Magic Man

Finally! Aidan's story! I've been waiting for this for a while. Aidan has been the mysterious relative of the Malcolms--or is it the Iveses--throughout this historical romance series about two families with magical gifts. He has a habit of coming to the characters' aid and then disappearing, always disparaging those magical gifts and denying any suggestion that he might have gifts of his own. And that's how we find him at the beginning of Magic Man--minding his own business, until he's summoned to the aid of the Malcolms, and the itch on his nose leads him straight to their visitor, Mora, who's being attacked by brigands. Mora, for her part, would love to have magical gifts, but doesn't believe she does. Still, when her adoptive parents dies and she'll have to leave her home, she sees no harm in trying A Spelle for Trubble in the Journal of Lessons her mother left her. The answer to her troubles comes in the form of an invitation to stay at the Malcolms' country estate, and the man who saves her from attack, and who seems to be able to make the earth move--literally. Aidan is also on the verge of losing his home to a greedy aunt who insists his illegitimacy makes him ineligible to inherit. Making matters worse, she intends to expand her coal mine, destroying the homes of his tenants. As he searches for some other heir or some way to protect his land and people, it becomes more and more difficult to deny his heritage and his magical gifts, particularly with Mora around, who's developing gifts of her own, and also discovering her own heritage. While I enjoyed the magic/paranormal aspects of the story, what made it exceptional for me was the characters and their romance. Both Aidan and Mora are complex characters, and both are dealing with similar issues, though from different angles. They're both dealing with a loss of their homes, a lack of family, and the possibility of magic talents. And just as their magic talents complement each other, so do their family and home issues, making Magic Man satisfying both emotionally--because I cared about the characters, and intellectually--because the story fit together so completely. Unfortunately, Magic Man is the last of the series. I'm going to miss the Malcolms and the Iveses, but kudos to Ms. Rice for not drawing a series out until it gets dull. I'm going to have to check out her other books--in my experience, a talent like this for characterization and satisfying romance plots carries over to other sub-genres.

I received this in excellent shape, and very very fast. I am totally satisfied.

The only problem with Patricia Rice's "Magic" series is that she can't write them fast enough. I was eagerly awaiting Aidan's story from the time he was first introduced and I was not disappointed with his story. I have all six in the series and have read all of them at least twice.

I don't usually go for serial books, but this series was great. Romantic and funny with just enough wooooOOOOoooo in it to make it a page turner. The series follows a family of women, each with "special" abilities. Throughout those books, one mysterious character kept popping in and out. I was dying to find out his connection to both families involved. This is the book that follows his story. You won't be disappointed. One of the great things about this series is that you don't have to read the other books to understand this one. But it helps. Patricia Rice writes them like I like them. Romantic and funny. Good enjoyable fun read.

Reviewed by Regan Loyd Because of his propensity for causing earthquakes and other natural calamities with powers he denies exist, Aidan Dougal isolates himself, fearing he is a danger to others. After a greedy neighbor with a preferential inheritance to his sues for ownership of his property, Aidan must find a way to save his tenants and estate from a perilous plan to destroy the land mining for coal. After a fire killed her mother--but not her mother's voice in her head--Mora Abbott was adopted as a child by a vicar and his wife and trained in patience, prudence, and practicality. When both her adopted parents die, Mora must leave the vicarage to research the recently revealed names on the frontispiece of her only remaining family heirloom, a spellbook, in hopes of finding a new home. When Mora starts receiving warnings of imminent danger to unidentified people, she must follow mysterious instructions on paper and in her head in order to save them. When his itchy nose leads him to Mora, Aidan gets drawn into her quest while coming to terms with a nature he denies and a family he dares not claim lest he destroy them. Magic Man presents two portraits of self-acceptance in the face of sacrifices just to belong. This intelligent finale to the six book series is a mystery of genealogy and family journals, righting the wrongs of forefathers, and the power men and women create together. Rice cleverly weaves together a complicated plot into a fast-paced, pleasant paranormal (lite) mystery. Although Rice saved the best for last, I am sorry to see the "Magic" series end because there are other characters I'd like to read about. I can only hope those characters eventually receive an executive pardon and come out to play at a later date.