Customer Reviews

Stolen Magic

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

 

 

Simon Malmain is a Guardian who protects against rogue mages and errant magic. The Guardians have special magical powers that are from nature. He is sent by the Council to deal with a rogue Guardian, Lord Drayton. But something goes terribly wrong. Caught by surprise, Simon is trapped by a transformation spell. Only Drayton can release him. With no hopes of returning to his human form, all seems lost until he meets an interesting and mysterious woman.

Meg is a simple young woman in Drayton's care. After unwittingly causing Simon to be captured, she helps him escape before Drayton can kill him. With Meg's help, Simon is able to return to his human form. He realizes that Meg is a victim of Drayton's magical manipulations as well. As he begins to heal her, Simon sees she is a beautiful woman full of powerful and wild magic. No wonder Drayton was so strong. He was tapping into Meg's energy. Because he is still vulnerable to the transformation spell, Simon needs to have Meg close to his side. What better way than to pretend that they are married? Together, they must find a way to break the spell and find out Drayton's plans before it is too late.

Stolen Magic is a multi-layered paranormal romance. For the first time in years, Meg is truly herself. Without Drayton's influence, she is a vibrant young woman who is eager to experience life. She is attracted to Simon, but in many ways she is still a child. He is the first man who doesn't covet her for her abilities. As they get to know each other better, Meg begins to see the differences between a girlhood crush and love. When she gains confidence in herself and her magic, she truly will be Simon's equal.

Simon leads a solitary life as an enforcer for the Guardians. His ethics and commitment have made him few friends. When he meets Meg, she opens up his emotions. He experiences jealousy, rage, pride and love. His first instinct is to protect Meg even at his own expense. She becomes his weakest link. Meg makes him believe that there is life outside of just being an enforcer, a future with the woman he loves. That is something he never thought could happen to him.

The secondary characters open up a larger canvas to the magical world. I even think that the magic is a character. It's influence is far reaching and stirs up things that are unexpected. Each time I think I understand the story, Ms. Putney introduces another character or magic that adds yet more layers to the story. It kept me glued to the pages. Stolen Magic is an absorbing story of love, power and magic that I very much recommend.


Lee
Reveiwed for Joyfully Reviewed

This is a wonderfully and imaginatively written novel. Putney does not disappoint in her sequel to A Kiss of Fate (also highly recommended). In this book, we have Guardians of magic, and we have Simon, enforcer of the Guardian Council, who becomes snared in a net of black magic which transforms him into a unicorn. And thus the tale begins. Simon's struggles to regain and maintain his human form, save the innocent, and defeat evil are aided by Meg, a magical woman who has been hidden in plain sight. They also manage to make England safe for the industrial revolution. Trust me: All of this weaves together wonderfully for a most satisfying read, with strong characterizations and plot.

Those who are looking for more a plain vanilla romantic tale may not enjoy Putney's foray into the realm of fantasy and magic; personally, I can't wait for the next installment.

I am familiar with M.J.P., and have enjoyed quite a few of her books. This one wasn't one of them. It was pedantic, and written in a lumbering style: I was always aware that I was READING; whereas I generally seek out authors good enough that I LIVE in the book. The sex was dull, the plot was unbelievable (I pretty much quit after the Council trial...PLEASE!) and I had no empathy or respect for the characters. All in all, a very disappointing M.J.P. book.

I was extremely pleased by this book. I was thrilled to know that it was out on the shelves, so I went to Barnes & Noble. Incidentally, I almost never buy hardcover books; I prefer to wait until the book is published in paperback. Because of this, I was in Barnes & Noble nearly every day until I was finished with it.

You can't put the book down. It just doesn't work that way. In "A Kiss of Fate," we become acquainted with Lord Simon Falconer, the chief enforcer of the Guardian Council. In this story, we share Simon's despair as he is temporarily overthrown by a particularly stubborn and maddeningly clever rouge mage (Drayton). We also meet the lovely maiden with whom Simon becomes acquainted, and whom he also frees from a spell of enthrallment. Because of this action, they are bound together to defeat Drayton. As their relationship develops, Drayton's power increases. Because of this, we become more acquainted with the other Guardian Council members. Very interesting character developments.

This story is one that keeps you on the edge of your seat; I had to keep coming back to read it. The characters were well-developed, the general plotline was very clever and made you smile several times throughout, and it forever kept one guessing where the plot would twist and leave you clutching the arm rest. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and found it pleasantly reminiscient of her other romance books. However, instead of contrasting, the science fiction/fantasy element compliments her style very well.

I'd reccommend this book to anyone who enjoys science fiction/fantasy, and to anyone who is looking for a good read. Keep in mind that it isn't necessarily a floaty, light read; in fact, it has a large dose of dark undertones, and a heart-felt wish that the antagonist suffers a long, painful death.

The author of A Kiss of Fate has done it again! Award-winning Mary Jo Putney has a second book in her new historical fantasy / romance series. Stolen Magic features the strong female characters and interesting plots that Putney is known for. It's a good read!

Guardian Simon Malmain sneaks into the castle of a Guardian Lord Drayton, who is being investigated for misusing his power. Simon expects his job to be easy: to announce that Drayton must appear before the Guardian council to answer charges. However, Simon is surprised by the incredibly strong and powerful magic Drayton has when Simon is transformed into a unicorn. He manages to escape, but is later captured by Drayton's men who use a virgin, one of Drayton's simple servants, Meg, to lure him into a trap. Simon is later freed by Meg, who loves horses and is dismayed that she has been used to trap this beautiful and powerful unicorn creature. They escape Drayton's power together, and Simon is returned to his human shape when Meg, who is bleeding, tends to a wound on his leg. Apparently when the blood of a virgin is mixed with his blood, it will turn him back into a human.

Simon and Meg flee to Lady Bethany's estate, where they are protected by her strong magic, but it is apparent he needs Meg by his side - for he turns into a unicorn whenever he gets angry. They decide on a sham marriage. The catch is that Meg must remain a virgin until Drayton is vanquished - and to say the least, it complicates their intense attraction to each other and adds, as we'd say today, some sexual tension and sizzle.

Simon also realizes that Meg has her own strong magic, and she has been feeding into Drayton's powers for over ten years. She has no memory of who she is or where she came from. Meg is freed from Drayton's thrall, and Simon releases her from a spell that has changed her appearance. Meg is indeed a brilliant, talented and beautiful magician, if a bit unskilled - and she immediately begins to discover and develop her powers.

If you like magical romance with castles as the setting, you'll really enjoy this book.

Starting from a basic story line which sounds as described to be ridiculous, a "guardian" read magician good guy, runs afoul of a bad guy magician and gets turned in to a unicorn and captured. A virginal young woman, apparantly ugly and dim-witted, rescues him and runs away riding him. Needless to say she is ensourcelled. She manages to turn him human again, he frees her from her spell, revealing her as bright, talented and beautiful. But he is still turns back to a unicorn at times and they both are still at risk of recapture. Romance develops but she must remain a virgin, right? Actually this is well written, suspenseful and full of plot as the two battle the villain. There is plenty of mystery, and plenty of magic as well.

I particularly enjoyed the fabulous Mr. Prebble's voices! I thought the villain's voice about the best villain I have ever heard. The female voices were excellent as were all the regional accents. Especially remarkable were the scenes with one voice after another calling out, crowd scenes, each voice different, varying in regional accent as well as voice tone and texture. Needless to say his conveyance of emotion, such as in the sisters' reunion scene, and the suspenseful scenes, was movingly effective.

This book was amazing. It brought back all the reasons I love to read. I have tried to find books in the same genre that have the same appeal - but no luck. I've read it so many times the book is falling apart. The characters have great charisma, and I'm alittle jealous of their relationship.

Utterly amazing. Nice blend of magic and reality. This is definately a KEEPER. Part one 'Kiss of Fate' was very good, but Simon's story Stolen Magic is excellent. At times I had to force myself to read slowly.

Taz

Mary Jo Putney's first fantasy novel demonstrates that she's not a great romance writer, she's just a great writer. The lushness of the love story is what we expect of her, as is the richness of historical detail; but she has also mastered the essential qualities of the fantasy genre. Looking forward to her fantasy novel!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought Simon and Meg were great characters. One of my favorite parts is at the beginning of the book just after Simon escapes as a unicorn and found that even though he would prefer a bucket of oats, the grass beneath him was good, too. The book was a great combination of magic and romance. That and a touch of humor made this story quite sweet.