Gem #1 - Susan Hettinger, the reserved, introverted, extremely competent entertainment industry accountant who has carefully organized her life to provide the maximum amount of order and control. Susan is a bean counter, and proud of it. In her own words, “I can read a Profit and Loss Statement and instantly analyze the business. Ask me about the above the line costs of a particular film or the financial liquidity of the backers for a particular venture project and I spout out particulars. Ask me about the breakeven point for a theatrical production and I will provide production costs and income.” Spontaneity is not in this woman’s vocabulary. Magic is not a part of her analytical world. That is, until she meets…

Gem #2 - Margaret Carson-Baxter, also known as MJ Carson, the charismatic, chaotic, rock-star extraordinaire turned actress with a troubled past. Yes, it really is as cliché as it sounds, but this story is a modern fairy tale and Maggie is the mystical enchantress. Go with it. Eventually the reader gets to see not only the illusions that Maggie surrounds herself with, but also understand why they're there. Harte does a good job of making her character a believable human being in the enchanted and sometimes sinister land of entertainment superstardom.

Gem #3 - The clash of realities: order meets chaos, yin meets yang, and Maggie the human tornado meets Susan the control freak. It’s a classic case of opposites attracting, but, with the exception of a powerful physical attraction, these two don’t click together with the neatness of magnets. It’s a bit more like mixing elemental sodium and water - volatile - with serious consequences for both. Susan has difficulty dealing with Maggie’s energetic whirlwind; Maggie has difficulty understanding Susan’s stoic inflexibility, and Harte is skillful enough to make the reader wonder just exactly how this one will wind up with a happy ending.

Gem #4 - Susan first falls in love with Maggie’s hands. What a delightful detail!

Gem #5 - Susan’s mother, the leprechaun. (No, really, it IS a fairy tale.)

There are other gems scattered throughout, but for me, the real gold was to be found in Susan’s first person narrative. I love her reactions to having her orderly world turned topsy-turvy. It’s an internal battle of, “I don’t believe in magic. I want to believe in magic. I'm scared sh*tless by magic.” And through that internal battle, I found enough magic and humor in this story to want to recommend it to others.