AUTHOR: MK Mancos
PUBLISHER: Samhain
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 21k)
GENRE: Paranormal erotic romance
COST: $3.50
Lucilla Wainwright doesn’t have the chops to make it as a witch, even with her illustrious bloodline, but what she does have is an uncanny knack to match people up romantically. Her business, ParaMatch.com, offers dating services to a wide variety of paranormal species, though not all of her clients are necessarily welcome ones. One Jager Cronus, the deposed leader of the Titans, has turned down every match she’s made for him so far. His latest disaster has brought him back into her office, but when she tries to set him up with a selkie, he puts a condition on it – he’ll try two more of her hook-ups if she’ll agree to be his date for the Legion Halloween Dance…
I have to admit, I looked right past this when it first came out. It’s tough for me to take risks on romantic comedy as humor can be so selective, especially in print. But after reading this author’s longer work, Scythe, and laughing at that, I went to her backlist and decided to give this one a go (along with one other that is still sitting on my TBR pile). While I can’t say that I enjoyed this as much as I liked Scythe, I’m convinced that I’ve managed to find another author whose humor meshes with mine.
The set-up for this short novella is pure fun. Lucilla sucks as a witch. She’s failed brilliantly at almost everything she’s tried, but she’s finally found her niche as a matchmaker for those with “paranormaladies.” She doesn’t rely on the computer matching people up. She goes over each application on her own, and formulates a choice based on both the numbers and her intuition. When Jager Cronus first came in, she was overwhelmed by her physical attraction to him, but sublimated it, partially because he was a client, partially because the witches and Titans have been rivals for centuries. His ultimatum after screwing up so many dates takes her aback, though privately, the prospect excites her. We then get Jager’s other two dates, Lucilla getting set up on a date by her aunt, and the political relationship of Jager’s ex in the grand scheme of things.
That’s a lot for a very short novella.
Did it work? To some degree. I laughed with the dating stuff, though Aramis, Lucilla’s blind date, always felt extraneous to me. So did the subplot regarding the tensions between the witches and the Titans. I can see its purpose, in making it easier for the witches to accept Jager, but the story’s brevity prevents it from having any sort of depth or impact. I would have much preferred leaving it off and having more time smoothing out and deepening the turnaround in Lucilla’s feelings for Jager.
Still, it’s all good fun, and a pleasant diversion on a dreary storm-filled day. I really wish there was more to this world. I think there’s some great enjoyment to be had in it, with the luxury of a full-length novel.
| Readability | 8/10 – Funny, bordering on farcical |
| Hero | 7/10 – Solid repentant alpha, always good fun |
| Heroine | 7/10 – I didn’t believe the emotional turnaround, but she’s fun and flawed, which is a great combo |
| Entertainment value | 7/10 – Enjoyed it for the fun, not as much for the romance |
| World building | 8/10 – Some great ideas here, I would have loved to see it expanded |
| TOTAL: | 37/50 |
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