Reviewed by Gannon Carr
Publisher: Onyx
4.5 stars

Connie Brockway has long been an auto buy author for me.  So when she switched from historical to contemporary, I followed along and was not disappointed.  Both of Ms. Brockway’s contemps were warm and witty—vintage Brockway.  Now, she has returned to her beloved historicals with a delightful, engaging story filled with romance and magic.  As the title says, it is indeed So Enchanting.

From the time she was a child, Fanny Walcott had the unique ability to commune with animals; they responded to her emotions.   For the most part, her family and friends found it charming, but one day she has a row with her brother and he is attacked and injured by a pack of dogs that are stirred into a frenzy by Fanny’s anger.  Guilt-ridden, Fanny tamps down her emotions and vows to never let such a thing happen again.  Eventually, she meets and elopes with Alphonse Brown, a so-called medium.

Fanny helps her husband con gullible individuals at his séances.  During one such séance, Lord Greyson Sheffield attempts to expose them both as frauds, but they escape.  Before Grey can find the proof he needs, Alphonse dies in an accident and Fanny goes into hiding.  While Fanny is lying low in her hotel room at the Savoy, she is approached by Colonel Chase, a neighbor of her family’s.  Fanny thinks he wants her to “contact the dead” for him, but he wants her to be a companion for his daughter, Amelie.  Amelie has had poltergeist activity surrounding her and the ton has been spreading rumors that she’s a witch.  Fanny agrees to go with the Colonel and Amelie to live in the hamlet of Little Firkin, in the Scottish Highlands.

Six years later, Grey travels to Little Firkin to investigate a young “witch”.  Who should he find when he arrives, but Fanny—the woman he hasn’t been able to forget.  In spite of his overpowering attraction for her, he finds it hard to trust her given her past “occupation.”  Fanny, however, has put all of that behind her and just wants to live a quiet life in Little Firkin.  Once Amelie reaches the age of twenty-one, Fanny will receive a generous sum of money—as stipulated in Colonel Chase’s will—and she will never have to depend on anyone again.  But she doesn’t count on falling in love with Grey.  Sparks fly, wills collide and magic is in the air.

Grey and Fanny are both trying to come to terms with emotional trauma from their pasts, but they must learn to trust each other so they can begin to heal.  Grey is a cynic about anything to do with magic, and Fanny is afraid of her magical abilities.  But in order to fight the enemy who stalks them, they must believe in each other and in the healing magic of love.

SO ENCHANTING is a charming, amusing tale with a cast of lovable, quirky characters.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and applaud Ms. Brockway on her latest historical.  Pick up a copy of this delightful romance and treat yourself to a day filled with a little magic.