Witchful Thinking

Martin’s delightfully imagined debut rom-com introduces modern day witch and teacher Lucy Caraway, who lives a ho-hum life with her sisters in their enchanted seaside hometown of Freya Grove, N.J. As her high school reunion approaches, she’s disheartened to realize she’s got nothing worth noting in her high school alumnae notes. That is, until a drunken wish about all the things she dreams of doing with her life comes true. Suddenly, she is singing karaoke, baking elaborate desserts for the town’s annual bake sale, and has her high school crush, Alex Dwyer, falling at her feet. After 10 years of adventure, merman Alex returns home and finds that his parents have purchased him the house across the street from Lucy’s in a bid to convince him to settle down. However, though Alex has had feelings for Lucy since high school, he has serious doubts as to whether he can promise her a happily-ever-after. Martin’s light touch with the paranormal makes for an irresistible romp, and her charming supernatural characters will easily entice even the most skeptical readers into this magical world. This sparkling outing marks Martin as an author to watch. Agent: Lauren Biekerm, FinePrint Literary. (Sept.)