A poet has just left her reading and book signing event and finds that part of the city strangely changed, making it impossible for her to locate where she parked her car.  It does not help that there are three thugs following her.  In a bid to escape them when they begin to chase her down a street, Miranda Stead shoves at a door and collapses onto a bar floor hurting her ankle in the process.  It looks like she has leapt out of the frying pan and into the fire when she finds herself in the midst of a less than welcoming group of robed and hooded people.  A tense conversation ensues with one of the members accusing her of being a spy.  Having watched the drama unfold, a handsome man stands and argues on her behalf.  This man takes her away with the intent of healing her injury and then removing all memory of the incident that has taken place. 

Sariel Valasay does not understand how a Moyenne, or ordinary human, could have found her way through the protective vortex hiding their meeting.  However, as a telepath he is under no doubt that Miranda is harmless and had no dark ulterior motives in stumbling upon their location.  He is immediately drawn to this feisty beauty and her humorous thoughts and replies.  When the time comes to take away her memories of her unusual encounter, Sariel finds that he can not yet bring himself to do the promised task. 

Les Croyant des Trois are a people who exist alongside the Moyenne but have learned to use magic.  Quain Dalzeil, one of their own, is determined to make himself invincible and then to recreate Croyant society to his liking.  Kallisto, Sariel’s former lover is at Quain’s side supporting him in this war.  If he succeeds, he will be all-powerful in a society where Moyenne will be enslaved. 

When You Believe is the intriguing first book in the Magical Temptation trilogy.  The graceful prose enchants and lends itself well to a story with a poet as a heroine.  Snippets of Miranda’s works and works in progress are brought to view as part of the narrative and they are charming morsels.  There is occasionally phrasing in the book which gives the sensation of being a little forced as if it had been reworked too much, but this is a small quibble. 

Both hero and heroine are engaging characters that readers will embrace.  Neither is written in the tone of perfect people.  They are vulnerable and make mistakes.  But they are also people who rise to the occasion fighting for the common good, battling personal demons and loving with tenacity. 

Miranda strikes one in some ways as the stereotypical angsty poet having believed in bad romantic relationships as more real and valuable than healthy ones.  It is to the author’s credit that our hopes for Miranda to find happiness with her magical hero are not lessened.  A small mystery regarding the heroine is quite well explained though the solution is clear due to the various indications salting the storyline.  This is a heroine with a bigger role to play than she realizes. 

Painful past experience makes Sariel somehow authentic for having been fallible.  That it was in regards to matters of the heart gives a poignant feel to his inability to stay away from Miranda.  His unexpected discovery of the one who drives away his loneliness appears barred to him by his duties to his people and potential danger to herself and him. 

The languorous first section focuses on the budding relationship of Sariel and Miranda as well as the coloring in of the background lore to the Croyant world.  Pacing increases as Sariel and other sorciers and sorcières search for and prepare to battle Quain and Kallisto.  Anticipation is skillfully built and the explanations and descriptions of magic used were vivid.  It certainly made for exciting reading though one part of the closing battle did jar with what looked like a plot inconsistency. 

Ms Inclán does a wonderful job of introducing us to Les Croyant des Trois.  The groundwork for the trilogy is set and one can hardly wait to see what will appear next.  Fans of the paranormal romance genre will be delighted with this unique voice that paints so beautifully with words.

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