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Rainbow Chasers #4
Magic
Book by Hoag, Tami
312 pages, Library Binding
First published October 1, 1990
97 people are currently reading
1033 people want to read
About the author
Tami Hoag
101 books6,152 followersTami Hoag is the #1 internationally bestselling author of more than thirty books published in more than thirty languages worldwide, including her latest thrillers—BITTER SEASON, COLD COLD HEART and THE 9TH GIRL. Renowned for combining thrilling plots with character-driven suspense, Hoag first hit the New York Times Bestseller list with NIGHT SINS, and each of her books since has been a bestseller.
She leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage. Other interests include the study of psychology, and mixed martial arts fighting.
Visit her at www.tamihoag.com, Facebook.com/TamiHoag and on Twitter @TamiHoag
She leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage. Other interests include the study of psychology, and mixed martial arts fighting.
Visit her at www.tamihoag.com, Facebook.com/TamiHoag and on Twitter @TamiHoag
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
March 30, 2010
Don't let the cover fool you. This is actually a 20-year-old romance novel, and it reads like one. Bad, bad, bad. I kept reading my husband passages from it aloud, because they were so painfully awful...therefore hilarious.
May 26, 2017
Actually a lot in this book is ridiculous. I could nit pick and tell of all the absurd situations but in the end they do not matter because they are coupled with the most wonderful characters in the most wonderful house...
I first picked up this novel when I was a busy mother--years and years ago. I was able to immediately slip into the easy storytelling and forget the sometimes unpleasent things that I was dealing with. And I am still able to. So it doesn't matter if a lot of things are ridiculous--in the end I had the perfect get-away!
I first picked up this novel when I was a busy mother--years and years ago. I was able to immediately slip into the easy storytelling and forget the sometimes unpleasent things that I was dealing with. And I am still able to. So it doesn't matter if a lot of things are ridiculous--in the end I had the perfect get-away!
April 12, 2008
I got tricked into reading this. I'm a fan of Tami Hoag's mysteries and this was listed as "suspense" in the library. While the suspense involves paranormal activity and a mystery of missing gold, those components are a thin veil for a standard romance novel. For a romance novel it's fine; that's just not what I was looking for or wanted to read from Tami Hoag.
July 21, 2012
After reading a couple of Tami Hoag's novels and enjoying them, I was surprised by the drivel of this one. I don't mind romance, but the 2 characters were falling over each other from the moment they set eyes on one another. It was so overdone and trite.
May 19, 2016
If I could give this book a negative rating, I would. This might be the worst book I've read in the past 5 years (and I've read a lot). It's the first time in my life when I put down a book without finishing it. I read the first 100 pages in the course of 5 days - a book this short would take me a couple of hours at the most. I had to force myself to read which took a lot out of the joy I usually experience when I read.
January 29, 2024
This was a rollercoaster - but like, a long, slow one. I loved Bryan's character in the other books and wanted to know more about him the whole time, but his book was just not... good.
The whole plot rests on a shaky moral ground that flips at the last minute and completely shatters the sense of realism with slight mystery that I love in Hoag's work. The other books had some magical elements perhaps, but they were subtle and worked to pull the characters together with just a little suspension of disbelief. This one, however, does not toe the line. It jumps off the cliff and leaves you standing on the rocks wondering what the hell just happened. The coaster really went off the tracks in the very end, and it made me dislike the book even more. Bryan and Rachel are simply unlikeable black and white thinkers who pin their entire relationship on debates of money and ghosts. By the end, I didn't like either of them. This was a REAL let down and absolute fail. The only thing I enjoyed about this one was the beautiful imagery and scenery. Not worth your time.
The whole plot rests on a shaky moral ground that flips at the last minute and completely shatters the sense of realism with slight mystery that I love in Hoag's work. The other books had some magical elements perhaps, but they were subtle and worked to pull the characters together with just a little suspension of disbelief. This one, however, does not toe the line. It jumps off the cliff and leaves you standing on the rocks wondering what the hell just happened. The coaster really went off the tracks in the very end, and it made me dislike the book even more. Bryan and Rachel are simply unlikeable black and white thinkers who pin their entire relationship on debates of money and ghosts. By the end, I didn't like either of them. This was a REAL let down and absolute fail. The only thing I enjoyed about this one was the beautiful imagery and scenery. Not worth your time.
December 5, 2017
Well, I might have enjoyed this if I was expecting a romance but as it was I was expecting more of a horror novel & so I was a might disappointed! From the cover blurb I at least expected it would be romantic suspense...."secrets & lies can be more terrifying than ghost" & "they must unravel a mystery which may be rooted in a cold reality more sinister than anything they had anticipated"...nah! - did I read the same book?
Even as a romance (which I do enjoy at times) I felt it poor, the characters to me weren't either particularly believable (the "magic" aspect!?) or endearing. Bryan has three friends, Faith, Jayne & Alaina who briefly feature & it seems to me that they might each feature in their own romance story. I won't be hunting them down....
Even as a romance (which I do enjoy at times) I felt it poor, the characters to me weren't either particularly believable (the "magic" aspect!?) or endearing. Bryan has three friends, Faith, Jayne & Alaina who briefly feature & it seems to me that they might each feature in their own romance story. I won't be hunting them down....
November 26, 2017
I LOVE reading about GHOST ! I guess I could go back and read #1 through #3. I will see. I will probably learn the beginning of the story with Bryan Hennessy, Faith Kincaid, Alaina Montgomery and Jayne Jordan. Their college days?
Page 11 . . . Jayne was leaving to seek fame and fortune in Hollywood as a writer and director. Faith was heading to a managerial position in a business office in Cincinnati. Alaina was staying on at Notre Dame to attend law school. Bryan had been accepted into the graduate program of parapsychology at Purdue.
. . . Alaina's . . . emotional security. . . . Faith . . . husband and children. Jayne's . . . understanding and acceptance.
Page 13 . . . " Anastasia," . . .
Page 15 . . . Faith had her inn and her family. jayne had her farm and a husband . . . Alaina had finally found a place where she belonged, a family to love and who loved her in return.
. . .
Page 11 . . . Jayne was leaving to seek fame and fortune in Hollywood as a writer and director. Faith was heading to a managerial position in a business office in Cincinnati. Alaina was staying on at Notre Dame to attend law school. Bryan had been accepted into the graduate program of parapsychology at Purdue.
. . . Alaina's . . . emotional security. . . . Faith . . . husband and children. Jayne's . . . understanding and acceptance.
Page 13 . . . " Anastasia," . . .
Page 15 . . . Faith had her inn and her family. jayne had her farm and a husband . . . Alaina had finally found a place where she belonged, a family to love and who loved her in return.
. . .
October 22, 2017
Alright then.... The last sentence was a bit lame but the rest was ok.
July 22, 2021
Romance novel with some suspense.
March 3, 2023
When the hero found out that the daughter of the old woman who lets out her house for ghost hunting is returning after 5 years without word, he is fully prepared to think the worst of her. Who could just abandon a sweet, albeit mentally unstable, elderly woman? The hero may not be family to this woman but he is the one who cooks her breakfast every morning and who takes the seed out of the empty birdcage just so the old woman doesn't fear her imaginary bird has fallen ill. But when he comes face to face with an angel in the flesh, he is horribly unsettled by the instant and fierce attraction he feels towards her. But what's worst is that it's not purely psychical. The young woman shows a vulnerability when facing the mother who turned her out after the heroine chose to date a no-good folk singer. When she faces the aged and unstable woman who inhabits her mother’s body, she is brutally saddened by the site and heartbroken when she is once again turned away by the mother who is supposed to love her unconditionally.
The hero feels a strong need to protect this woman and make her smile though inside he is still dealing with the death of his wife. But the hero has a pure soul and when around him one can't help but love him. The heroine may pretend to be unaffected by this bizarre and obviously insane ghost hunter who's taken to living in her mother’s house but she too is moved by his unwavering optimism. How can you not love a man who walks into a room singing a jolly song before sweeping your mother out to the front lawn to dance under the stars? How can you not find him cute when he adjusts his glasses and make some completely off the wall declaration or when he says something clever and witty just to get a raise out of you? But there's a side to the hero that she just can't understand, well, to be fair she doesn't understand him at all so rather there's a side to him that is unsettling. She believes in work and responsibility and she also believe that the hero does not. He carries around random notes of paper in his pockets to remind him to remember things but he never remembers to check the paper. He believes in ghosts, which is insane. He also believes in magic, that everything will work out for the best if you just believe but that's not how the heroine is wired. Still, regardless of their personality differences they are pushed together it seems by some force of fate and soon it's becomes unbearable to know that their time together is soon to be at an end as she sells the house and moves to san Francisco. But the hero isn't fazed by the lack of optimism, he shall have enough for the both of them and while she may believe him to be a hopeless dreamer, he's smart and resourceful and strong when it comes to standing up for his beliefs. He protects her even if she doesn't want that protection and he'll love even if she can't risk her heart to love him back.
What an absolutely adorable book. Yet again I was blown away by a book I expected to be a filler in my reading challenge but once again I have to remind myself not to judge a book by its cover. These characters, the hero is particular, were so full of love and life and humor. The whole story was like Alice in Wonderland with the crazy characters all occupying a rundown house. The mother who is suffering from Alzheimer's sees her one moment not knowing who her daughter is and the next still showing bitterness about how she betrayed her. The mother was also one of the funniest characters I have ever read especially when she gets together with the hero's equally crazy aunt. The hero himself was like a mad hatter. The charm he had and the insane little quirks to his personality made him one the most enjoyable hero to read and I really really wish he was a real person. Beyond selfless and always eager to help and to just be present when needed, he was almost the perfect man. To the heroine he was almost perfect, once she got over the ghost hunting and the notion he was stealing from her mother. But she both loved and hated his positivity because to her, life was not sunshine and roses, it was sacrifice and guilt. She wasn't like Alice, full of wonder and adventure, she was Scrooge who had to learn to joys of life and happiness of love. I freaking loved this story so much. I laughed out loud numerous times on behalf of the hero's antics or the mothers ranting and also at the heroine who struggled to keep it all together.
The hero feels a strong need to protect this woman and make her smile though inside he is still dealing with the death of his wife. But the hero has a pure soul and when around him one can't help but love him. The heroine may pretend to be unaffected by this bizarre and obviously insane ghost hunter who's taken to living in her mother’s house but she too is moved by his unwavering optimism. How can you not love a man who walks into a room singing a jolly song before sweeping your mother out to the front lawn to dance under the stars? How can you not find him cute when he adjusts his glasses and make some completely off the wall declaration or when he says something clever and witty just to get a raise out of you? But there's a side to the hero that she just can't understand, well, to be fair she doesn't understand him at all so rather there's a side to him that is unsettling. She believes in work and responsibility and she also believe that the hero does not. He carries around random notes of paper in his pockets to remind him to remember things but he never remembers to check the paper. He believes in ghosts, which is insane. He also believes in magic, that everything will work out for the best if you just believe but that's not how the heroine is wired. Still, regardless of their personality differences they are pushed together it seems by some force of fate and soon it's becomes unbearable to know that their time together is soon to be at an end as she sells the house and moves to san Francisco. But the hero isn't fazed by the lack of optimism, he shall have enough for the both of them and while she may believe him to be a hopeless dreamer, he's smart and resourceful and strong when it comes to standing up for his beliefs. He protects her even if she doesn't want that protection and he'll love even if she can't risk her heart to love him back.
What an absolutely adorable book. Yet again I was blown away by a book I expected to be a filler in my reading challenge but once again I have to remind myself not to judge a book by its cover. These characters, the hero is particular, were so full of love and life and humor. The whole story was like Alice in Wonderland with the crazy characters all occupying a rundown house. The mother who is suffering from Alzheimer's sees her one moment not knowing who her daughter is and the next still showing bitterness about how she betrayed her. The mother was also one of the funniest characters I have ever read especially when she gets together with the hero's equally crazy aunt. The hero himself was like a mad hatter. The charm he had and the insane little quirks to his personality made him one the most enjoyable hero to read and I really really wish he was a real person. Beyond selfless and always eager to help and to just be present when needed, he was almost the perfect man. To the heroine he was almost perfect, once she got over the ghost hunting and the notion he was stealing from her mother. But she both loved and hated his positivity because to her, life was not sunshine and roses, it was sacrifice and guilt. She wasn't like Alice, full of wonder and adventure, she was Scrooge who had to learn to joys of life and happiness of love. I freaking loved this story so much. I laughed out loud numerous times on behalf of the hero's antics or the mothers ranting and also at the heroine who struggled to keep it all together.
May 23, 2013
Well, this was not exactly what I was expecting from Tami Hoag. I enjoy her dark, detective novels, but this was more of a romance novel. Not quite as formulaic as some, but, still more a romance than not. Perhaps that is what she is going for in this series. If so, I will have to look more closely before borrowing it from the library. (To those of you who really like romance novels, I don't mean to belittle them in any way...I am simply not a big fan.)
January 30, 2019
Drivel. Barbara Cartland with sex.
February 25, 2017
This story is about an elderly woman who had a falling out with her daughter and hasnt seen or spoken to her in 5 years. The elderly woman is suffering from Alzheimers . She lives in an old run down estate and she thinks she sees ghosts so she hires a ghostbuster to take care of it. The Doctors call her daughter Rachel and inform her that her moms Alzheimers is getting worse and she should come home to take care of her. When her mom Addie sees her she calls the cops and tries to have her removed from her home, she doesnt want anything to do with her, but Brian , the ghost buster smoothes things over, he acts like the mediator between them.
Brian makes Addie feel like there is nothing wrong with her mind. She thinks she has a parakeet, everyday she fills the bird cages with food and every morning before Addie gets up, Brian goes around and empties the cages. Rachel asks him why he does that and he tells her that Addie gets upset if Lester the Parakeet doesnt eat... Addie will wear a bathrobe inside out with her green garden boots and Brian will compliment her and tell her that her outfit looks lovely today lets go dance in the yard and show it off. of course Rachel dont like him playing into her antics..once Addie forgot how to braid her hair so infrustration she cut it. hacked it up pretty bad, but Brian told her that she was beautiful.
I loved Brians relationship with Addie, im nt sure if health care providers would agree, but if it makes her smile and be happy and not depressed with her disease then why not have a little fun with it.
Rachel was to stuffy, all she could think about was selling everything and the estate so she could move and put her mom in a home. she carried a chip on her shoulder but Brian slowly tore it down.
there is a bit of a mystery to what is behind Addies ghost sightings and the truth does come out, and Brian does make Rachal a believer in ghosts at the end of the story.
I really enjoyed this story it made me laugh out loud at some of Addies and Brians antics..A mystery with a touch of comedy.
Brian makes Addie feel like there is nothing wrong with her mind. She thinks she has a parakeet, everyday she fills the bird cages with food and every morning before Addie gets up, Brian goes around and empties the cages. Rachel asks him why he does that and he tells her that Addie gets upset if Lester the Parakeet doesnt eat... Addie will wear a bathrobe inside out with her green garden boots and Brian will compliment her and tell her that her outfit looks lovely today lets go dance in the yard and show it off. of course Rachel dont like him playing into her antics..once Addie forgot how to braid her hair so infrustration she cut it. hacked it up pretty bad, but Brian told her that she was beautiful.
I loved Brians relationship with Addie, im nt sure if health care providers would agree, but if it makes her smile and be happy and not depressed with her disease then why not have a little fun with it.
Rachel was to stuffy, all she could think about was selling everything and the estate so she could move and put her mom in a home. she carried a chip on her shoulder but Brian slowly tore it down.
there is a bit of a mystery to what is behind Addies ghost sightings and the truth does come out, and Brian does make Rachal a believer in ghosts at the end of the story.
I really enjoyed this story it made me laugh out loud at some of Addies and Brians antics..A mystery with a touch of comedy.
Read
September 6, 2019This fantasy book is based on Magic as the name gives is away. The magic of emotions, desires, the living, the presence of those gone, the unapprehended, the explicable. The magic is all around; don't you think so too?
Remember The Hollow Man? Nyah! This ain't like that
BUT
How would you feel waking up to the feeling of being watched, eyes over you, in a complete deserted room where you can feel the presence of someone other than you, but not see it?
How would you feel if only you were to see something no-one else can? How would you explain them? How would you explain yourself? Won't you feel like you're losing your mind?
I definitely will feel like having lost it already 🥴
A strong and independent woman raised by another such woman, returns to her childhood home after five years to realise the woman who raised her up still exists but apart from her illness there's something more to the house.
Remember The Hollow Man? Nyah! This ain't like that
BUT
How would you feel waking up to the feeling of being watched, eyes over you, in a complete deserted room where you can feel the presence of someone other than you, but not see it?
How would you feel if only you were to see something no-one else can? How would you explain them? How would you explain yourself? Won't you feel like you're losing your mind?
I definitely will feel like having lost it already 🥴
A strong and independent woman raised by another such woman, returns to her childhood home after five years to realise the woman who raised her up still exists but apart from her illness there's something more to the house.
March 18, 2018
A 2 day read especially if you skip the sex scenes. A paranormal scientist with a great sender of humor and fun, believes in magic. He’s staying in Drake House located in Anastasia,CA hoping to discover the ghost Wimsy. The owner of the house, Addie, has early onset Alzheimer’s and has daily conversations with Wimsy.
Enter Addie’s daughter,Rachel, who had a falling out with her mother and hasn’t seen nor heard from each other for the past 5 years . Disallusioned and not believing in magic of any kind she comes home to care for her mother, get her affairs in order and, move them both to San Francisco where she, Rachel, has attained a job as a singing teacher. Mix the 3 plus ghost and you get a salad of delight.
Enter Addie’s daughter,Rachel, who had a falling out with her mother and hasn’t seen nor heard from each other for the past 5 years . Disallusioned and not believing in magic of any kind she comes home to care for her mother, get her affairs in order and, move them both to San Francisco where she, Rachel, has attained a job as a singing teacher. Mix the 3 plus ghost and you get a salad of delight.
February 13, 2022
Although Romance is not what I usually read, this was similar to a cozy mystery. Rachel comes back home after 5 years away from home to find a handsome man staying in the old dilapidated mansion with a rumored ghost. Bryan has been taking good care of her mother, Addie, while she has slipped into states of dementia from time to time. He has all sorts of equipment to find the signs of the ghost, and getting free room and board while he watches out for Rachel’s mother. Rachel is challenged by Addie not wanting to leave, and bills coming out their ears, requiring selling off the antiques in the house and eventually the house, and rather quickly. This is a quick read, but a bit too much of the romance.
July 29, 2018
Before I start - this wasn’t a terrible book, it’s just not what I was expecting and not my genre - regardless of how it advertises itself.
I’ve read a few more recent Tami Hoag books and really enjoyed them, so I was expecting this to be a gritty page-turner.
Magic was a romance novel (quite a saucy one) that didn’t live up to its back-blurb.
It was predictable, and didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat. It’s saving grace was probably the last chapter.... which wasn’t that great.
Only read if you like romance. There wasn’t enough supernatural substance to make it a decent ghost story.
I’ve read a few more recent Tami Hoag books and really enjoyed them, so I was expecting this to be a gritty page-turner.
Magic was a romance novel (quite a saucy one) that didn’t live up to its back-blurb.
It was predictable, and didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat. It’s saving grace was probably the last chapter.... which wasn’t that great.
Only read if you like romance. There wasn’t enough supernatural substance to make it a decent ghost story.
March 25, 2021
Not very magical!
I was bored through most of the book, but the saving grace was Addie ,a lost soul locked in the frustrations of Alzheimer's disease. She was the only character who seemed real. Hoag dwelled too much on the sex scenes. Would have liked more about the old house, and a more intense description of Bryan's gift. Also would have been more interesting to have Bryan hear Rachel's voice and find she had her own magical abilities.
I was bored through most of the book, but the saving grace was Addie ,a lost soul locked in the frustrations of Alzheimer's disease. She was the only character who seemed real. Hoag dwelled too much on the sex scenes. Would have liked more about the old house, and a more intense description of Bryan's gift. Also would have been more interesting to have Bryan hear Rachel's voice and find she had her own magical abilities.
April 7, 2021
It's my first Tami Hoag and it will probably be the last, I'm so glad I only paid 50cents for this novel at Salvation Army book sale.
It's sold as a haunted house/mystery novel, but it's just another fluffy romance !!! Yes there is a ghost and a bit of a mystery to solve but please, no more schmaltz. Perfect for one of those trashy made for TV movies they churn out for the holiday viewing period, when, as long as it has a happy ending, the film is made, regardless of the content.
It's sold as a haunted house/mystery novel, but it's just another fluffy romance !!! Yes there is a ghost and a bit of a mystery to solve but please, no more schmaltz. Perfect for one of those trashy made for TV movies they churn out for the holiday viewing period, when, as long as it has a happy ending, the film is made, regardless of the content.
June 11, 2020
Picked this up on the premise it might be a bit of a slow burning mystery.
Unfortunately it's a cheesy and meandering romance style mess. I didn't enjoy the writing style, the storyline is vague if there at all and the pace is entirely inconceivable.
Unfortunately it's a cheesy and meandering romance style mess. I didn't enjoy the writing style, the storyline is vague if there at all and the pace is entirely inconceivable.
August 31, 2020
Got this from the Crime and Thriller section but think there was more romance and sex than crime and thriller - left me mostly confused because the "crime" was mostly underdeveloped relative to the protagonist's relationship...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 15, 2021
Fast read but a little too many throbbing members and petals of sex for me personally. This is NOT a mystery, this is a romance novel. Reading this expecting suspense would be like biting into a sandwich expecting pizza.
February 14, 2022
I love Tami Hoag and I and I've read all of her thrillers so I was hopeful that this one might be ok. Unfortunately I was sadly disappointed. More of a romance novel, I could barely finish it cause it was pretty boring. The ending is kind of exciting but would not recommend.
February 18, 2022
I saw this in a friend’s giveaway pile and couldn’t resist the title of “Magic,” but maybe I should have left it there after reading the on the back that the main character is a “man of substance and seduction.” Eh, who am I kidding? Sometimes it’s fun to read a little smut!
July 30, 2023
Not what I thought it would be at all. I wasn't sure about it at first, but after a while I got into it. I enjoyed the characters and story. I feel more suspense and action would have made the book 5 stars for me.
May 17, 2025
Rounding up from 3.5. Character development was pretty weak, and the plot was flimsy, but the writing style was tolerable and it was a quick, easy, “cute” read. If you like “insta love” you will probably enjoy
June 19, 2017
Tami Hoag is one of my favorite authors, but this series is NOT for me.
August 6, 2017
Basically just a romance book. Plus a ghost. Not my cup of tea.
September 24, 2017
I was disappointed of how predictable the entire story is and it is all about romance...wasn't what I expected when I picked it up.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews