There's Something About the Nanny . . .
by Judy Griffith Gill
Rated 4.0
Harlequin's Love & Laughter
ISBN# 0-373-44007-3
$3.50 U.S.; $3.99 Can
Reviewed 11/6/96 by Pam T.
If you have a passion for fairies and elves, pick up a copy of Judy Griffith Gill's, "There's Something About the Nanny . . ." Quite a lively story filled with magic.
Alan Magnus needs a nanny for his daughter who is almost four years old. Little Deanna is quite a handful and needs some positive influences. He only recently found out about her, several months after her mother's death. Apparently, a letter from his ex- girlfriend, Pippa, has been following him around as he moved a couple of times. Her mothers parents, Deanna's grandparents, have been keeping her until Alan could be found by the attorneys. They were not very loving as far as grandparents go, no toys, no birthdays -- basically, no fun. They were also not real happy when he took her away.
Elf of the Morning Mist a.k.a. Misty Fawkes, comes to Deanna when she wishes for a fairy. Mother of All is out of fairies that morning so she sends an elf instead. The two decide that Deanna's father, Alan, would not allow Deanna to keep a fairy or elf, so Elf of the Morning Mist becomes Misty Fawkes, the nanny.
He really wanted an older, motherly type nanny for Deanna, but finally gives in and let's Misty stay. Maybe he lets her stay because he finds himself attracted to her. And the other reason might be because . . . Deanna and Misty are holding hands and when he gets frustrated with Misty's elf stories he asks her to leave. She says fine (elves have to mind people's wishes you know) and begins to leave, taking Deanna with her. What else is she to do? She belongs to Deanna until Deanna releases her. Deanna has to be the one to let go of her. And there is no way that Deanna is going to let Misty leave. She wants an elf so badly. Even if she has to pretend the elf is her nanny, just to please her daddy.
Alan doesn't believe in any of Misty's claims of being an elf. Misty can not tell lies, and from the beginning is very truthful about herself. Alan believes she is just a very imaginative person and a very good cook. Alan loves her cooking - her cookies are always warm as if they just came out of the oven, her meals always taste wonderful. Of course, it's all done with magic, but that thought never crosses his mind.
Misty does not want to give up her magic nor her life as an elf. Loving Alan, a mortal, will cause her to become a mortal herself. She is not ready to do that. She loves her elf life.
This is a very cute story. In the beginning I had a little trouble with the attraction growing between Alan and Misty. I kept seeing her as that little elf balancing on the tree branch, almost child-like. So visualizing her as an adult that could love Alan, and he love her, took me a little while to get in to. Once it happened, I wanted them to be together forever.
Don't miss this one!