The Wizard of Seattle by Kay Hooper is the story of Serena Smyth, a young woman who knows that she is a wizard and seeks out the wizard of Seattle to teach her how to control her powers.

Arriving on the doorstep of Richard Patrick Merlin she is unable to hide her powers from him and soon finds herself under his tutelage.
 

Richard Merlin knows that taking Serena into his house is forbidden but he cannot stop himself from helping her despite the laws of his people and his own gut instincts with regard to women of power.

Keeping a low profile Merlin teaches Serena how to control her powers while to the outside world he becomes her Uncle and guardian.

For nine years Serena studied under Merlin, slowly learning about her powers and slowly falling in love with the master wizard.

But Serena does not realise the danger she is in by just being with Merlin.  Nor does she realise the danger she is putting them both in when she attracts the attention of a journalist hot on the scent of a story.

Jeremy Kane knows that there is a story in the reclusive business man Merlin and his successful niece.  While he does not know the details of the story he is determined to sniff them out and re-launch his flagging career.  The story he prints is not sensational; he is not the first person to insinuate that Merlin and Serena are not uncle and niece, and since Merlin does not appear to return Serena's feelings there is no evidence in his story.

However the story is printed all over the USA and merely the linking of the wizard and the woman is enough to put them in danger.

Summoned by the Council of Elders Merlin leaves Serena in Seattle to stand before them for the crime of teaching a woman of power.  His punishment however is more damaging to Serena when Merlin is told that he must remove all her powers from her.  If he disobeys and does not complete the task the Council will do it themselves and punish Merlin as well, possibly by removing his powers, a thing he knows will kill him as surely as it will kill Serena.

Agreeing to the Council's demand Merlin returns to Serena and sets about discovering why the laws separating the men and women of power came about.  If he can discover this he believes he can try to change the minds of the Council.

Researching quickly he finds small clues that point to the legendary Atlantis as a turning point in the history of wizards.  Deciding to travel back in time to the last days of Atlantis Merlin and Serena set out on their quest to change the laws of the wizards so that they can remain together.  Serena at this point is still unaware of the fact that Merlin has broken an ancient law or of what has happened with the Council.

When they arrive at Atlantis (Atlantia) they soon discover that the segregation of male and female wizards has already happened.  However unlike in the modern world where women of power are virtually unheard of, here in Atlantia there are many more.

The male wizards have made there homes high in the mountains and the female wizards are in the valley in a well defended city.

The men and women without power are terrifying mutants who appear to have been affected by the overflow of power from the wizards.

Another effect of the power is a curtain that falls over the valley at night making anyone beneath it powerless.  The male wizards, high on the mountain, are safe but the women are rendered helpless each night.

Serena and Merlin disguise themselves as travellers and Serena shields her powers from the locals as they search for a way to change the course of history and protect their love.

A wonderfully entertaining and well thought out story set both in modern times and the mythical Atlantis.

The characters and their issues are especially well thought out.  Merlin's battles against his feelings for Serena and the instincts that have been passed down to him through generations of mistrust of women are particularly moving.

There is also a great deal of humour in the book a couple of the highlights being Serena revealing her powers to Varian and Merlin and Serena's confrontation with Kane.

Unmissable, this book is one to read again and again!!
 

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Also by Kay Hooper:  The Delaney Christmas Carol