Review: Spells at the Crossroads by Barbara Ashford
Source: qwillery.blogspot.com
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SHOWN FOR ILLUSTRATION - THE ARC MAY BE DIFFERENT |
IT’S NOT EASY LOSING THE MAGIC IN YOUR LIFE…
But when Maggie Graham freed Rowan Mackenzie to return to Faerie, she took the first step toward her new life as director of the Crossroads Theatre. A hectic new season of summer stock leaves her little time to moon over the past. She has to balance the demands of her interfering board president and a company of actors that includes bewildered amateurs, disdainful professionals, a horde of children, and an arthritic dog. And while Maggie yearns to give others the kind of healing she found at the Crossroads, even she recognizes that magic must take a back seat to ticket sales.
But magic is hard to banish from the old white barn. Memories lurk like ghosts in the shadowy wings and the unexpected is as time-honored a tradition as the curtain call. And when the tangled spells of Maggie’s past turn her life upside down, it will take more than faery magic to ensure the happy-ever-after ending she longs for….
When Maggie Graham lost her job and her apartment fell to pieces, she decided to flee New York City for a while and hide in Vermont, at the Crossroads Theatre. She hadn't planned to audition, yet soon found herself part of the summer stock cast. But her previous acting experiences couldn't prepare her for the theater's unusual staff-and its handsome, almost otherworldly director.
TITLE | AUTHOR | SERIES |
Closed Horizon | Peter Lantos | SF |
TITLE | AUTHOR | SERIES |
Blood Lite III: Aftertaste | Kevin J. Anderson (ed) | H - Anthology |
Flandry's Legacy | Poul Anderson | SF - The Technic Civilization Omnibus |
The White-Luck Warrior (h2tp) | R. Scott Bakker | F - Aspect-Emperor 2 |
The Janus Affair | Pip Ballantine | F/SP - Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences 2 |
Bleeding Out | Jes Battis | UF - OSI 5 |
The Science of Avatar | Stephen Baxter | Science/SF |
When Passion Lies | J.K. Beck | PNR - Shadow Keepers 4 |
Harmony | Keith Brooke | SF |
The Devil's Nebula | Eric Brown | SF - Weird Space 1 |
Charmed By His Love | Janet Chapman | PNR - Spellbound Falls 2 |
Year's Best SF 17 | David G. Hartwell Kathryn Cramer | SF - Anthology |
The Emperor's Gift | Aaron Dembski-Bowden | SF - Warhammer 40,000 : Grey Knights |
The Primarchs | Christian Dunn | SF - Warhammer : Horus Heresy 20 |
Casket of Souls | Lynn Flewelling | F - Nightrunner 6 |
The Scottish Prisoner (h2tp) | Diana Gabaldon | HF - Lord John Grey 3 |
Seeker of Shadows | Nancy Gideon | PNR - Moonlight 6 |
The Magician King (h2tp) | Lev Grossman | F - Magician 2 |
Hit List (h2mm) | Laurell K. Hamilton | UF - Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 20 |
The Nano Flower (h2tp) | Peter F. Hamilton | SF/M - The Mandel Files. Vol. 2 |
Typhon Pact: Plagues of Night | David R. George III | SF - Star Trek |
Cursed | Benedict Jacka | UF - Alex Verus 2 |
Night's Engines | Trent Jamieson | F - Nightbound Land 2 |
Deceived (h2mm) | Paul S. Kemp | SF - Star Wars: The Old Republic 2 |
Wolfheart (h2mm) | Richard A. Knaak | F - World of Warcraft |
By the Light of the Moon (ri) | Dean Koontz | H/Th |
The Darkest Evening of the Year (ri) | Dean Koontz | H/Th |
From the Corner of His Eye (ri) | Dean Koontz | H/Th |
Life Expectancy (ri) | Dean Koontz | H/Th |
One Door Away from Heaven (ri) | Dean Koontz | H/Th |
Bloodsworn | Nathan Long | F - Ulrika the Vampire 3 |
Devilishly Sexy | Kathy Love | PNR - Devilishly 2 |
Ninja Versus Pirate Featuring Zombies | James Marshall | H |
Dragon's Time (h2mm) | Anne McCaffrey and Tom McCaffrey | F - Dragonriders of Pern |
Going Interstellar | Les Johnson Jack McDevitt | SF - Anthology |
A Blood Seduction | Pamela Palmer | PNR - Vamp City 1 |
Toxicity | Andy Remic | SF - Books of the Anarchy 2 |
A Brief Guide to Star Trek | Brian J. Robb | |
Darkness Becomes Her | Jaime Rush | PNR - Offspring 6 |
All Spell Breaks Loose | Lisa Shearin | F - Raine Benares 6 |
The Road to Bedlam (ri) | Mike Shevdon | UF - The Courts of the Feyre 2 |
Sixty-One Nails (ri) | Mike Shevdon | UF - The Courts of the Feyre 1 |
Strangeness and Charm | Mike Shevdon | UF - The Courts of the Feyre 3 |
Tangle of Need | Nalini Singh | PNR - Psy-Changelings 11 |
Threshold (h2mm) | Eric Flint Ryk E. Spoor | SF - Boundary 2 |
The Watchers | Jon Steele | ST |
No Going Back | Mark L. Van Name | SF - Jon and Lobo 5 |
TITLE | AUTHOR | SERIES |
Damnation for Beginners | Alan Campbell | F |
Crawling Chaos Volume One: Selected Weird Fiction 1917-1927 | H.P. Lovecraft | H |
The Providence Rider | Robert McCammon | ST - Matthew Corbett 4 |
The Dragon Griaule | Lucius Shepard | F - Short Stories |
TITLE | AUTHOR | SERIES |
The Devil's Graveyard (ri) | Anonymous | ST - 3 |
Science Fiction: The 101 Best Novels 1985-2010 | Damien Broderick | Literary Criticism |
Lord of the Black Isle | Elaine Coffman | PNR - Mackinnon-Douglas 3 |
Thoroughly Kissed (ri) | Kristine Grayson | PNR |
Fluke (ri) | James Herbert | H |
Chase Me | Tamara Hogan | PNR - Underbelly Chronicles 2 |
Seduced by the Vampire King (e) | Laura Kaye | PNR - Vampire Warrior Kings |
Alexander Outland: Space Pirate | G.J. Koch | SF |
The Frenzy War | Gregory Lamberson | H/M - Frenzy Cycle 2 |
The Secret Queen | Mark Miller | F - Empyrical Tales 3 |
Night of the Cougar (e) | Caridad Pineiro | PNR |
The Islanders | Christopher Priest | SF |
Must Be Magic (ri) | Patricia Rice | PNR - Magic 2 |
Veteran | Gavin Smith | SF - Veteran 1 |
Classic Black Magic from Dennis Wheatley: The Devil Rides Out, To the Devil a Daughter, Gateway to Hell | Dennis Wheatley | H - Omnibus |
WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING
“There's a vast but little known overlap between fans of fantasy and fans of musical theater, and Barbara Ashford hits the sweet spot on both with SPELLCAST. It's warm, humorous, emotional, heartfelt, and full of magic. Curse you, Barbara, for making me cry! And for getting ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ stuck in my head all week.” Carrie Vaughn, bestselling author of the Kitty Norville series
“Four stars” RT Book Reviews
“A recently unemployed woman finds herself signing up for summer stock in this charming fantasy novel. Maggie Graham is enchanted and bemused by the Crossroads Theatre in Vermont, from the quaint locale to…its mysteriously charming director, who has a magical knack for pulling great performances out of an inexperienced cast...It takes Maggie a while to really grasp just how magical it is. Readers will figure it out much sooner, but there’s enough mystery (not to mention romance) to keep readers interested in figuring out just exactly what is going on. Fans of musicals will have the most fun, since this theater specializes in musical comedy...A slightly bittersweet but appropriate conclusion left me wanting more, in fine theatrical tradition.” Locus
“(A) wonderful, whimsical, witty tale. The otherworldly elements subtly enhance Barbara Ashford’s tender look at a second chance at making dreams real.” Midwest Book Review
Barbara's Links
Website
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Awaken the Highland Warrior* | Anita Clenney | PNR - Highland Warrior 1 |
Vintage Vampire Stories | Robert Eighteen-Bisang & Richard Dalby (eds.) | Anthology |
The Inside Story | Michael Buckley | YA - Sisters Grimm 8 |
Zombies Don't Cry | Rusty Fischer | YA - Living Dead Love Story |
Dark Angels Revealed | Angela Grace | Guide |
Behind the Gates | Eva Gray | YA - Tomorrow Girls 1 |
Wickedly Charming | Kristine Grayson | PNR - Fates/Charming |
Men of Perdition | Kelly M. Hudson | H |
Vlad: The Last Confession | C.C. Humphreys | HT |
Legend of Michael | Lisa Renee Jones | PNR - Zodius 1 |
The Ninth Nightmare | Graham Masterton | H |
A Bloody London Sunset | Jaz Primo | UF - Sunset Vampire 2 |
Cryptic Cravings | Ellen Schreiber | YA - Vampire Kisses 8 |
Linger** | Maggie Stiefvater | YA - Wolves of Mercy Falls 2 |
Captured | Maggie L. Wood | YA - Divided Realms 1 |
The Darkening | Maggie L. Wood | YA - Divided Realms 2 |
The Steampunk Bible | Jeff VanderMeer | SP |
A Wizard of Mars | Diane Duane | YA - Young Wizards 9 |
The Discovery | Marley Gibson | YA - Ghost Huntress 5 |
Dead is Not an Option | Marlene Perez | YA - Dead Is 5 |
The Celler | A. J. Whitten | YA |
Spellcast | Barbara Ashford | F - Spellcast 1 |
Scarlet Dream | James Axler (Rik Hoskin) | SF - Outlanders 57 |
Ark** | Stephen Baxter | SF - Flood 2 |
The Demon's Covenant** | Sarah Rees Brennan | YA - Demon's Lexicon Trilogy 2 |
Bite Club | Rachel Caine | YA - Morganville Vampires 10 |
Darkfire Kiss | Deborah Cooke | PNR - Dragonfire 6 |
Hard Magic | Larry Correia | F- Grimnoir Chronicles 1 |
Chosen By Blood* | Virna dePaul | PRS - Para-Ops 1 |
Warrior Betrayed | Addison Fox | PNR - Sons of the Zodiac 3 |
Always the Vampire | Nancy Haddock | UF - Oldest City Vampire 3 |
Almost Final Curtain | Tate Hallaway | YA - Vampire Princess of St. Paul 2 |
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Dragon Bound | Thea Harrison | PNR - Elder Races 1 |
Hounded* | Kevin Hearne | UF - Iron Druid Chronicles 1 |
The Inheritance & Other Stories | Robin Hobb & Megan Lindholm | F - Collection |
Crusade** | Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie | YA - Crusade Trilogy 1 |
The Rogue Crew | Brian Jacques | YA - Tale of Redwall 22 |
Night Mares in the Hamptons | Celia Jerome | UF - Willow Tate 2 |
Under Heaven | Guy Gavriel Kay | F |
Dragon Avenger*** | E.E. Knight | F - Age of Fire 2 |
One Magic Moment | Lynn Kurland | TTR |
Rot & Ruin** | Jonathan Maberry | YA - Rot & Ruin 1 |
The Unbearable Lightness of Dragons | Katie MacAlister | PNR - Light Dragons 2 |
Jace | Sarah McCarty | PNR - Shadow Wranglers 3 |
Hard Bitten** | Chloe Neill | UF - Chicagoland Vampires 4 |
Eutopia: A Novel of Terrible Optimism | David Nickle | H |
Illusions | Aprilynne Pike | YA - Laurel 3 |
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The Hot Gate | John Ringo | SF - Troy Rising 3 |
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The Lone Warrior | Denise Rossetti | PNR - Four-Sided Pentacle 3 |
Divergent | Veronica Roth | YA - Divergent Trilogy 1 |
The Craving | L.J. Smith, Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec | YA - Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries 3 |
Shift | Jeri Smith-Ready | YA - Shade 2 |
The Council of Shadows | S.M. Stirling | UF - Shadowspawn 2 |
A Taint in the Blood** | S.M. Stirling | UF - Shadowspawn 1 |
Blood Law | Karin Tabke | PER - Blood Moon Rising 1 |
Well of Sorrows** | Benjamin Tate | F |
Warcry | Elizabeth Vaughan | F - Chronicles of the Warlands 4 |
Shadow Raiders | Margaret Weis | SF - Dragon Brigade 1 |
Extermis | Steve White & Charles E. Gannon | SF - Starfire 6 |
A Dragon's Awakening | Aya Knight | YA/EF - The Chornicles of Kale |
Midnight Flight*** | V.C. Andrews | H - Broken Wings 2 |
Daughter of Destiny*** | Tracy Fobes | PNR |
Forbidden Garden*** | Tracy Fobes | PNR |
Heart of the Dove*** | Tracy Fobes | PNR |
My Enchanted Enemy*** | Tracy Fobes | PNR |
Touch Not the Cat*** | Tracy Fobes | PNR |
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