Saturday, April 8, 2017

Review: Again the Magic (Wallflowers #0.5) by Lisa Kleypas

A bookish challenge by Crystal @ Crystal Blogs Books & Ezrah @ I Heart Romance & YA
A collaboration challenge where Crystal recommends contemporary romances to Ezrah & Ezrah recommends Historical Romance to Crystal

Again the Magic
Series: Wallflowers #0.5
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Publisher: Avon Books
Publication: January 27, 2004
Format: Paperback

Buy Links: Amazon - B&N - iTunes - Kobo
Add to Goodreads

She gave him her innocence…

Lady Aline Marsden was brought up for one reason: to make an advantageous marriage to a member of her own class. Instead, she willingly gave her innocence to John McKenna, a servant on her father's estate. Their passionate transgression was unforgivable—John was sent away, and Aline was left to live in the countryside... an exile from London society.

...and he took her love.

Now McKenna has made his fortune, and he has returned—more boldly handsome and more mesmerizing than before. His ruthless plan is to take revenge on the woman who shattered his dreams of love. But the magic between them burns as bright as ever. And now he must decide whether to let vengeance take its toll…or risk everything for his first, and only, love.



I am no longer a Kleypas virgin! You heard that right. And while I probably won't shout it off the rooftops, I am quite proud of myself. Lisa is an author that I've wanted to try for some time now. Contemporary romance friends constantly recommend Lisa's contemporary books, while historical romance friends have done the same for her historical books. It is pretty funny that it was a historical romance friend that finally tipped the scale. I will say this, though. I had a very rough time reading Again the Magic. It had nothing to do with the book or Lisa's writing style, both of which I enjoyed. While I was attempting to read the book, I was dealing with a pretty scary reading slump and when I am slumping, historical romance isn't something I reach for. When I tried to start it, I would give up and try something else. After a couple failed attempts, it finally clicked one Sunday night and I was good to go. 

As my first Kleypas book, Again the Magic was a darn good choice. While I still can't quite put my finger on which elements of historical romances that I enjoy and which I don't, Again the Magic had something I freaking love in any genre... Friends-to-lovers. That'll snag my attention in 2 seconds flat. I adored McKenna and Aline, especially that their "forbidden" friendship survived against all odds. A connection that strong was bound to become something more, but when it does, it ends up tearing the young friends apart. Together again years later, Aline can't believe that he's back and all McKenna wants is something he was denied... Her. And he is not quiet about his intentions. Gotta say, that was pretty freaking hot. And while readers watch McKenna and Aline's romance finally blossom, we're treated to a bit of a secondary connection between Shaw and Livia. All of Lisa's characters were well-developed. They are lovable and easy to root for. I wanted to see love win for all of them, including Aline and Livia's well-meaning brother. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Again the Magic. While I do wish I could have finished it quicker, I'm glad that it finally clicked and I was able to add it to my small, but growing list of historical romances that I read. I will for sure do some investigation into Lisa's books to see which I should read in the future.


Lisa Kleypas is the RITA award-winning author of 21 novels. Her books are published in fourteen languages and are bestsellers all over the world. She lives in Washington State with her husband and two children.


No comments:

Post a Comment