The Wizard's Ward

March 29, 2004
In her first crossover foray into fantasy, romance writer Hale (Beauty and the Baron
) nicely blends the two genres in an upbeat, feel-good story. In the land of Umbria, the people suffer under the yoke of the cruel Hanish invaders, but there is hope: Maura Woodbury, who has learned magic and healing as the ward of the wizard Langbard, suddenly discovers that she's the Destined Queen. Together with the Waiting King (whoever that may be), "they will reclaim and restore his kingdom." Maura's destiny will severely test her stamina and courage, but her biggest challenge is to try not to fall in love with the wrong man—and Rath the Wolf, who joins her in her rather fuzzy quest, seems at first to be entirely the wrong man. Later, Maura finds herself irresistibly drawn to Rath's courage and basic decency. Maura tends to overuse the same tricks and the action stops before the real work of ridding the kingdom of the oppressors begins, but fans of gentler fantasy and romance readers should have no cause to complain. (Apr. 1)

Forecast:
The attractive jacket art—of a slender woman paddling a boat in a misty swamp with a castle looming in the background—has nothing to do with the story, but it will strike the right chord with the target audience.