Deborah Wright

This is a story about the love between a ghost and living woman. There are bits of it that work, but I only just managed to find enough interest to continue to the end.
The bit that really annoyed me was when the ghost (who is portrayed as a really nice, considerate bloke) briefly borrows the body of a dead man from the hospital morgue so that he can have a real conversation with his beloved.
Neither character nor author seem to have thought about the risk of the dead man's family seeing him again. Can you imagine the effect that would have had on them? Soul destroying. After that , my sympathy for the ghost dropped to near zero.… (mere)

Lisa has a great boyfriend but she can't commit to him. When she suddenly receives a time machine she decides to use it to visit the man she's always wanted: Lord Byron. But he isn't all she thought he'd be, and as she wanders through time visiting other famous men she starts to figure herself out and realize what she's got back home.

Yeah, the back of the book makes it sound more interesting than that. And actually it is more interesting, and more clever, than I've made it sound. This was a very fun book to read, and although Lisa suffers from chick lit woman syndrome in that she can be weirdly moody and changeable, at least she has half a brain and a lot of personality. It doesn't matter if you can see where the plot is going from page one, this is good read with a few fabulous characters and a sweet ending. I enjoyed it very much.… (mere)

I really enjoyed this fluffy chick lit offering. It had all the usual elements of a good girlie novel - romance, misunderstandings, friendship, a happy ending - but with a twist: Cara is a witch. Not that she wants to be. She takes a job as a live-in nanny for the Wilkins family, desperate for a normal life away from her boozy mother and her witchy friends. She soon realises, however, that all families have their problems, and as she struggles to persuade little Fred to accept her, and watches Nick and Andie's marriage descending into lies and adultery, she finally turns to her magical roots to help them. The only problem is, she's a little rusty and nothing ever seems to work out quite right, sending matters steadily spiralling into chaos...

This was definitely a fun little novel. It had well-drawn, appealing characters and a delicious sense of humour, which often had me smiling to myself as I turned the pages. It also had some well-observed reflections on the nature of family, marriage, love and what it means to be human, and a strong message about the importance of being yourself and finding your role in the world without changing who you are. The magic element to the plot just added a little extra zest, a little extra humour, a little extra imagination, and it fitted neatly into the story without getting too ridiculous or all-consuming.

I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Wright's books to keep on hand for when I fancy a light, sparkling, feel-good read. If you're a fan of Melissa Nathan and Sophie Kinsella, with a dash of 'Practical Magic' and 'Bewitched', give this novel a try - you won't be disappointed!… (mere)

I got this book before I went to Luxor Egypt and read whilst there..... It is a light story about a
young woman named Cara who gets a babysitting job for a couple whose marriage is failing, and her attempts at trying to put everyone's lives in order.
Cara uses magic with comical results....although I did not find them as comical as they should have been as it was all very predictable.

Cara tells us before she casts the spells she is never sure on her Witchcraft skills and what the outcome will be, So I was never surprised when it all
went wrong!

The book is very typical chic lit, lots of romance......and of course Cara has a love interest too.

The parts I did like about the book were the magical touches, how she lives as a Witch in secret,hiding her potions, Living with a Witch for a mother,
(there are elements of the old TV series Bewitched at work here) and the domesticated life she tries to lead.

A nice, sweet,cozy book. But unfortunately not gripping enough for me to read her other books. The story is quite slow, and doesn't evolve into anything other
than you could already guess. Which is rather boring when you know where the whole story is going.

Good to read on holiday, to pass time on those long flights.........… (mere)