Under My Spell

Under My Spell

by Deborah Wright

Time Warner $84

The premise of a nanny who is also a witch isn't hard to accept - it worked for Mary Poppins, after all - but everything else in this romantic comedy seems phoney.

No wife would hire a 'sex kitten who looked like she belonged in the centre-fold of Playboy' as a nanny, unless her husband was blind. And she certainly wouldn't put up with him openly flirting with her. We're told that our sexy, young witch-nanny has resolved not to use her powers in her new job, but she brings all her spells and potions along in her suitcase. When the wife, who works as a teacher, gets a cold, the nanny, with no teaching qualifications or experience, takes her class. When she can't control the children she resorts to using magic. Deborah Wright's third novel, like the last two, is irreverent and quirky but often silly.