Love's Magic

by Traci E. Hall
   

Magical medieval paranormal romance

Although descended from Queen Boadicea, the Warrior Queen, Celestia Montehue looks nothing like her sisters.  Petite and blond, she shares only the gift of healing with the string line of women.  When Sir Petyr arrives with a missive from Baron Peregrine to announce the marriage of eldest daughter Celestia, her heart sinks as if she had been handed a death sentence.  A marriage without love would cause her healing gifts to wither and die.  Nicholas Le Blanc is a tortured man bent on revenge.  Raised in a monastery and convinced his birth must have been illegitimate, he trained as a knight under Baron Peregrine.  During a crusade, he is ordered to guard a sacred relic but an ambush leads to the death of all his men and the loss of the relic.  Captured and tortured, he does the unthinkable to escape.  Guilt haunts him many times over.  A quest to take revenge on the man who fathered him obsesses him.  Can Celestia and love heal his soul?  As Celestia finds herself falling in love with her husband, the possibility for true love seems even more precarious as ghosts, a curse and murder threaten to doom their love.  Can the magic of love truly heal all?

In LOVE'S MAGIC, medieval history, magic, mystery, adventure and romance all combine to make a riveting tale impossible to put down.  Although no longer a captive in the Saracen desert, Nicholas Le Blanc is held captive by the nightmares of his dark soul.  Alienated from others by his haunted memories, he is unable to love.  He keeps his heart under the strictest guard.  Nicholas is a man of honor and duty, but such noble attributes turned inwardly also might lead to his destruction.  Celestia has a heart of gold.  Although she may be petite in comparison to her sisters, she has a boldness of spirit.  Although innocent, she is not naive.  She has the gifts and knowledge of a healer but will her touch mark her as a heretical witch?  Celestia is the ultimate healer on this dark pilgrimage of revenge, a woman willing to risk everything for love.   Not only must they battle inner demons, but also the two must uncover all the twisted threads of family and political intrigue that threaten the possibility of love.  

In this medieval romantic adventure, Traci E. Hall creates a wonderful pacing in plot as she intertwines romance and adventure.  Written in a flowing easy-to-read style, the tale is not simplistic. Traci E. Hall brings psychological depth to her portrayal of the hero without letting it bog down the story.  Traci E. Hall creates a perfect mix of action, emotion and inner look into her characters.  Secondary characters bring a richness to this story.  The Christian spirituality and magic creates a wonderfully medieval atmosphere to this fairy tale adventure.  Even if a reader guesses some of the connections, the final unraveling of the mystery gives presents several exciting surprises.  Above all, LOVE'S MAGIC is a medieval romance for the reader who wants to get lost in the magic of the story.  Kudos to Traci E. Hall and Medallion Press for bucking the trend of the ever shrinking romance.  LOVE'S MAGIC creates such intriguing characters and adventures that this reader was most thankful for a page count determined by the story rather than the other way around.  If you love magical medieval romances, Traci E. Hall is a must read!

Publisher: Medallion Press (June 2008)
Author website

Reviewed by Merrimon, Medieval Book Reviews