Night Magic [Paperback]

Charlotte Vale Allen (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Parrallel (1994)
• ISBN-10: 0752500872
• ISBN-13: 978-0752500874
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,080,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charlotte Vale-Allen was born in Toronto and lived in England from 1961 to 1964 where she worked as a television actress and singer. She returned to Toronto briefly, performing as a singer until she emigrated to the US in 1966. She sold her first novel Love Life in 1974. Prior to this book's publication she contracted to do a series of paperback originals, with the result that in 1976 three of her books appeared in print. Her autobiography, the acclaimed Daddy's Girl, was actually the first book she wrote but it wasn't until 1980, after she'd gained success as a novelist, that the groundbreaking book was finally published. One of Canada's most successful novelists, with over seven million copies sold of her 39 books, Ms. Allen's work has been published in all English-speaking countries, in Braille, and have been translated into more than 20 languages. The mother of an adult daughter and grandmother of twins, since 1970 she has made her home in Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good read, but not quite good enough., February 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Night Magic (Paperback)

Overall I had no problems getting through the book and I was never bored at any point in the story. Though since I am a huge Phantom of the Opera phan, this story just couldn't compare with the story written by Leroux and Susan Kay. I felt Marisa was a bit too whiny and practically near nervous break down the entire book, and Erik was a weak sap..he posessed none of the power and majesty a character like Erik should have.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could've Been Better, July 7, 2006

By 

Tracy Griffith "VanillaGorilla" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night Magic (Paperback)

I'm giving this one three stars because I feel that the story could have been done well with a few changes...

1. Marisa was too annoying, especially at first. The whole "I'm gonna starve myself over someone I barely know because he hasn't called" ordeal? Childish. And I may not feel as strongly as some about the sex between a sixteen year old and thirty-one year old, but I'd like to see both people mature enough to realize what's happening, and her behavior does NOT signify that to me.

2. Erik's revulsion at having a child is also fairly annoying. So he's able to accept (though with some difficulty) that this woman loves him heart and soul, regardless of his appearance, but a child they create wouldn't be able to get past his face?

3. Lastly, why does Marisa look beyond his appearance right away? I think it would be wonderful if we could all be so selfless and caring in the name of love, friendship and compassion, but let's be real. Most people, especially a teeange girl, are going to find it hard to simply "get past" something like that right away...UNLESS...(and this is what I personally would have liked to see most of all) the person has some specific reason for dismissing his features, i.e., she's disfigured herself. Maybe her face is pretty, but Erik could discover that underneath her nightgown she's deformed in some way, she's been horribly burned in a fire, she's got some handicap, whatever, just give me some reason as to why she didn't even flinch when she first saw him!

So, the worst book on earth it is not, but I think it needed a slight more "realism" added to the Magic.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beauty and the Beast, August 6, 2001

By 

Jill Clardy "So many books, so little time...." (Redwood City, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night Magic (Paperback)

Marisa, at the age of 16, falls in love with a brilliant older man in spite of his horrible scars and reclusive lifestyle. Erik was in a tragic auto accident at the age of 7 that killed both of his parents and left his face so hideously scarred that he chooses to live his life in the confinement of his home, from which he rarely ventures forth. He is a successful architect, and meets Marisa after completing a remodeling job on her father's home. His partner and housemate, Raskin, handles most of the public interface.

Marisa starts to sneak out of her house late at night to meet Erik, and initially their relationship is platonic. However, their passionate response to each other eventually leads to intimacy. Marisa told her father that Erik was giving her music lessons. Marisa's dad dies of a massive heart attack, and soon after she turns 18, she marries Erik.

Thus begins a cloistered life style lived in the seclusion of their dark home. Marisa and Erik have no social life outside their home, and they do not travel or even go out in the daylight because of Erik's fear of being ridiculed. Marisa wants to have children, but Erik is afraid to subject them to the shame and derision of having such a badly disfigured father. This eventually causes a rift between them that requires the help of friends and a chase across two continents to sort out.

The unrealistic setting and situation of these characters makes it difficult to develop any empathy toward them, since it is difficult to imagine living such a secluded, cloistered life. However, I did want both Marisa and Erik to eventually find happiness, which of course they did.