Conflict between the two halves of her business life, and
between her new relationship with an editor and his
journalistic career, are at the heart of TEXAS MAGIC, about
Caroline Coopersmith in Dallas, Texas.
Caroline and the best man, Drew Montgomery, meet for the
first time at a wedding and the girl uncharacteristically
spends the night with him. She has a hectic working life,
with no time for love, but she decides that she is not
going to get burned. Drew turns out to be very interested
in continuing the relationship so, ignoring the warnings of
others that he is a newsman and only trying to dig up dirt,
Caroline reverts to her formal manner and insists on three
dates before any more intimacy.
Caroline works in the family accountancy firm where her
father expects her to take over as senior partner, but by
night she bakes cakes for a catering firm called
Celebrations Inc., which she runs with her friends.
Another girl's father is the boss of Texas Star, a major
firm which Drew's newspaper, the Dallas Journal of Business
and Development, has been hounding for alleged
improprieties. Drew observes that all is not well but
passes the work to another journalist because Caroline's
family firm is Texas Star's accountant. When the story of
corporate misdeeds hits the headlines, Caroline, who has
just been signed for a reality cooking show, can't get
answers from a patronizing manager at the accountancy firm;
and her lover tells her flatly that "Reporters are the
watchdogs of society." She has to make choices, and it
won't be easy.
I have two criticisms. The tale opens with a few pages
telling the story of a woman called Maya making chocolates.
She never enters the story again and has nothing more to
contribute. So feel free to skip over this distracting
character and get to the nub of the tale. More importantly,
nobody ever looks out a window or steps out of a car on the
highway and shows me what the Texas environment looks like,
or describes the night in downtown Dallas. This may be
called Texas Magic, but it could be located in any city in
the US, with scenes set in offices, apartments and
kitchens. For that reason I felt it lacked atmosphere.
The author Nancy Robards Thompson has a degree in
journalism which she puts to good use in describing the
principles and procedures of journalism, and she has
created a cast of characters who act believably in the
situations. TEXAS MAGIC is a readable tale of two people
trying
to find love with each other and still retain their
principles.
If Caroline Coopersmith had her way, she would refuse to run
the family firm. She wouldn't put up with her sister's
bridezilla antics. She would sign on as Celebrations,
Inc.'s, full-time pastry chef. And just this once, she would
treat herself to something better than Belgian chocolate: a
night of bliss with her sister's best man, journalist Drew
Montgomery.
For Drew, the foundation of a good story is fact. And when
it comes to Caroline, the facts are easy: she makes him feel
electrically charged, and he can't stop daydreaming about a
future with her. Drew has never believed in love at first
sight...until now. If he gives in to Caroline today, will
she make room for him in her heart tomorrow?
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