Denise Tyler – Broken Wand

‘Broken Wand’ by Denise Tyler is a book that I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading. I soon found out that it was a ‘magical read. This is yet another example of why I love my hobby of book blogging.

Mike is nearly 40 and managing a coffee shop. He is single and lonely with parents that are impatiently waiting for him to settle down. The highlight of his life is the time spent performing his magic act in a Romford pub. Even this is getting to him as he is struggling to find any magic these days. Then there is Angelique, she sees a magic act being performed in a small Romford pub and just knows there is potential in the act. Being a project consultant for a media company she can spot a possible chance to help Mike while helping her own career.

Mike and Angelique become surprisingly good friends as they bond over past experiences. When Angelique is assaulted on a train and makes a statement to the press she is suddenly thrown into a spotlight and Mike is left wondering if there is any magic left in this world.

This book is a perfect example of the little gems of books I miss every day in my reading life. Without a blog tour, I may have bypassed this totally but luckily I was invited to the tour. I am so happy I got to read this story of friendship, dreams and the occasional magic in real life. It proves the saying if something good comes along grab it with both hands as it may never come round again.

Mike and Angelique are a partnership that I immediately became invested in. They are both well-drawn and as the story unfolded they developed, even more, we got to know their whole worlds with everything and everyone around them becoming familiar. This really helped make the story feel real and I felt like I was reading about friends of my own.

The story Is told by both characters with Mike being the one I felt like I knew and Angelique making me want to know more about her.

One thing that really made me emotional in this story was that Angelique’s main issue was that she suffers from Achondroplasia- dwarfism and the pre-conceived opinions from other people. This made me want to fight for her and hold her close as she was tormented in a way with being judged on that alone. I really could understand how she felt as I feel judged because of my issues also.

Denise Tyler has written a story of magic that deals with issues that are not superficial and handles them so well. Even the fact that success is not as easy as it seems to be. Throughout this story, we see that magic is not just on the stage but all around us, in friendships and little things you would not think about. It is really up to us to make the magic happen.

Thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours and Denise Tyler for the gift of this ‘magical’ book.