Never Been Witched [Mass Market Paperback]

The middle witch of triplets, Destiny Cartwright has visions of the future that she depicts by painting a picture of what she saw. However recently an anomaly has occurred; for the first time in her life, Destiny cannot focus on the vision. She realizes this abnormality only happens when architect Morgan Jarvis is nearby. He frightens her.

Morgan shares Destiny's unease. When everyone goes off to Scotland, neither Destiny nor Morgan goes with their friends and family; neither is aware that the other stayed behind. Needing time to think about how she feels Destiny travels to the Paxton Lighthouse to reflect on what she wants. She meets two spirits there; the last lighthouse keeper Horace and tweener girl "Megs"; also there is Buffy the guardian angel watching over the girl. Megs has remained behind to help her twin Morgan but has failed until now. She hopes Destiny can assist her. Morgan arrives at the lighthouse he just bought and demands Destiny leave though she cannot until the boat returns to pick her up. When Destiny mentions the lighthouse is home to two spirits and an angel, he does not blink. When she mentions Megs, he is shocked and further disturbed with Buffy as he recalls the picture his sister drew of her angel.

The final Triplet Witch romantic fantasy (see SEX AND THE PSYCHIC WITCH AND GONE WITH THE WITCH) is a superb tale starring a likable lead couple in denial and a matchmaking ghostly sibling with her own angel. As with the previous two the story line is whimsical but heart-wrenching as in many ways Megs steals the show as a young teen spirit who is part mature and part kid. Magician Annette Blair provides a terrific finish to an entertaining saga.

Harriet Klausner

I'm going to have to be the voice of dissention. I wanted to like this book. I liked the other books by this author that were in the series (some more than others, but all of them were decent), but this book just didn't engage. The narrative didn't flow at all. The first hundred pages were a mishmash of scenes and characters who didn't act like real people act. For example, there is one bed in the house and instead of acting rationally about it, the author had the one character carry the other character around to all the rooms in the house to prove there was no better place to sleep. At something like 3 in the morning. I just couldn't get into it.

After the first hundred pages, things were starting to get better, but then the author unloads narrative like the following on us. "He rubbed her back, kissed her cheek, her brow, her lips. Tender, his kisses. A rise to passion. She'd forgotten their power, the power of his desire. Now he held nothing back. Suddenly, he acted free." The stilted sentences completely interrupted the flow of the narrative.

The main characters are fairly annoying as well--probably due to their strange nonsensical conversations. Yes, I realize it is the shtick of the triplets to wear naughty sayings on their clothing, but whew, that gets juvenile fast--especially when the main character is painting the sayings on her shirt in an attempt to entice the other character into bed. Which is the main flaw of the book. The two characters snipe and dance around each other because they are attracted and want sex. But instead of behaving rationally and discussing it, they get stupid, call each other names, and/or get abusive (the female character is always shoving the male character into bodies of water or walls. Not sexy.). The constant dancing around would work if there were any sense of sexual tension between the two, but there isn't. You know that they will get together, but you don't care if they do. At least I didn't. Throw in a mystery about a ghost (or two), an angel, and a "mysterious" cassock, and the story is one confusing mess that fails to engage in a timely manner. Things do become clearer as the book trudges on, but by that time, I didn't really care and wasn't emotionally invested. The sex scenes are, frankly, laughable. People mocked J-Lo for her "Turkey time, gobble, gobble" line and I'm sorry to say that this book contains lines of a similar quality. "The eagle has landed" and the girl laying down on the bed saying, "Climb on." Of course, the virgin gave his partner a hundred and thirty-one orgasms, so at least that part was realistic. Not. All right, it's a book about a psychic witch so realism isn't exactly on the menu, I just wish the author had tried a little harder and had been able to at least match the quality of her other books. The characters in those books were more sympathetic and the plots more interesting.

This book felt both rushed and dragging at the same time. The overall story drags and drags until suddenly stuff starts happening but then it drags again at the end. I don't know, I guess I just didn't like Destiny or Morgan. Their interactions with each other were the low points of the book--their interactions with other characters were much better. Reggie's son's genius was a bit overdone as was Morgan's mother's piety. She felt like a caricature rather than any kind of real person. I always felt the "ceremonial" scenes drag on, and the scene in this book wasn't an exception.

Two other nitpicks: the two main characters go at it like rabbits with nary a mention of protection. Because sex never has consequences. Second, the one character repeatedly mentions how he was going to get his sister a schnoodle (a Schnauzer + Poodle mix) for a present 18 years earlier. Sorry, but the "breed" didn't exist back then. Or if it did, it was called by the correct name: mutt. Small details maybe, but indicative of the whole. It didn't work for me. I can usually read a good book in about four hours--this one took three days. The series ended with a whimper rather than a bang.

Well, I guess it's time to admit defeat. Annette Blair's new writing style is just too frantic and frenetic for me. "Never Been Witched" continues her 'Witch' series about three triplet witches who find their true loves with the help of ghosts and goddesses.

Destiny is the sister who sees the future via the paintings she creates...but the future is never her own. Now she's in a bit of trouble. She's been lusting after a debunker who doesn't believe in her powers! And even though he's gorgeous, hunky, sexy, and every other delicious adjective she can think of...surely he's not the man for her! So rather than heading to Scotland with her sisters' friends and family, she came to the Paxton Island Lighthouse to do some soul searching and spell casting to help her find her path. It just figures that HE would show up!

Morgan can't quite believe the sight that met his eyes. His favorite, uh...no NO, frustrating witchlet...Destiny. Even though he'd like nothing better than to take her to bed and act out every one of his virginal, but well read, fantasies...she's everything he SHOULDN'T want and doesn't believe in.

The plot is funny, the sex is hot, but for me, the execution is jumpy and spotty. Her plot zooms here, there, and everywhere and I just had a hard time keeping up. Which really bums me since until last year, I really liked her novels.

Anyway, if staccato writing, fast action, witchy spells, and hot sex are your thing, then you'll enjoy her latest.