Prince of Darkness

The book is not as dark as I would've expected. I was looking for a lot of strange phenomena, but that didn't happen. However, the book moved me right along, and definitely contained plot twists.

I'm not too familiar with the gothic romance genre, which is pretty much looked down upon by snooty readers, but if they are all written like Barbara Michaels I'm all for them. This book worked for me. It is witty, well-paced, has a clever plot, and most importantly, is believable notwithstanding its batty premise of a modern-day witches' coven deep in Upper Middle-Class America. A reader looking for "horror" is bound to be disappointed, because Ms Michaels is not out to terrorise her readers or scare them silly. Which is fine with me, because I prefer stories which are moved by real human agents who face up to challenges and grasp their destinies, rather than tales popoulated by terrified pawns of the supernatural. An easy and thoroughly enjoyable read. Not too much stress on the little grey cells, but neither are we required to suspend our disbelief.

Style-wise, this is perhaps her most creative book. It is split into 3 parts: the 1st is 3rd-person omniscient, the 2nd is told through the male main-character's POV, and the 3rd is told through the female main-character's POV. The events unfold much like a movie in that the reader isn't just told what is going to happen... rather, we "see" it as it happens. It makes for a very exciting read! The characters are wonderfully 3-dimensional, and as always with this author, the conversation is witty & smart!

Made me a believer that whether witchcraft is real or not, the people who believe in it can be pretty scary. It's one book I've reread several times.