August 16, 2004
The second book of Catherine Coulter's magic trilogy tells the tale of Hawk's best friend, Lyonel Ashton. When West Indies heiress Diana Savarol comes to London to stay with Lyonel's aunt for the season, he is forced to squire them about London. Ever since he was betrayed by his fiancee, Lyonel has been very wary and distrustful of women. However the guileless Diana slips under his skin, setting them on a course of love and danger, but also showing that as a pair, they complement each other.
The love story of Calypso Magic is much lighter and easier to handle than the difficult relationship between Hawk and Frances in Midsummer Magic (Book 1). Diana's patron - Lyonel's aunt Lucia - is an excellent old battleaxe of a society lady and it's impossible not to like her. Readers will also love the dashing sea captain Raphael Carstairs who just begs for his own book (readers will not be disappointed - See book 3 Moonspun Magic). Lyonel learns to trust Diana and treats her with the respect she deserves, espcially after she's proven herself worthy on multiple occassions. This book covers four very different settings, all which further the plot and keep the reader interested - the glittering balls of London, a tiny cabin of a ship, a desert island and finally a sugar plantation in the heart of the West Indies. Coulter uses the settings well to introduce the characters to one another, to allow them time to fall in love, to allow them time to commit, and to solidify their future. Coulter does an excellent job of describing the sugar plantations of the West Indies as well as the serious social issues of slavery that were present at the time.
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