Adelaide, The Enchantress (The Delaneys, #4; The Delaneys of Killaroo, #1)

by Kay Hooper

[chymerra]

Adelaide, the Enchantress is book 1 of the Delaneys of Killaroo series by Kate Hooper. This book was first published in 1987 and it reflects it. Not saying that I didn’t enjoy it, I did, but I was taken down memory lane. I was 10 years old in 1987 and was not yet reading romance novels. That came about 4 years later. I have a very distinct memory of my grandmother reading bodice rippers. I have a very distinct memory of my grandfather getting mad at her for reading one in front of me. Why? Because seeing a half-naked man embracing a half-naked woman on the cover of the book might corrupt me. I laugh now but I can see why he thought that and why he strove to keep these types of books out of my sight.

Adelaide is a jockey who is set on racing her young stallion, Resolute, at the Melbourne Cup. She needs that money to help her father. She meets an American horse breeder, Shane Marston. Shane is dragged into a mystery with Addie, as Resolute is the target of sabotage. That sabotage leads to attempts at harm against Addie and Resolute. Addie and Shane are trying to figure out who wants to harm Resolute. While they are doing this they are giving in to their mutual attraction. That made for a very sensual book with a lot of mystery and thrills.

I liked Addie. She had almost a psychic connection with horses. She could get through to any horse that she rode. She also had a pet koala, which was adorable. Actually, Sebastian was more of Resolute’s pet then Addie’s. He used Addie as a ride to get to his horse…lol. The mystery about who was trying to harm Resolute bothered her because she didn’t know who it could be. It could have been anyone at the track, even those she trusted.

Shane wasn’t expecting to be poleaxed by his attraction to Addie. He was thrown for a loop when he saw Addie. He did give off a slight stalkerish vibe that went away about mid-book. I didn’t understand why he got so upset with Addie when she wouldn’t listen to him about stop being a jockey. When he explained, though, my annoyance with him went away. If someone I loved died that way, I would have acted the same way.

The sex between Shane and Addie was great. The author didn’t get very wordy with it, instead focusing on emotions. I did think that it came across as a little hokey when the experience was written as almost mystical. That whole scene with the deer was a little far out. But, I liked it. I also liked the romance part of the book. I will warn you like I said above, this book was written in 1987 and the romance part of the book reflects that. A little hokey (again that term!!) but very sweet. For those of you who don’t like Instalove (I am one of them), Shane and Addie’s romance is most definitely that. They knew each other for a week before expressing their never-ending love for each other. But, who am I to knock it. It worked in this book.

The end of the book felt a little rushed and again, a little dated. If what happened at the end of the book happened these days, that person would have been hauled off to jail. But that is why I liked this book so much. Because it was a throwback and it made me think of days that were more innocent than these days. The epilogue did make me smile too.

4 stars

My Summary of Adelaide, the Enchantress:

I enjoyed reading Adelaide, the Enchantress. It was a quick read and had everything a good romance needs. But, even more than that, I liked the plot. The main characters were relatable and that goes a long way towards me liking the book. I did think that having it be Instalove was a little hokey but it didn’t ruin the book for me. Actually, it made me like it even more.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Older Teen

Why: Mild language, mild sexual situations, and mild language

I would like to thank Kay Hopper, Random House Publishing Group, Loveswept and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Adelaide, the Enchantress

All opinions stated in this review of Adelaide, the Enchantress are mine. I also did not receive any compensation for this review.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**