Love's Magic

Boadicea #1

by Traci E. Hall, Traci Hall

While her sisters are tall and beautiful, Celestia Montehue is the misfit in a royal family—petite, with one green and one blue eye. The only thing she has in common with her ancestors is her magical healing ability. Fearing no one will ever accept her, she vows never to marry.

Meanwhile, Nicholas Le Blanc, a haunted man, was trained as a knight, but his childhood has convinced him he is a bastard. He is captured while on crusade and eventually forced to kill for his freedom.

An arranged marriage between the two does not bode happiness, nor does Celestia's new home—a broken-down keep haunted by the ghost of Nicholas' mother. Soon a curse is set upon them, and they must decide if their love will save them or, ultimately, doom them.

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

461 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Librarian Note: Author also goes by name Traci Hall

My name is Traci Hall and I love to write...sounds like the beginning step of a program!However, I am not sorry that I love to write, so I guess I'm in it for the long haul. Finger cramps, slumped back and numb feet from sitting all day aside, there is nothing I would rather do than tell stories. Hearing back from readers makes it all worth while.
Cool stuff to know: I've been interviewed on radio, web radio, web tv and Fox and Friends. I've been included in a 'Fifty Great Writer's You Should be Reading' anthology, and I've been in a few magazines. I love teaching workshops, online or in person, so feel free to contact me @ traciella@aol.com, or if you are a fan who would like to connect, visit www.tracihall.com

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love's Magic is a magical tale of love and all the joys and sorrows that come along with it. Celestia is a spunky character who believes that she will never find love. Nicholas is a man on a mission who will not let anything get in his way. And when the two characters meet... there are sparks. Not just the romantic kind, but the "I possibly hate you and want nothing to do with you" kind.

Although the plot was very promising, I felt like the novel needed a bit more editing. The overall plot is there, but there are a few scenes that could easily be trimmed down without taking the overall effect away. While the added pages do not harm the novel, it is possible that more readers would find this novel easier to digest with some "padding" removed. As for the characters, they mesh well together, and I loved the banter between Celestia and Nicholas. It was playful, sweet, and downright entertaining. The secondary characters, in addition, add much to the understand of the plot as well as serve a decent purpose.

With a few tweaks, this novel could go from enjoyable to outstanding. There is a little bit of something for all types of readers. It has magic, romance, action, humor. This would be a fabulous novel for a rainy day, sitting on the beach, or just when you need a little romance.

[Dee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two-haiku review:

Medieval healer
Forced to marry fallen knight
Damaged by his past

Derivative, and
I lost interest midway
It went on too long

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Celestia Montehue is considered a witch because she has two different colored eyes. Nicholas Le Blanc is a haunted man who arrives on Celestia's doorstep drunk.

There has been an order for Celestia to marry Nicholas, despite the fact that they do not love one another and may in fact actually hate each other. Celestia needs love in her marriage because she is a healer who has a cursed family. If there is unrequited love in her life, she will lose her ability to heal. Nicholas' family is also cursed, although he doesn't know much about his family to begin with. He thinks he's a bastard child, but in actuality his father is Baron Peregrine.

Nicholas is on a mission of vengeance, and when Celestia realizes she may in fact love him, can he avoid his path towards vengeance.. or will that destroy both Celestia and himself?

I'm usually not a big fan of historicals, and this one was a bit long but overall I enjoyed it. I liked Celestia's character and thought she was very tough and didn't let Nicholas walk over her. I also enjoyed Nicholas' struggle to stay separate from Celestia and try to not fall in love with her. Overall, the plot was interesting but I think it could have been cut down length wise. Other than that I would definitely recommend it to others

[Maureen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really hate to do this but this has to be the worst written book I've ever read. I'm sorry, but Ms. Hall needs to go back to school. It was like watching an extremly poorly edited movie with bad cuts and missing scenes. The sentences were choppy and the plot development senseless. The characters shifted moods, made assumptions and reached conclusions at the speed of light and with no apparant rational reason. It was downright inchoherent. It's a shame, too, because the medieval setting was promising. Good idea, poor execution and I don't understand how it got published. I've read so many other amateur, struggling authors trying to get published who write a thousand times better. She must know somebody. Sorry to be so harsh, but that's what I think.

[Sierra Randall · Rating 2 out of 5]

i can't believe i actually got thru this book.

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm pretty lenient on my ratings. This would be rated 4 stars despite the various problems I had with the writing/storyline. I did like it enough to continue until the end. Knocking off another star because I happened to read the author's immature/egotistical reply to an overly harsh review just now. Just ignore the hate
One thing that stands out in the storyline that still bothers me is Petyr's characterization. He's the evil guy in the end, but he gave so much good advice to Nicholas... why? Because he can't help being the smart one or something? The advice itself didn't make him seem more trustworthy to Nicholas. It doesn't make sense as part of the story other than to make him trustworthy to the *reader.*

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love's Magic

This was an excellent book and I would highly recommend this book to any one who wants an excellent read.I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

While her sisters are tall and beautiful, Celestia Montehue is the misfit in a royal family—petite, with one green and one blue eye. The only thing she has in common with her ancestors is her magical healing ability. Fearing no one will ever accept her, she vows never to marry. Meanwhile, Nicholas Le Blanc, a haunted man, was trained as a knight but his childhood has convinced him he is a bastard. He is captured while on crusade and eventually forced to kill for his freedom. An arranged marriage between the two does not bode happiness, nor does Celestia's new home—a broken-down keep haunted by the ghost of Nicholas' mother. Soon a curse is set upon them, and they must decide if their love will save them or, ultimately, doom them.

Review: I picked this one up as another freebie for my kindle, mainly due, I admit, to lack of funds. That said, it’s a fantasy book, with a good love story, which sort of makes it like chick-lit, and therefore it sounded right up my alley.

The main characters are Celestia and Nicholas, who are a somewhat stubborn pair, mismatched and married by someone else’s bidding. Celestia is a healer, whose magical powers are cursed to be gone if she ever enters a loveless marriage. Nicholas is the son of the Baron Peregrine, one of the villains of the story, and is a trained Knight who has been away crusading, and whose scars are not only skin deep.

At first, I have to admit, there were a few things about Celestia that annoyed me. One was the way that she is constantly described as an amazing person as if to make the reader like her. It just didn’t need repeating as much as it was, and neither did her tendency to point her chin in the air when making a point. That said, the same could be said about Nicholas’ self pitying and pain. This all said, I have to admit that by the end, I liked both of them, and wanted that happy ending for them, which was definitely delivered!

And yet, the story itself kept me reading. It moves along at quite a nice pace, and there are plenty of events to keep the reader busy, even if some of the events aren’t so well explained until later.

Plus, we all know I’m a sucker for a good love story. I enjoyed the courting between the two main characters, even though I know it would have annoyed some people – the soppy, sentimental part of me found it endearing and sweet, and I was so happy when they finally ‘got together’ at the end. Yes, whilst I haven’t flagged this up as inappropriate for younger readers, there’s a certain chunk at the end they probably shouldn’t read!

So yes, for a kindle freebie this was actually a good read, and I’ve noticed that Hall has released more books set around the Montehue family, which I will be picking up at a later date!

[Chandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

AUTHOR: TRACI HALL writes Medieval Paranormal Romances, Young Adult Paranormal, Coming of Age YA and Non-Fiction. This is my “first” time having read a book by this author. "Love's Magic" is not YA nor erotica and I don't read either. Her writing style shows an ability to leave the reader with a continuous, “what will happen next”. Most romance readers, I feel, do not want to jump right into the romancing. This author knows how to create the building blocks of romance with continuous hints. You will be happy to wait. Gives the book more....umm shall we say...character. My only objection to her writing is that until you really get to know the characters, she is difficult to follow on the who’s who list (my opinion judged only by this book).

SYNOPSIS –
Celestia belongs to a family with a long line of paranormal abilities. She is a healer. Back in her day even helpful and loving abilities were considered witchcraft. Celestia is forced into a marriage to Nicholas, a man with a black past and a father that he never knew. This is the story of both main characters being manipulated.

(5 out of 5) Stars. Elements of a Romance Book TEST =
2 central characters, 1 male, 1 female.......................YES;
One or both of the main characters are in peril....... YES;
They work together to resolve the situation.............YES;
Some amount of conflict and resistance in working together.....YES;
The perilous situation brings them together………………………......YES.

PASSION SCALE: This book gets (2) ASTERISK because the characters secretly anticipate romance which also leaves you anticipating. Makes the story yummier.
* NOT very descriptive and requires imagination
** WILL make you wiggle a little)
*** WISH it was me;
**** OH BODY, whew;
***** EROTICA and well over the top

FAVORITE PART: Nicholas leaves for Spain without Celestia. Celestia bids goodbye and gives Nicholas something very special that she has made. What happened after that I cannot tell you but whoa, I did not see that coming!

LEAST FAVORITE PART: Her brothers actually got on my nerves

YOU WILL LIKE THIS BOOK IF YOU LIKE: Historical romance, 12th century England, Romance, Fiction, Mystery, Murder, Medieval, Paranormal (abilities that are kinesthetic and have nothing to do with vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters, etc)

[Rosemary Cantrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an historical romance - freebie for Kindle. I was surprised I actually enjoyed it as much as I did. Romance novels are usually so bad, but sometimes there is enough interesting history to make it worthwhile. This fits somewhere in the middle.

The medieval setting was appealing to me; and many of the customs and historical circumstances in which they lived was interesting. However, it is still a romance and the weak parts of the story revolve around that. There wasn't really much mystery in the relationship, but there was some mystery about the hero's background. I thought the author did a decent job in revealing pieces of his past a little at a time to build the interest. Too bad she couldn't do that with their relationship as well, and it might have been more intriguing.

I did not much like the mystical elements - I always have trouble suspending my reality enough to believe in that stuff. I also thought the book should have been edited down quite a bit. I really don't like it when certain thoughts or ideas are repeated over and over again, as happened here, especially with the idea of how they cold not fall in love, blah, blah, blah.

I usually avoid romance novels purely because I do not like the graphic sex scenes. I was beginning to think that this book would escape such scenes, but alas, near the end the marriage had to be consummated and it had to be described in great detail - that was the part I mostly skipped.

[Keavy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Love's Magic had decent ratings overall, so I was disappointed. The characters could have evolved so much more than they did. I found the central conflict annoyingly and repetitively repeated in almost every chapter. I felt the characters did not evolve from the primary focus on their arranged marriage. Yes, things happened, events occurred, but overall the one underlying question, stated over and over, was various versions of "Will he/she love me?" While this may be an obvious conflict within a book with such a title, there was nothing more to the book. He is large; she is small. He is dark; she is fair. He is noble; she is feisty. Chin-thrusting is a major description used numerous times. While I initially found the characters likeable, their lack of involvement in anything worthy, or outside of their egocentricity, bored me. At the end, I wondered why I hadn't quit reading halfway through, when it was apparent the story wasn't really going to go anywhere. I think there was potential with these characters, but to me it didn't evolve to the point where I will have any interest in reading Book 2. I applaud the author for writing and completing her book, and for getting it published. That is a noteworthy achievement. I merely wish it had been more of what I sensed it might have become.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was an awfully cute book. I really enjoyed Celestia and her family dynamic and of course Nicholas. I enjoyed trying to figure out what was going to happen next and then trying to figure out why. The story held my attention well and kept some suspense for me.

There were parts through out the book ... mainly her visions/chills ... I thought could have been elaborated on or left out. I found myself keeping them in mind thinking they may have something to do with the story line and then they were never brought up again. I guess maybe she was trying to cover everything towards the end of the book. After Nicholas got back to the keep, the book really could have ended there with a brief epilogue. The writing seemed to suffer greatly after that point in the book.

I thought it was a wonderful free read though, and enjoyed reading it.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked it up as free ebook off Amazon. This story has to do with a healer in the age of Knights and the crusades. She has agreed to an arranged marriage, but if she cannot make her husband truly fall in love with her she will loose her precious gift of healing.

This story was a good one,... but I felt liked I plodded through it. There was a GREAT DEAL of repetition, re-explaining the story line over and over and over and over.... I wanted to shout that I CAN go back and re read it if I am lost. The story was simple enough that I wouldn't have to though. This made the book much longer than needed. Overall though,... I did want to see the conclusion,... and that is always good, but I do not wish to read the next book in the series if there is one.

[D.S. Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, enjoying Traci's characterizations and the story revolving around a young woman who has healing skills, but because of her differently colored eyes is considered a witch by some in the Medieval setting of the book.
The relationship between her and her husband is nicely done, moving along at a gentle pace and there was much enjoyment to be had when they consistently bumped heads with one another. The secondary characters are also well written and I am looking forward to reading more of Traci's work.
There is a mystery involved in the story, which I'll avoid here to keep the secret for those who have yet to read it, but I can confirm it is well-written and thoroughly enjoyable.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lady Celestia is a healer, gifted by God with the magic necessary to save lives. When her father's liege lord orders her to marry his son, Nicholas, Celestia will need every bit of her magic to heal Nicholas's wounded and tormented soul, and to keep evil from invading their new life.

This is another of the books where I started it and then set it down for a month or so before finally picking it up again. It does take a little while to get started, and it's a bit weird in that it doesn't necessarily flow like a 'typical' story. The confrontation with multiple villains are spaced out and the growing suspense feels a little off. However, the book still was enjoyable.

[Mona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so anamoured with the dynamics of Celestia and Nicholas. They are opposites in that she is full of light and he has a pit of darkness. They were a couple that I constantly rooted for to be together in the end. Of course, Nicholas just has to be one of those, I am too much of a tortured soul to have anyone love me and my darkness will only make them worse. you constantly beg for him to see him as a decent human being that he is and can be. This book was a real page turner or in my Kindle case, and next page button pusher.

[Farrah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this. The characters were intriguing, the plot was unique, and the ending was perfection. My one problem is the fantastically stubborn determination the two lovebirds had to push each other away. It grew a little frustrating after a time. But otherwise, Love's Magic is a cute, sweet, feel-good romance with just enough action to keep you on your toes.

[Nathalia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Try as I might, I only made it to 20%. The writing was fair, but the plot and characterization were atrocious. Another problem I had was that I couldn't decide if I was reading a watered down historical romance meant for teens or a Christian historical romance, which for those who know me, I tend to stay far away from.

[Susie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. I thought the plot was a little confusing and even at the end I didn't quite understand everything that had happened. There was too much backstory involved. Also the sexual tension built up to one graphic scene at the end and it was all too much for me.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good storyline, but I have to agree with another reviewer that said it had too much padding. This could have been a very good book. There was just something lacking in the telling of the story.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very familiar story. I am not sire whether I have just read to many stories just like it or if there is a movie along these lines but this has been done. That is not to say that it isn't a cute story. Plus it has a happy ending and goodness knows I can use more of those.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read, yet again. Since it is not one in a series, it makes for a great airplane book.

[Rilana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this book.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far, I really really like this. It's cute, it has history, it has love, and it has excitement. :)

[Anne-Kathrine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book. I haven't read a historical romance for a while. Must admit I prefer her Rhiannon Godfrey series more :)

[Brandice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised how much this pulled me in considering I read it because it was free on kindle.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I've read a historical romance, but this one was pretty decent.

[Martha]

Also in Nook Archive.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! I could not put it down. I wanted to see what was going to happen next. I will definitely see if there are more in this series. Would recommend it!

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can't pinpoint what it is with this book that I did or didn't like! How sad is that? It was an average book. Good enough for a one time read.