In James’ paranormal novel, Alexandra thinks her life is just fine but her mother wants her to settle down with a husband and family. But Alex is good at business and helps her family. In the Louisiana bayou, Ed blends in with the locals while keeping a witness safe. This bayou is special—a voodoo queen is training her replacement while tending to those in need. Magic is unpredictable and sometimes spells go awry. Ed and Alex meet just as the magic gets out of hand—neither of them expected to find each other and they battle the attraction that is spinning a web around them.

This is a fun read that incorporates danger, magic and romance. ( )

(2 1/2 stars)

Deja Voodoo tries to be cute and quirky, but somehow it just didn’t pull it off for me. It never felt like we truly got into any depth in the story–I had a hard time really engaging with the characters. The drama, the suspense, the voodoo magic, the romance–it all just felt like it was glancing off of the waters of the bayou without marring the surface overmuch. Earlier books and events are alluded to (Voodoo for Two, Lucie and Ben’s story and To Kiss a Frog, the first in the series) but I didn’t really feel as if I missed too much by not having read them, nor did reading this one make me want to run right out and pick them up. This is actually the first book I’ve read by this author, and at the moment I’m fairly ambivalent about reading another. If the opportunity presented itself, I’d probably give her another chance if I didn’t have any pressing deadlines to deal with. There wasn’t anything wrong with this one–the writing was decent–it just ultimately didn’t work for me.

In a nutshell: Just an okay read. I wanted to like its quirkiness more than I did. 2 1/2 stars.

(I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.) ( )