Review: The Trouble With Magic by Patricia Rice

The Particulars: Historical Paranormal Romance, Sourcebooks, available as e-book and in print

The Source: All Romance

The Grade: B-

The blurb:

Is Her Magic a Gift or a Curse...?

All the Malcolms have some magic, but Lady Felicity's ability to read people's emotions simply by touching them or their possessions overwhelms her. She's reached a marriageable age, but how can she ever wed when she can see so clearly a man's guilty secrets?

Only He Can Tell the Difference...

Ewen Ives, itinerant rake and adventurous inventor, knows better than to underestimate the mischief of the Malcolms. But sparks fly when he encounters Felicity

The Review:

I bought all of Patricia Rice Magic Novels when she selfpublished them, before she sold them to Sourcebook. Except... this book, some how, went missing. So, when it was re-issued by Sourcebooks I knew I had to buy it again.

And I am glad I did.

I enjoyed reading about Ewen and Felicity's romance. I liked Ewen's chivalry, and his attempt to protect Felicity from the visions. Even when he made mistakes, he acted for Felicity's welfare. And my heart melted as he struggled between doing what he must, and doing what he wanted. It fascinating to see him grow, from a wandering tinker and inventor, to a man satisfied with settling down.

At first Felicity's lack of self confidence annoyed me . But that annoyance disappeared quickly as the story continued. She has inner strength that I admired, and it felt like she could do anything. As long as Ewen was there. And that was one of the aspects that I liked most. How Ewen and Felicity fit. They are different, yet somehow their halves meshed and became one.

But what I especially liked, was that both of them knew that they would have rough times in front of them.I liked how the romance, and the threat of bankruptcy that hung over Ewen's head worked together. And I also liked how they worked together, both when it came to finding Felicity's journal, and figuring out how the lock that Ewen designed broke.

And that, in combination with an intriguing and carefully crafted setting, created a book I couldn't stop reading.

Despite all the things I loved with the book, it sometime felt like I was skimming pages, not reading them. But that didn't last long though..