Luck Be a Lady

Charity Standing had always been a jinx and everyone knew it, that is except Charity herself. Everywhere Charity went, disaster followed, from buttons popping to injured animals. Her grandmother, Lady Margaret Villiers, did her best to ward off the bad luck by placing "good luck charms" all over the house she resided in. Her grandmother had lived with gypsies for three years and still followed many of their practices, reading the moon to predict the future of her granddaughter. After the death of her father, Charity was heart-broken, fleeing into the dark woods, causing the carriage of Rane Austen to wreck...thus begins their long journey toward happiness and fulfillment. This book captivated me from start to finish. I will admit that the time Rane spends with Charity while he is healing from a major injury runs slowly, but it was still interesting enough to keep me reading more. Charity's beloved dog, Wolfram, constantly kept Rane and Charity apart, which does get grating, but that is the only flaw I find with the book. The story was original and fresh, the characters were flawed, but charming, and the secondary characters added to the story, but never took away from it. Even though Wolfram got on my nerves from time to time, I found him to be a delightful addition to the story. I even found it amusing that he had his own thoughts woven into the story. The bickering grandmothers and disasters that occur are very amusing and kept me laughing. The romance between Rane and Charity is achingly sweet, but passionate all at once. It was nice to see a hero who actually fought to win the love and admiration of the heroine, not the other way around. Charity's jinx always worried me, I wondered if she would ever be able to break the jinx that surrounded her. Rane was convinced that the jinx was not real, but Charity and her grandmother were sure it was. Rane was not an overbearing hero and Charity was not a simpering heroine. They both grew and changed throughout the novel, learning to accept one another for who they were. Rane had his own demons to deal with, but they weren't as tragic or painful as the ones Charity held in her heart. These two were a perfect match in my opinion, it has been a long time since I've read about two characters who seemed so "right" for one another. Is she really jinxed or is it all in her head? Will love triumph in the end or will tragedy strike? Is there such a thing as luck? Can a person really be a jinx or does it depend on how you look at things? Do you believe in luck or logic? It has been a long time since a romance novel has made me think so much. I have come to my own conclusions, but it is up to you to decide whether or not Charity was really and truly a jinx. I highly recommend this book for all romance lovers, you will enjoy the wit and humor laced throughout the novel, and the characters will keep you smiling long after you finish the book.

If you have read Midnight Magic, this is the same exact book just a different title. I still recommend it because it is a great book. But just don't make a mistake of buying both.