Fans of Evanovich have a new series to revel in, although a few characters are familiar. Lizzy Tucker has a way with cupcakes, and she’s inherited a great-aunt’s 1740 saltbox house in Salem, Massachusetts, plying her trade at Dazzle’s Bakery in town. Who should turn up in her living room but Diesel (Visions of Sugar Plums, 2002), who is extremely handsome, very strong, and not entirely human (if not entirely angelic). Diesel is locked into a cosmic battle with his cousin Wulf, specter-thin with more than an air of sulfur about him. Lizzy, who may or may not have a secret, special ability, is needed by Wulf and Diesel to recognize objects of magical power. What follows is a romp that careens wildly between impossibly silly and impossibly adorable (and includes the reemergence of Carl the monkey from Evanovich’s Plum Spooky, 2009). Lizzy gamely attempts to make sense of oddly magical occurrences (in possession of one of the magic charms, she can’t stop eating; in possession of another, she wants household goods and babies now), while simultaneously dealing with some fairly specific threats involving Wulf and resisting Diesel’s obvious affection and attraction. Classic Evanovich tropes like the replacement of trashed vehicles and the dumb-but-charming sidekick who refuses to learn from her mistakes are in evidence, as well as a gentle snarkiness about role-playing, angels and demons, and otherworldly almost-boyfriends. --GraceAnne A. DeCandido --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
