This Magic Moment (Magic Series) [Paperback]

Patricia Rice (Author)

Book Description

Series: Magic Series | Publication Date: August 3, 2004

A sudden inheritance leaves Duke Harry of Sommersville plagued with a crumbling family manor. What's a desperate duke to do but marry well-heeled Christina Malcolm Childe? But when Christina discovers the truth about the mansion and Harry, she concocts a plan of retaliation: to refuse to consummate their marriage until Harry learns to love her truly.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Harry Winchester was perfectly happy with his politics-filled London life and in no rush to marry his fiancee, Christina Malcolm Childe, but the sudden deaths of his father and brother thrust him into the role of Duke of Sommersville. He discovers that the estate is nearly bankrupt, and so he must marry immediately. Christina, like all the Malcolm women, has a paranormal power. She sees ghosts, and the huge, old, crumbling manse that her late father-in-law spent years remodeling and adding onto brings her in contact with many as she tries to find out why her husband's tenants won't speak to him. Rice has a magical touch for creating fascinating plots, delicious romance, and delightful characters both flesh-and-blood and ectoplasmic. Readers new to her Magic series will be overjoyed to learn that she has told the stories of other Malcolm women and their loves in previous books, including Must Be Magic (2002) and The Trouble with Magic [BKL Ag 03]. Diana Tixier Herald
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Never has the battle of the sexes been more charming. (Mary Jo Putney)

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Signet (August 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451212649
• ISBN-13: 978-0451212641
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #820,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars exhilarating paranormal Georgian romance, August 3, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This Magic Moment (Magic Series) (Paperback)

In the latter half of the eighteenth century, as a second son Lord Harry never expected to inherit the estate, but when his father and his older brother die in a brutal accidental fall, he becomes the duke of Sommersville. He also is bequeathed with a large debt and the probability that the estate will go to the major marker holder the odious Carthage. A desperate Harry knows that his hedonistic lifestyle is over and he must marry his long time fiancée the lovely, wealthy, but odd Christina Malcolm Childe if he is to save the estate.

Christina can see ghosts and read auras. She is horrified that her beloved Harry has gone from the wonderful happy yellow and purple to the detestable brown and blue. She agrees to wed Harry, but insists he give her time to adapt because she plans to find the Harry she loves not this angry shell. As she begins to save Harry's soul and he recognizes how much he loves Christina, treachery will leave both on the brink of death unless Harry heeds her advice received from his loved ones in the beyond.

THIS MAGIC MOMENT is an exhilarating paranormal Georgian romance starring a hurting venomous male and a fabulous heroine risking all for her love. Though the villain seems unlikely, Christina makes the tale with her ESP skills and her heroics. Fans of Ms. Rice's "magical" tales know that this awesome author always provides all a reader wants in a novel.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! My First Patricia Rice Read!, August 20, 2004

By 

W. Denning "romance reader" (West-By God-Virginia!) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: This Magic Moment (Magic Series) (Paperback)

Wow, wow, wow is all I can say. I normally don't read historical romance, but this one came up as book of the month for a reading club I belong to. After reading this, I have ordered the rest of the Magic Series right here at Amazon!
This story revolves around Christina Malcom, a woman who can read auras around people, and can see and talk to ghosts. She is betrothed at a young age to Harry Winchester who as a young man is suddendly thrust into the role of Duke of Sommerville after the mysterious death of his father and brother. He finds out that his father left the estate heavily in debt, and to begin digging out of it, he marries Christina before their agreed upon date to get her dowry to make a down payment on the mortgage he father had supposedly taken out to finance his constant building on their Sommerville manor.
When he whisks Christina away to the manor, there are secret passages, ghosts in mirrors, and all kinds of supernatural things happening...or are there???
A great read...I couldn't put it down. Taking 7 hours out to sleep, and 7.5 hours to work, I read this 376 page book in a space of 24 hours! Worth the time investment!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 & 1/2 stars; imperfect but good, February 26, 2005

By 

S. Reader "scibarfan" (Franklin, TN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: This Magic Moment (Magic Series) (Paperback)

This is my first book by Patricia Rice. It was good enough that I'll try more, probably from this series, but it took me some time to become comfortable with the world she had created. perhaps reading the previous books in the series first might have made a difference.

Christina is a likeable, quirky heroine, albeit rather spoiled and selfish early on. She learns, however, and does some growing up over the course of the book. Harry is a great hero--a happy-go-lucky, even-tempered man who becomes sullen and tempermental after the dukedom and penury are forced upon him. Christina brings humor and joy to his life, and through her and the discovery of the truth about his situation, Harry begins to revert to his loveable, but now more responsible, self.

The book is humorous and interesting, with some ghosts acting as important secondary characters. Christina's family is something as well. There's s bit of suspense with a murderer on the loose. All in all, a very good book. Had I been more comfortable, rather than feeling like I was floundering, early in the book, I might have rated it 4 stars.