What do you do when you recognize that the lead character in a cartoon is actually a human trapped by an evil witch? Simple: you rescue him, thus opening a whole new can of worms. Ryne is a magical troubleshooter whose job is to protect humans from the weird world of magical creatures,
yet never allowing humans to know that whole world exists. When she rescues Deke Summers from the cartoon, she discovers he was put there by her evil instructor and nemesis, Anise, and that unless she finds a way to undo the spell before the next Full Moon, he'll be stuck in the cartoon forever.
After having found himself improbably stuck in a cartoon, Deke
now finds himself almost useless. Ryne has all the magical skills, all the magical knowledge, and all he can do is rile her up and occasionally use a few of his P.I. skills. However, as they spend more time together and investigate why Anise tried to trap him in the cartoon, he finds out there's more to him than
he knew. He and Ryne together are stronger than the sum of their parts, but can he be saved from being an eternal cartoon
- and, if he is saved, will he ever remember her?
There are some hugely unlikely parts of this book (even the names seemed very weird to me): the cartoon; the magical abilities that seem to expand to fit every plot requirement; the fact that the hero and heroine share a bed for two weeks before anything happens. The plot has some variety although it drags in places, and the magical world is different in some ways from the norm.
The writing can be rather turgid in places, the romance a little cringe-worthy at times, and although Ryne is an appealing character because of her forcefulness, honesty and sense of responsibility, and Deke is a great hero who is aware of his limitations but also honorable and kind, the connection between the two of them doesn't always gel. It's a reasonable read but nothing special.