Forbidden Magic Book

Meg Gillingham's parents died suddenly, leaving her to care for her four younger siblings, without a farthing between them. The kindly landlord says he'll let them stay on in their apartment'but only if Meg pimps her younger sister to him.

Meg also has custody of a crude piece of ancient erotica called a sheelagh-ma-gig



Yes, I've cropped it. If you want to know why she looks so pleased with herself you'll have to Google it. And possibly set your safe search to "holy crap!"

The statue has the power to grant wishes'and make Meg feel naughty all over. But using this power always comes at a price. But the situation is desperate, so Meg girds her loins and makes a carefully constructed wish…

Lord Saxonhurst (Sax to his nearest and dearest) is bloody gorgeous, filthy rich, and damned eccentric (as in, he hires servants nobody else would touch'one-eyed maids with a shady past, crippled butlers, grooms who just got out of Newgate for thieving). And, when it comes to his grandmother, Sax is completely beyond reason. His servants comb the flea markets for the fugliest objets d'art they can find, then lay bets on which piece will get smashed first in his next granny-induced tantrum.



And he's in a fix. Seems five years ago, he promised the old cowdragonbitch that he would be married by his 25th birthday or she could choose his spouse for him. Word of a Torrance'which, to Sax, is gold. Thing is, he forgot all about it until granny's missive reminded him'and his 25th birthday is tomorrow!



Sax weighs his options; there's the shrieky little social climber whose family would eat bat shite to hook up with an earldom, there's the stinky fishwife by the harbor. And there's…

…there's…?

This is when a servant brings up Meg Gillingham. Seems she knows someone who knows someone, and hey, since he's fond of taking in strays, why not?

Sax decides to roll the dice. Hey, he'd rather marry a camel than whatever the dragon has in mind.


(Yes, they did. They put makeup on a camel.)

So he sends Meg a proposal of marriage. Basically, "Marry me. You'll be a countess. Show up tomorrow at the church or the bunny gets it."



Meg has little choice; she agrees, and the deed is done. That afternoon they stop by the Gillinghams' apartment to get their stuff; problem is, Sax won't leave her side, and she's scared to tell him about the sheelagh, since she figures he might be pissed if he finds out he was hexed into this mesalliance. So she hangs onto one of the house keys, figuring she'll come back at night and get the sheelagh when nobody's looking.

Which means she has to find a reason not to go through with the wedding night.



Only when she goes after the sheelagh, it's not there. Instantly she knows what happened, and that the sheelagh's price for her family's deliverance will be high indeed. Can a countess be hanged for murder? She can if the dragon has any say in it.

The protags in this are deliciously quirky, which makes this whole marriage-of-convenience story a lot of fun, and there's plenty of danger and adventure to keep things moving. Four stars.