Barbara Ashford - Spellcrossed

It's not easy losing the magic in your life...
But when Maggie Graham freed Rowan Mackenzie from the curse that bound him to this world, she took the first step toward her new life as director of the Crossroads Theatre. While she yearns to give others the healing she found there, she knows that magic must take a back seat to ticket sales and Rowan must be considgned to the past. But magic is hard to banish from the old white barn, where 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 the past turn Maggie's life upside down, it will take more than magic to ensure the happy-ever-after ending she longs for.

Comment: First of all, I must say I was more than eager for this book. The previous one, Spellcast was my favorite of all the books I've read in 2011. The really best, no doubts. I awaited a whole long year for this one..well, me and everyone else, of course. I would think about the other one and wonder what this sequel might mean. My expectations were high and I felt like this book might be another great wonder.
Well, I also have to say the time when it show up wasn't the best for me to read it because I was really busy and my mind was more focused on other things and.....this is really just excuses, isn't it? If a book is really great then no matter what you should feel it for what it's worth, right? I think that I was also so eager to read it I don't think I've savored it properly. At the time I didn't think about it this way but after some time went by I think this was it.

Anyway, the book wasn't bad. I just thought that perhaps it might have the same "feel" of the other one and as it didn't, I got a bit disappointed.
In the end of Spellcast, Maggie broke the curse that bound Rowan to our land and he was able to leave again to his home, in Faerie. I still remember the heartfelt and so emotional scene where she says goodbye instead of demanding he stayed and loved her. It still brings tears to my eyes because with everything that led to that place and the author's writing, it was indeed very emotional and it made me cry but it felt right. Now, in this Spellcrossed, Rowan was back and brought a surprise to Maggie. This meant a whole new set of expectations and actions throughout the book. Rowan came to stay, though, and this also means new things, specially in the behavior between everyone and what it means for Rowan to be there but not bound, so he's free but at first he behaves like he still is...I guess anyone would act the same after so long without real freedom.
The thing is, Maggie has to deal with more than Rowan returning and dealing with their feelings for each other. What happens during this book offers many sad scenes but also some funny ones, in that the author has made a good balance. I won't spoiler it, but it has a connection to Maggie's past and her personal feelings towards some things she still has some trouble with.
But in the characterization of Rowan was where she disappointed me. You see, in the fist book he was larger than life, the mystery and power surrounding him were the main focus in everything that happened in the book. In this new book Rowan was changed. I felt like it wasn't the same character. And although I get why and it fits the story, I still feel he was so downplayed that what made him irresistibly perfect in Spellcast has been almost erased in this one. This shaped a bit everything around them, because many interactions happened with Rowan like this and I thought it wasn't that good. He still has his magic and powers and that was good but it was his personality that made me wrinkle my nose.
Still, the plot was interesting and offered many good scenes. The secondary characters still maintained the same feel as in the previous book and was good to read about many of them again.

So, after everything I still liked and cared for this story but I felt a bit sad to, because after so long waiting for it and then...but well, the one one is still The Book of 2011 for me. This is just a little bit lacking when comparing the two.

Barbara Ashford - Spellcast

Maggie Graham is having a very bad day. First, she loses her job. Then the bathroom ceiling in her Brooklyn apartment collapses. That’s when Maggie decides she needs to get out of town. A weekend in Vermont seems like the perfect getaway.
When she stumbles on the Crossroads Theatre, reviving her acting career is the last thing on her mind, but a week later, she’s back in summer stock at a theatre unlike any she’s ever known.
Director Rowan Mackenzie is even odder than the collection of misfits that comprise the cast. What kind of director casts people in the roles they need? And never leaves the grounds of the theatre? And possesses the power to transform a train wreck of a show into a magical experience for cast and audience alike?
There’s a secret at the Crossroads, and Maggie is determined to uncover it before summer’s end – if she can prevent her mother from discovering her whereabouts, deal with the staff’s efforts to thwart her, and avoid falling prey to Rowan Mackenzie’s charm. She never imagines that she will uncover secrets about her past that will change her life – and Rowan’s – forever.

Comment: This book is, so far, one of the best I've read this year. It has everything to be perfect except one thing but it's something I feel confident we'll see solved int he sequel, coming out in 2012.

Maggie is having a bad day and after a collpased ceiling, she decides to travel while loking for a new job. She arrives Vermont, where an amateur theatre company is starting a show, so she makes an audition, not really knowing what is going on.
And then she starts a vouyage of discovery, of friendship, love ans curiosity. The characters all work together like a well defined and complex machine, and theis actions and what they are and do is..Did I mention this is a great book?

This was the first thing I've read by the author, but I'm happy to have read it, the words sound fluid and easy in her writing style, there's nothing boring or heavy in her words and even though the story is told by Maggie, all the characters arounf her gain live in a way many authors can't do.
Then there's many elements from the world of theatre, the plays, the notions, the proper names, it's clar the author has knowledge of what she's talking about, and the story only gains with it.

I loved the story, the pace, the things happening, the mysterious director of the theatre and his secrets and the end...oh the way it ended...it was very wel suited, but I hope the sequel brings some closure and an HEA for this world.

I totally recommend it, I decided to read it after reading a review in another blog and I'm quite happy to have jumped into it. It's a beautiful tale of love and regrets, with many, many layers of emotion.