Customer Reviews

Stolen Magic

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

"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.

I have read both of the books in this series so far. I liked them okay. The biggest problem I had was that the world and how it works doesn't feel really well thought out. The major problem of this book, elves losing their memory, seems as if the author needed a conflict for this book then had to go back and make it fit the first book too. The cure for the affliction seems as if it would be hard to sustain over the long run and not very realistic. There is one character who seems as if he will have to spend his life continually doing very difficult crap in the freezing cold that will not advance his own life any. How many hours a day will he have to devote to a craft he only does to keep her alive? I mean sometimes it's all I can do to put myself out enough to get up and get my husband coffee. :-)

I do think that you will understand this book better if you have read the first one. I hope that the author stays true to her world and doesn't start throwing in vampires and werewolves and demons. Sometimes I feel that too many paranormal critters muddies up the story and stretches credibility a bit far.

The author shows promise so I'd be willing to give a third book in the series a try.

I won't describe the story as others had, just my opinions. My only problem with the books is that I never really could picture what the main female looked like. Just not enough description to details. I didn't realize she had short hair until the end for example & while reading try to picture the story as it happens. I found this to be the same with the first book in that the main character takes her neighbor's dog for a walk and doesn't describe it either-how big & what breed? I do like the concept of the stories of these two and look forward to a third if there is one, but am hoping more detail goes into the writing if so.

I really liked this book! The story was fascinating and intriguing. I liked the concept of how the elves move around using the earth. Esri Rose has a vivid imagination and really tells a good story.

I thought the book was a darned good read. Just a good story.

Vesuvious Kincaid Robinson