Sariah Wilson is known for writing light romances that often feature main characters with novel careers; in “Hypnotized by Love,” main character Savannah Sinclair is a hypnotist. There are those who don’t believe in hypnotism and think she’s a charlatan, but Savannah knows she helps people. A recent would-be client whom she rebuffed after getting strange vibes has filed a professional complaint against her, so Savannah is on notice to be extra careful and professional if she wants to retain her license.

When her childhood best friend Mason, a bestselling author, arrives back in their small town, Savannah is not happy. After she and her twin sister Sierra practically grew up with Mason as part of their family, he betrayed Savannah by spreading a terrible rumor about her. Since that time, she hasn’t spoken to him. In fact, she’s avoided family activities if there was even a chance that he would be there. And now he’s approaching her and asking to be hypnotized for an article he’s writing.

But things don’t go as expected when Mason is in a trance. He reveals deep truths about his insecurities, and when a fire alarm goes off in the office building and they need to leave, Savannah is unable to quickly rouse him. Because they were interrupted in mid-session, right after Savannah gave him a suggestion to say “yes” more often, she’s worried that he is still suggestible and will say yes to things that are unsafe. She’s determined to protect him, even though she still hates him.

Savannah seems to be the only one who doesn’t realize that Mason is in love with her. Her inability to focus on anything but the terrible event in high school continues to affect her life and her behavior. She’s lost the ability to trust people since Mason was not only her best friend, but also someone she was falling for romantically. And then he betrayed her.

Well, as any romance reader knows, love and hate are just a hair’s breadth apart. What ensues is both typical romance novel attraction-in-spite-of-hate, but also a chance for Savannah to get some hurtful episodes from her past resolved. Truths are revealed, forgiveness is to be had, life lessons are learned, and everyone has a happy ever after. At least our two main characters do. And that’s just what we want for a romance novel ending.

This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.