The summary of Spellcast intrigued me. I started the book with high expectations, but after reading the first 100 pages, I still wasn’t enchanted. The front cover has a blurb by another author saying the book is “warm, humorous, emotional, and full of magic.” I would describe it as less warm and humorous and more bittersweet.

After being laid off from her job at Helplink and having her bathroom ceiling collapse on her while she is in the tub trying to drown her sorrows with her bottle of Talisher, Maggie Graham decides to get out of town. Rather than obsess and plan, she just decides to wing it and takes off for Vermont. When she reaches Dale, Vermont, she feels a sense of familiarity especially when she sees a large white barn known as Crossroad Theatre but ignores it. Stopping for coffee, she is more or less bullied into auditioning for the theatre. After being offered a position (although everyone who auditioned is offered a role) Maggie is tempted. One of the best times in her life was the ten weeks she spent doing summer stock at Southford Playhouse. However, she doesn’t have much confidence in the director based on her casting. Since she is one of the few people that has actual acting experience, she is surprised by her frumpy roles.

After the mesmerizing director Rowan MacKenzie informs her that he cast people not in roles that they are good at but the roles they need, allowing them to find what has been lacking in their lives, Maggie is still not sure if she wants to join the cast. However, a week later she is back in Dale. From the very beginning, Maggie finds many things different about this community theatre. First there is rapid development of comraderie and confidence from the inexperienced cast, then the nightly brush against her bedroom door that gives her a sense of peace, safety, and comfort. As Maggie becomes more and more enmeshed in the community, and in the lives of her fellow cast members, it becomes more and difficult to deny that she feels something for mystical Rowan.

Not having exposure to summer stock, that aspect of the story didn’t have a pull on me. The parts that did interest me such as the magic, romance, and women’s fiction lacked focus. The magic and history surrounding Rowan is not especially fascinating and gets doled out in miserly portions. It never came alive for me. There is a lot of telling and not enough showing and while there is an emotional connection between the Rowan and Maggie, the sexual attraction seems almost non-existent until the end. Even though many characters experience personal growth, so much of the interpersonal relationships seem superficial. I did find the heroine’s new insights about her mother and her mother’s relationship with her father touching, but my overall feeling upon finishing the book is that not much happened. The book is fairly lengthy at 433 pages so perhaps part of that can be attributed to the leisurely pacing of the book.

I can do leisurely pacing if I am appropriately rewarded. However, the ending has got to be good. While the ending of Spellcast does make sense, especially when you consider that the book is classified as fantasy instead of romance, it disappointed me. If the most important aspect of a book for you is character growth, then you might find this book rewarding. Otherwise, I would give it a pass.