How could my attention not be captured by an entrancing eight months’ pregnant heroine with out of control hormones that cause her to cry crystals, hiccup bubbles, and lock pixies in the freezer – plus a hero conned into transporting a six foot six, 220-pound selkie to his winter retreat? With impressive situational comedy and characters that are fun and imaginative, I had great expectations, but ultimately the lack of a strong romance and limited character growth resulted in only a slightly better than average book.

Three hundred years ago, Chloe Hobbs’ ancestor, Aerynn, led the evacuation of magickal beings from Salem to Sugar Maple. With her formidable powers she cast a shielding spell protecting the town from human malice as long as one of her descendants is alive.

When half-human and half-magickal Chloe reaches thirty, the Sugar Maple community panics and starts dragging in potential suitors. As the last in her line, the town’s safety depends on her having a child to continue the legacy. Fast forward a year later and Chloe is now pregnant and living with the love of her life, Luke Mackenzie.

After the death of his daughter and then the failure of his marriage, Luke distanced himself from his family. Accepting the job as Chief of Police in Sugar Maple and then falling in love with Chloe transformed his life. Even so he not ready to share her or the upcoming birth of their child with his inquisitive family, especially his mother. He sincerely doubts that Sugar Maple magickal community could stay a secret under her scrutiny. Plus Chloe hasn’t agreed to marry him and that is sure to raise eyebrows. He plans to tell his family after his daughter is born, but that plan disintegrates after his Mother comes snooping and discovers his hugely pregnant girlfriend.

Being of mixed blood, half-human and half-magick Chloe never felt like she fit in anywhere. She always dreamed of family and she wants that for her child, especially since she will be three-quarters human, so rebuffing or spelling Luke’s mother is never an option. In order to keep the community safe, and to limit the length of a visit, she arranges a brunch to meet the Mackenzie clan at a location half way between Sugar Maple and Luke’s family home.

Chloe’s unwanted houseguest Elspeth, sent to insure the safe delivery of the new heir, is full of dire predictions but Chloe’s determined to go. Hobbs women never have their babies early but Chloe didn’t realize that was because of the spell of containment. The further she gets from Sugar Maple, the less effective the spell. Still the meeting place is only about a hundred miles away, and it is just brunch, so she figures she’ll be safe and snug before nightfall.

Meghan, Luke’s favorite sister, plans to attend but she suddenly is totally enthralled with this gorgeous new man she just met. Straight out of her fantasy, smelling like starlight, he’s able to teach her things no mortal should know. She mentions driving up to Lake Winnipesaukee but he distracts her with sex. She is so sated that she only delivers a token fuss when he tells her he is going out for supplies, leaving her stranded. And the two couple’s adventures unwind from there.

This is the fourth book in the series, and I had no problem following the story. In fact, I suspect that people who are current with the series might feel there is a lot of recapping. Just from reading this one book, I have a fairly in-depth impression of the previous stories.

While these books are written to appeal to the knitting community with references like Bluefaced Leicester fleece, Noro, Malabrigo, and online craft community Ravelry, the terms are used to great advantage in the comedic situations.

The book is written in first person, switching from character to character but this wasn’t a problem at all for me since the writing is smooth and the story flows well. With the conflict being external – the hero and heroine are already together – and with love scenes only between a secondary character and her new hook-up, the romance is very much on the back burner. While there is a portentous threat to the heroine and her child, there is never any doubt about the outcome.

If you love magic, knitting, and a humorous story, then you should have more of a connection to the book than I did. I don’t regret the time I spent reading the book – it made me laugh, but it is not a the most memorable story either.