As soon as I finished the first novel I'd read by Marika Cobbold, Drowning Rose, I downloaded this book. I loved this first read so much I couldn't wait to devour more of Mirika Cobbold's wonderful prose.
I love the cover and the title of this book - Purveyor of Enchantment - just wonderful. So I sat down expecting a pure enjoyment experience....... and thought what's going on here. It's started ok but I just wasn't sure where it was going, but continued on not really taking to the story immediately.
However, around the fourth chapter it gained momentum and all the wit, humour, and beautifully descriptive writing all came flooding back keeping me completely hooked and chuckling through this novel, finishing it in a couple of days.
It's a beautiful love story and I took to Clementine early on. She's big and clumsy, neurotic, a gentle generous soul, put upon, particularly by her half sister Orphelia, 'the whole child' and oooh such a meanie and selfish character. I didn't like her from the beginning but boy oh boy by the end of the book!
Clementine, privileged, with an inheritance from her late father inherits her aunt Elvira's house in an enchanting village and takes Orphelia in as her house mate (very foolish decision in my humble opinion, but of course helps the storyline!). With a lovely 'old boy' for a neighbour Mr. Scott. She befriends him and falls completely in love with his son Nathaniel who in turn falls in love with her.
Twists and turns begin, where I felt poor Clementine was badly let down by two special people in her life but she pulls through it with an imaginative set programme of events she puts in place to turn her life around.
I loved it and recommend it, nearly as highly as Drowning Rose. This won't be the last Marika Cobbold book I read.
