Forbidden Magic

I am not a fan of romance novels, but I had great fun with this book. Our heroine, Meg, is left in charge of her four brothers and sisters in the early 1800's. Penniless and desperate, she uses a magic statue to wish for assistance. The statue always grants wishes, but with a twist. The author had a lot of fun with the hero and heroine in this book, seduction, intrigue and a light-hearted look at the early 1800's. For a light read, I'd recommend this book. ( )

I have to say first off I'm glad I did not see the cover of this book when I was asked to review it. It's not the sort of cover that would usually get me to pick up a book and in fact I tend to avoid them. That said it was an enjoyable read. Sax was so delightfully quirky that I fell in love with him despite his tendency towards destruction (I do have to admit it sounds very freeing to be able to release your tension the way he does). His animals and servants will crack you up. Meg on the other hand was so unbelievably stupid at times that it was hard to really like her. I really did not understand why she did a lot of things she did and honestly she was really lucky that Sax was such a forgiving guy. I felt like Sax really carried this book and was what kept me reading. The story was pretty predictable with the damsel in distress and the playboy swooping in for the rescue but it's what I usually enjoy about these types of books. The only other negative for me was at one point there is a scene in which Meg and Sax are discussing Meg's slimy landlord committing child rape and it was brushed of pretty lightly as a fetish. That really sat wrong with me and knocked this book down a couple notches in enjoyment level. ( )

I reviewed this book for Romance Reader At Heart website:

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Our hero, Lord Saxonhurst, or"Sax" for short, is a very rich earl who has only one day to find a bride or his grandmother will choose one for him. Enter his housekeeper, who suggests Meg, our heroine, whose parents passed away, leaving her and her siblings in dire straits. Sax agrees to this suggestion as he’d rather marry someone who’d be grateful to him, than some rich and bored debutante from the ton. Now, Sax’s not just gorgeous and sexy, he is a generous and kind man who has surrounded himself with a group of people and animals in need of his care and attention. He’s also a man that has to deal with the ‘rages’ that come upon him once in awhile. In order to assuage them, our hero has a need to smash things, but the only place he allows his ‘rages’ an outlet is in his bedchamber. The motley crew of which his staff is comprised of, is well aware of their lord’s penchant for breaking things and is more than glad to search all of London for the ugliest items for him to break.

While our heroine, Meg Gillingham, is plain in looks, she’s smart and so naïve that we can’t help but love her. For the past three months, ever since both of her parents passed away, she’s struggled to make ends meet, even though she’s in a possession of a ‘magic stone’ that could ease her way. On Christmas Eve, after her landlord suggests she give him her younger sister for his mistress in exchange for letting them continue to live in the house, Meg finally relents and wishes upon a statue. When the Earl of Saxonhurst’s proposal arrives, she knows that her wish has been answered, but is still apprehensive about it until Sax shows her that his offer is the better of two evils. From there on we’re treated to a unique story of marriage of convenience that involves an evil grandmother and bastardly landlord.

FORBIDDEN MAGIC is so different from anything that I’ve read from this author. It was such a welcome and enjoyable read after some quite dark stories that I’ve gone through in the past month. From the plot to our hero and heroine, Ms. Beverly has introduced us to a bunch of eccentric and quite colorful characters that I’ve ever read in a romance novel.

I’m used to Ms. Beverly’s style of writing, and I thoroughly enjoy her work. Besides being well-written, this book was fun and amusing, and coming from Jo Beverley, historically accurate. The dialogue was witty and all the characters charming, even the dog and a parrot. I highly recommend this light-hearted read full of odd characters and laugh-out-loud moments.

Melanie ( )

Impoverished heroine wishes on a magic stone figure for a better life for herself & her 4 siblings, and the answer to her wish comes in the form of an earl who must marry immediately or be stuck with the bride his evil grandmother chooses for him. Hijinks ensue when she leaves the statue in her old house and tries to retrieve it without his knowledge. I'd give this an extra half star, but the heroine's stubborn insistence on not telling anyone anything went on just a wee bit too long. ( )