cover image REMEMBER THE MAGIC

REMEMBER THE MAGIC

Donna Fletcher, . . Berkley, $5.99 (336pp) ISBN 978-0-425-19327-3

At the ripe old age of 600, immortal witch Sydney Wyrrd gets a second chance at love in Fletcher's lackluster paranormal romance. Nearly 500 years earlier, Sydney fled from her relationship with 16th-century clan Chieftain Duncan Tavish, but now Sydney has been sent back in time to reunite with him—which proves to be an easy task. Even though Sydney is transported to a time 13 years past when she originally left, she needs only announce her presence and say she missed Duncan for him to accept her back in his life. Indeed, there's little romantic tension between the lovers, and they spend most of their time having dull, circular conversations about spiritualism ("If you do not believe, you cannot have faith in anything. You cannot even have faith in yourself, therefore, how can you ever truly exist?"). If it weren't for a few bumps in the road—Duncan's sister is against their union, a pesky warlock is stirring up trouble and a handful of Duncan's clansmen think Sydney should be burned at the stake—there would be no story. As it is, the pair overcome these hurdles with ease, which makes for a fairly uneventful read. The appearance of Sydney's friends, including her bubbly niece Ali (heroine of Wedding Spell ), will amuse Fletcher's fans, but few will be entertained by the flat romance. (Jan.)