Gypsy Mine by Jane Carver

Miranda Jones works as the secretary in the Spellfire Library. It's not an unusual job, but when you consider her mother and sister and their gypsy magic, it's not what she expected to be doing, either.  For some reason, Miranda has never been able to bring her part of the family gifts to the forefront.  So she works in a magical town with no magic to speak of for herself.  Gavin Myers is in Spellfire on a vacation.  Gavin always knows what he wants for his vacations: to be the focus of female attention and have as many one night stands as he can fit in.  Then he sees Miranda and discovers that maybe vacation flings aren’t all he needs.  Gavin, while falling for Miranda, convinces her to find her gypsy powers, but he is hiding behind a secret that could end their romance before it even really gets going.  Time is short for Miranda and Gavin. His vacation is almost over and someone is out to hurt Miranda for something she saw one night.

Gypsy Mine has a lot to do with believing in yourself and how others see you.  Miranda should be the third part of her families past, present, and future curse.  Her sight has never come as her mother’s and sister’s has and Miranda sees herself as the mousy member of her family in comparison.  Gavin gets a birthday present every year that has others see him other than he was.  Hurt feelings and danger help Miranda and Gavin find that love is what matters the most.  I liked Gypsy Mine and found it as whimsical as the rest of Spellfire.  My only disappointment was in Gavin’s character not taking the several chances he had to tell Miranda the truth before she found it on her own.  One moment of truth could have spared both of them hurt feelings. 

Full Moon Madness by Elizabeth Eden

Deputy Lilly Lupeen is on the night shift right now, but her schedule is going to change soon as she will need the nights to herself.  Lilly is very dedicated to her job and the town of Spellfire.  Being a very solid and tall woman, Lilly does not believe she will find a man who can accept her and her heritage.  Jordan Granger is a writer who has rented a cabin just outside of Spellfire to write his next book.  Jordan focuses on one thing and tends to ignore everything else, so it's no wonder he meets Lilly while speeding down a road. After all, he was thinking about his book, the characters, and everything around it.  Jordan falls for Lilly instantly, but getting her to believe him could take every persuasive ability he has. Jordan isn’t worried. After all, he does write romantic mysteries for a living.  Lilly isn’t taking Jordan’s professed love seriously at first, but when she finds that someone is trying to kill him, all bets are off.  Jordan knows someone is trying to hurt him and Lilly being sent out to him is a godsend to his hope of courting her.  Now if he can just figure out where that intelligent wolf came from and why it seems to be around him.

Full Moon Madness is fun and yet had me wondering to the end who was trying to kill Jordan.  Lilly has always known her heritage would make it very hard to find a man who could love her as she really was.  Jordan believes in love and when he meets Lilly, he knows he has found his happy ever after – now to get her to admit it.  Lilly might not believe Jordan at first, but she knows he is special and will not let anyone hurt him.  I had to giggle as I watched Jordan bring Lilly around to his way of thinking.  The instant acceptance of Lilly’s other being put Jordan on my good side instantly.  Full Moon Madness is a great romance with humor, suspense, and just enough magic to make it a story you will want to read over and over again.

Spellfire: Moonlust and Magick is an anthology of two stories that bring back the special town of Spellfire, Texas, and its special residents.  Gypsy Mine has two characters who do not see themselves as others do.  Miranda just accepts she will never be like the rest of her family, while Gavin uses magic to give him self-esteem.  While I was disappointed with some of Gavin’s actions, I had to give him full marks for loving Miranda enough to help her find the magic within her.  Full Moon Madness brings Deputy Lilly together with a human romance mystery writer, Jordan.  Lilly doesn’t believe in love and herself in the same sentence, while Jordan knows that any sentence with love and him in it has to include Lilly.  While Jordan might be fully human, he knows that life has much more to it than most understand. He accepts Lilly and Spellfire in a heartbeat.  Spellfire: Moonlust and Magick is another peek into the residents of the special Texas town and two of its unique couples.  Ever since I read the first Spellfire anthology, I have been lost in the town and its wonderful residents.  I will be putting this volume along with the others for when I want to revisit Spellfire and relive the magic and whimsy.