Patricia Rice: Merely Magic

Signet (Paperback), ISBN 0-451-20049-7

A beautiful and often lonely young witch, Ninian Malcolm, lives alone in her cottage and uses her “magical gifts” to help the locals. They come to her for aid in times of need but they find her too different to be accepted as “one of them.”

Drogo Ives, a lord and one of the notorious Ives brothers who father illegitimate children right and left, returns to the castle in the company of three women — one pregnant, none his wife. Unmarried and wanting to stay that way, Drogo refuses to listen to those who insist he needs an heir. He prefers to be left alone to pursue his studies of the stars and other things that interest him.

Ninian and Drogo both know the tangled histories of their two families and what supposedly happened the last time a Malcolm and an Ives wed. But neither of them intends to become involved with the other, let alone get married. But certain forces work against the pair, including a ghost, a stepsister, some aunts, a mysterious blight, a cat or two and a pregnant woman. And the these forces refuse to be denied.

The plot twists, turns, wiggles, and maybe even giggles a few times but it never loses its power to suspend disbelief in the reader. Sensuous and charming, Merely Magic fairly sizzles with sexual tension. Flawed and lovable, the major characters more than verge on the definitely unusual. The minor characters carry a few flaws also, but they make up for it by being interesting, quirky, and a bit strange.

A whimsical trip through love and responsibility, siblings and healing, Merely Magic meets the criteria for a great summer read — especially in the genre labeled light historical romance. This delectable story races along, taking the reader to unexpected places, introducing him or her to heroes and villains and characters that always exceed expectations, one way or another.

Patricia Lucas White

Patricia Lucas White’s latest historical novel, To Last a Lifetime, was an Eppie finalist for 2003. To Last a Lifetime and two of her fantasy romances, the Sapphire Award-winning A Wizard Scorned and The Godmother Sanction, can be ordered through Hard Shell Word Factory. Her recent contemporary, PS, I’ve Taken a Lover, is available from Lionhearted Books.