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Storm #3
Magic In The Storm
From the winner of the Golden Leaf Award for Best Regency, a Regency romance with a twist of magic. Adriana Hayden paints with a tumultuous passion that her guardian considers unseemly in a proper Regency miss. But when she meets the most handsome, fascinating man she’s ever encountered, the emotions she had only expressed through her art spill over into real life. And when he then unexpectedly joins her in London at the height of the season, puts her life in danger and starts telling her fantastical stories of magical people, she doesn’t know what to think. But she does know that she wants to do everything she can to help him. Morgan Valentine should have been the most powerful Vallen in England. Instead, he was thrown out of the family’s house when he was a teenager and imprisoned in the forest on their estate. Determined to hone magical powers that should be his, he is only able to shatter his bonds when a beautiful woman appears – to steal his heart and to give him the strength to escape to London. From a deep forest of magic to the glittering ballrooms of Regency society, will Morgan and Adriana be able to join forces and attain their deepest desires… before time runs out? "…A character-driven romance with a good dose of magic and adventure thrown into the mix …[with] a genuinely involving romance between two charismatic characters. Magic in the Storm is highly recommended for its inventive plot, strong characterization and excellent writing style. … If you’re a fan of paranormal or historical romances, Magic in the Storm is definitely worth checking out; and if you’re not a fan of these genres, it might be worth giving the book a try anyway. It might just convert you…" David Wendt, IndieBookSpot.com "This book should be put on people's to be read list. It's a fantastic paranormal read and if you aren’t fan of historical, ignore it for this book please. It was pleasure to read this book, it's a true paranormal romance book... this book is perfect example of what a paranormal romance should [be]." Booked Up Please note that while the first two books in the Storm Series are "sweet", this book is has some adult content. The Storm STORM ON THE HORIZON (free everywhere) BRIDGING THE STORM MAGIC IN THE STORM THROUGH THE STORM
395 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 28, 2012
14 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
Meredith Bond
69 books204 followersMeredith Bond's books straddle that beautiful line between historical romance and fantasy. An award-winning author, she writes fun traditional Regency romances, medieval Arthurian romances, and Regency romances with a touch of magic. Known for her characters “who slip readily into one’s heart,” Meredith loves to take her readers on a journey they won't soon forget. She is currently living in Europe enjoying the Bohemian life. I write a blog on writing and self-publishing that is published every Sunday at www.meredithbond.com/blog/posts
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 4, 2021
Did the villain have to be so evil and so close to the hero? I kept asking that throughout the book. Apparently I should have read the second book to find out why, but it was poorly rated, so I skipped it. I liked the first book and thought that the excellent reviews for the third book would bode well for its value, and it appeared as though I didn't have to read them in order. This book met my expectations for the most part.
I'm not going to give a synopsis full of spoilers; other reviewers revel in that task. Rather, I'll analyze what I liked and didn't like about this book.
The hero and heroine are well-drafted and lovable, their romance feels real and works. Adriana is a strong female lead, in fact, she is stronger than Morgan in some senses, which is okay. Minor characters were likewise carefully written so they were well understood and fit their role in a superior sense. There were no extraneous characters so the book was tight in terms of extra scenes.
All the senses are on alert in the story, which is pretty easy to do in a novel where magic is a character. The magic is balanced well and clever, fitting in without taking over, and understandable enough for the average reader without long descriptions of how it works. It's almost too little magic. I was able to predict Adriana's surprise early on. The author left us a bit of a WTF as to why she didn't just go out and (spoiler) sell something rather than let it be used as a weapon against her, and that was never explained. But the twist on that aspect near the end was genius, then the double, then the triple twist--good writing!
Visual scene-setting is wonderful. The author sure knows how to describe the background. Speaking of visuals, the cover is attractive and draws the reader to this book, giving a hint of what's in the book.
Language is suited to the Regency with the exception of some applications of contractions. The American "toward" was used rather than the British "towards." Marshmellow is a misspelling, and the proper word is from 1877 in any case. In the Regency, "stout" meant sturdy or athletic and not fat. Regency fashion and styling seems to be impeccable with the strong exception of Morgan's hair, which begs the question "why?" There's no need.
The story arc is complete with no side-plots distracting the author, and it ends fairly well. The biggest problem with this book was slow pacing. Given that it's an action book, this shouldn't be the case, but it was. At times, I felt like abandoning the book, and it lost a star for that reason. Some love-making scenes were gratuitous and redundancy of description of back-story contributed to the ho-hum feeling. The tight scenes and plot twists near the end did make up for this, though.
I'm not going to give a synopsis full of spoilers; other reviewers revel in that task. Rather, I'll analyze what I liked and didn't like about this book.
The hero and heroine are well-drafted and lovable, their romance feels real and works. Adriana is a strong female lead, in fact, she is stronger than Morgan in some senses, which is okay. Minor characters were likewise carefully written so they were well understood and fit their role in a superior sense. There were no extraneous characters so the book was tight in terms of extra scenes.
All the senses are on alert in the story, which is pretty easy to do in a novel where magic is a character. The magic is balanced well and clever, fitting in without taking over, and understandable enough for the average reader without long descriptions of how it works. It's almost too little magic. I was able to predict Adriana's surprise early on. The author left us a bit of a WTF as to why she didn't just go out and (spoiler) sell something rather than let it be used as a weapon against her, and that was never explained. But the twist on that aspect near the end was genius, then the double, then the triple twist--good writing!
Visual scene-setting is wonderful. The author sure knows how to describe the background. Speaking of visuals, the cover is attractive and draws the reader to this book, giving a hint of what's in the book.
Language is suited to the Regency with the exception of some applications of contractions. The American "toward" was used rather than the British "towards." Marshmellow is a misspelling, and the proper word is from 1877 in any case. In the Regency, "stout" meant sturdy or athletic and not fat. Regency fashion and styling seems to be impeccable with the strong exception of Morgan's hair, which begs the question "why?" There's no need.
The story arc is complete with no side-plots distracting the author, and it ends fairly well. The biggest problem with this book was slow pacing. Given that it's an action book, this shouldn't be the case, but it was. At times, I felt like abandoning the book, and it lost a star for that reason. Some love-making scenes were gratuitous and redundancy of description of back-story contributed to the ho-hum feeling. The tight scenes and plot twists near the end did make up for this, though.
February 27, 2012
(I was given this book for free by the author on a read-to-review basis)
The year is 1815, and Adriana lives with her cousin – Lord Devaux, following her parents death when she was only six. Now a young lady, Lord Devaux has her plan and host his parties, which he throws to further his political career.
Adriana dislikes Lord Devaux because he allows her no freedom. Her passion in life is her painting which she has done since the death of her parents, and she plans to sell her work, and hopefully earn enough money for her to leave Lord Devaux, and take her good friend Henrietta (her nanny) with her as well.
Now though, Lord Devaux has other plans for Adriana. He plans to marry her off to Lord Vallentyn; a wealthy man, whose mother is trying to get him into politics. Adriana is not happy with this arrangement, and refuses Lord Vallentyn’s proposal. This is unacceptable for Lord Devaux though, and the pair go to the Vallentyn’s estate in the country, to give Vallentyn a chance to woo Adriana, even though he too is being forced into the marriage.
A few days later whilst horse riding on Vallentyn’s estate, Adriana gets caught in a storm, and a tree falls on her, breaking her leg and pinning her. A man comes to her aid, and although she can’t believe what is happening, he lifts the fallen tree from her leg, places his hands on the break, and heals her broken bone. Against his better judgment, he tells her that his name is Morgan, then sends her home before she can become injured again in the storm.
Not understanding what has happened to her, she confides in Lady Vallentyn who convinces her that she dreamed the incident, and forbids her from riding in the forest again. What Adriana doesn’t know however, is that the Vallentyn’s are a family of powerful Vallen’s, which means that they have an innate magic that they can use. Each individual has different levels of power, and different abilities. Morgan has only a little magic, which shows itself as an ability to heal, and the ability to communicate with animals, while Lady Vallentyn is the high priestess of the Vallen, and is extremely powerful. When speaking to people she infuses magic into her words so that they have no choice but to obey her.
Furious, Lady Vallentyn goes out into the forest to speak with Morgan, and forbids him from seeking out Adriana again. Morgan is Lady Vallentyn’s seventh child, and as seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, Morgan was set in have phenomenal powers, and in fact to become more powerful than she, if only he hadn’t been born male. Lady Vallentyn has never forgiven him for being male, and has banished him to the forest so that she doesn’t have to see or deal with him.
The next day, paying heed to Lady Vallentyn’s instructions, Adriana leaves her horse, and walks into the forest with the intent of finding Morgan. On finding him she is shocked to see him swimming naked, and after drawing a sketch of him runs away! She is bolder the next day though, and the pair talk and are immediately attracted to each other, and soon Adriana is sneaking away to visit Morgan every day.
Lady Vallentyn will stop at nothing to get her son Lord Vallentyn into politics however, and she is convinced that the best way to do this is to have him wed to Adriana who already knows all about entertaining for Lord Devaux. Lady Vallentyn uses her magic to convince Devaux and Vallentyn that this wedding must happen, and Devaux threatens Adriana that if she does not accept the marriage he will have every one of her paintings burned, which would destroy her.
One day whilst visiting Morgan, things go a little further than kissing for Adriana, and she realises how inappropriate the relationship is for an unmarried woman, and does the only thing that she can think of to remove herself from temptation – she accepts Lord Vallentyn’s proposal, and goes with Lord Devaux back to London.
Morgan’s cousin Kat, tells him that his mother has told her that one day soon Morgan will lose what little power he has, and that it will instead go to Kat, who Lady Vallentyn has chosen as a replacement for Morgan. Kat is the sixth daughter of a sixth daughter, and Lady Vallentyn has realised that this will have to make do. When Morgan hears this news he is upset. It is bad enough to have such little power, but to have even that taken from him would be unthinkable.
This news, paired with the shock departure of Adriana spurs him to action. His powers have been increasing very recently (although he doesn’t know why), and he feels bold enough now to challenge the magic that his mother has which is keeping him in the forest, and heads to London. Now he must find out how to attain his full powers before they can be taken from him, as well as finding Adriana who he has fallen in love with, and all before his mother catches up with him.
I really enjoyed this book. Adriana and Morgan were just so right together, and their blossoming romance was really sweet. The threat that Lady Vallentyn posed was very real, and even though she had magical powers was still relatable – who doesn’t have problems with either their mother or mother in law meddling?!
Although the novel was set in 1815, I actually kept forgetting that! It wasn’t historical-boring, but more just that that was the time the story took place in and it made sense. The pace was just right, and kept you interested, leaving you guessing as to what Lady Vallentyn’s next move would be, and hoping that Adriana and Morgan would somehow find their way back to each other.
This novel is a true paranormal romance that doesn’t involve the normal vampires/werewolves etc., which sets it apart and is a refreshing change. It is very well written and entertaining, and is definitely up there and on par with the works of people like Christine Feehan!
Well done Meredith Bond and thanks so much for such a great read!
8 out of 10.
(Book Length: 6526 Kindle Locations)
The year is 1815, and Adriana lives with her cousin – Lord Devaux, following her parents death when she was only six. Now a young lady, Lord Devaux has her plan and host his parties, which he throws to further his political career.
Adriana dislikes Lord Devaux because he allows her no freedom. Her passion in life is her painting which she has done since the death of her parents, and she plans to sell her work, and hopefully earn enough money for her to leave Lord Devaux, and take her good friend Henrietta (her nanny) with her as well.
Now though, Lord Devaux has other plans for Adriana. He plans to marry her off to Lord Vallentyn; a wealthy man, whose mother is trying to get him into politics. Adriana is not happy with this arrangement, and refuses Lord Vallentyn’s proposal. This is unacceptable for Lord Devaux though, and the pair go to the Vallentyn’s estate in the country, to give Vallentyn a chance to woo Adriana, even though he too is being forced into the marriage.
A few days later whilst horse riding on Vallentyn’s estate, Adriana gets caught in a storm, and a tree falls on her, breaking her leg and pinning her. A man comes to her aid, and although she can’t believe what is happening, he lifts the fallen tree from her leg, places his hands on the break, and heals her broken bone. Against his better judgment, he tells her that his name is Morgan, then sends her home before she can become injured again in the storm.
Not understanding what has happened to her, she confides in Lady Vallentyn who convinces her that she dreamed the incident, and forbids her from riding in the forest again. What Adriana doesn’t know however, is that the Vallentyn’s are a family of powerful Vallen’s, which means that they have an innate magic that they can use. Each individual has different levels of power, and different abilities. Morgan has only a little magic, which shows itself as an ability to heal, and the ability to communicate with animals, while Lady Vallentyn is the high priestess of the Vallen, and is extremely powerful. When speaking to people she infuses magic into her words so that they have no choice but to obey her.
Furious, Lady Vallentyn goes out into the forest to speak with Morgan, and forbids him from seeking out Adriana again. Morgan is Lady Vallentyn’s seventh child, and as seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, Morgan was set in have phenomenal powers, and in fact to become more powerful than she, if only he hadn’t been born male. Lady Vallentyn has never forgiven him for being male, and has banished him to the forest so that she doesn’t have to see or deal with him.
The next day, paying heed to Lady Vallentyn’s instructions, Adriana leaves her horse, and walks into the forest with the intent of finding Morgan. On finding him she is shocked to see him swimming naked, and after drawing a sketch of him runs away! She is bolder the next day though, and the pair talk and are immediately attracted to each other, and soon Adriana is sneaking away to visit Morgan every day.
Lady Vallentyn will stop at nothing to get her son Lord Vallentyn into politics however, and she is convinced that the best way to do this is to have him wed to Adriana who already knows all about entertaining for Lord Devaux. Lady Vallentyn uses her magic to convince Devaux and Vallentyn that this wedding must happen, and Devaux threatens Adriana that if she does not accept the marriage he will have every one of her paintings burned, which would destroy her.
One day whilst visiting Morgan, things go a little further than kissing for Adriana, and she realises how inappropriate the relationship is for an unmarried woman, and does the only thing that she can think of to remove herself from temptation – she accepts Lord Vallentyn’s proposal, and goes with Lord Devaux back to London.
Morgan’s cousin Kat, tells him that his mother has told her that one day soon Morgan will lose what little power he has, and that it will instead go to Kat, who Lady Vallentyn has chosen as a replacement for Morgan. Kat is the sixth daughter of a sixth daughter, and Lady Vallentyn has realised that this will have to make do. When Morgan hears this news he is upset. It is bad enough to have such little power, but to have even that taken from him would be unthinkable.
This news, paired with the shock departure of Adriana spurs him to action. His powers have been increasing very recently (although he doesn’t know why), and he feels bold enough now to challenge the magic that his mother has which is keeping him in the forest, and heads to London. Now he must find out how to attain his full powers before they can be taken from him, as well as finding Adriana who he has fallen in love with, and all before his mother catches up with him.
I really enjoyed this book. Adriana and Morgan were just so right together, and their blossoming romance was really sweet. The threat that Lady Vallentyn posed was very real, and even though she had magical powers was still relatable – who doesn’t have problems with either their mother or mother in law meddling?!
Although the novel was set in 1815, I actually kept forgetting that! It wasn’t historical-boring, but more just that that was the time the story took place in and it made sense. The pace was just right, and kept you interested, leaving you guessing as to what Lady Vallentyn’s next move would be, and hoping that Adriana and Morgan would somehow find their way back to each other.
This novel is a true paranormal romance that doesn’t involve the normal vampires/werewolves etc., which sets it apart and is a refreshing change. It is very well written and entertaining, and is definitely up there and on par with the works of people like Christine Feehan!
Well done Meredith Bond and thanks so much for such a great read!
8 out of 10.
(Book Length: 6526 Kindle Locations)
May 23, 2017
I had the opportunity to read and review the soon to be released book 4 in this series. After reading it, I was hooked and had to go back to the beginning. These books are able to be read as stand alone but I think they would be best read in order. Morgan Vallentyne is the Seventh of the Seventh but talk about reverse discrimination. His mother is the Tatiana is the Vallen High Priestess and knew it was her destiny to be the mother to the Seventh of the Seventh who would be the most powerful Vallen of all time. Her son was born in the previous book and Tatiana can't forgive him for being born a boy. This is the story of Morgan and his struggle to survive his mother. Vallen are supposed to use their powers for good but who can stop the Vallen High Priestess when she breaks the rules? There is some explicit sexual content in this story. It is part of the story and is done well and I think essential to this story. It is not throughout the book and is part of the love story for Morgan.
March 6, 2012
MAGIC IN THE STORM
by Meredith Bond
Merry has asked a couple of people to read her novel and then to give a review of what they think about the story.
As an author, I do believe that the public’s view is of extreme importance to what an author has to say. I mean they are the ones that are going to end up purchasing your novel and even help you get an award or two.
My reviews are a bit different from others and I pin point the bad with the good.
What I have to say about Merry as an author is, that I think she is an excellent writer.
Her characters are beautiful developed which is one of the most important qualities when writing a novel and the way she describe feelings, emotions, desire and even erotic moments leaves you with a sensation of what her characters are going through at that exact moment. It’s an art and a quality that can be developed, and without it, the story has no wings to fly.
Is she a good story teller - now that is a different story?
To be an amazing author you need to be able to do both.
I found that Merry really struggles to get into hers with her opening chapters. She didn’t hook me at all with her first four chapters, even with her Prologue. The story didn’t make sense and felt that I have to start over trying to get what it is she was trying to tell. It was really confusing and felt a bit disappointed because her story really has all the elements of a good book. I think for an author it is a big negative and to be able to capture your readers, hooking them from the first page is a gift and true signs of a good story teller.
I have to admit, if she didn’t ask me to do this review I was going to put the book down and wouldn’t even bother to pick it up again.
Thank heavens I didn’t.
One of the things that I hate about a novel is struggling to get through every single page. I don’t care how good the story is or even if it is turned into a movie. If I struggle to get through pages, I don’t even finish with the first chapter. A good example is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Meredith’s novel does the opposite.
It reads like a dream, although the first chapters were boring and confusing.
It is her gift as a writer and has made it easier for me to carry on reading.
She keeps her chapters sweet and short and don’t irritate you by repeating the same words, like some authors do.
It is one of the things I love about her and because of that, I will read another novel of hers anytime. She has a skill with developing and playing with words and my favorite comes out of chapter four – fanciful thought.
I don’t know why I love it, but I do.
Chapter five is what I call the magic chapter.
It is the turning point of this novel. It is where Merry finally hooked me and turns her novel into a real page turner. The chapter was not just beautiful written but the story started to develop and everything that didn’t make sense in the first chapters start to come together. It is where she became a story teller and not just a good writer. You realize who is related to whom, and what is important to each and every single character. Chapters like this are what make readers read a book more than just once, but you need every single chapter to be the magic chapter. I really struggle to put the book down after this one and couldn’t wait to discover of what is going too happened next.
After chapter five, I still find here and there the odd chapter that could have been crafted better but she always manage to throw you with a curve or an event that put the magic right back into gear.
There were parts where I smiled, blush and even giggle but the thing I have to praise Meredith for is that she didn’t turn her female MC into a slut. So many writers do it now a days and it’s one of the things that makes me put down the book and never buy anything from that author again.
No Marry does it the old fashion way. Her characters get to know one another first before jumping into the sack and give the readers a chance of falling in love with them too. She kept it real, ten hurray’s for Meredith.
Magic in the Storm is not the type of book that I would pick up and read, although I love magic and the elements of it, still it doesn’t make me read just anything.
I have to say that I was surprised with how much I enjoyed this one. It is a Jane Austen with a paranormal element.
The fact that it play off in an era where big dresses and balls were highly fashionable, almost put me off immediately. It’s not that I don’t love the era, I do but were disappointed so many times with the story line it self. I find most of them boring. Magic in the Storm proofed me wrong.
The book has a very good story line which I am not going to discuss, Merry does it better than me and will leave it up to her for you to discover. All I am going to say that it is about a family born with magic (known as Vallens) surrounded by a prophecy that is given to the wrong sex. The most powerful of them all is a priestess and a mother that is as sly as the devil it self and have an ability she use to her own advantage, fighting hard against the prophecy and believe with all of her hard that her youngest son is worthless and not the person this prophecy speaks off. Without any special abilities, except being able to heal the sick, the bearer (which is this evil priestess’s youngest son) of the prophecies doesn’t lose hope and as he finally meet the love of his life, his other abilities start to grow. It is an amazing story with a message that has been used so many times, but still a classic. Love conquers all.
I promise if you pass the first four chapters you will love it as much as I have.
Magic in the storm was a breeze of fresh air and will recommend it to all of my friends without hesitation.
Well done Merry, you have gained a new fan.
by Meredith Bond
Merry has asked a couple of people to read her novel and then to give a review of what they think about the story.
As an author, I do believe that the public’s view is of extreme importance to what an author has to say. I mean they are the ones that are going to end up purchasing your novel and even help you get an award or two.
My reviews are a bit different from others and I pin point the bad with the good.
What I have to say about Merry as an author is, that I think she is an excellent writer.
Her characters are beautiful developed which is one of the most important qualities when writing a novel and the way she describe feelings, emotions, desire and even erotic moments leaves you with a sensation of what her characters are going through at that exact moment. It’s an art and a quality that can be developed, and without it, the story has no wings to fly.
Is she a good story teller - now that is a different story?
To be an amazing author you need to be able to do both.
I found that Merry really struggles to get into hers with her opening chapters. She didn’t hook me at all with her first four chapters, even with her Prologue. The story didn’t make sense and felt that I have to start over trying to get what it is she was trying to tell. It was really confusing and felt a bit disappointed because her story really has all the elements of a good book. I think for an author it is a big negative and to be able to capture your readers, hooking them from the first page is a gift and true signs of a good story teller.
I have to admit, if she didn’t ask me to do this review I was going to put the book down and wouldn’t even bother to pick it up again.
Thank heavens I didn’t.
One of the things that I hate about a novel is struggling to get through every single page. I don’t care how good the story is or even if it is turned into a movie. If I struggle to get through pages, I don’t even finish with the first chapter. A good example is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Meredith’s novel does the opposite.
It reads like a dream, although the first chapters were boring and confusing.
It is her gift as a writer and has made it easier for me to carry on reading.
She keeps her chapters sweet and short and don’t irritate you by repeating the same words, like some authors do.
It is one of the things I love about her and because of that, I will read another novel of hers anytime. She has a skill with developing and playing with words and my favorite comes out of chapter four – fanciful thought.
I don’t know why I love it, but I do.
Chapter five is what I call the magic chapter.
It is the turning point of this novel. It is where Merry finally hooked me and turns her novel into a real page turner. The chapter was not just beautiful written but the story started to develop and everything that didn’t make sense in the first chapters start to come together. It is where she became a story teller and not just a good writer. You realize who is related to whom, and what is important to each and every single character. Chapters like this are what make readers read a book more than just once, but you need every single chapter to be the magic chapter. I really struggle to put the book down after this one and couldn’t wait to discover of what is going too happened next.
After chapter five, I still find here and there the odd chapter that could have been crafted better but she always manage to throw you with a curve or an event that put the magic right back into gear.
There were parts where I smiled, blush and even giggle but the thing I have to praise Meredith for is that she didn’t turn her female MC into a slut. So many writers do it now a days and it’s one of the things that makes me put down the book and never buy anything from that author again.
No Marry does it the old fashion way. Her characters get to know one another first before jumping into the sack and give the readers a chance of falling in love with them too. She kept it real, ten hurray’s for Meredith.
Magic in the Storm is not the type of book that I would pick up and read, although I love magic and the elements of it, still it doesn’t make me read just anything.
I have to say that I was surprised with how much I enjoyed this one. It is a Jane Austen with a paranormal element.
The fact that it play off in an era where big dresses and balls were highly fashionable, almost put me off immediately. It’s not that I don’t love the era, I do but were disappointed so many times with the story line it self. I find most of them boring. Magic in the Storm proofed me wrong.
The book has a very good story line which I am not going to discuss, Merry does it better than me and will leave it up to her for you to discover. All I am going to say that it is about a family born with magic (known as Vallens) surrounded by a prophecy that is given to the wrong sex. The most powerful of them all is a priestess and a mother that is as sly as the devil it self and have an ability she use to her own advantage, fighting hard against the prophecy and believe with all of her hard that her youngest son is worthless and not the person this prophecy speaks off. Without any special abilities, except being able to heal the sick, the bearer (which is this evil priestess’s youngest son) of the prophecies doesn’t lose hope and as he finally meet the love of his life, his other abilities start to grow. It is an amazing story with a message that has been used so many times, but still a classic. Love conquers all.
I promise if you pass the first four chapters you will love it as much as I have.
Magic in the storm was a breeze of fresh air and will recommend it to all of my friends without hesitation.
Well done Merry, you have gained a new fan.
July 19, 2012
Magic in the Storm – Review by Martha A. Cheves – Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
Jack took a few steps back while he was thinking and leaned himself against the wall. “Hmmm. That’s a tricky one, ain’t it? Never heard o’anythin’ like that happenin’, not that I know a lot of Vallen, mind ye.” He thought for a moment, then said, “I’ve always thought the power came from within. There must be somethin’ changin’ within ye. What is it, inside of ye, that’s changin’?” Morgan shook his head, thinking hard. “I don’t know.” “Well, when ye figure that one out, then you’ll know where the power’s comin’ from.” What was changing within him? Morgan stood back and began to think about this. So many things had changed within him recently. It could be his self-confidence, it could be Adriana, it could be his determination not to wait for his destiny to come to him, but to go and seek it out on his own, it could be so many different things.
Morgan Vallentyn is a Vallen. Most people compare them to and even mistaken them for witches but their powers are real and true with each having a different specialty. Morgan was born the 7th child of the 7th generation Vallen. His mother Lady Vallentyne should have been happy but when she discovered that Morgan was a male child what would have been a strong mother’s love turned to hate. No Vallen leader had ever been a male and had it not been for her husband, Morgan’s father, she would have killed the child just after birth. Instead, Morgan was banished to the forest where his mother cast a spell that would imprison him for life.
Adriana Hayden was an orphan who had been entrusted into the care of a distant relative, Lord Devaux. Devaux had one desire in life and that was to climb the ladder of Parliament. To do this he needed influential people and money. He found both in Lady Vallentyne. Her oldest child and son, Jonathan, the sixth Viscount Vallentyne would be the perfect husband for Adriana. Jonathan wanted nothing more than to run the Estate but his mother had higher expectations for her son. He was to enter politics and with he and Devaux combining their minds and skills, Jonathan would be quite successful. She would see to this marriage even if it meant using her powers and with her being the highest priestess within the clan, no one could refuse her. So she thought.
The last thing Adriana wanted was to marry, especially without love. Her heart’s desire was to paint. Nothing mattered more to her than her paintings. Unfortunately, Devaux knew of this love and used it to blackmail her into agreeing to marry Jonathan. While visiting the Vallentyne Estate, Adriana had ventured into the woods that acted as Morgan’s prison. Not knowing the history of his being an outcast, she made the mistake of mentioning him to Lady Vallentyne. This brought more injustice to be inflicted on Morgan by his mother.
Morgan is nearing his 21st birthday and knows that he must reach his full capacity of powers before that day or lose all powers. Through his experimenting he finds his powers have increased but has no idea why. All Vallen are born with their powers which are revealed at an early age. His powers growing as he nears his birthday is unheard of. Something is different and something is causing this to happen. But he’s running out of time and has no idea as to how he will find his full potential, especially while being encased within the forest. He must find a way to break his mother’s spell and escape.
Magic In The Storm was an edge of the seat read. I kept hoping that Morgan’s mother would change and give in to him allowing him to find his own strength and powers. When he finally made it out of the forest I knew she would see that he was truly the 7th of the 7th generation and accept him even though he was a male, not a female. Did she? I’ll never tell. I will say that a lot happens as his powers increase but does he ever become more powerful than his mother? If so, does she help him in his endeavor? I’ll only tell you that Magic In The Storm was a very enjoyable book.
Jack took a few steps back while he was thinking and leaned himself against the wall. “Hmmm. That’s a tricky one, ain’t it? Never heard o’anythin’ like that happenin’, not that I know a lot of Vallen, mind ye.” He thought for a moment, then said, “I’ve always thought the power came from within. There must be somethin’ changin’ within ye. What is it, inside of ye, that’s changin’?” Morgan shook his head, thinking hard. “I don’t know.” “Well, when ye figure that one out, then you’ll know where the power’s comin’ from.” What was changing within him? Morgan stood back and began to think about this. So many things had changed within him recently. It could be his self-confidence, it could be Adriana, it could be his determination not to wait for his destiny to come to him, but to go and seek it out on his own, it could be so many different things.
Morgan Vallentyn is a Vallen. Most people compare them to and even mistaken them for witches but their powers are real and true with each having a different specialty. Morgan was born the 7th child of the 7th generation Vallen. His mother Lady Vallentyne should have been happy but when she discovered that Morgan was a male child what would have been a strong mother’s love turned to hate. No Vallen leader had ever been a male and had it not been for her husband, Morgan’s father, she would have killed the child just after birth. Instead, Morgan was banished to the forest where his mother cast a spell that would imprison him for life.
Adriana Hayden was an orphan who had been entrusted into the care of a distant relative, Lord Devaux. Devaux had one desire in life and that was to climb the ladder of Parliament. To do this he needed influential people and money. He found both in Lady Vallentyne. Her oldest child and son, Jonathan, the sixth Viscount Vallentyne would be the perfect husband for Adriana. Jonathan wanted nothing more than to run the Estate but his mother had higher expectations for her son. He was to enter politics and with he and Devaux combining their minds and skills, Jonathan would be quite successful. She would see to this marriage even if it meant using her powers and with her being the highest priestess within the clan, no one could refuse her. So she thought.
The last thing Adriana wanted was to marry, especially without love. Her heart’s desire was to paint. Nothing mattered more to her than her paintings. Unfortunately, Devaux knew of this love and used it to blackmail her into agreeing to marry Jonathan. While visiting the Vallentyne Estate, Adriana had ventured into the woods that acted as Morgan’s prison. Not knowing the history of his being an outcast, she made the mistake of mentioning him to Lady Vallentyne. This brought more injustice to be inflicted on Morgan by his mother.
Morgan is nearing his 21st birthday and knows that he must reach his full capacity of powers before that day or lose all powers. Through his experimenting he finds his powers have increased but has no idea why. All Vallen are born with their powers which are revealed at an early age. His powers growing as he nears his birthday is unheard of. Something is different and something is causing this to happen. But he’s running out of time and has no idea as to how he will find his full potential, especially while being encased within the forest. He must find a way to break his mother’s spell and escape.
Magic In The Storm was an edge of the seat read. I kept hoping that Morgan’s mother would change and give in to him allowing him to find his own strength and powers. When he finally made it out of the forest I knew she would see that he was truly the 7th of the 7th generation and accept him even though he was a male, not a female. Did she? I’ll never tell. I will say that a lot happens as his powers increase but does he ever become more powerful than his mother? If so, does she help him in his endeavor? I’ll only tell you that Magic In The Storm was a very enjoyable book.
July 15, 2012
This is not the genre I usually read - historical paranormal romance - but I won a copy of the book in a contest. Magic in the Storm takes place 200 years ago and I normally read contemporary and I rarely read paranormal.
The book started off with a strong opening prologue - why is this woman trying to kill her baby. Did she succeed?
Then it got off to a slow start telling the story of Adriana and why her guardian is determined she marry the Lord Vallentyn. The Lord's mother is also very keen for the marriage to take place because she wants her son to have a career in the British parliament and Adriana would be the perfect politician's wife having grown up surrounded by members of parliament.
Neither couple is too keen about marrying.
Adriana meets Lord Vallentyn's younger brother, Morgan, who has been banished to a cottage in the woods. She was injured in a horse riding accident and he heals her broken leg with the touch of his hands. She is not afraid of his magical abilities and comes back often to visit him until she agrees to become engaged to the Lord Vallentyn - under her gaurdian's threat of burning her beloved paintings and sketchings - and abruptly returns to London. Morgan manages to break his mother's spell and leaves the forest and travels to London to look for Adriana.
The story moved along at a good pace and the author has a great storytelling ability allowing the reader to experience the settings of each scene as if they were standing right beside the characters as their story is being told. Magic in the story and magic in the storytelling!
The novel had a few grammatical typos in it, mostly in the form of extra words in a sentence and the occasional missing word that pauses a reader into distraction wondering what just happened. I'm not sure if it was the reader I was using - an iPad and I had the epub version and I used the iBooks app - but there were huge spaces between each paragraph. Almost like every paragraph should have been a scene change. Then when a scene change did happen it was an extra long space between paragraphs. The book would have better suited to use *** to indicate a scene change.
The book was a pleasant surprse and kept me turning the pages to find out if Morgan and Adriana would discover the real magic was their love for each other.
The book started off with a strong opening prologue - why is this woman trying to kill her baby. Did she succeed?
Then it got off to a slow start telling the story of Adriana and why her guardian is determined she marry the Lord Vallentyn. The Lord's mother is also very keen for the marriage to take place because she wants her son to have a career in the British parliament and Adriana would be the perfect politician's wife having grown up surrounded by members of parliament.
Neither couple is too keen about marrying.
Adriana meets Lord Vallentyn's younger brother, Morgan, who has been banished to a cottage in the woods. She was injured in a horse riding accident and he heals her broken leg with the touch of his hands. She is not afraid of his magical abilities and comes back often to visit him until she agrees to become engaged to the Lord Vallentyn - under her gaurdian's threat of burning her beloved paintings and sketchings - and abruptly returns to London. Morgan manages to break his mother's spell and leaves the forest and travels to London to look for Adriana.
The story moved along at a good pace and the author has a great storytelling ability allowing the reader to experience the settings of each scene as if they were standing right beside the characters as their story is being told. Magic in the story and magic in the storytelling!
The novel had a few grammatical typos in it, mostly in the form of extra words in a sentence and the occasional missing word that pauses a reader into distraction wondering what just happened. I'm not sure if it was the reader I was using - an iPad and I had the epub version and I used the iBooks app - but there were huge spaces between each paragraph. Almost like every paragraph should have been a scene change. Then when a scene change did happen it was an extra long space between paragraphs. The book would have better suited to use *** to indicate a scene change.
The book was a pleasant surprse and kept me turning the pages to find out if Morgan and Adriana would discover the real magic was their love for each other.
August 31, 2012
This book grabbed me from the beginning with a prologue about a woman threatening to kill her seventh child because it was born a male and not a female. The scenario brought up two questions for me. First, what’s the problem with the child being male and second, what happens to the boy?
Jump ahead 20 years to the year 1815 and we are introduced to Adriana. She is a young lady who has been in the guardianship of her cousin since her parents death when she was 6-years-old. There are hints that her parents were ‘different’. That’s the only information we receive about them, but it was enough to peak my interest and wonder what that might mean. We are then introduced to Morgan who lives alone in the woods. On a chance encounter, Morgan and Adriana meet, and the connection and chemistry are immediately evident. Why such a strong connection so soon? Who is this Morgan? More and more questions come up as we are introduced to each new character. So, the mystery begins and the romance grows. There were characters I liked and others I despised. Yet, all of them were well developed. There was great foreshadowing that had me always wondering about what was next. Adriana and Morgan came across very innocent and even naive at sometimes and I had to remind myself of the era this story took place. Their innocence slowly begins to unravel and that was a very fun twist to the story.
All in all, this was a fun read. It had suspense and mystery with a bit of angst thrown in. If you enjoy historical romance/ paranormal romance, then this a book is for you.
Jump ahead 20 years to the year 1815 and we are introduced to Adriana. She is a young lady who has been in the guardianship of her cousin since her parents death when she was 6-years-old. There are hints that her parents were ‘different’. That’s the only information we receive about them, but it was enough to peak my interest and wonder what that might mean. We are then introduced to Morgan who lives alone in the woods. On a chance encounter, Morgan and Adriana meet, and the connection and chemistry are immediately evident. Why such a strong connection so soon? Who is this Morgan? More and more questions come up as we are introduced to each new character. So, the mystery begins and the romance grows. There were characters I liked and others I despised. Yet, all of them were well developed. There was great foreshadowing that had me always wondering about what was next. Adriana and Morgan came across very innocent and even naive at sometimes and I had to remind myself of the era this story took place. Their innocence slowly begins to unravel and that was a very fun twist to the story.
All in all, this was a fun read. It had suspense and mystery with a bit of angst thrown in. If you enjoy historical romance/ paranormal romance, then this a book is for you.
October 19, 2012
Morgan Vallentyne is a descendant of the great Morgan le Fey being the seventh child of the seventh child he should have more magic than anyone to date, He doesn't seem to however and all because he had the nerve to be born a boy. His mother is so upset she hates Morgan just for that fact and mistreats him his entire life.
Adriana Hayden lost her parents young and has been in the hands of her power hungry, political status climbing guardian, Lord Devaux, ever since. She is an amazing painter and it is her one true passion and Lord Devaux uses her love of painting to help control her and force her to do his will.
Morgan and Adriana meet when Lord Devaux arranges for Adriana to marry Morgan's older brother Lord Vallentyne. Adriana wanders in the woods on the estate of Lord Vallentyne and comes across Morgan in the cottage in the woods his mother has forced him to live in.
Morgan and Adriana have instant chemistry but between the 19th century morals and her fear of repercussion from Lord Devaux, Adriana flees from her feelings for Morgan back to London. The adventure continues when Morgan manages to escape his mothers magic to chase after the only thing that makes him truly happy, Adriana!
This book is a fantastic mix of the paranormal and a regency romance! It has action, excitement, magic, love, hate, social climbing, power grabbing and even a part in the story for Lord Byron the poet. The mix of magic and regency blend into a beautiful story that has you fall in love with Morgan and Adriana and despise Morgan's mother and Adriana's guardian Lord Devaux.
I highly recommend this book
Adriana Hayden lost her parents young and has been in the hands of her power hungry, political status climbing guardian, Lord Devaux, ever since. She is an amazing painter and it is her one true passion and Lord Devaux uses her love of painting to help control her and force her to do his will.
Morgan and Adriana meet when Lord Devaux arranges for Adriana to marry Morgan's older brother Lord Vallentyne. Adriana wanders in the woods on the estate of Lord Vallentyne and comes across Morgan in the cottage in the woods his mother has forced him to live in.
Morgan and Adriana have instant chemistry but between the 19th century morals and her fear of repercussion from Lord Devaux, Adriana flees from her feelings for Morgan back to London. The adventure continues when Morgan manages to escape his mothers magic to chase after the only thing that makes him truly happy, Adriana!
This book is a fantastic mix of the paranormal and a regency romance! It has action, excitement, magic, love, hate, social climbing, power grabbing and even a part in the story for Lord Byron the poet. The mix of magic and regency blend into a beautiful story that has you fall in love with Morgan and Adriana and despise Morgan's mother and Adriana's guardian Lord Devaux.
I highly recommend this book
June 4, 2012
I really liked this. The romance was fairly innocent which worked in the story and for me as Morgan is my sisters name and it would have been weird.
Bit sad that Kat didn't get the mojo Tatiana did undone because as it stands eventually Morgan and Adriana will think she helped Tatiana on purpose. Also think that she's probably been sequel hooked.
I will probably read more by this author.
Bit sad that Kat didn't get the mojo Tatiana did undone because as it stands eventually Morgan and Adriana will think she helped Tatiana on purpose. Also think that she's probably been sequel hooked.
I will probably read more by this author.
July 16, 2012
I really liked this. I don't normally read historicals but I bought this one because of the magical element in in. I am pleased I did, because I enjoyed it, reading how the main character got his magical powers.
December 11, 2012
A highly absorbing and charming read. It was always a pleasure to pick this book up and slip into the story. The author has created a unique and alluring world. I would love to see this turned into a series! :-)
June 10, 2012
This book was fantastic! Magic, love, adventure; who could want more? Bond definitely sucked me in with this amazing book!
February 11, 2014
I did not get this book. There are clearly some important magical people in it, but the author felt no need to explain who or what they are. It was tedious and predictable.
April 14, 2015
Disappointing
Once again I have to wonder what Amazon thinks 'clean' means! I would have truly enjoyed this story had it been clean.
Once again I have to wonder what Amazon thinks 'clean' means! I would have truly enjoyed this story had it been clean.
April 25, 2015
Absolutely the best way to end a Trilogy! It was beautiful, seductive and a bit erotic. Meredith Bond has the gift for Historical Paranormal Romance!
Want to read
May 11, 2012Kindle free download 5/11/12.
Read
June 13, 2012I wont rate this book. it just wasn't my cup of tea.
September 19, 2013
check out the review at www.unleadedwriting.com
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