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When Maeve O’Brien’s boss sends her to a dreary old island to finalise some paperwork, she couldn’t be happier. It’s the career boost she needs to become a fully fledged lawyer - besides, it hasn’t been so great on the home front in Dublin. Maeve’s oldest friend and flatmate has kicked her out, and moving back in with her uptight mother has been less than cosy. But her reception on Hy Brasil, a remote island off the west coast of Ireland, couldn’t be any more hostile - it’s as if the island itself wants her gone.
Born to a pioneering family in Upstate New York in the late 1800s, Allene Tew was beautiful, impetuous, and frustrated by the confines of her small hometown. At eighteen, she met Tod Hostetter at a local dance, having no idea that the mercurial charmer she would impulsively wed was heir to one of the wealthiest families in America. But when he died twelve years later, Allene packed her bags for New York City. Never once did she look back.
Lizzie has always had bad luck. Losing her heart to her boss leads to her losing her job, and with no money in the bank Lizzie finds herself forced to move back home with her parents. Now in her 90s, Mrs Dallimore is also coming to terms with her situation. Old age is finally catching up with her. As they form the bond of unexpected friendship, Lizzie begins to realise that she's not the only person to attract bad luck and that sometimes life has a way of surprising you....
For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man. Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the '60s, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique.
Secrets told in the church ladies' room are supposed to stay in the ladies' room. But that doesn't mean that what Trudy overhears there during her great-aunt Gertrude's funeral won't change the rest of her life. Trudy has a daughter in the middle of a major rebellion; a two-timing husband who has been cheating for their entire married life; and a mother with Alzheimer's residing in the local nursing home.
Georgia Chambers has spent her life sifting through other people's pasts while trying to forget her own. But then her work as an expert on fine china - especially Limoges - requires her to return to the one place she swore she'd never revisit. It's been 13 years since Georgia left her family home on the coast of Florida, and nothing much has changed except that there are fewer oysters and more tourists.
When Maeve O’Brien’s boss sends her to a dreary old island to finalise some paperwork, she couldn’t be happier. It’s the career boost she needs to become a fully fledged lawyer - besides, it hasn’t been so great on the home front in Dublin. Maeve’s oldest friend and flatmate has kicked her out, and moving back in with her uptight mother has been less than cosy. But her reception on Hy Brasil, a remote island off the west coast of Ireland, couldn’t be any more hostile - it’s as if the island itself wants her gone.
Born to a pioneering family in Upstate New York in the late 1800s, Allene Tew was beautiful, impetuous, and frustrated by the confines of her small hometown. At eighteen, she met Tod Hostetter at a local dance, having no idea that the mercurial charmer she would impulsively wed was heir to one of the wealthiest families in America. But when he died twelve years later, Allene packed her bags for New York City. Never once did she look back.
Lizzie has always had bad luck. Losing her heart to her boss leads to her losing her job, and with no money in the bank Lizzie finds herself forced to move back home with her parents. Now in her 90s, Mrs Dallimore is also coming to terms with her situation. Old age is finally catching up with her. As they form the bond of unexpected friendship, Lizzie begins to realise that she's not the only person to attract bad luck and that sometimes life has a way of surprising you....
For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man. Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the '60s, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique.
Secrets told in the church ladies' room are supposed to stay in the ladies' room. But that doesn't mean that what Trudy overhears there during her great-aunt Gertrude's funeral won't change the rest of her life. Trudy has a daughter in the middle of a major rebellion; a two-timing husband who has been cheating for their entire married life; and a mother with Alzheimer's residing in the local nursing home.
Georgia Chambers has spent her life sifting through other people's pasts while trying to forget her own. But then her work as an expert on fine china - especially Limoges - requires her to return to the one place she swore she'd never revisit. It's been 13 years since Georgia left her family home on the coast of Florida, and nothing much has changed except that there are fewer oysters and more tourists.
Kate McDaid is listing her new-year’s resolutions hoping to kick-start her rather stagnant love life and career when she gets some very strange news. To her surprise, she is the sole benefactor of a great great-great-great aunt and self-proclaimed witch also called Kate McDaid, who died over 130 years ago. As if that isn’t strange enough, the will instructs that, in order to receive the inheritance, Kate must publish seven letters, one by one, week by week. Burning with curiosity, Kate agrees and opens the first letter – and finds that it’s a passionate plea to reconnect with the long-forgotten fairies of Irish folklore.
Almost instantaneously, Kate’s life is turned upside down. Her romantic life takes a surprising turn and she is catapulted into the public eye.
As events become stranger and stranger – and she discovers things about herself she’s never known before – Kate must decide whether she can fulfil her great-aunt’s final, devastating request ... and whether she can face the consequences if she doesn’t.
Witty, enchanting and utterly addictive, Reluctantly Charmed is about what happens when life in the fast lane collides with the legacy of family, love and its possibilities … and a little bit of magic.
I am a young Wiccan, a year older than the heroine, and I too have Irish ancestry, though I was born in the USA; I do believe in fairies among other supernaturals, so I Ioved the folklore and legend surrounding the fae and witches in this story. The characters were for the most part very relatable, and going by the audio alone the book seems well written. However, the climax of the story came very slowly, leaving only 3-4 shirt chapters to level out into an ending that was not entirely satisfying. Ialso wouldn't recommend the audiobook format for those who have trouble understanding heavy accents unlike their own; I had no problem with it, but I know others who would.
Would you try another book written by Ellie O'Neill or narrated by Kate Rawson?
I would listen to another book narrated by Kate Rawson, but I wouldn't bother with another book by this author.
What was most disappointing about Ellie O'Neill’s story?
Long winded and a bit boring.
Did Reluctantly Charmed inspire you to do anything?
No
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
I enjoyed this unexpected book. I laughed and was surprised and delighted in so many ways. Not one of those 'airy fairy' books - and the narrator was delightful.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
A bIt of fun! One of those books that can fill a Sunday afternoon in the sun! Fun story, great performance - but with the soft Irish accent the reader could have been reading me a dictionary and I would have stuck with it :)
Poor storyline and the whole story was pointless. Not sure what the author was trying to convey or if a message was hidden deep in the subtext and I just missed it but it was not an enjoyable listen.