This book is absolutely bonkers, and I mean that in the best possible way. Don't let that "Signet Regency Romance" banner fool you - this isn't your grandmother's trad Regency by a loooooong chalk. Not only are there multiple explicit sex scenes, but its chock full of witchcraft, paranormal, supernatural, and superstitious elements, too.

The basic premise is this: Sorceress Meg Ashton, handmaiden to Hecate, is burned at the stake for witchcraft on Halloween night in 1618. As she dies, she spouts a promise to avenge her death on the descendants of everyone involved in her execution. A stone effigy and twelve-stone circle dedicated to Hecate was also ruined - the stones scattered, at least, though the stone of the Lady itself could not be moved. From the moment she dies, the superstitious villagers believe that Hecate trapped Meg's soul in the stone to assist in her vengeance.

Halloween night 1818, Meg is reincarnated as a beautiful young woman who suddenly shows up in the village during a thunderstorm. She is taken in by the elderly Admiral Villiers, who names her Judith after his mother. Meg - now Judith - executes the first part of her plan by marrying and then killing the Admiral, whose ancestor was judge at her trial. She then sets her sights on Nicholas, the ninth Lord Montacute, descendant of the third Lord, who had her executed in the first place.

The author spares us no detail. Judith is a flame-haired voluptuous woman who casts her spells while dancing naked around the Lady, basically going into fits of orgasmic ecstasy as her spells come to fruition. She's stolen the desk seal from the current Lord and thinks she is using it to cast her spell on him - but alas, she actually dropped it in the village green, and the minute she says the magic words, Miss Verity Windsor unwittingly picks it up. The spell has worked, drawing the current Lord back to his country seat in the backwaters of Shropshire, but instead of becoming entranced with Judith, he's drawn to Verity.

Verity is, of course, Judith's total opposite: a blond-haired, lilac(!)-eyed innocent miss, niece of the local magistrate Joshua, who of course hates Nicholas with every fiber of his being. She's had a crush on Nicholas for most of her life, so she can hardly believe it when he basically jumps her bones the second he arrives in in Shropshire. Joshua, desperate to get Verity out of the way, sends her to London, where he's long planned to give her a Season to find a suitable husband. Nicholas follows her, of course, hellbent on wooing Verity into his bed as fast as humanly possible.

Verity's nurse Martha is a wisewoman, and has long suspected the mysterious Judith Villiers is some kind of witch. She gives Verity a pendant of sandstone to protect her, but nothing can protect Verity's vulnerable heart when Nicholas declares that he loves her and wants to marry her posthaste.

Meanwhile, Judith is very upset at her misdirected spell and is doing everything she can to set it to rights again, including threatening the life of Martha's great-nephew in exchange for Nicholas's seal. She plots and plans and continues to be a wanton slut, much to the disgust of everyone in the village.

She manages to get the seal and brings Nicholas back to the village, leaving Verity in London with a broken heart because he's suddenly shunned her and wants a divorce. Verity and Nicholas's friends are at loose ends, not understanding what's going on, while Nicholas marches towards his own death. Things culminate on Halloween night 1819, as Judith attempts to carry out her nefarious plan: having Nicholas kill his own wife right before her very eyes!

I don't think it's possible to read this at any other time of year except the Halloween season and truly appreciate all of the absolute crazysauce on offer. Ms. Heath writes a very tight, fast-paced plot from an omniscient POV, so we watch all of the players moving about in real time. Judith is completely OTT; Nicholas is just clueless; Martha (and her sister Sadie) is completely badass. Verity doesn't have much of a personality, and there's not a lot done to convince this reader that Nicholas really loves her (for real!) in the end. But getting to that conclusion is a lot of fun.

Even though this wasn't what I was expecting, I enjoyed the crazy immensely. It's a fun Halloween read. I'll definitely be on the lookout for this author's other work. ( )