Amanda Santorelli is a quiet, unassuming woman with an intense dislike of confrontations. She keeps her head down and works hard. Her career is on the fast track; she is the youngest to ever make assistant to the CEO in her company. She is so good at her job she has headhunters after her. Not one, but two headhunters have been pursuing her, to no avail, for months. Even though she is being offered her goal job – a directorship over her own department – she keeps refusing them. The company she works for has one thing that no other company does: Mark Abbott, her biggest secret and her dearest wish. Amanda keeps her true self hidden behind plain clothes that are a size too large and a subservient attitude. Her deep feelings for her boss are kept well buried, never hinted at, spoken of aloud or confessed to anyone. Amanda is happy with her life. She lives with her sister and her somewhat eccentric aunt, who is always getting into trouble. Her latest stunt involves a spell book that she found in the attic. What could the harm be in lighting some candles, speaking a few words? The repercussions of this little ‘spell making’ are not ones that anyone would have been able to foresee. Where once Amanda was quiet, keeping to herself, now whenever she is asked a question she cannot stop herself from answering with the truth – the whole truth and nothing but the truth. For a young woman who tries to avoid confrontation, to keep herself isolated to a large extent from others, this is a total disaster. Work is a nightmare; she is forever afraid of what she will say next. Trying to lift the spell hasn’t worked. Her attempts to circumvent it fail pitifully. Her close contact with her boss makes her fear that she will reveal her secret. Her new wardrobe, courtesy of her sister and aunt, make her stand out even more. Will Mark even notice the changes she has undergone overnight? How many blunders is she going to make before the spell leaves her? What in her past made her the woman she is?

Mark Abbott has always been able to get on with his work, unaware even of the presence of his assistant just through the door – and that’s the way he likes it. Recently, however, he has been unable to stop himself from being all to aware of her. She has turned from his quiet, mouse assistant into a chatty, forever talking, annoying, irresistible woman overnight. This is simply not acceptable. He wants his old assistant back, so he can get some work down! Not to mention he needs her to revert back to her old wardrobe. Her new clothes are making him notice her in an all-new way, as a desirable woman. Having been burnt by office love before, he is determined never to get involved with someone from the office again, but the changes in Amanda are making it hard for him (in more ways than one). Getting any work done is an impossible feat with Amanda looking and talking as she now does. Worse, he is not the only man in the office to notice her changes. His anger and jealousy over other men’s appreciation of her is baffling. After all, he doesn’t want her for himself – or so he convinces himself. When he learns that a spell is what’s behind the changes he is determined, once he finally accepts that Amanda is telling the truth, to get rid of it. Then he’ll get his old assistant back. Only this spell doesn’t want gone, and cannot be circumvented – as both Amanda and Mark learn to their detriment. The only thing that will lift the spell is its being carried out in full. Amanda must learn to speak her mind and stick up for herself, which she is now doing very well – but she also needs to find her true love. But is her true love willing to be found, let alone caught? Just who is he? Does she know – does he?

Teresa Roblin has written a brilliant comedic romance that had me laughing intensely throughout. The situation both Mark and Amanda find themselves in thanks to the spell are at once funny and well integrated into the story. Amanda is an introvert; she prefers to keep to herself and avoid confrontation, thanks to a bad experience whilst in college. Unfortunately, this has allowed some to walk over her. She has dreamt of being able to speak her mind, but now that she is able to she finds it is horrible. The compulsion she is under to stick up for herself and answer all questions put to her honestly lands her in more than one pot of boiling hot water. It is difficult to know which character should have the bulk of your sympathy, Mark or Amanda. Whilst Amanda is definitely going through a tough time of it, you know that in the end she will emerge a stronger woman who is much more secure, whilst poor Mark is having equal difficulties with no such reward. No longer can he function efficiently. His routine has been smashed to pieces. He is now unable to ignore Amanda, being highly attracted to the new her, though determined not to act on the attraction. His jealousy towards other men turns him effectively on his head, utterly and adorably confused as to what he should do, how he should act. These characters are completely endearing and their qualities are very admirable. I’d love to have them as friends. All the other characters we come into contact with are also very likeable. I would love for Ms. Roblin to do Amanda’s sister, Sarah’s, story. A romance for her was set up very well in this book, and I would love for the author to write a follow through. This is a fairly sweet contemporary romance, with the characters making love only towards the end. All lovemaking is ‘traditional’, with nothing that some would find objectionable. I highly recommend giving this humorous romance a read; Hocus Pocus is surely one you will want to read again and again.


Reviewed by: Elizabeth