Traci E. Hall Reviews

Added March 29, 2008

Love's Magic

Author: Traci E. Hall
Publisher: Medallion Press
Available At: Bookstores Everywhere
Publishing Date: June 28, 2008
Genre: Romance: Paranormal/Historical
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Price: $7.95
ISBN-13: 9781933836270
Author Email/Website: www.traciehall.com
Reviewer: Sharyn McGinty
Rating: 9 Gargoyles

Descended from the female warrior Boudicea, Celestia Montehue has inherited the family gift of healing. Short, blonde with one green eye and one blue, she sticks out in a family of tall, red-haired women. However, unlike the other ladies of her station, she doesn't have to worry about marrying without love. Her gift demands she marry for love or she'll lose the gift forever. It comes as a great shock to everyone when the Montehue's liege lord Baron Peregrine goes against his agreement and demands Celestia marry his only son Nicholas. A hero returned from the Crusades, Nicholas is a broken man, tortured while imprisoned and carrying guilt and anger.

Forced to marry against their will, Nicholas and Celestia have nothing in common except the desire to get out of their arranged marriage. Yet the more time Celestia spends with Nicholas, the more she grows to admire him. Her healer instincts continually cry out for her to heal him. But with an evil father, a haunted keep, knights they cannot completely trust and murderer stalking them, is it even possible for Nicholas and Celestia to gain each other's trust and be friends, to say nothing of a true married couple?

I admit I love dark, tortured heroes in historical romances. And Traci Hall has created a fantastic hero in Nicholas. It was very easy to fall in love with him as Celestia did. His experiences during the Crusades and his sense of honor and nobility make it impossible to put Love's Magic down. Now if the heroine was like most heroines in historical romances and was completely Too-Stupid-To-Live, I'd still recommend this book. Thankfully, the heroine Celestia avoids the TSTL syndrome and is more than a match for Nicholas. Growing up with the gift of healing, she's worked hard to prove herself to her family's people and is well respected and loved. Now forced to marry a man she doesn't love, she's not only faced with losing her ability but also having to gain the trust of the villagers at her new home and prove to them she's not a witch, just a gifted healer. Oh, and somehow she must gain her husband's love, for somewhere along their journey to Falcon Keep she's fallen in love with him.

Love's Magic is really the perfect historical paranormal romance and one I will probably reread throughout the years. Making this book even more perfect is Celestia's family. They're loving, exasperating and fiercely loyal to each other, even willing to risk death and dishonor to save Celestia from marrying without love.

With her gripping storyline and superb characters, Traci Hall will have you believing in Love's Magic!

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This page was last updated on March 29, 2008

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