Old Magic

Summary: Kate Warren believes in magic - she might try to hide it from the rest of her small town, but she and her grandmother can both do witchcraft. So when the new kid, Jarrod Thornton, starts demonstrating power beyond anything Kate's ever dreamed of, power that's out of his control, Kate's the only one to recognize it for what it is. But Jarrod doesn't believe in magic, and thinks the strange outbursts that occur whenever he's angry or worked-up are just part of the bad luck that's plagued him and his family his whole life. Kate knows better though, and thinks that the root of it might be in a centuries old-curse placed on Jarrod's family. But how can they break the curse when Jarrod doesn't even believe that it's real?

Review: I show more didn't go into this book with particularly high expectations - the blurb and the cover (and probably my summary up there, as well) all make it look like pretty run-of-the-mill YA paranormal romance. And, for the first half of the book, that's more-or-less what it delivered. I mean, good YA paranormal romance, but nothing particularly standout, other than the paranormal part was witchcraft rather than vampires or werewolves or what have you.

But the good news is, the book wound up pleasantly surprising me. About halfway through, the book takes a left turn into time travel and historical fiction, which added a very interesting layer onto the standard YA romance that I haven't come across before. I mean, I'm not sure that the metaphysics of time travel would play out like they did in this book, but there's something undeniably charming about forcing your two leads, who haven't even admitted that they like each other much, to play-act at being married, because why else would they be together unchaperoned in the Dark Ages? It was a fun twist to the story, and it's a much stronger book for not sticking strictly to formula.

I did have a few issues with this book. My primary one was that there was too much tell-but-not-show-ing going on, particularly when it came to the character development. Kate's chapters involve a lot of her telling Jarrod (and the reader) how much of a coward he is - primarily because he doesn't believe in magic - when his actions, even in the beginning of the book, don't really match that assessment. After a while, I was at the point of grumbling "He's not being spineless, he's being rational, you daft girl." every time it came up... which was a lot. I get that Jarrod developing his courage was supposed to be his major character arc, but I never entirely bought it, mostly because I didn't think he was that bad in the first place.

I'm also ashamed to admit how long it took me to realize that Marianne Curley was Australian. I spent an embarrassingly large part of this book thinking that it took place in the Pacific Northwest - my only reference for somewhere that has both rain forest and seasonal snow - and it wasn't until someone mentioned kookaburras outside their window that I finally twigged. And then I realized that what I'd been taking for strange narrative tics and weird turns of phrase were probably actually Australian colloquialisms. Whoops! 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Even if you're feeling burnt out on teen paranormal romance, I think Old Magic is a good choice for a light, fun read that manages to have a number of unique elements but still feels comfortable at the same time. show less

Cool teenage magic romance with time travel, please don't be asking for miracles and don't touch anything else by Ms Curley!

"Old Magic" was for me the fanfic before the fanfic, it has two teens forced to timetravel to the past and be fake married to discover how the curse placed upon one of them came to their family. It pretty much had me at pretend to be married, so totally self-indulgent pleasure for 15 year old me, to the point I made sure to re-acquire the book when I lost the first copy.

'I recall the look in Rhauk's eyes the moment he spotted Kate. It will stay with me forever, carved into my brain like an engraving on a headstone. It's as if he found something he treasured, something he's been looking for all his life.'

THE PLOT

Kate Warren lives with her Grandmother, after her Mother abandoned her as a baby. Kate has powers, and everybody at School knows that she's different. When Jarrod Thornton, the new kid at School, walks into the classroom, Kate is mesmerised by him, and has no idea why.

As Kate gets to know Jarrod, she senses that he's different too, and she must convince him that he has strong powers that need to be controlled. Jarrod goes along with her theory, thinking her mad, but he's mesmerised by her show more too.

Kate and Jarrod are about to embark on an incredible journey, one that will show them the truth behind Jarrod's cursed family. They will become involved in a battle of epic proportion, one that will determine both of their futures. As they face terrible dangers, they start to grow closer together, and achieve the impossible.

MY OPINION

I got this book as a Birthday present when I was a lot younger, and I've read it several times. The complex story, and the strength of the characters, keeps bringing me back to this book, and I always enjoy reading it. The plot moves fast enough for me, whilst still holding back enough to keep me interested until the very end. There's enough twists in the story to make it an incredibly enjoyable read. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a new Fantasy/Magic book, with a hint of Romance thrown in too.

THE AUTHOR

This book was written by Marianne Curley. I haven't actually read any of her other books, but I intend to in the near future. This book was incredibly well written, it had just the right amount of Romance, without making it into a full blown Romance Novel. show less

http://fiction-freak.blogspot.com/2011/11/old-magic-by-marianne-curley.html

I walked into Half Price Bookstore, expecting to find a little treausure among all the discarded books. I mean, a person's trash can be another person's treasure, right? And guess what I foudn...Old Magic. The cover drew me in, the title hooked me on, and the summary sealed the deal.

This book had all the cliches of a fantasy/paranormal novel. New guy. Check. Cute. Check. Something freaky happens. Check. Secrets are found. Double check. But hey, we all need a little cheesiness in our lives right? Anyways, in this story, the roles are reversed. As many readers know, the new kid always has a mysterious past and is hiding a secret and the narrator is the oblivious show more one. Now, its vice versa.

Onto the author's writing style. I think Marianne has a nice writing style and the reactions are right and all that. There was one thing I hated though. One thing that constantly got on my nerves. One thing that was a big part of the story. Jarrod. Throught the story, he kept annoying me. Why? Because he kept denying over and over that he had magical, and powerful, blood. For half the book. Usually, denial only lasts one chpater. Here? Not the case. So if you're planning to read it, expect that.

Character time! As we all know, I hate Jarrod. So much in fact, that I started rooting for the antagonist. Seriously, I was just that pissed off...until I remembered that Kate would've been killed too...in some way. (I'm not spoiling anything) Anyways, slowly I started cheering for Jarrod, but you don't know how hard it was until he finally did something helpful. All in all, it was a pretty OK book. Not the best...not the worst...sorta close to it though.

Short story: It'll leave you mildly suprised, smug, and relieved. It'll make you twitch for one moment, then relax. Not enough for a scream or tears, but a twitch. Doesn't make sense? Well, that's the best I can say. show less

This book has a little of everything thrown into one decently sized novel. I was easily sucked into Old Magic and found myself feeling the emotions of both Jarrod and Kate. Something I hate to see is novels that lack character development and growth, this one does not lack either. While I found myself disappointed at Jarrod in the beginning of this story, his character grew dramatically and believably, and I found myself rooting both main characters on during their journey. Surprisingly, the time travel didn't disrupt the story. For me it added depth and livened the story dramatically.
This book was thrilling and always gave me something to go on for, including Jarrod and Kate's growing romance which set the tone and edge for this story show more along with a full plot. This is definitely worth a read! show less

I read this book after finishing Marianne Curley's trilogy, and it was impossible to put down. The characters have their flaws, minute as they may be. You want to punch them for making stupid decisions, but you understand why they do. For a first book, this was great. Fantastic for quick reading.

I read this as a teen and still remember it today. It was my introduction to supernatural fiction with a strong female lead and many twists and turns; also with elements of the Twilight books in the romance area I would recommend this as a quick easy read.