Faery Magic

by Mary Jo Putney (Contributor), Barbara Samuel (Contributor), Karen Harbaugh (Contributor)

From four of today's finest talents comes an enchanting collection of romantic tales. Set in glamorous Georgian and Regency England, these four stories are filled with myth and mystery, and illustrate the magical, sensual and humorous events that can occur when the worlds of mortals and faeries collide.

In "The Lord Of Elphindale" by Jo Beverley, Lovely Gwen Forsythe has loved Drew since she was a child. Both are half-faery, but Drew has denied the non-human part of himself for years. In an attempt to forever remove himself from the influence of the magic glen, he plans to marry another woman and move far away. But the faery people have other plans and take steps to again bring Gwen and Drew together. Karen Harbaugh's "The Faery Braid" tells the story of a beautiful changeling, Rowan; handsome Sir Jonathon Bradford; and the love that Rowan's still-human heart can't deny. In "The Love Talker" by Barbara Samuel, Faery Lord Galen is cursed, condemned to a life of roaming misty glens and seducing human women to their deaths. But lovely, innocent Moira enchants him, and when he falls in love, the spell is broken. Mary Jo Putney brings readers "Dangerous Gifts", a tale of true love and dangerous desire. Beautiful Leah and handsome Duncan fall in love, but the Faery Lord Ranulph schemes to seduce the lady. If Ranulph's plan succeeds, Leah will lose Duncan and everything she loves.

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Anthologies, Historical Romance, Paranormal Romance, Magic, Fantasy Romance

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

She writes young adult fiction as M.J. Putney.

Mary Jo Putney was born on 1946 in Upstate New York with a reading addiction, a condition for which there is no known cure. After earning degrees in English Literature and Industrial Design at Syracuse University, she did various forms of design work in California and England before inertia took over in Baltimore, Maryland, where she has lived very comfortably ever since.

While becoming a novelist was her ultimate fantasy, it never occurred to her that writing was an achievable goal until she acquired a computer for other purposes. When the realization hit that a computer was the ultimate writing tool, she charged merrily into her first book with an ignorance that illustrates the adage that fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

Fortune sometimes favors the foolish and her first book sold quickly, thereby changing her life forever, in most ways for the better. (“But why didn't anyone tell me that writing would change the way one reads?”) Like a lemming over a cliff, she gave up her freelance graphic design business to become a full-time writer as soon as possible.

Since 1987, Ms. Putney has published twenty-nine books and counting. Her stories are noted for psychological depth and unusual subject matter such as alcoholism, death and dying, and domestic abuse. She has made all of the national bestseller lists including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USAToday, and Publishers Weekly. Five of her books have been named among the year’s top five romances by The Library Journal. The Spiral Path and Stolen Magic were chosen as one of Top Ten romances of their years by Booklist, published by the American Library Association.

A nine-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA, she has won RITAs for Dancing on the Wind and The Rake and the Reformer and is on the RWA Honor Roll for bestselling authors. She has been awarded two Romantic Times Career Achievement Awards, four NJRW Golden Leaf awards, plus the NJRW career achievement award for historical romance. Though most of her books have been historical, she has also published three contemporary romances. The Marriage Spell will be out in June 2006 in hardcover, and Stolen Magic (written as M. J. Putney) will be released in July 2006.

Ms. Putney says that not least among the blessings of a full-time writing career is that one almost never has to wear pantyhose.

Reviews

[Laurie (barksbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love shared world collections but usually find myself annoyed at having wasted my precious reading time wading through at least one clunker. So, I approached this collection with a little hesitation, sure I'd find myself skimming at least one of the stories. I'm thrilled to report that all four stories were skillfully told and enjoyable and no skimming was necessary. My favorite was Barbara Samuel's THE LOVE TALKER which featured a cursed male faery saved from his torment by the love of a mortal woman. Sigh, this story was so romantic that it was worth the cost of the entire book. My least favorite was probably Jo Beverly's tale THE LORD OF ELPHINDALE only because the hero acted like an all-around jerk to the heroine (who was supposed to be his childhood best-friend) for far too long. This is a story that could've benefited from 100 or so more pages to flesh out his actions and make the romance more believable. Still, this was a fitting addition to the collection and is nowhere near what I'd consider a clunker. If you enjoy romance and hold a soft-spot in your heart for faeries this is a not-to-be-missed book.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical Romance blended with fantasy in the form of the fae sounded splendid. It didn't hurt that two of the four authors are already familiar and one is a long-time favorite.

Faery Magic has four standalone novellas that are loosely linked to each other so could be read out of order or pick and choose.

The Lord Of Elphindale by Jo Beverley 3 stars
The faery kingdom is displeased when it seems the humans are forgetting what they owe to the faery realm and mistreating their shared woodlands. Gwen is told by her faery father that she must get the newest Lord of Elphindale to marry her and help renew the connection to faery. She would gladly do it since Lord Andrew has been her childhood friend, but he resists and would rather anyone else.

So, two things. I wanted to kick Andrew in the britches for being a jerk to Gwen. I learned later that he had his reasons, but it didn't drum up any sympathy from me. I felt Andrew's character needed more pages to tease him out better. And, this is all on me, but I think this story suffered from my too high expectation. It was the one I picked up the book to get. I didn't hate the story, but wanted more.

The Faery Braid by Karen Harbaugh 3.5 stars

The fae are dying off, but a brilliant plan is hatched. Convert a human child to faery to be married off and have fae children. Rowan is that child and she is brought up in an isolated wood learning magic as she becomes a faery. Jonathan, a war-scarred soldier is found by her and she wants to heal him. As their relationship grows, it stymies her conversion to fae and that her faery parent can't allow.

It was a tender retelling of the Rapunzel tale that I found moderately engaging though it never pulled me in completely.

The Love Talker by Barbara Samuel 4 stars

Galen is the faery version of the rake. He loves them and leaves the human ladies pining after him. When one pines to her death, the faery queen has had enough and curses him to a half life until true love finds him. Doomed to a lonely phantom existence when he can't touch or feel, Galen has learned his lesson and then some, but his voice accidentally does it again and the woman's cousin, Moira comes to the woods to find a way to save her cousin from pining to death over a fae. Moira is the first person to truly see him and not just as the Love Talker.

I love the darker faery stories where faeries are dangerous to humans and toss in a curse for good measure and I couldn't be more pleased. I was captivated by this one.

Dangerous Gifts by Mary Jo Putney 3.5 stars

Ranulph the faery gets obsessed by human Leah so he thinks to entrap her by offering her a gift. Leah takes the gift- beauty and irresistible to men- and heads to London. Ranulph follows, but is himself shadowed by a faery, Kamana (sp), interested in his affairs. Naturally, Leah finds a human man she loves and mayhem ensues from faery interference.

I kept thinking of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream when I read this one though it was not the same story. Just the feeling, I guess. It was fun.

So, this anthology did what most anthologies do. It gave me a variety of writing styles and story set ups to enjoy- some more than others, of course. I loved discovering a new to me author gem and I had a good time visiting their blend of faery and historical romance. Those who want a set of quick and light, slightly spice historicals and don't mind a strong fantasy flavor should try this antho out.

[Linda C · Rating 4 out of 5]

The four stories in this anthology revolve around interactions between faery and human worlds in the heart of England. The Lord of Elphindale was my least favorite. A half-faery Lady is told by her faery lord father that she must get the current Lord Elphindale to marry her and live in the valley to save the Faery Folk. The hero was my least favorite in the book. Faery Braid is a retelling of the Rapunzel faery tale and very well done. The Love Walker is about a cursed faery who must live in between faery and human worlds until he repents and discovers true love. A tortured hero meets a good woman story. The last story, Dangerous Gifts, was my favorite. A plain girl is offered beauty and love by a faery who wishes to entrap her when he comes asking his payment for granting her wishes. Both hero and heroine are damaged with pure hearts. A feel good story.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this anthology. In most anthologies, the level of quality is uneven at best, but all four of these stories were enjoyable. These all took place within the same universe: a version Georgian and Regency England where magic is real and fairies exist in a hidden and forgotten works parallel to our own.

The Lord of Elphindale by Jo Beverly - 3 stars

The first story in this collection was the weakest. Both Andrew and Gwen are part fairy. Andrew's family has a connection to their land, and an ancient agreement with the fairies regarding their fates. However, in recent generations, they've forgotten their connection with the fairies, which had infuriated them. To remedy this, Gwen is born from a union between a fairy and a human and destined to marry Andrew to bring him back into the fairies' fold. Andrew is bound and determined to marry a different, human woman however, and not his beautiful childhood friend.

There was a lot of stuff I liked about this story. The friends to lovers plot, the fates to marry trope both appealed to me. However, it suffered from the novella format. From the author's note, it sounds like this was originally supposed to be a full length novel, but due to behind the scenes issues, it eventually became a novella, and it shows. There's a bit too much going on in the amount of pages. I think if the prologue part had been shorter, and maybe if Andrew had had his point of view shown, it would have worked better. I liked the concept just not the execution.

The Faery Braid by Karen Harbaugh - 4 stars

This was a fun retelling of Rapunzel. The number of fairies being born is down, so Aldara decides to acquire a human child and transform her into a fairy for breeding purposes. She finds a human family deeply in debt, ingratiated herself with them, and then at their lowest point, presents them with a deal to buy their child. They agree. Twenty years later and the child is now almost entirely fairy, but not sure if the life set out for her is the one she wants. One day, Rowan, or Rachel, is singing a song of true love, and Jonathan stumbles upon her cottage. He had recently been in an accident and is scarred and suffers from debilitating acts that leave him blind. Intrigued by this human man, Rowan offers to heal him, and over the months, they are drawn together.

This is a pretty straightforward Rapunzel retelling. There's enough differences to make it interesting, but it still follows the beats of the original fairy tale. I liked both of the leads and thought this was a sweet, fun story.

The Love Talker by Barbara Samuel - 4 stars

Galen is the Love Talker, an infamously rakish fairy who is drawn to human women. After he sleeps with them, they waste away because they are so obsessed with him. After killing one too many girls, he is cursed by the fairy queen to exist only between worlds, only seen by animals, unable to touch anything, but people still able to hear him. The only way to break the curse is through true love. For the next couple of centuries, he wanders the earth playing his pipe and growing increasingly lonely. Moira's cousin, Blanche, heard him playing one night and since has started wasting away. Not wanting to see her cousin die, Moira sets out to find the Love Talker to break the spell on her cousin. When he finds out what has happened, Galen is horrified and agrees to stop playing his pipe as long as Moira continues to visit him as she's the first person he's been able to interact with since the curse. Over the course of their nightly visits, the curse slowly begins to weaken.

This was a fairly cliched storyline, but I liked the story. What really made it was the characters. Galen truly is remorseful for what he has done and now just wants to break the curse and stop being so lonely. He is a redeemed rake, but one who is redeemed before the story starts. His loneliness and despair is heartbreaking, and he's eager to form a new connection with Moira. Moira is a sensible girl, but one is still aware of and follows the old ways. She isn't looking to fall in love but dies anyway. In some ways, Moira is lonely as well, and the two of them bring each fulfillment.

Dangerous Gifts by Mary Jo Putney - 5 stars

Ranulph is a fairy who is obsessed with Leah and wants to make her his consort. He's lonely and loves her music, so he makes a deal with her and plans to use it to later bind her to him. Leah is a plain young woman who is overlooked by her parents, and when Ranulph offers her a deal, she accepts it and is given great beauty and is made irresistible to men. Leah then sets off for London to find her true love. Ranulph follows her, but in turn he is followed by Kamana, an Indian fairy who meddles in his affairs. Leah is unaware of this as she is busy winning suitors and eventually falling in love with Duncan, a war hero.

This story was my favorite of the collection. Once again, it wasn't exactly a new twist on fairy stories, but Putney's work is excellent. Leah and Duncan are delightful characters who just want to be loved, but their desires are interfered with by fairies. The secondary plot between Ranulph and Kamama was also strong, and I liked how they portrayed as morally ambiguous characters. The overall message about how love changes the way we view the world was sweet, and this a great novella.

Definitely an excellent collection, and I'd recommend picking it up if you can find it. I love stories that combine historical settings with magic, particularly fairies, and I wish there were more stories like these out there.

[Pat Fahrenthold · Rating 2 out of 5]

Four romance novellas that are loosely connected. This is a good vacation book, but very predictable.

[Kathryn Baron · Rating 2 out of 5]

May actually be better. Been awhile. No clear memory. But kept my copy.

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lord of Elphindale – Jo Beverley – 1/5 – Eh. Not my favorite in this anthology. Gwen finds out she’s half-faery and is responsible for marrying Lord Andrew and bringing faery blood back to his line. Only she hasn’t seen him for quite a few years and he’s not so thrilled to see her again. In fact, he’s quite a bit of an asshole to her. But only because he’s afraid of her and her ties to faery and being trapped into marriage…and of course despite his behavior he really does love her. That explains all his douchebag behavior. Also wasn’t a fan of her situation and having to trap the man she loves into marriage. This might have been better if it was longer and more developed, but there’s only so much you can do with 50 or so pages.

The Faery Braid – Karen Harbaugh - 3/5 - Rowan (Rachel) was taken by the faeries as a child so she could be converted into a faery and married off to produce children. She’s isolated and taught magic in her little garden when along stumbles Jonathan, who suffers from debilitating headaches after an accident and has a huge scar on his face. Rowan offers to heal him. She’s not yet converted to faery completely and spending time with Jonathan and falling in love with him makes her hold onto her humanity even harder. But they have to fight her faery mother to be together. This was a pretty decent little story. I liked it overall. I’m not sure I liked how it spanned nearly a year, which meant there was more telling than showing in their relationship and we don’t really get to see them fall in love, but the alternative I guess was insta-love. This story felt kind of familiar, like a fairytale and the characters felt rather generic. Nevertheless, it was a pleasant and engaging story.

The Love Talker – 3/5 – Barbara Samuel - Galen is a faery who loved mortal women and would leave them pining for him when he was finished with them. When one finally dies of it, the queen says enough and curses him to an existence between worlds where he cannot touch or feel. All he can do is play his music. When his music ensorcels another mortal woman, her cousin, Moira (who knows a bit about faeries) calls him and asks him to stop. He agrees to do what he can if she’ll continue to talk to him. But it becomes something of a test, because the Queen wants to know that he’s not going to simply take what he wants without regard for consequences, and Galen wants Moira. An average story – nothing super memorable. Although it did remind me of a novel by Karen Marie Moning…perhaps this premise of the cursed faery is well known? I like the premise. I liked the characters. I enjoyed reading the story. But nothing truly spectacular here.

Dangerous Gifts – Mary Jo Putney – 3/5 – *** is rather plain, but is extremely gifted in music. She meets a faery who offers her beauty and adoration in exchange for an unnamed price. And he names it when she finds the man she wants to marry – he wants her to be his consort and join him in “faery” (which I suppose is a place). I liked this story. It was easy to just sit back and enjoy and not get pulled out of it by annoying characters or other small irritants. It wasn’t a fantastic or memorable story, but it was an enjoyable one. I do remember thinking though, that wouldn’t it be nice if someone provided a faery rule book, so I could better understand the limitations of those characters.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faery Magic started off strong but lost much of the emotional, and Faerie, momentum in the second half. Jo Beverley's tale possessed her usual attention to characterization and historical detail. Karen Harbaugh offered a lovely, languid retelling of Rapunzel. Barbara Samuel's story had an interesting premise, but the romance seemed rushed and flat amid its faery framework. And I mostly skimmed Mary Jo Putney's piece, which seemed both too full of characters and almost completely empty of either magical or romantic resonance...neither of which is at all typical of her work. Not a bad collection, but not quite as impressive as I think these authors are capable of, either.

[LibraryDanielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

out of the four short stories in this book I enjoyed 1.5. Lord of Elphindale was decent, but nothing super exciting. The Faery Braid and The Love Talker were just terrible, and Dangerous Gifts wasn't bad. I didn't even finish Faery Braid it annoyed me so much. The Love Talker (ugh, that title annoyed me so much) was pointless and inane. Dangerous Gifts was more to my liking, with the double edged sword of faerie (the faery spelling just annoys me) gift. but even then it wasn't anything super special.

[Christal · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the first "uf/pnr" type books I read back in high school. I've always loved faeries and fairy tales and I really loved this book. I re-read it so many times. I bought a new copy recently to re-read after about 10 years and I still enjoyed it. The stories are simplistic, but enjoyable and I loved every one of them.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a good anthology. Least favorite was the Beverley story, which was just not fit for the shortened format and had a douchey hero. Best was The Faery Braid, with the Putney coming in at a close second. Worth a read if you like historical romance with a light touch of fairy-tale like Fae.

[Candice · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually love any and all stories about the fae. But for some reason, I couldn't get into any of these. Perhaps because they were following more of the model of a romance novel. Whatever reason, I tried all the stories and failed to read them ... though I can't claim they were bad or badly written. They just couldn't hold my attention.

[Mskychick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only read Dangerous Gifts by Mary Jo Putney as a standalone novella from my library Overdrive collection, but Goodreads does not list Dangerous Gifts as a separate book, so I have to list this anthology instead

[Lavendersbluegreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super! I love how the stories in this book were tied together. They were each quite good on their own and even better together!

[Kristin L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, quick trip into the realm of Faery by 4 great authors. This was a nice change of pace for me, and I like the different takes each author had for Faery.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good fast read, I kind of wished the stories were longer but I wish that about most books!

[Lauren]

"The Lord Of Elphindale" by Jo Beverley

Karen Harbaugh's "The Faery Braid"

"The Love Talker" by Barbara Samuel

"Dangerous Gifts" by Mary Jo Putney

[Shh I'm reading! · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only read Dangerous Gifts from this anthology and it wasn't one of my favorites of Putney. It was a quick, unmemorable novella, hence the 2 stars.

[Beenee Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a collection of cute and fluffy short stories starring various fairy and human pairings. I enjoyed it!

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun romp through the land of Faery!

[Goldenwattle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was sent this book along with a wishlist book. I hadn't expected to enjoy the stories as much as I did, but I did enjoy them. Very predictable stories, but fun reads.