~Magick~

by Mary Taffs

Synopsis   Jen's opinion   Opinion #2   Rec'd reads   Buy this book

      Heroine:  plump

   Mage Winston Sayre has been assigned by the Council to keep vigil over Dee Plaas, a woman with awakening powers the like of which have not been seen in more than two centuries.  Still licking the wounds inflicted by her abusive, womanizing late husband, Dee has no interest in being protected by a man.  Especially not one as good-looking as Win Sayre!  Can Win convince Dee of the importance of his mission, and spirit her away to safety before she winds up on the sacrificial altar of the brutally evil Shiva?  

      What worked for me:

    Given the focus of this site, it's not surprising that my favorite scene in the entire book was when Dee, who had a terrible opinion of herself inside and out, was able to mindlink with her new lifemate and see how very lovely she was through his eyes.  And even better, she was able to experience the overwhelming love and desire he felt for her!     

What didn't work for me:

   I would have liked more background and insight into the world and lore of the Balance and Council.  A prequel/sequel to "Magick" or an anthology of short stories along the lines of "The Amazons of Darkover" could shed more light on that area. 

Overall:

   Those folks who have been interested in venturing into the realm of Fantasy but are daunted by the mega-saga series a la Tolkien or Jordan may want to try out the genre with a short novel such as this one. :^)  (Be forewarned, though, that the torture scenes in "Magick" are somewhat kinky.)

What worked for me:

     I loved the Cinderella awakening that Dee had.  She went from being the underdog, who was kind of mousy, always wanting to go and hide, and didn't feel very sexual as her past experiences were few and rated from only terrible to deplorable, to a heroine who, along with becoming more beautiful, grows more confident and alive.

     I also really liked Win, the hero, who at first, sounds like a nice, though typically hunky guy with a weakness for women (and not nice women!), but then he won my sympathy and grew on me.

What didn't work for me:    

     I very much enjoyed reading about the workings of magick, but some of it was a little too exhaustively detailed. I just wanted to get back to the action.

Overall:

    A reader with an interest in fantasy, magic or New Age style beliefs, who can tolerate some graphic sex and violence, will be rewarded with a terrific fantasy romance with a plus-size, curvy heroine.

If you liked "Magick" you might also enjoy "More than Magick" or "Oracle".

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