missing Cross (Justice and Miss Quinn Mystery #1) by Felicia Rogers (CM/HR)

30. The Elusive Miss Ellison (Regency Brides: A Legacy of Grace #1) by Carolyn Miller (HR) - Not free but on sale

31. The Captivating Lady Charlotte (Regency Brides: A Legacy of Grace #2) by Carolyn Miller (HR) - Not free but on sale

32. The Dishonorable Miss DeLancey (Regency Brides: A Legacy of Grace #3) by Carolyn Miller (HR) - Not free but on sale

***eBook used to be available for free on Kobo***

She's been waiting for him for six years, two more than he promised when he offered for her. And to make matters worse, she's been waiting closed up in a convent!

But now he's back, and it's her turn to make him wait. And if he goes a little mad in the process...Serves him right.


This could've been a great story, a perfect mix of romance, drama, angst, and humor. Unfortunately, the heroine ruined it all for me. I guess she was supposed to be endearing, determined, and a little quirky, but all I saw was a bratty, self-centered, airhead who was too stupid to live.
At first, the antics were humorous, but the more the story progressed, the more the heroine grew annoying and her "antics" cringe-worthy.
I didn't even buy the romance, because Merrick (the hero) sure didn't come across as a moron who would fall for such a brat. Yet, inexplicably, he did, and I still don't know why. Through the story, as I got to read about him, understand him, I got the love from the heroine's side—the guy was protective, tender, caring, a brute when he needed to be...And a saint for putting up with the chit.
Her better qualities only appeared toward the end of the story, when it was already too late. I wanted the Welsh to sacrifice her to the dark gods by then.

Want a little surivial style romance? 

Here are some wonderful Romances where the couple is stranded on an island. 

My lists are never in particular order. Enjoy!

1.  STRANDED! by Pepper Pace

Oceans Delano and Marshall Cohen could not be any different. She is a shy Jamaican born woman returning to the states after her father's death. Marshall Cohen is a privileged young businessman traveling out of the country to engage in 'sketchy' business dealings for his boss. When their small plane crashes, the two lone survivors are forced to depend on each other and in the process they learn to face their fears and to accept their differences.

2. The Trouble With Paradise by Jill Shalvis 

One phone call has turned Dorie’s dead-end life into an adventure: she’s won a trip on a singles cruise to Fiji. With her cutest outfits packed and the Love Boat theme in her head, Dorie boards—and soon meets two irresistible men: a pro baseball player with an irresistible Texas drawl, and the ship’s dark and mysterious French doctor, Dr. Christian Montague. She’s sure to fall head-over-heels in no time. She just never expected to do it so quickly, or so literally, tripping over her luggage.

With her foot twisted and her ego deflated, Dorie’s dream vacation is about to take the biggest detour yet. A violent storm has wrecked the ship and cast everyone ashore. A deserted island would be the perfect setting for a steamy romance, if something sinister wasn’t lurking. Whose alluring arms will Dorie run to? Being stuck never felt so…liberating.

3. On the Island: A Novel by Tracey Garvis-Graves

Anna Emerson is a thirty-year-old English teacher desperately in need of adventure. Worn down by the cold Chicago winters and a relationship that’s going nowhere, she jumps at the chance to spend the summer on a tropical island tutoring sixteen-year-old T.J.

T.J. Callahan has no desire to go anywhere. His cancer is in remission and he wants to get back to his normal life. But his parents are insisting he spend the summer in the Maldives catching up on all the school he missed last year.

Anna and T.J. board a private plane headed to the Callahan’s summer home, and as they fly over the Maldives’ twelve hundred islands, the unthinkable happens. Their plane crashes in shark-infested waters. They make it to shore, but soon discover that they’re stranded on an uninhabited island.

At first, their only thought is survival. But as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.’s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.

4. Imagine by Jill Barnett

After years imprisoned on Devil's Island for a murder he never committed, escaped convict Hank Wyatt knows how to survive and believes his luck has finally changed. But when he stows away on board a ship destined to sink, his luck turns bad. He doesn't know if he can last an hour when he is marooned on a deserted island with a beautiful, know-it-all blonde attorney and three orphaned children. Suddenly looking out for number one doesn't seem to be enough.

San Francisco attorney Maggie Smith wants to have a good cry. Thoroughly modern, wealthy, and bright, her unwanted holiday turns bad when she is suddenly cast in the role of mother and forced to battle wits and hearts with the most arrogant, pig-headed man she's ever met.

Fate has thrown this makeshift family Robinson together, and kismet tosses in a 2000 year-old floating bottle filled with magic. Is the chance for a love more powerful than they could ever imagine only a wish away? Father Goose meets Donovan's Reef in this funny and tender historical romance about misfits who find that life might not be so bad after all...if they can do the impossible, and find a way to be family.

5. Island for Two: Hawaii MagicFiji Fantasy by Beverly Jenkins and Elaine Overton

Hawaii Magic by Beverly Jenkins

Workaholic attorney Anita Hunt is on the job 24/7. She's looking to make partner, not party. While on a forced vacation in Hawaii, she meets gorgeous pilot Steve Blair. When engine trouble forces them to make a crash landing, the seductive airman shows her a side of the exotic island and herself she never expected—and a passion that could make them partners in paradise forever.…

Fiji Fantasy by Elaine Overton

Connie Vaughn will never forget her thirtieth birthday present to herself: a passion-filled week in Fiji with a sensual stranger who knew her only as Contessa. But Michael Hillard is about to reenter her life in a big way. And from the moment the corporate playboy meets his mystery lover again, he wages an all-out campaign of seduction. This time the stakes are much higher—a love to last a lifetime!

6. Stranded With Her Ex by Jill Sorenson

An exotic wildlife preserve is a dream come true for conservation biologist Daniela Flores. Until she finds out her ex-husband is leading the research team. World-famous shark expert Sean Carmichael has only grown more ruggedly appealing in the time they were apart…the passion between them more intense than ever. But how could Daniela forgive Sean for betraying her when she needed him most?

Sean had come to the remote Farallon Islands to study killer sharks. Now a real killer is on the loose, threatening the woman he's never stopped loving. And this time, he knows he can't walk away. Marooned together during a deadly storm, Sean vows to go to hell and back to save Daniela…and for the chance to begin again.

7. A Sudden Crush by Camilla Isley

Joanna Price is a city girl with the perfect life. She loves her job as a book editor, she just married Liam, high profile bestselling author and the man of her dreams, and she's headed to the Caribbean to enjoy two weeks of paradise for her luxurious honeymoon.
Connor Duffield is a gruff, grumpy rancher from the Midwest. He is a country boy who has a no-nonsense approach to life, more scars than he'd like to admit, and he hates city girls.

So it's just a misfortune they have to sit next to each other for a six hour plane ride. Even more so when their flight is caught in the perfect storm and Joanna wakes up stranded on a desert island with Connor, the very man she hoped she would never have to see again.

Why are they alone on this forsaken island? What happened to Joanna's husband?

When her dream honeymoon turns into a hilarious tropical nightmare, Joanna's first thought is survival. However, she and Connor will quickly discover just how boring paradise can be. As the days turn to weeks, and then months, this mismatched pair will have to learn how to coexist and how to resist the sparkles of an attraction they weren't prepared to feel.

When they are finally rescued will Joanna's marriage be saved as well, or will the life she knew and loved be in ruins?

8. Seize the Fire by Laura Kinsale

Olympia St. Leger is a princess in desperate need of a knight in shining armor. Sheridan Drake, amused by Olympia’s innocence and magnificent beauty, but also intrigued by her considerable wealth, accepts the position of white knight. Unaware that Sheridan is a notorious scoundrel, Olympia willingly allows herself to submit to his protection and his potent embrace. Theirs is a love born in deception. But as they weather storms on the high seas and flee from nefarious villains, the love sparked by lies begins to burn uncontrollably. Taking shelter on a desert island paradise, the princess and the dark knight battle overwhelming odds to keep their adoration burning bright.

9. Lola Carlyle Reveals All by Rachel Gibson 

When ex-supermoddel Lola Carlyle learns that some very -- ahem -- private photos of herself are being peddled on the Internet, she hides out where there's sun and -- she thinks -- safety, until the gossip dies out. Then the private yacht she's blissfully napping on is "commandeered" by some man who says his name is Max Zamora, and that he works for the government.

It sounds crazy, but Max is telling the truth -- his cover's been blown, he's on the run, and now he's confronted by a very angry -- and beautiful -- woman. He's seen Lola before -- barely clothed on covers of fashion magazines. But she's more beautiful in person. From the top of her pert blonde head to the tips of her little painted toes, Max finds her sexy, curvy... and a pain in the butt. And that's before she blows up the ship!

Now, the unlikely pair is stranded in the middle of the ocean, it's getting very hot -- not just from the sun -- and Lola is about to reveal it all...

10. Nerd in Shining Armor by Vicki Lewis Thompson

For Genevieve Terrence it seemed like a dream come true: a weekend alone on Maui with her sexy boss, Nick Brogan. But little did she know that Nick had dreams of his own--a nefarious scheme that nearly got her killed on the flight over the Pacific. Lucky for her, brilliant computer programmer Jack Farley was on board and quick-witted enough to crash-land the plane. Now Jack is her sole companion on a remote desert island with nothing but guava trees and sharks for company. Who’d expect the shy genius--and the least alpha male she knows--to turn out to be the uninhibited stud of her wildest dreams?

Saving Genevieve’s life has made Jack a hero in the eyes of the woman he has secretly lusted after for months. Now they’re alone together in a tropical eden where they’re free to give in to their every sensual whim. But when some nasty unfinished business puts them at risk again, Gen will learn there’s nothing quite as dangerous as a fully aroused ex-nerd who’ll move heaven and earth to protect the woman he loves…

Did I miss your favorite? Let me know!

Vote for the best of the best on my Goodreads list: Stranded: Romances about being stranded on an Island,