Hello, and welcome back! It's getting steadily warmer here, and is supposed to be hot and miserable by the weekend. Just in time for men in kilts, darn it. Not that hot and sticky weather will keep me away from men in kilts, though. But I am glad I have plenty of reading material here to keep me entertained inside where it's cooler.

This time out, I have the latest from Joy Nash, A Little Light Magic (Leisure). Tori Morgan has just come home to the Jersey Shore to open a magical store in her late aunt's home near the beach. But she's got to have some work done before she can open, and Nick Santangelo is the contractor who comes out to take a look. Nick has no intention of working on the ugly old house, not even for the pretty, but wacky Tori. He's far too busy with his construction business and his family. But something compels him to take the job anyway, doing the work in the evenings after he's finished his real jobs. Tori has come here to settle, to start a family, and be in the one place that holds good memories for her. Nick's got more than enough family, including a stubborn teenage daughter who reminds him far too much of his own youthful mistakes, and all he's interested in now is something casual, which he assumes he'll find with the 'flaky' Tori. After all, a woman who believes in magic and fortune telling is definitely not for him, not long-term. Tori, meanwhile, tells herself not to hope for more than what Nick can offer, but the more time they spend together, the more intimate their exchanges, the more her heart gets tangled up. Nick's daughter, meanwhile, has her own romantic dilemma going on: she's got the cutest guy in school in love with her, but her dad hates him, and no matter what she says, Nick won't change his mind. Of course, her case is not helped by her behavior when her dad has his back turned either. This story is so much fun, and so emotional, you can't help but fall in love along with Nick and Tori. Tori and Nick both have pasts that color their present and what they think they want for the future, and both are quite believable. This one would make a terrific beach read, the first for the season that's crossed my desk. It's earned four of Cupid's five arrows.

Until next time, happy reading!