The irrepressible Gale family--of the magical baked goods, shape-shifting men and stampeding sex drives--returns for a third adventure in Tanya Huff's Gale Girls series (The Enchantment Emporium, The Wild Ways).
When Charlotte "Charlie" Gale finds out an extinction-event-sized asteroid will hit Earth in 22 months, she doesn't panic--at least, not until she learns that not even her aunties, all formidable witches, can stop it because their magic is tethered to the earth. Charlie's own magic isn't linked to a certain location, but she can't affect the asteroid from such a great distance, and asking the fae Courts for help backfires into a firestorm of fairy mischief. Her only ally is her 17-year-old distant cousin Jack, a budding sorcerer who can shape-shift into dragon form.
Unfortunately for 30-year-old Charlie, spending time with Jack reminds her that they have feelings for each other that can't come to anything, thanks to arcane family rules about maximum marital age differences. Unfortunately for the Earth, Jack has no training or control over his power. The two will need more than the aunties' charmed pies to save the world, maneuver around family squabbles and machinations and maybe even have a shot at true love.
While hardcore urban-fantasy fans may catch on to the rules of Huff's complicated universe after a few chapters, it's probably best to read the first two titles in the series first. It'll be worth it: this quirky, girl-powered gambol delivers a powerful one-two punch of romance and magic. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads