Uncertain Magic

They called Faelan Savigar the Devil Earl because he has been reputed to leave ruined maidens in his wake, murdered his father, and even fought and won all his duels, leaving his challengers either dead or fighting for their lives. But none of that mattered to Roderica Delamore, a nineteen-year woman with a special gift, the ability to hear the thoughts of others. To her surprise, her gift failed her when it came to Faelan. Facing a life of seclusion and loneliness, Roderica jumps at the chance to forge a new life for herself by making a bargain with Faelan: Marriage. He needs her money to restore his run-down estate and she needs him to protect her from the relentless intrusion of the outside world. Despite their mutual agreement, Faelan and Roderica, through a lot of misunderstandings and adjustment periods, learn to like and even fall in love with each other. But their relationship faces an even more dangerous test: Faelan has been missing periods of his life, meaning that there are moments, even hours and days, where he doesn't remember what he did or how he got to a certain place. It's during those times when something dreadful happens. Because of his dreadful past, Faelan believes he doesn't deserve Roderica's love. Roderica, however, is determined to save her husband from his dark side. But will her love be enough to rescue Faelan? Or is there another evil at work, scheming to destroy her husband's sanity as it had his reputation? This was a phenomenal story. The prose is exquisite, captivating, and the characters are so easy to fall in love with. It will draw a whole range of emotions out of you from sadness, love, anger and contentment. I was thoroughly entertained.

I'd avoided Laura Kinsale for years and years. Then I went to the used book store and found this old one, expecting to only get through the first few chapters of this book as I'd begun to do with the few other books by this author I'd tried before. Imagine two and a half days later as I sit sleep deprived at work, just counting the minutes until I can go home and finish this book. Ok, enough about me. About the book. It was a good plot, not great or fantastic, the thing that sets this book about is the execution of the plot through the writing. I found this style very engrossing, and only achievable because of the plot itself. The book was almost like a first person narrative because we see almost everything from Roddy's point of view only. And judging only from the actions of the hero, we, the readers don't REALLY know what the hero is thinking... We imagine he's either in love with her, using her, mad, bad or sad--possibly all three. That's the awesome thing about this novel. You find out at the end, along with the heroine just what the hero's been thinking all the time. A couple of loose ends remained for me, but I think I just may need to read it again. Something I haven't wanted to do in a long while. Thanks for the magic!

I got this book from my mother (among others) and I just finished reading it. From the ingram on the back you'd think this was a typical Court romance. I must say it blew me away. I loved it!This is the first book I actually read every word from the first chapter to the last chapter. It took all of 3 days! Kinsale hooks you from the very first word. I never had a book do that before.The characters were interesting and very believable. The way she incorporated magic and esp was not overdone at all. ... I highly recommend this book to anyone who believes in the magic of...love!

I didn't expect much when I picked this book - although I'd so far read 80% of Laura Kinsale's books and this was one of the final few. The plot they outlined at the back of the book was very badly done in my opinion. I was glad that I disregarded it completely - i just picked it up because it was written by Kinsale. If i'd based it on the back cover, i wouldn't have discovered what an amazing story this is. In typical Kinsale style, the hero is tormented - even more so here .. and the heroine is a beautifully unique character [I personally loved the ESP, magic etc. it did not go overboard]. Definitely recommended, as well as all other Kinsale books especially "The Hidden Heart", "The Shadow & The Star" and "Flowers From The Storm".

This is the second Kinsale book i've read, the first being the also excellent Flowers in the Storm [get past the cover, and you'll be fine]. Both these books cast their spell and left me numb with the intensity of the characters feelings. Her books are not light hearted jaunts but will tug at your heartstrings and leave a lasting impression of passion and emotion. Be sure you haven't anything important planned for the next day or so after starting the book because it won't leave you with much free thought until you break the spell and finish the book. The enchantment of Ireland and faery folk were especially attractive to me.