The Amaranth Enchantment By: Julie Berry

Lucinda led a privileged with her mother and father up until the age of five.  One night her parents left for a ball and never came home.  They died in a carriage accident and she was sent to live with the husband and new wife of her late aunt.  She was raised as a servant and was beaten by the new aunt.  One day two extraordinary events happen... a wealthy woman comes into her uncles goldsmith shop to have a very rare precious gem fitted to a setting... the other is the prince comes in looking for a gift to his new fiance.  Lucinda feels pangs of longing for the prince but knows that her life would never be in sync with his and moves on.  That night a boy, Peter, comes to her window looking for a place to sleep and she lets him in. When she sends him out after breakfast she finds that he stole the large gem and she doesn't know where to find him.

Unfortunately her uncle dies in his sleep that next night and she is forced out of her home by the aunt.  The only thing she can think of is to go to the woman that brought in the gem and try to fix things.  She finds that this woman, the rumored Amaranth Witch, lives in her childhood home and they soon become close friends.  She has to find the gem that belongs to Beryl and return it to her.  She finds the boy who stole it only to find out that he is no longer in possession of it and agrees, for a price, to help her get it back.  With Peter helping her she will meet with Prince Gregor again and try to fix the mess that has been made only to find out that someone else wants the gem and is willing to kill to get it.  She will also learn about herself, friendship and what really happened the night her parents died.

There is a lot going on in this book and I loved it!  Lucinda is trying to get her mistakes fixed and is thrown into situations that would cripple most people and she comes out stronger.  I love the friendship that happens between her and Beryl and with her and Peter.  She even gets a friend in the form of a goat that acts like a dog. There are magical elements to this book but they didn't take center stage which was refreshing.  I loved the twists at the end of the book and of course the Happily Ever Afters.  I can't wait to take a look at some of the other books written by this author.

Read on September 18, 2011