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Magic #1

Powerful Magic

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When Lightning Strikes

For Megan, illumination came in thunder-crash. She was not the pawn of abusive men. She had power of her own. And though the modern world disappeared and everything she’d ever known spiraled into oblivion, the strange warrior who appeared to her gave the once-meek beauty a sweet felling that everything would be all right.

He was too gorgeous to be a man, but Kenric’s hard-muscled form made Megan see that he was nothing but. His kisses electrified her, making her body burn while her mind cried out for understanding. She was in a strange land, and a strange time—and yet everything seemed perfect. It was clear why she had been summoned This wasn’t about Faerie prophecies or wizardry, or a desperate struggle to find a way home; this was a quest to save a hero’s heart. And for the first time ever, she felt destined to prevail, because with her help. She knew this handsome prince could discover the most potent magic of all: love.

320 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2001

19 people are currently reading
294 people want to read

About the author

Karen Whiddon

206 books131 followers
Karen Whiddon spun fanciful tales for her younger brothers as early as the age of eleven. Growing up in the Catskill Mountains of New York, then the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, she found enough magic in the rugged peaks to keep her imagination fueled for years.

Now making her home in North Texas, she shares her life with her hero-like husband and three doting dogs. She writes paranormal tales for Harlequin Nocturne including the popular Pack series and romantic suspense stories for Harlequin Romantic Suspense.

She's also written Fae novels for Lovespell and a long time ago, she wrote five Precious Gem Romances for Kensington publishing. These she now owns again and has put them up for sale on Amazon.com among other places

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5 stars
57 (25%)
4 stars
51 (22%)
3 stars
68 (30%)
2 stars
32 (14%)
1 star
16 (7%)
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
Profile Image for Randi.
141 reviews2 followers
October 26, 2012
The story is about a woman who went back 900 years to meet a man. She was fearful that he would hit her like her modern fiancee that she was meeting to break it off. Turns out that Kenric (the man 900 years ago) isn't the type who hit women. All Kenric wanted was a land to call his own. Megan told him in a fib for her safety that if he would return her to her fiancee, the fiancee would give him land.

They went on a journey together through the realms of Earth and Rune (fairy). With Megan, Kenric has started to accept that he is a half Faerie whether he likes it or not after years of denying his heritage.

Megan and Kenric fell in love.

I gave it 2 stars because it was too typical... And the story has a wrong feeling on how it was written. Some parts of the story was embellished that I was thinking "ok, hurry up already." So I was a little impatient with the book so it's 2 stars for me.

727 reviews1 follower
September 19, 2025
**MINOR SPOILERS**
This book is book 1 of Magic series. I do not recommend this book or the author. I did take a look at the other books in the series, and they seemed to be unrelated to this one and only loosely considered a series because of the magic theme.
Megan, one of the main characters, is called back in time and to a different place to help fulfil a prophecy. This does not seem to be done very well as she ends up on her own in the middle of a blizzard. By luck, (because there does not seem to be magic in this part) she finds the other main character. The prophecy involves them falling in love. Megan believes in love and that is the powerful magic referred to in the book title. She learns to be strong during her adventure. She had been engaged to be married to an abusive man and, at the end of the book, she confronts him.
Kenric, the other main character, denies his ability to do magic. When he finds Megan, he rescues her because he lives by a personal code of honor. He thinks she might be a prostitute at first because of the way she dresses and acts. There is a totally disappointing scene in which Megan believes she is asleep and is having a dream, so she tries to seduce him. While it is pretty crazy to believe in time travel, and I can understand the mind’s need to come up with an explanation, I do not think this was all that realistic. Eventually, Megan inspires Kenric to accept his magic and to take on the prophecy.
Megan tells Kenric about her engagement to Roger and despite this, they eventually make love. I thought this was against his code of honor, but it did not seem to bother him much. Megan continues to lie to him about finding Roger and where she is from. Truthfully, other than her belief in love and her inspiring Kenric to do the same, I did not understand why she would have been chosen for the prophecy.
I thought Kenric’s reasons for refusing his magic seemed a little bit of a stretch. In addition, if he knew he was part of a prophecy to fight evil, I would have thought his honor would have gotten involved sooner.
The characters in the book, including the main characters, did not have a lot of depth. I never really understood what the two main characters saw in each other. Megan is a socialite from Dallas, Texas, and Kenric was a medieval warrior/mage. That match was never really explained.
The villain shows up at the end for the final battle. I thought the author should have developed this more during the story with earlier scenes or more explanation.
At one point, Kenric and Megan are trapped in a castle. Megan finds a way to get them out of the castle, but I thought this part of the story could have been better written. It could have been better tied to the powerful magic of the title with more of a process of realization. It also could have shown Megan off as a reason for her being chosen and also her developing strength in the adventure.
This was the first book I have read by the author and I bought this book to try someone new. I will not be continuing with the series or the author.
95 reviews1 follower
December 23, 2022
This book is easy reading. There are some grammar that are questionable but they’re forgettable. I do not like time travelling stories, it makes everything complicated. She travels back in time and then there’s a space in that time period where the time runs differently. Annoyingly complicated. This book as the cover suggested is spicy.
Profile Image for Emma Murray.
3 reviews
February 19, 2019
Loved it!

This story pulled me in immediately, I couldn't stop reading. Great plot, lovable and hateable characters and a lovely ending.
Profile Image for Shirley .
1,944 reviews58 followers
April 28, 2012
Every once in a while a book will totally take you by surprise. Powerful Magic falls into that category. I love it when that happens. :)

This is going to be a hard review to write, simply because I don’t want to give too much away. There are so many twists, turns and secrets slowly revealed that happened as the story unfolded. *sigh*

Megan finds herself thrown into the past. She’s instantly attracted to Kenric, her unwilling savior. Kenric, however, has no time for anything other than his own personal quest and vengeance. Watching the wall that he has built around himself begin to crumble was part of why Powerful Magic turned into such a page turner for me. The world building and mythology also peaked my interest and kept the story moving at a steady pace.

This is the first in Karen Whiddon’s Magic Series. From reading the other book descriptions, it looks like the only common thread between the books is the magic element. Even though I’d love to get more of the story between Kenric and Megan, I will still probably check out the rest of the books.
61 reviews3 followers
March 25, 2012
I enjoyed the time travel to assist in a legend to save Rune and the world. Roger wanted to marry Megan for her inheritance. The money would get him out of debt. He finds out Megan has willed her fortune to charity. Roger is very abusive and enjoys the pain he dishes out to Megan. Megan decides to tell Roger she is calling off the engagement but lightning struck transporting her to another time. She is transported to a cave with a Kenric. Together they journey to save Rune through true love, trust and magic. True love between Kenric and Megan is the only way to save both worlds.

Awesome read!
Profile Image for Cat.
1,479 reviews14 followers
July 31, 2012
Although there were many errors throughout this book, I liked the story behind it. And even though I think things were resolved much too easily (and with the same answer), I definitely get the point.

Chemistry between the two protagonists was good, though a little too obvious. Other than that, the read was a bit longer than I expected but moved quickly. There's character growth from both Megan and Kenric, which is always a plus in my book.
Profile Image for Angela.
47 reviews8 followers
June 8, 2012


I enjoyed the story, but I have to say it was a struggle to make myself read past the first page. I know this was self-published and free, but I really had a tough time with the misspellings and incorrect word choices. Also, I have never in my life read a work if fiction where words were underlined. Fragmented sentences were also a big issue. This author
Would benefit greatly from the skill of a good copy editor.
215 reviews2 followers
May 4, 2012
This was a little diferent from my usual reads. It is a time travel with the different in times begin our time about 1065, and they have the good guys and the bad guys and faierys. Proves that love is the answer.
182 reviews
April 10, 2012
It was a good book. Fantasy Romance with magic, faeries, time-travel, etc. Very captivating and I like how she put a modern-day twist into a "historical" romance.
Profile Image for Jessica.
198 reviews12 followers
March 31, 2012
This was a great book. It is a very cute love story if you don't mind a little romance in there too :) I would recommend this to someone who likes fantasy stories with a good love story.
Profile Image for Stephani.
177 reviews18 followers
January 17, 2013
Completely awesome love story!!!!! Addicting and fun and very easy to read! Sexy characters and all~~~

Profile Image for Tasha.
1,490 reviews26 followers
February 14, 2013
Oh i just found out this book is in a Series.... well dang i didnt know that anyways i have read this book more then once because i fell head over heels in love
Profile Image for Kate Cardenas.
345 reviews
February 18, 2015
Though the modern world disappears along with everything she's ever known, the powerful warrior who appears sets Megan afire like none she's ever known.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews

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