Stolen Magic (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: creek energy, elf fire, most elves, Esri Rose, Big Jim, Elf Ops (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Rose revisits the world of 2008's Bound to Love Her with this clever fantasy romance. Adlia is an orphaned elf who works at Elf Ops, a Boulder, Colo., organization run by local elves to manage their land. Elves are tied to their land—they live inside it and rejuvenate by melting back into it—and must constantly combat human encroachment. Newly emerged and disguised as human, Adlia struggles to keep from falling for Mark Speranzi, her warmly affectionate photography teacher. When a wayward amnesiac elf is brought to Elf Ops and Adlia's mentor begins relying heavily on another outsider, Adlia must combat jealousy and suspicion as well as questions about her identity and feelings for Mark. Adlia's efforts to untangle the numerous plot threads are hampered as she and others miss obvious clues, and numerous implausible coincidences fuel the unsatisfying resolution. (May)
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Product Description

Romance Can Be Tricky...In a world where humans are displacing elves in alarming numbers, Adlia spends her days working at elf headquarters. But with no artistic talent of her own, and orphaned too young to have known her parents, Adlia is an outsider even among her own elven kind. Only Mark, her human photography instructor, sees that beneath her sarcastic humour lies a vulnerable soul - and a desirable young woman...Especially When An Elf Is Involved. But while relationships with humans are pleasurable, they're also complicated, as Adlia is about to discover. For somewhere between her mind-blowing first human kiss and falling in love, a mysterious memory loss strikes the elf population. Now Adlia has to save her people and herself before she forgets everything. If she succeeds, she may also solve an important piece of her personal puzzle and find that Mark fits perfectly.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Zebra (May 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1420102524
• ISBN-13: 978-1420102529
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,152,304 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sequel Even Better than the First, July 6, 2009

By	LiJuun - See all my reviews

I absolutely loved this book - I had no trouble at all connecting to Adlia and found Mark to be quite a fantastic male lead. Although I haven't really enjoyed romance much in the last few years, I did really love this book. It's a sequel to her first book, but I think it works just fine as a standalone if you can't find a copy of the first.

The book is about elves living in Boulder, CO. Specifically Adlia, an elf who doesn't quite fit in with the others. She's short, not willowy. She's clutzy instead of graceful. She has very little artistic talent. She kind of feels like a loser, and I can totally empathize with that. Also? She's kind of sarcastic, and I just love that.

I don't know that this could be considered a true romance, since the first half to two thirds of the book has the romance as almost a subplot. There's Trouble in Elftown and the elves need to worry about putting things right. Adlia does her best to keep her photography teacher Mark, who is human, as far away from the trouble and from herself as possible. Every time she's around him she has to lie about who she is, and that makes her feel profoundly guilty.

This book doesn't follow a lot of the genre "rules" that you see so often. Because of that, it kind of keeps you off balance - in a good way. If it doesn't follow the "rules" then how can you guess what's happening next and who will or won't get a happy ending? I highly encourage you to read this book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book!, July 6, 2009

By	Toni A. (Albuquerque, NM USA) - See all my reviews

Because I thoroughly enjoyed Esri Rose's first book, "Bound to Love Her" I'd been really looking forward to her second one -- "Stolen Magic." And it did not disappoint. The pacing was great, as was the adventure and romance.

I liked this book better than the first one because the heroine was stronger. If you like fantasy romance with an emphasis on adventure and you also like a bit of mystery, this is a great book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Stolen Magic by Esri Rose, June 4, 2009

By	jjmachshev "jj" (Grovetown, GA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

"Stolen Magic" is my second book by author Esri Rose. Both books are set in a contemporary world much like ours where elves are struggling to stay alive as humans encroach more and more on the land that gives them life.

Adlia is both elf and orphan. She doesn't remember her parents (which is odd for an elf) and the elf who took her in functions as the leader of the Boulder elves, but has never managed to truly make Adlia feel loved and wanted. Then suddenly, a strange elf appears in town and elves begin forgetting (once again, a very strange thing for an elf) and are in danger of dying or becoming mortal and eventually dying anyway. As the small group struggles to find a cause, Adlia learns alot about herself and love.

Mark is a human and is very attracted to the remote and rather strange student in his photography class. She seems unsure about her beauty and is uncomfortable in just about all social situations. But when it appears her life may be in danger, Mark is ready and willing to do whatever it takes to keep her safe.

I had difficulty feeling a connection to Adlia. There seemed to be many things about her life left undisclosed or mentioned and then unexplained. She seemed to go from unsure attraction to sex kitten with lightening speed and the pace just seemed 'off' to me.

Mark as well was a mostly unformed character for me even at the end of the book. He was teacher, friend, and then BOOM!...lover who would sacrifice all. It just felt forced and I didn't buy it.

The pacing was jerky in enough places that it pulled me from the story enough to become irksome. The plot and 'bad guy' as well were glaringly obvious and the barest of explanations was given for his actions.

My reservations about this book are similar to those I had after reading the first one and I think I'll probably wait a bit before trying another. I would say that I think these books would likely do well if they were a little tamer in the sex category and were sold as teen fiction. Just my opinion.