I really enjoyed the three books. However, it felt rushed. Not to give anything away, but For example Marigold’s parents in book 1 are gone then they return and it’s as if nothing has happened?

This book was provided for free in exchange for my honest opinion. Fix the endings and i will definitely give it a 5 star rating.

The Magic and Mayhem series by Erica Ridley consists of books that were previously released before and are being edited and re-released. Out of the three, I had only read Kissed by Magic in the past when it was titled Let It Snow. The book Must Love Magic was previously released as Charmed, and Smitten by Magic was previously released as Midwinter Magic.

What I really enjoy about Erica Ridley’s writing is that her books are fast-paced, adventurous, and full of character development. While each title varies in the depth in which that is accomplished, she writes memorable stories that will stick with you in the days that follow.

Magic and Mayhem‘s books are all lighthearted and fun as well as a bit sexy. They each feature magic in different ways, from fairy tale castles to a paranormal courtroom to a bureaucracy of angels. There’s curses and talking horses and backfiring mechanical wands that turn things into pumpkins. Each book promises a fun fantasy adventure with a HEA.

The one thing the stories suffer from is something I find myself mentioning more and more often: the endings can be sudden and there’s no epilogues. When I spend time taking that romantic journey with the story’s main characters, I also want either an ending that doesn’t feel rushed or a glimpse into the future to show that yes, things continued to work out. In Must Love Magic, how did Daisy and Trevor juggle two completely different worlds? Did Sarah and Javier make a difference in the world with their new positions in Smitten by Magic? I don’t need all the answers, but I do desire some reassurance.

Individual book comments:

Kissed by Magic (3.5 stars): Lance needs some money and decides to rob a cursed castle—what could possibly go wrong? There he meets Marigold, who has been trapped in a loop that repeated her birthday day for the past 6,000 years. It’s a lonely existence, and it’s up to Lance to break the curse and set them both free. This story has a classic fairy tale vibe that will give you warm fuzzies inside. Marigold must grow beyond her fears that she’ll lose Lance just like she’s lost everyone else, but it’s Lance that transforms the most throughout the story as it takes some unexpected twists and turns.

Must Love Magic (4 stars): Daisy le Fey just wants to earn her wings, and the tooth fairy business is sure to do that. It’s a shame that her mentor sent Daisy to retrieve a recently unearthed tooth that happens to be resting beneath an archaeologist’s face. Trevor needs more credibility and less crazy-fairy in his life. Up for tenure against an exasperating colleague, Trevor needs to decide what’s more important: work or love. Must Love Magic has some fantastic world building as we’re introduced to the realm of Nether-Netherland. Both the main and side characters were fully fleshed out. The biggest flaws of Daisy and Trevor—that the both were status-seekers—took longer for the characters to overcome than I expected. The few times to story went to the villain’s point of view detracted from what could have been an interesting element of surprise in the story’s events. However, I really enjoyed getting to know these characters and the many humorous hurdles they had to overcome.

Smitten by Magic (3 stars): Sarah Phimm is Javier’s guardian angel. She’s been there since the day he was born, and he was blissfully unaware of it—until now. Forced to reveal herself, Sarah struggles to do her job by keeping Javier alive as he battles his conscious by performing risky good deed after risky good deed. The setting lost me mid-story though: where did that hardware store come from in the middle of nowhere? Why did Javier have cell phone service? Little details like that detracted from the believability factor of the setting, which was quite the contrast right after reading Must Love Magic. Regardless, this story had me hooked until the end, when it dropped off in an extremely rushed and convenient ending (that Javier did not react enough to at all).

<bold> Smitten by Magic</bold>
Guardian Angel Sarah has just one job, keep Javier safe until he's 70. But the new leaf that has Javier jaunting off to the most dangerous and impoverished of places is making Sarah's job hard. And it is even harder when the normally invisible Sarah slips and lets Javier see her and finally get a chance to actually interact with the man she admires.

I thought that this was cute. Javier is working off a debt of conscience by trying to make as many lives better as he can to make up for years of corporate success. Sarah is pretty cute as the protector who falls for her charge. I liked this story for the most part, up until the never never land part that wraps up the story.

I read this as a part of a three part ARC with re-released versions of older magical romances which also included Must Love Magic, and Kissed by Magic.

<bold> Must Love Magic</bold>
The magicless Daisy is desperately trying to earn her wings as an apprentice Tooth Fairy daisy when her first mission has her popping in to claim part of anthropologist Trevor's find on a dig.

This story was zany and didn't quite tickle my book 'funny bone', it's probably a failing of mine rather that the story, but never the less it didn't quite click for me. I didn't enjoy the parts in the Never Never land fairy world or the machinations of the fellow anthropologist who had in for Trevor or the mentor who had it in for Daisy. As to the romance Trevor isn't particularly nice to Daisy the whole way through, so it makes it hard to feel the love between the pair.
<bold>Kissed by Magic</bold>
With a price on his head adventurer Lance needs a treasure to save his life and to get his dream ship off of layaway. So its off to an enchanted castle to find his fortune. Instead of the promised gold he find the cursed Princess Marigold. Marigold has spent 6000 years alone in the castle every day is the same - literally, a la ground hog day - so she can't risk getting attached to the handsome Lance.

I really enjoyed this very fairy tale story. Lance is just so wonderful, trying to make Marigold's eternal birthday special, and he is so hopeful that he breaks through Marigold's shell. I was so invested in them breaking her curse and finding a HEA.

I read this as a part of a three part ARC with re-released versions of older magical romances which also included Smitten by Magic, and Kissed by Magic.

A fun escape read. 3 stories that are entertaining in a fairy madcap way. Certainly a diversion from my normal type of stories. Life size fairies, who knew? I enjoyed the escape.

I Have read most of Ms Ridley's books and always enjoyed the humour and fun in her books. This set of books just added another dimension to her stories. I loved that the books where set in a variety of time frames, past, present and future. It was more than just magic but also makebelieve weapons. It was a fun read that had you wondering how it was all going to work out in the end. The characters where all wonderful, with each set of characters having a wonderful relationship right from the start.. They were all strong fun characters. They were all wonderful reads. There were sex scenes that this reviewer as usual skipped. I received this as an ARC. Something very different and a fun read. A nice change from the usual historical romances.

This ARC was courtesy of netgalley - all thoughts and opinions are mine and unbiased

I know Erica Ridley's regency novels so was intrigued to read these. I have read some previous reviews and people see to either really love them or not - a bit marmite I think

But I did love these. You do have to suspend belief but surely isn't that what reading is all about?

Fast paced, well written with a dash of magic and a mix of emotions

Great for a summer read

These three books are an interesting and amusing bunch. A trip into the fantasy world of fairyland a cool contrast to what I have come to expect from Erica Ridley. I have to say, though, they are truly entertaining and fun to read.

Classic stories from Erica Ridley. We buy lots of her books for our library, but our patrons prefer her Regency romances. We generally don't buy re-releases.

3.5 Light-hearted good fun stars

I enjoyed this magical series.

Kissed by Magic
This took me a little to get into. I've been in the land of historical fiction so I had to switch gears and was a little slow to do that.
So Lance has found himself in a bit of a pickle and needs some loot quick. He decides to cast his lot into a long-time bounty/curse/legend. What he didn't expect was a magic castle trapped in time.
Princess Penelope has been a victim of circumstance for as long as she can remember, which is to say, a long time. She's trapped in her own Yuletide/Birthday Groundhogs Day (Bill Murray movie reference, not a reference to February 2nd) solo for a looooong time.
Magic Christmas trees, re-setting castles, strange magical devices, and many leather-bound books (I'm sure her library smalls of rich mahogany).
All in all, this was a cute quick read that was fun all ways around.

Kissed by Magic is a re-release of Let it Snow

Must Love Magic
3.5 stars
This is your basic Tooth Fairy apprentice meets paleo-anthropologist troupe. *snort*
Ok, so Daisy la Fey is having her own tooth fairy apprentice version of her own No Good, Very Bad Day. She is the daughter of like the highest-ranking Fairy Godmother and one of the highest-ranking Guardian Angels...AND...she has NO magic. She is a science nerd in magic world. She desperately wants her wings (she even fashioned her own wings and wears them about to feel like everyone else... aww, poor thing)

Trevor is a professor on an archaeological dig abroad with his students. He is woken one night by a tooth fairy wet dream (Daisy) with painted red toes (his weakness) claiming to want a tooth from an 8-year-old boy named Angus. She is shocked when she discovers that there isn't an 8-year-old present but instead, an attractive half-dressed man. What follows is the hilarious tale of how Daisy tries, and continuously fails to rectify her failure of the retrieval of the tooth.

I love smart pop-culture-ish references. Not only did we get some from Willy Wonka (the Gene Wilder version not that crappy remake from Tim Burton... he really needs an intervention sometimes) but there was also a Monty Python reference too (Thank You, Ms. Ridley!!! These absolutely make my day)

This would have ranked higher but the book got a little long in the tooth (ha!) so to speak. At one point I almost felt I was being bashed continuously over the head with just the worst-case scenario play out over and over. In the end, we all walked away happy and light. Very cute story.
Must Love Magic is a re-release of Charmed.

Smitten by Magic
3.5 stars

{Insert 80's Angel Movie - Date with an Angel- images}

Ok, this whole book I had those movie images and Send Me an Angel by Real Life playing in my head (and maybe some Aerosmith images too). If you have no idea what I'm talking about... well then, I'm sad for you. Go back to the '80s, it was awesome.

Javier is trying to redeem himself after living a life fraught with corporate greed. He is attempting to redirect his money and attention towards philanthropy, starting with his Bolivian roots. He is met with one disaster after another until he runs into a sexy tourist.
Sarah (his guardian angel) is desperately trying to keep Javier at home where he is safest and puts as many obstacles in his way to try to keep him there. But due to an unfortunate habit of navel (er... clipboard) gazing, she finds herself in having to not only apparate but actually traveling in Bolivia with him.

There were a couple of pop-culture references here, aside from the constant '80s magical-ness playing in my head, that I appreciated but then forgot.

I enjoyed this read, I mean who isn't a sucker for angels? (not he angels from Daughter of Smoke & Bone series, cuz those guys were bad dudes but you get my gist) There was a mention of characters from Must Love Magic but it doesn't detract from the storyline or create the necessity to read prior to this one.

Smitten by Magic is a re-release of Midwinter Magic.

All in all, the Magic and Mayhem series was light, cute, magical good fun. I recommend for those that need a little bit of magic boost to their day.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for this generously provided ARC!

Kissed By Magic: 4 stars
Enjoyable read that was funny and romantic. Lance was a sweetheart. His thoughtfulness to celebrate her birthday made Princess Marigold's day seem less repetitive. The curse was an interesting one that was broken not in a way I thought it was going to be. Great twist!!

Must Love Magic: 3 stars
I liked most of it, but it seemed to move slowly in some parts. Daisy always found herself in conflict with fairy law and spent a lot of time in Fairy Court defending herself. The places she was sent to for punishment were very cool. Luckily she always found a way out. Her attorney was a pretty cool character.
Daisy and Trevor were both smart and loved science. They both had a career goal they wanted to accomplish and were not willing to give it up. They both had a cartoony villain who were an obstacle towards their goal.
Their relationship seemed more physical than romantic, this is why of the 3 stars. I wanted more sweet romance between them. They had great chemistry which was obvious during their sexy times.

Smitten by Magic: 4 stars
Cute story of a guardian angel, Sarah, who protected her human, Javier, at all costs. She was a determined angel and knew what her task was. Unfortunately for Javier that meant that his wish of helping those in need in Bolivia took him extra steps to accomplish.
This was going to be more of a 3 star book, but the ending was really sweet and ended in a rather unique way where we find our hero with a new profession. True love rules!

Thank you to the publisher/author for providing the ARC through NetGalley for review.

Magical Romantic Comedies.
Kissed by Magic - a delightful fairytale story with a medieval princess, trapped for centuries in an ice castle and a modern adventurer. Laugh out loud romance.
Must Love Magic - Daisy is the offspring of a guardian angel and a fairy godmother but magic seems to have passed her by. Instead she is a gifted scientist in a society where such a career is considered on par with a janitor. Her dearest wish therefore is to gain wings and be respected. To that end she designs a mechanical wand, which has the unfortunate tendency to turn things into pumpkins, and becomes an apprentice tooth fairy. Things go awry on her first assignment. Loved this.
Smitten by Magic - The first half of this book was so funny it had me giggling numerous times. I loved Sarah and her over active imagination. The ending was unexpected and a bit darker.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the author and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This offering of recycled stories by Erica Ridley was silly, unnecessarily sexual and generally unlikeable. On author reviewer called it 'ridiculously awesome". I'd go for just ridiculous. The only reason I could give it 2 stars was a few of the characters were somewhat likeable. Otherwise this is a pass.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

KISSED BY MAGIC

I didn’t know what to expect from this book as I only know Mrs Erica Ridley for her regency romances.
But when I learned some of her earlier books will be back for sale, I jumped on the opportunity.
I would label this read as a time travel fantasy romance as a princess from a fairy tale meets her knight disguised a treasure hunter adventurer, when Rapunzel meets Indiana Jones.
Impossible to tell more than the blurb without spoiling the read.
This huit-clos was charming, full of smiles and cheerful moments but also with some sadness.
Marigold is a nice woman, she grew up the hard way and left her spoiled days far behind when she had to recreated herself and learn from her errors. Lance is the perfect hero, he is thoughtful and caring, ready to do anything to free her, even let her go.
Their encounter is the meeting of past and present with the awkwardness it can create, but it was handled with a lot of fun and candy crush levels.
A fast paced novella with a bit of magic, the perfect balance between humor and sorrow and filled by love.

MUST LOVE MAGIC

So this is the second installment in the Magic &Mayhem series, and it can be read as a standalone as it is set with new characters.
For Mrs Erica Ridley usual readers, it is outside her usual work as it is a fantasy romance sets in contemporary time.
This is a laughing out loud kind of story with a klutz of a tooth fairy, with not a magical bone in her body, in training trying to steal a teeth from a all grown up specimen of a man.
It is Tinkerbell meeting Indiana Jones.
Their journey is one trip from hell to heaven with everything in between bouncing them back from inferno to purgatory.
Daisy is so sweet and cute, sure the snarky me was upset at her naivety and stubbornness to insist so much to become a fairy when it is obvious is not really in her but then the young me try to recall how at time I would have love to belong in. She feels like an oddity and wants so much to prove she can be an asset, so much she can’t see what is right in front of her nor doubt anybody’s actions.
Trevor is human so he lost a long time ago his belief on tooth fairy or any other supernatural being, and as an anthropologist, he believes in facts not tales. So their first many encounters all turned like a dialogue of the deaf.
Until too much sparkling powder dust brings him to where he should never have set foot.
I confess Daisy’s bullheadedness to not accept who she really is gave me headaches at time, I was upset at her blindness to continue to pursue an impossible dream when everything was out of her capacity and when she was throwing away her talent and what was the right path.
After it is a very enjoyable read full of twists and turns, steam and hilarious situations.
4.5 stars


SMITTEN BY MAGIC

This is the third book in this revised series by Erica Ridley, each with a different setting and different protagonists from the Nether-Netherland universe.
Javier after a huge epiphany, has decided his way of life has to change. He since, tries to redeem himself for what he thinks is his unforgivable faults. By doing it, he endangers his own life and his guardian angel can’t accept it.
Sarah has spent her whole existence taking care of one charge after another. And Javi is one hell of an assignment, as he seems willing to put his life in line if he can get what he is looking for.
During their time together, each has some growing up to do, even Sarah the Angel as by concentrating on other priorities and tasks she passed by her own life, living only by procuration but never for herself.
A cute tale of taking your life in your hands.
4.5 stars

I was granted an advance copy through Netgalley and the author, but I own my own copy.
Here is my true and unbiased opinion.