Full Moon over Freedom

It’s a summer of second-chances in Lopez’s sparkling standalone second Milagro Street romance (after After Hours on Milagro Street). After Gillian, a bruja and the eldest Armstead sister, divorces her rich East Coast husband of 10 tumultuous years, she finds herself broke, unemployed, and unable to access her magic, and returns to her family home in Freedom, Kans., for the summer with her two children in tow. Gillian hopes to lie low, but she’s almost immediately roped into a part time job with the Freedom Historical Society—where she’s forced to share her workspace with the gorgeous Nicky Mendoza, her childhood friend and ex-lover, now a famous artist planning a mural in town. The longer the pair works together, the harder it is to deny their rekindling attraction, and Nicky’s support may be just the spark Gillian needs to regain both her magic and the life she wants. Gillian and Nicky’s slow-burning relationship is sprinkled with sporadic yet steamy love scenes, and the injection of some supernatural elements into the series adds fun. Gillian reclaiming her brujeria forms the empowering heart of this tale, but there’s unfortunately little room to develop Nicky as thoroughly, leaving him feeling comparatively two-dimensional. Still, there’s plenty here to draw in small-town romance fans. Agent: Sara Megibow, KT Literary. (Sept.)