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''Witchstruck'' provides harmless fun and a light read - fans of historical romance will enjoy it no end. There's a feisty heroine, a smouldering hero, plenty of romantic misunderstandings and even some bodice-ripping. And it's all mixed together with plenty of courtly intrigue and a good dollop of hexing. Meg's impulsiveness gets her in all sorts of difficulties and Alejandro dashes to her rescue with great gusto. And in the background, Lamb paints a credible portrait of the young Elizabeth, who picked her way through such turmoil before she eventually succeeded to the throne of England.
Having said all the nice things, I should also say that serious readers would probably do better to stay away. The plot is exceedingly flimsy and Meg's misadventures sometimes verge on the plain silly. She spends endless hours worrying about being hanged as a witch but tells just about everyone she meets that she is one! Alejandro, a Catholic soldier priest in the making, is tortured by once having reported a witch who was executed. He's a great romantic hero but he really lacks all credibility as an historical character. It's tricky to write interesting historical stories with characters that don't have contemporary mindsetsbut still manage to engage modern readers, but ''Witchstruck'' doesn't even try.
A specific recommendation from me, then - ''Witchstruck'' is a book for fans of romantic fiction with historical and supernatural flavours. Those who like a little more meat in their reading should probably look further afield.
