The Regency-inspired kingdom of Calatini is filled with magic and tender romance. But even in Calatini, magic comes with a cost, and sometimes a curse can become a blessing.
Kit, the young, widowed Countess of Blaine, must remarry. She's already chosen the perfect husband-except she can't stand his kisses. But on Longnight, the Goddess blesses her with a powerful illusion: Kit shall appear a hideous crone until she becomes who she was meant to be. Before anyone from court sees her, she flees to the one person she knows shall help-Mel, the gentleman she loved as a girl who is now a priest for the Goddess.
Mel, the middle son of a wealthy duke but called to serve the Goddess, has been avoiding Kit since discovering her cruel lies separated his brother from the girl he loved. But when Kit begs Mel for his help, he feels compelled to agree for the sake of the devout and tender girl he'd once loved.
But no one can break the Goddess's illusion, not even a wise elf or a powerful seer. So with Mel's support, Kit settles into life at the Goddess's temple. She and Mel continue to clash, and those clashes soon lead to passionate kisses-ones she actually enjoys. But a priest would never marry an unworthy lady like her, and she can't live the rest of her life as a crone.
Somehow, Kit must break her unwanted illusion, forget about Mel, and return to court where she belongs. Yet the Goddess's plans are not so easy to foil, and she has other ideas for Kit and Mel.
The Goddess's Illusion is Jane Austen meets Howl's Moving Castle, with the outpouring of magic, fantasy, and clean romance that make the Calatini Tales beloved.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "As I continue to read the stories in the Calatini world, I'm completely captured by the writing of Katherine Dotterer ... the romance in this is mostly clean and certainly swoonworthy."
