Clearly this author and I have differing opinions on what makes a book funny. The Scot, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is intended to be a comedy, with a zany type of humor. I wasn’t amused. None of the story’s characters engaged me in any way. Not the hermit hero, not the “I’m not a witch” heroine, not the long lost siblings, nor the psychotic or maybe psychic cat – nobody. Everyone’s interactions felt forced and unnatural. There are two other books in this series, although I have not read them, I can only hope they are better than this one.

Victoria Cartwright is descended from a line of witches, but she’s not a witch, mind you; just ask her. After her beloved grandmother’s death, she is to unlock her legacy, which happens to be a wardrobe. Only a female descendant who inherited her great-grandmother’s magic can open the wardrobe and complete the spell. Lo and behold, Victoria opens the wardrobe, and nothing amazing happens. It’s more proof in her mind that she is not a witch, unlike her two friends, Kira and Mel. There is an incredible hand carved carousel unicorn in the wardrobe however, and since Victoria happens to run an antique shop, she knows quality when she sees it.

She ends up on a televised appraisal show, and Rory MacKenzie of Caperglen, Scotland immediately recognizes it as one of the carousel animals carved by his great-grandfather, Drummond MacKenzie. However, when Drummond broke his betrothal to rumored witch Lili Lockhart, the village was cursed, the carousel dismantled and sold, and the villagers’ prosperity vanished. All the blame was laid at the feet of the MacKenzie family.

Rory has dreamed his whole life of reversing the curse on his family name. To bring prosperity back to Caperglen, he must have that unicorn so he can complete the Immortal Classic – ie, his family’s broken carousel. He sets off for Victoria’s shop in Massachusetts to re-claim his family’s honor.

Upon meeting Victoria, does he mention to her that he might have a claim on the unicorn? No, he applies as her handyman while trading sexual innuendos with her. Weirdly enough, he realizes he has been having erotic dreams about Victoria in which they both ride the carousel. Victoria realizes the same thing. How kinky fate can be!

Rory and Victoria basically spend their time running around Victoria’s house and shop trading sexual sarcasm, and every time Victoria rhymes, she casts a spell. Well that’s enough to send Rory into a panic; after all, a witch was his family’s downfall. Victoria insists over and over that she isn’t a witch, while her friends and Rory point out the obvious. Throw in magically appearing tarot cards and some extra characters to provide some more not-so-funny humor, and there’s the book.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m a big paranormal book fan, and witch romances, when done well, are some of my favorites. This just didn’t do anything for me, and I would never have finished it had I not committed to review it. Fans of this author might feel compelled to finish out her series, but I won’t be visiting the other two books.