I am reading some fantastic books right now. My latest finding--okay, it came in the mail from the publisher--was Cathy Maxwell's THE SCOTTISH WITCH. This is the second book in the trilogy of The Chattan Curse, where a faithless young man who had been handfasted to one lady, marries a rich heiress and betrays his love. The betrayed lady kills herself, and the mother curses the young man and his family in revenge. In a most dramatic fashion.

The first in this series, LYON'S BRIDE, was quite wonderful (and I've been on quite a streak with Ms. Maxwell--ever since the book with the vicar who was a highwayman!)--and this one was just as good. I'm sure Terri can provide the emails of me saying, "I'm reading the best book!" and "This book is so good!"

At the beginning of this novel, the hero, Harry, is in Scotland to find the witch--or someone who can help with breaking the curse that is now affecting his brother (the hero in LYON'S BRIDE) and his health. He doesn't want to lose his brother; and he certainly doesn't want this curse extending beyond his generation (assuming the heir his brother's wife is having is a boy and therefore cursed). Harry isn't having a lot of luck finding an appropriate witch; the folks there are rather unwilling to help him, due to some Scottish grudge.

The heroine, Portia, is in a bit of a bind. She needs some money fast to pay rent for her family (her sister and mother), or they're going to be evicted. The owner of the cottage they live in doesn't really care for them--and would use this as a ready excuse to get rid of them. Therefore when she finds out a young lord is tossing money around, looking for a witch, and she just happens to find a book in her attic that has a few spells written in it, she decides she can pass for a witch long enough to get rent. And she does.

It all goes downhill from there. Well, conflict wise for the characters. For the reader, it's a delightful read.

And the love scene is pretty darn awesome.

Due to this being a three-book series, the curse doesn't get resolved in this book--and on top of it, yet another Chattan is in love (and thereby cursed as well), so it will be up to the third Chattan sibling, a sister, to figure out how to break the curse before her brothers succumb. Like the previous novel, it is a Happy For Now ending and the theme that "you don't know how much time you have; be true to your feelings" is prevalent. I tend to gravitate to themes where love conquers all (and I'm sure that will come into play in the third book) and redemption, but I have to say this theme is a nice change of pace. It's a good reminder.

So if your TBR pile is dwindling, move this one to the top. It's spooky, a little paranormal, romantic and nicely dramatic (what with what the mother does to create the curse). A great escape.

What great escapes have you been reading lately?