Helpful Score: 7
I absolutely LOVED this book. I found out some of the characters were in the "Wallflower" series (the one with seasons in the title) that Kleypas put out, so I am glad I read this beforehand.
I will continue to read this author!!!
I will continue to read this author!!!
Helpful Score: 5
I like L. Kleypas's books. Her heroines hold their own against their handsome, wealthy sexy yet need-to-be-taken-down-a-few-notches heros. This time around,its the story of Lady Aline and John McKenna. They were childhood loves of two different social classes that meet as children, fall in love as teens and are forced apart due to fate. Like all true star-crossed lovers, they do meet each other again as adults and pick up where they left off. Of course, its not so cut and dry as that...there is lots of flirting, romance, and intrigue.
Helpful Score: 5
This has got to be one of the best books Ms. Kleypas has ever written. Could not put it down.
Helpful Score: 3
This is one of the best romances I've ever read! I was completely cought up in the plotline (which was good and had be until the very end) and the sexiness of this whole book - I highly recommend it, my first by this author.
Helpful Score: 2
I feel the magic, again, in reading another awesome Lisa Kleypas book (sorry i had to say it). Again the Magic is not only a great romance about McKenna and Aline but throws in another entire story about Livia and Gideon. Kind of a two-for-one book. As always she combines great historical romance with hot love scenes and a real love story and great dialogue.
I became a Kleypas fan during the Hathaways series and have been kind of reading her books in reverse order. I loved Marcus when I read about him in the Nick Gentry book and then in the Wallflowers series. I was so glad to see him again in this book and learn about his family and sisters. (I guess technically this would be the introduction of Marcus, but like I said, reading them in reverse.)
I'm never that wild about romances that begin when the characters are but teenagers and then reunite as adults. Personally I would never date today anyone I dated in high school, hard to imagine finding your one true love at that age. But Kleypas can do no wrong and this story was as good as any of her others. A keeper for me.
I became a Kleypas fan during the Hathaways series and have been kind of reading her books in reverse order. I loved Marcus when I read about him in the Nick Gentry book and then in the Wallflowers series. I was so glad to see him again in this book and learn about his family and sisters. (I guess technically this would be the introduction of Marcus, but like I said, reading them in reverse.)
I'm never that wild about romances that begin when the characters are but teenagers and then reunite as adults. Personally I would never date today anyone I dated in high school, hard to imagine finding your one true love at that age. But Kleypas can do no wrong and this story was as good as any of her others. A keeper for me.
Helpful Score: 2
Story of Westcliff's sisters. It was good but not as good as the other Wallflower books.
Helpful Score: 1
Kleypas (Worth Any Price, etc.) has made a name for herself with her darkly sensual historical romances and her willingness to treat the social issues of the Victorian era with the same intensity she brings to the relationships in her novels. Her latest book follows the romance between childhood friends Lady Aline Marsden and stable boy John McKenna. When the budding romance between Aline and McKenna is discovered, McKenna is banished from the estate. In order to protect him from her father's wrath, Aline makes McKenna believe that she's rejecting him because of his lowly status. Now a real estate tycoon in New York City, McKenna returns with a plan-to seduce and abandon Aline as punishment for her earlier rejection. However, McKenna is unaware of the secrets Aline has kept all this time, and he's unprepared for the passion that he and Aline still share. Although the conflict between hero and heroine could be resolved with one honest conversation, the author creates a believable reason for their continued silence. Kleypas also explores some intriguing issues, particularly in a subplot involving Aline's sister and a charming alcoholic who accompanies McKenna. All in all, this is another solid effort from an author who has established herself as one of the premier names in the genre.
Helpful Score: 1
Awesome Book! I couldn't put it down! I didn't know that I needed to read this one BEFORE the "seasons" series.
Helpful Score: 1
A very nice regency with a rich well born girl in love with a poor horse worker, whothen makes it big and wants revenge.
Helpful Score: 1
enjoyable romance, engaging characters, good, not great.
Helpful Score: 1
Lisa Kleypas always writes a good romance and this is a good one. I actually read it twice and enjoyed it both times.
A rather ham-handed prequel to, though it is better than...the Wallflower series. IMHO, not as good as Derek Craven's story (Dreaming of You). This takes place on the periphery of that world, as its heroines are the younger sisters of Lord Wescliff, Lillian Bowman's beloved in one of the forgettable Wallflowers books...their story takes place later in the timeline.
Kleypas is a writer who sometimes frustrates me because she can be pretty good - but also may disappoint, as she does here with a somewhat heavy handed and manufactured-feeling plot and device to keep the characters apart. In fact, you get the impression that the story would have been too thin with only the main couple's love story to hold it...and so the author has given us the tale of the other sister's love story in the margins, somewhat abbreviated and incomplete, and therefore unsatisfying.
PASS.
Want a writer whose worst is still d*mn good? Try Laura Kinsale...Flowers From the Storm is probably her best...but some of them are very very close.
Kleypas is a writer who sometimes frustrates me because she can be pretty good - but also may disappoint, as she does here with a somewhat heavy handed and manufactured-feeling plot and device to keep the characters apart. In fact, you get the impression that the story would have been too thin with only the main couple's love story to hold it...and so the author has given us the tale of the other sister's love story in the margins, somewhat abbreviated and incomplete, and therefore unsatisfying.
PASS.
Want a writer whose worst is still d*mn good? Try Laura Kinsale...Flowers From the Storm is probably her best...but some of them are very very close.
I have loved all the books in the wallflower series. This one was very good. I had a hard time putting it down.
LK is one of my favorite authors. That said, the premise of young lovers torn apart and revenge after XX years isn't one of my favorite themes. I enjoyed this and the tension between them was good but I kept having to get 'over it'
Pamela W. (booklover59) - , reviewed Again the Magic (Wallflowers, Prequel) on + 4 more book reviews
Loved this book.
I loved this novel. It was engaging from beginning to end, and I was surprised to get two love stories in it!
Great characters, good story. Not her best but certainly entertaining.
This was a very good book. I love books when the couple meet and fall in love, break up, and meet again years later and rekindle that love. This book did not disappoint.
Romance-A love story to last from childhood.
I really liked this book and the characters. Definitely one to read and enjoy.
I had to skim some of the details because they just went on too long but, all in all, I liked this story. This is the first Lisa Kleypas book I have read and I look forward to reading more by her
Kleypas does it again. A great read!
I really really liked this book. Alot. The bond between the two was amazing. And this heroine actually had, what I thought, was a good reason for turning the hero away. A great love story. I've been reading from All About Romance's top 100 romances, and I am actually surprised this isn't on there, as there are several of her other books on the list. Well, I believe it's made my top 100 list. :)
very good!
I like the supporting characters better then hero and heroine, and the book didn't go as smoothly for me as Lisa Kleypas usualy does, but all in all - I enjoyed it very much
Dawn R. (godblessourhome) reviewed Again the Magic (Wallflowers, Prequel) on + 518 more book reviews
daughter of the upperclass in love with the stable boy. father sends him away, and he comes back after making money in america for revenge.
Give yourself plenty of time when reading this book, its really good and you can't put it down.
After many many months of hearing about Lisa Kleypas and being recommended her books, I thought it was about time that I give her writing a try. I am not sure I chose the right book to start with now that I have finished it. I didn't dislike it, but I can't say that I really liked it either. But let me start at the beginning...
I liked the set up for the story. Soulmates torn apart by lies and circumstance only to be thrust back together again by his desire for revenge. That is a good story and I was eager to see how it played out. Unfortunately it wasn't quite what I expected. At first I really liked Aline. She was spunky, honest, and full of life. While I didn't agree with her reasons for sending McKenna away initially, I understood the reasoning. But later she seems so pretentious, prideful, and completely non trusting. If he is her soulmate, how can she be so totally uncertain that he will accept her for something that is not her fault to begin with? That's not love honey, you can't love someone completely but not trust them at the same time.
McKenna was another character I liked...at first. I am all for a manly man, I prefer it to the horrendous fad of metrosexual men in romance novels who are most of the way to being women. But there is a difference in manly man and just being an arrogant ass who has serious control issues and stalker tendencies. He's going to have sex with her until she is convinced to trust him whether she protests or not? Um, that's dangerously close to rape and I don't find that sexy or manly at all. Very big cavernous difference between a manly man taking control in the bedroom and coming close to rape. The more McKenna showed up the less I liked him. He's an angry control freak, with serious tendencies toward being a stalker and a rapist.
I also disliked the second romance storyline with Livia. It was a good romance but it felt squeezed in and rushed, and took time away from the main romance which was then left unfinished and hurried into a resolution. It would have worked better as a sideline plot that wasn't fully explored but provided a basis for another story in a different book.
I'm not sure if this last part is the fault of editing or confusion on the author's part but this book has serious issues with time. I had no idea how old anyone was because it kept changing. In the beginning of the book Aline was in her mid teens, 16 or 17. But then later its said that she's 31 and they've been apart for 12 years...but that would have made her 19. And timing in the novel was abrupt and left virtually unexplained and made it difficult to follow. In one chapter its one moment, then its 2 years later, then is 12 years later, then suddenly its a few weeks after that, then its a few days after that, confusing! Finally, the descriptions on this novel were just strange. Apparently Aline "gave her innocence" to McKenna in one passion filled night. But that never actually happened, they messed around but never had sex, and it was way more than just once. So she gave her innocence to him, but then later was a virgin. Sorry Lisa Kleypas, you can only give away your innocence once! So make up your mind, did she become a non virgin during the messing around or the sex 12 years later, because it can't be both ways.
But I will give this book one saving grace, it was actually accurate to the time period. I have read way too many historical romances where somehow Brazilian waxes are all the rage in the 1800s. News flash authors, there was no clean shaven private areas until well into the latter half of the 1900s. So this novel was accurate in that sense, and I appreciated that. Ultimately I would give a Lisa Kleypas book another shot, but this one was a stinker for me.
I liked the set up for the story. Soulmates torn apart by lies and circumstance only to be thrust back together again by his desire for revenge. That is a good story and I was eager to see how it played out. Unfortunately it wasn't quite what I expected. At first I really liked Aline. She was spunky, honest, and full of life. While I didn't agree with her reasons for sending McKenna away initially, I understood the reasoning. But later she seems so pretentious, prideful, and completely non trusting. If he is her soulmate, how can she be so totally uncertain that he will accept her for something that is not her fault to begin with? That's not love honey, you can't love someone completely but not trust them at the same time.
McKenna was another character I liked...at first. I am all for a manly man, I prefer it to the horrendous fad of metrosexual men in romance novels who are most of the way to being women. But there is a difference in manly man and just being an arrogant ass who has serious control issues and stalker tendencies. He's going to have sex with her until she is convinced to trust him whether she protests or not? Um, that's dangerously close to rape and I don't find that sexy or manly at all. Very big cavernous difference between a manly man taking control in the bedroom and coming close to rape. The more McKenna showed up the less I liked him. He's an angry control freak, with serious tendencies toward being a stalker and a rapist.
I also disliked the second romance storyline with Livia. It was a good romance but it felt squeezed in and rushed, and took time away from the main romance which was then left unfinished and hurried into a resolution. It would have worked better as a sideline plot that wasn't fully explored but provided a basis for another story in a different book.
I'm not sure if this last part is the fault of editing or confusion on the author's part but this book has serious issues with time. I had no idea how old anyone was because it kept changing. In the beginning of the book Aline was in her mid teens, 16 or 17. But then later its said that she's 31 and they've been apart for 12 years...but that would have made her 19. And timing in the novel was abrupt and left virtually unexplained and made it difficult to follow. In one chapter its one moment, then its 2 years later, then is 12 years later, then suddenly its a few weeks after that, then its a few days after that, confusing! Finally, the descriptions on this novel were just strange. Apparently Aline "gave her innocence" to McKenna in one passion filled night. But that never actually happened, they messed around but never had sex, and it was way more than just once. So she gave her innocence to him, but then later was a virgin. Sorry Lisa Kleypas, you can only give away your innocence once! So make up your mind, did she become a non virgin during the messing around or the sex 12 years later, because it can't be both ways.
But I will give this book one saving grace, it was actually accurate to the time period. I have read way too many historical romances where somehow Brazilian waxes are all the rage in the 1800s. News flash authors, there was no clean shaven private areas until well into the latter half of the 1900s. So this novel was accurate in that sense, and I appreciated that. Ultimately I would give a Lisa Kleypas book another shot, but this one was a stinker for me.
I enjoyed reading this book. I found the story held my interest and kept me curious as to how it would end.
Very enjoyable book
Good storytelling...
Joan W. (justreadingabook) reviewed Again the Magic (Wallflowers, Prequel) on + 1710 more book reviews
Really enjoyed this storyline and the characters. A great read.
One of my favorites of all time!!
Great book.
Great book!
This was an extremely emotional read, right from the beginning. I felt for both Aline & McKenna, in their forbidden love, due to being in different classes. They were apart for 12 years, in which time McKenna made his fortune in America & Aline has been in a fire & suffered terrible burns. It is obvious that they are both still in love & tension is high. I have to say, I cried while reading this throughout. There is a secondary romance of Aline's sister Livia and the American, Gideon Shaw. I had recently read the Wallflowers & hadn't realized that Again the Magic introduced these characters, as well as Aline & Livia's brother, the ever present Marcus Westcliff. Love that guy! Love conquers all in this story, for both couples.
From Back Cover: She gave him her innocence... Lady Aline Marsden was brought up for one reason: to make an advantageous marriage to a member of her own class. Instead, she willingly gave her innocence to John McKEnna, a servant on her father's estate. Their passionate transgression was unforgivable--John was sent away, and Aline was left to live in the countryside...an exile from London society. ...and he took her love. Now McKenna has made his fortune, and he has returned--more boldly handsome and more mesmerizing than before. His ruthless plan is to take revenge on the woman who shattered his dreams of love. But the magic between them burns as bright as ever. And now he must decide whether to let vengeance take its toll...or risk everything for his first, and only, love.
Lady Aline Marsden was brought up for one reason: to make an advantageous marriage to a member of her own class. Instead, she willingly gave her innocence to John McKenna, a servant on her father's estate. Their passionate transgression was unforgivable-John was sent away, and Aline was left to live in the countyside...and exile from London society.
...and he took her love.
Now McKenna has made his fortune, and he has returned-more boldly handsome and more mesmerizing that before. His ruthless plan is to take revenge on the woman who shattered his dreams of love. But the magic between them burns as bright as ever. And now he must decide whether to let vengence take its toll...or risk everything for his first, and only, love.
...and he took her love.
Now McKenna has made his fortune, and he has returned-more boldly handsome and more mesmerizing that before. His ruthless plan is to take revenge on the woman who shattered his dreams of love. But the magic between them burns as bright as ever. And now he must decide whether to let vengence take its toll...or risk everything for his first, and only, love.
his kisses were unlike anything she had ever felt before
I loved this book!
She gave him her innocence . . .Lady Aline Marsden was brought up for one reason: to make an advantageous marriage to a member of her own class. Instead, she willingly gave her innocence to John McKenna, a servant on her father's estate. Their passionate transgression was unforgivable -- John was sent away, and Aline was left to live in the countryside . . . an exile from London society . . .and he took her love.
Now McKenna has made his fortune, and he has returned -- more boldly handsome and more mesmerizing than before. His ruthless plan is to take revenge on the woman who shattered his dreams of love. But the magic between them burns as bright as ever. And now he must decide whether to let vengeance take its toll . . . or risk everything for his first, and only, love.
She gave him her innocence . . .Lady Aline Marsden was brought up for one reason: to make an advantageous marriage to a member of her own class. Instead, she willingly gave her innocence to John McKenna, a servant on her father's estate. Their passionate transgression was unforgivable -- John was sent away, and Aline was left to live in the countryside . . . an exile from London society . . .and he took her love.
Now McKenna has made his fortune, and he has returned -- more boldly handsome and more mesmerizing than before. His ruthless plan is to take revenge on the woman who shattered his dreams of love. But the magic between them burns as bright as ever. And now he must decide whether to let vengeance take its toll . . . or risk everything for his first, and only, love.
She gave him her innocence...
... and he took her love
Their passonate transgression was unforgivable - John McKenna, a servant on Lady Aline Marsden's father's estate was sent away, and Aline was left to live in the countryside... an exile from London society.
... and he took her love
Their passonate transgression was unforgivable - John McKenna, a servant on Lady Aline Marsden's father's estate was sent away, and Aline was left to live in the countryside... an exile from London society.
She gave him her innocence...
Lady Aline Marsden was brought up for one reason: to make an advantageous marriage to a member of her own class. Instead, she willingly gave her innocence to John McKenna, a servant on her father's estate. Their passionate transgression was unforgivable--John was sent away, and Aline was left to live in the countryside.... an exile from London society.
...and he took her love.
Now McKenna has made his fortune, and he has returned--more boldly handsome and more mesmerizing than before. His ruthless plan is to take revenge on the woman who shattered his dreams of love. But the magic between them burns as bright as ever. And now he must decide whether to let vengeance take its toll... or risk everything for his first, and only, love.
Lady Aline Marsden was brought up for one reason: to make an advantageous marriage to a member of her own class. Instead, she willingly gave her innocence to John McKenna, a servant on her father's estate. Their passionate transgression was unforgivable--John was sent away, and Aline was left to live in the countryside.... an exile from London society.
...and he took her love.
Now McKenna has made his fortune, and he has returned--more boldly handsome and more mesmerizing than before. His ruthless plan is to take revenge on the woman who shattered his dreams of love. But the magic between them burns as bright as ever. And now he must decide whether to let vengeance take its toll... or risk everything for his first, and only, love.
Signed Copy.
Purchased from a public library sale, has a sticker showing libraries name on cover.
