ENCHANTED BY STARLIGHT

Be careful what you wish for: For good or ill, magic comets fulfill the wishes of three women.

Restless, unhappy and full of desire, three very different women look up to the night sky and each make a wish on their own passing comet. Grace, jealous of her best friend’s charmed life, is granted the power to make men fall in love with her; Skylar, embarrassed of being poor, is given the power to bring money and success into her life; and Alina, haunted by her sister’s death, is bestowed the revenge-based power to undo the lives of others. For a short time, these newfound powers fulfill the women’s desires. Grace meets a wonderful man who dotes on her and buys her anything she desires. Skylar also meets a man, who promises to take care of her. And Alina, once Skylar’s high school friend, is put in the perfect place to get revenge on the friend that abandoned her. Hook impressively handles her three main characters, making each feel distinct and equally important. Grace’s, Skylar’s and Alina’s lives intersect at different points in the novel in a multitude of different ways. Grace falls for Liam, who has been in love with Skylar since high school, although he’s used Alina to fulfill his own needs; Alina crosses paths with Johnny, Skylar’s high school flame, who may just have his own comet-given powers; and Skylar befriends Grace, who happened to once work for the love of Skylar’s life, Darren. Despite a promising premise, Hook’s narrative is somewhat aimless and underdeveloped. There are lovely moments when Hook reaches for deeper meanings, as when Grace realizes the interconnectedness of everything, or in Alina’s struggle to free herself from Johnny. But all too often, Hook’s narrative revolves merely around how these women define themselves in relation to the men in their lives. Nonetheless, the scene of Grace’s wedding highlights the novel, as does the comets’ return.

Enchanting, though the desire for an enthralling tale might not be fulfilled.