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Again The Magic
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Again The Magic
Unavailable
Again The Magic
Audiobook10 hours

Again The Magic

Written by Lisa Kleypas

Narrated by Rosalyn Landor

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

She gave him her innocence .…

Lady Aline Marsden was brought up to marry a man of her own class, but from the moment she meets John McKenna, she risks everything to be with him.

He gave her his heart

Although their love is forbidden, McKenna's passion for the beautiful Aline is too compelling to deny.

When their secret is discovered, their world is shattered. McKenna is forced to leave forever, unaware that the only reason Aline has given him up is to save him.

Now McKenna has returned, a powerful man determined to take revenge against the woman who broke his heart. But the magic between them burns as fiercely as ever…and as McKenna uncovers Aline's deepest secret, together they discover a love that will defy Fate itself.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 1, 2012
ISBN9781441852656
Unavailable
Again The Magic
Author

Lisa Kleypas

New York Times Lisa Kleypas graduated from Wellesley College with a political science degree. Her historical romance and contemporary women’s fiction novels are published in forty different languages, and are bestsellers all over the world. Currently she lives in Southern California with her husband Gregory.

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Reviews for Again The Magic

Rating: 4.145548029452055 out of 5 stars
4/5

584 ratings33 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved this book! It had everything. A two-for-the-price-of-one romance, with two couples. The main couple, McKenna and Aline, are wonderful. He's emotionally scarred from her "rejection" of him, which she was forced to do by her father. She's got some literal scars, which she believes makes her unlovable. The second couple, Gideon and Livia, are also one of my favorite formulas. He's a rake, and she's shy, having scandal in her past. Overall, this is easily my favorite of the Wallflowers series, on par with the Hathaways, also by Kleypas, which I prefer. So much angst and tortured love and self-sacrifice!

    First read in May 2011, re-read in December 2016 (and several times in between). This will be in my annual re-read shelf, whenever I make it. So so good! I read it when I first discovered romance novels, and it still makes me tear up. Soooooo good!!!!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Lady Aline and stable boy John McKenna have been friends since childhood, and their friendship grew into young love in their late teenage years. However, when their forbidden love is discovered, their lives are upended. Twelve years later, McKenna returns, now a powerful businessman intent on exacting revenge against the woman who broke his heart.Lisa Kleypas is my favorite historical romance author. She always writes with such heart and takes her time in setting the scene/background. And there are always plenty of laugh-out-loud funny moments and lovable minor characters. (Lord Sandridge and Mrs. Faircloth are my absolute favorites!) "Again the Magic" proved to me why she remains my favorite author to read when I want to escape into Victorian Era romance.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I think the Wallflowers is my favourite historical romance series and though this isn’t technically a wallflower story, it fits in perfectly with the rest of the books. A beautiful story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was not my favorite read but the end was a HEA I think
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved ? this story. So real , authentic, riveting.
    I loved that Aline waited for him.
    Westcliff served a purpose after all.
    When he served Aline with the last bit of analysis making her see how much of a fool she would have been if McKenna would have sailed away.
    Brilliant storytelling.
    I was listening while working. I just couldn’t stop.
    Thank You Lisa??
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love the readers voice.

    I was a little annoyed at Aileen but I guess I understand her worries to a certain extent.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent!!! I loved this book with it’s imperfect characters and sweeping passions coupled with heartbreak. A wonderful ending that made me wish it were a longer book!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Not as good as,to beguile a beast... But I can't believe how much I like this genre, it's like Downton Abbey with you know lots of raunchyness
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I REALLY enjoyed this story. Practically finished it in 2 days. I've listened to most of the Ravenels series by this same author and I tend to love her writing. I also REALLY liked that there was basically 4 POV in one story. I got to know what all the characters were thinking. This was awesome. 5 stars
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    THIS WAS SO SO GOOD!!! It should totally fit for those you needing a "made-me-cry" option - the last few chapters had me in tears! I always like Lisa Kleypas, but this is her second book I've loved (Devil in Winter is the other). Aline & McKenna's strength in facing desperate circumstances is inspiring. I also loved Olivia and Gideon's story woven through the book - Olivia's refusal to accept alcoholism in a husband is perfect.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I enjoyed listening to this audiobook. Rosalyn Landor is one of my favorite narrators

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A tale of young love that was lost and then reunited again. I was impressed at the realistic, unwavering devotion the heroine had for the hero. Although, at times I was annoyed that the characters could have cleared up the misunderstandings simply by talking to another. Much like Julia Quinn's "On The Way To The Wedding" the plot features a gay male character, which I honestly find unique.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A beautifully written book that covers not one love story, but two! I loved the young Aline Marsden - bold, brave and willing to do whatever it takes to win the affection of the boy who's been her best friend since childhood, John McKenna. Although Aline is part of the Ton and McKenna is a servant, there friendship and love for each other can overcome all the odds against them. However, when Aline's father finds out about their secret romance and threatens to ruin McKenna, Aline does the only thing she can think to do - sends away the young man she loves more than life itself to protect him.

    The next several years are tough on both of them, both for their missed romance and a tragedy that strikes Aline. Aline's little sister, Olivia Marsden, faces her own dire scandal and must hide from society after her fiance dies.

    McKenna finds his way to the Americas where he teams up with, Gideon Shaw, the son of a rich family and together they become immensely successful with their business ventures. However, no amount of success can heal McKenna's broken heart and he talks Gideon into venturing to London to make a business deal with Lord Westcliff, Aline's brother. McKenna's plans are far more complex then a business venture as he plots to breaks Aline's heart in the same cruel way she broke his so many years ago.

    What follows are two beautiful love stories - Gideon, who struggles with drinking, runs into the light hearted, free spirited Olivia dancing under the stars one night and falls head over heals for the mysterious sprite of a girl. Olivia's afraid to face society and men and Gideon may be just what she needs to move past her fiance's tragic death two years earlier. Meanwhile, when McKenna and Aline re-unite sparks fly and passions are strong with both love and anger. They engage in a tango of desire, revenge, and love.

    The only weakness in this story is that Aline as an adult is not nearly the character she was as a girl. I'm strongly pro-McKenna in this story as he lays his heart on the line just to be continually rebuffed by the only woman he's ever loved.

    However, the story is beautifully written and the tangle of the two love stories is well done and creates a depth of plot that is impressive.

    Hero: 5/5
    Heroine (youth): 5/5
    Heroine (adult): 2.5/5
    Olivia: 5/5
    Gideon: 5/5
    Side Characters: 5/5
    Steaminess: 5/5
    Story: 5/5
    Overall: 5/5
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I love McKenna. Even when he was dead set on revenge I was drawn to him. Lady Aline annoyed me more this time, worrying so much about something she had no control over. I wish she'd put more faith in him. Still, it was just as engaging this time around and I adored Livia and Shaw. Definitely holds up.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Aline and McKenna have grown up together, even though Aline's status as an Earl's daughter and McKenna's position as a stable boy should keep them apart. Never has Aline thought of loving anyone else. But when their romance is discovered by Aline's father, Aline must ensure that McKenna never returns to save his own life. Twelve years later, McKenna returns to Aline's estate a much changed man. Aline has secrets of her own that she never wants McKenna to discover but the strong pull of the bond between them is something no one can deny.My first historical romance by Lisa Kleypas, I definitely enjoyed it. The characters are pretty well drawn and the romance plot (and sub-plot) are compelling. My only complaint is that the book just squeaked past on passing the Bechdel test. Usually romance novels are pretty good about having at least a couple paragraphs where two female characters discuss something other than the romantic lead but I think this book had all of two sentences. That aside, the book is well written and will satisfy fans of the genre.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I was hooked on HR for a very long time - this is my top book
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Two children grow up and play together – a blue blood girl and the staple boy. They become sweethearts as teenagers until the girl’s father send the boy away. He is heartbroken and abused in his new employment and manages to book passage to America. The girl suffers an accident and physically scarred for life. Twelve years later he returns a wealthy, sophisticated businessman to seek his revenge. Miscommunication and secrets before all is revealed and they have their happily ever after.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas (Audio Edition)
    Narrated by Rosalyn Landor
    Series: Wallflowers 0

    4 stars - I enjoyed the chemistry between Aileen and MacKenna however the reason for her sending him away the second time was a bit too drawn out for me. I wish that had happened sooner. I also enjoyed the secondary romance that happens. It was like a 2 for 1 story which was great. I am looking forward to rereading the next books in the series. I hadn't read this book before and it was a decent read I think.

    Rosalyn Landor did a fantastic job narrating as usual.

    ~Paragraphs and Petticoats~

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    What a great story! I laughed and cried many times! Such wonderful writing and really engaging characters!! I love this authors work!!

    I am currently on a Regency kick and this one was terrific!!

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I'm being lazy and reviewing the entire series as one. Also many of my thoughts apply to all the books. I've never been a big romance person but I've never been opposed to them either. I discovered this series on a list for top romance series when I needed something for the 2013 Challenge Group Februray Challenge. Spoilers for the series follow:


    One thing I didn't like about each book was, with one exception, every single female was a virgin and every single male had had plenty of partners (and in the cases where the male was already attracted to her, he thought of her when with the person). The reason some of the proposals happened was because he had "compromised" her (loved that phrase). Yet the men never had that worry about all the other women they had been with?

    Past that these books were fun and I enjoyed each one. I was happy I read Again the Magic first since then I had a prior knowledge of the Westcliffs and in particular Marcus. I was sad that Aline and McKenna never appeared in the rest of the series. McKenna's proposal was probably my favorite of all the couples.

    Simon and Annabelle were probably my favorite couple overall. I was surprised that many other reviewers labelled her as snobbish. I understand at the beginning she was hellbent on marrying a peer but primarily for the money for her family. I don't see anything wrong with that. Simon only went after her as a mistress and that was why I felt she ignored him. Once he did actually propose she almost instantly accepted him. Loved that he kept trying to compromise her afterwards in order to make sure she would marry him. After the marriage she did have trouble accepting the change in her life but she never blamed him. I adored the ending with her going after him and Westcliff saving them both and the two of them finally getting along.

    Westcliff is probably my favorite male character and I did really like Lillian. Their book was not my favorite because I felt it borrowed too much from Pride and Prejudice, which I adore. The two stubborn lovers with the male as an upper class aristocrat, a bad first proposal, a wedding obsessed mother, and a conniving countess. Loved the ending again with Westcliff beating the shit out of St. Vincent. Hilarious! This book did have my favorite passage:

    "You may set your mind at ease with the knowledge that I do not find you desireable in any way whatsoever."
    "I understand. Enough said, my lord."
    "If the two of us were left alone on a deserted island, I would have absolutely no thought of approaching you."
    "I realize that," she said shortly. "You don't have to go on and on about it."
    "I just want to make it clear that what I did was a complete aberration. You are not the kind of woman wom I would ever be attracted to."
    "All right."
    "In fact-"
    "You've made yourself quite clear, my lord."


    St. Vincent and Evie's story was enjoyable and I thoguht they worked quite well together. I was sad that none of the other wallflowers showed up till over halfway through the book. I also didn't realize that Evie's father appears in an earlier series, so I may have to pick that up next.

    Scandal in Spring was my least favorite of the four wallflower series. I liked the concept but I figured out basically what Matthew's secret was from the start and kept getting annoyed that he put off telling her till it was too late. The game between the two of them was interesting and I enjoyed seeing how protective Westcliff had become of Daisy.

    Wallflower Christmas was fun but I did not enjoy it as much as the previous five books.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I generally like Kleypas books and I know truthfulness makes for a short book and all, but I found my self screaming at the goddamn heroine to just come clean already! It seemed that she had about 150 pages worth of actual story, so she padded it with vacillation and sex scenes.

    I don't know, maybe it all rang hollow for me because I am disabled myself and would never get so wretchedly melodramatic over it as she did. Oh boo hoo, you have scars, so what? How pathetic to loathe yourself for something out of your control. It made me so angry at the heroine, I couldn't take any satisfaction in the inevitable happy ending.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I liked the premise of this book:

    A beautiful lady of the nobility falls in love with the stableboy on her family's estate.

    This is a fantastic plot-line because of the class issues it deals with. Generally, it is the aristocratic man who falls in love with someone below his station, however in this scenario, it is the woman who falls in love with the man "below her station."

    After the initial setting up of the story, however, things began to fall very flat for me.

    I felt like Kleypas didn't really have anywhere to go with the impasse between Aline and McKenna, so she shifted to the story of Aline's sister and developed that instead. Aline's ridiculousness was the one thing which kept the HEA from moving forward, and it got annoying. The lack of complexity in the relationship kept things stagnant. It seems very much like a Catherine/Heathcliff type of romance to me with a whole of a lot of needless angst, but there didn't seem to be much development within the relationship itself.

    Some things I liked: Livia and Gideon's story, the housekeeper, Stony Cross, Kleypas' mention and dealing with the "culture clash" between American culture and British culture, Marcus




  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Aline once fell in love with John McKenna, who she grew up with as a child, but when she became a woman everything changed, and after she had to force him to leave, her life changed forever....and now he is back in her life, and she knows that the least thing he is thinking of is the love they once shared, but revenge that is directed toward her. However as much as she wants to she knows she can't risk telling him the truth no matter how much it makes her ache inside. John, knew that there was no future for them but now he is forever changed from that young innocent stable boy who believed in love and hope for the future. He has created his own future, but Aline has always haunted his thoughts and has come back to get his revenge, only things don't add up and his passion for Aline resurfaces only stronger than ever.....Again The Magic, is the fourth in the Bow Street Runners, I think I may have read this one once before, but I don't remember it but there were parts that seemed familiar. I just fell in love with this book, it was everything I could have hoped for. Aline, is darling, even though I think she could have used more spine to fight for what she really wanted. For some reason John seemed so amusing to me, I really have no idea why, just that his character appealed to me in a certain way that made me smile. I just loved how the story progressed, the bed scenes were very heated but at the same time romantically sweet. I find the more I read this author the more I wish more authors were like her, I just love her stories and how they connect even though the series are different from each other. I also loved how their was a side love story to Aline's and Westcliffs younger sister....I found Again the Magic a very charming love story that just sang to the heart.....even though it had some flaws overall an sweet love story......
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I had no idea that this book even existed until about 2 1/2 weeks ago. Under The Covers Book Blog, one of my favorite review blogs, had a post about the unsung heroes of romance. In this list was McKenna from Again the Magic, the prequel novel to Lisa Kleypas's Wallflower series. How on earth did I miss a Wallflower book? I immediately downloaded a copy to my Kindle (and this is where I praise the advent of ebooks because I had this book in my hands in no time flat). I started it immediately and read it in almost one sitting. Yes, it was that good. Again the Magic is the story of Aline Marsden, the sister of Marcus Westcliff, and John McKenna. Westcliff's sister Livia and her beau Gideon Shaw also play a role in the book but Aline and McKenna are the main focus so let's talk about them first.Aline and McKenna are childhood friends whose friendship grows into love over the years. Unfortunately McKenna is a servant of the household and any romance between the two is strictly forbidden. But young love cannot be stopped and McKenna and Aline continue to see each other secretly. One day they are found out and Aline must send McKenna away with a lie. Twelve years pass and McKenna comes back to Stony Cross a rich man, having made his fortune in America. He hasn't forgotten Aline and vows revenge by seduction. What he doesn't know is that Aline still loves him. However, she has her own secrets that threaten to keep them apart. I loved this book so much! If any two people belong together, it's Aline and McKenna. Even after twelve years apart, the chemistry between the two is undeniable. And it's not just the physical stuff. I was surprised by how emotional I got while reading their story. My heart broke for Aline when she had to send McKenna away and again when she finally told him the truth about what happened all those years ago. She was the most frustratingly stubborn woman at times, pushing McKenna away for all the wrong reasons. I loved McKenna, even though he comes back to Aline a cold, cruel man intent on revenge. I loved his strength and determination and the tenderness that he showed Aline. They are a great match and I gave a sigh of relief when they finally found their HEA. Livia and Gideon also have a sweet side story in this. I liked them both and enjoyed learning their back story. While I like Livia and Gideon's romance, I have to say that McKenna and Aline were the real stars of this story for me.. Again the Magic is an intense and passionate love story that made me believe in true love and soul mates. It is a wonderful addition to the Wallflowers series and can be read as a standalone or in chronological order. The Wallflowers is truly one of my favorite romance series and I highly recommend it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    When Aline and McKenna’s feelings are discovered by her father, he threatens McKenna’s very existence if Aline ever sees him again. In order to protect him, Aline convinces McKenna that she does not love him, hoping he will never return to Stony Cross. After he leaves, Aline descends into a depression that is followed by a terrible accident that leaves Aline with scars on her legs. Twelve years later, McKenna returns to Stony Cross from America, where he became one of the nouveaux riches, to take his revenge on Aline for all the pain and heartache he caused her. Aline realizing his intentions decides to ride it out until he goes back to New York. This plan fails however when both McKenna and Aline start to fall for each other again. But Aline can never be with him, for she is not only a spinster, but also damaged. I don’t think I’ve ever cried, or even teared up while reading a romance novel, before reading Again the Magic. Here we have two characters who are obviously in love with each other, but refuse to acknowledge it, and instead spend almost 400 pages fighting it. The book begins with Aline and McKenna in their late teens, already in love. Life is good. Well, except for the fact that Aline is the daughter of the cold and malevolent Lord Westcliff, and that McKenna is only a footman. After years of resenting, no that is not strong enough, hating is a better word; after spending years hating Aline, he starts to unwind when he realizes that Aline never married or slept with anyone. This sends his plan to “break her” out the window. Aline on the other hand, doesn’t mind McKenna’s efforts at hurting her. In fact, she welcomes them because they allow her to feel after years of being numb. This entire book had me screaming “Just say it!” It was like McKenna and Aline decided to be stubborn and thick-headed at the exact same time. And this is what created the tension throughout the novel. All of these scenes led up to an amazing tear-filled ending that any fan of romance will LOVE. This novel deals mostly with Aline and McKenna’s story but it also includes Livia, Aline’s sister, and Mr. Shaw’s, McKenna’s business partner, story. This one was also cute. Of course, not as much drama as the main love story, but still a bit dramatic.For a historical romance, this was fantastic. It is an emotional, film-worthy story that will have you rushing to the bookstore wanting more of this series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Despite some misgivings, I have to give this book a high rating. Crazily flawed characters playing all kinds of mind games when their lives could have worked out so differently make this one stand apart from other historical romances. And the ending is amazing. Lady Aline and her childhood sweetheart McKenna are kept apart by a yawning class gap. When their secret relationship is discovered, Aline convinces McKenna she doesn’t want him – that way she can save him. Soon after she suffers a horrible accident that changes the course of her life. Twelve years later McKenna returns, now a rich man who can enter Aline’s household as a guest rather than as a servant. He’s arrived looking for revenge, not knowing the true story behind Aline’s rejection. The confused and passionate relationship between Aline and McKenna would have been enough to hold my interest in this book, but there is also a secondary relationship between Aline’s younger sister and McKenna’s business partner that I liked too. It’s not always the secondary romance can hold up in a story without getting in the way, but I liked the way the two relationships were intertwined in this story. For me the secondary romance did not take over the story; the way the two relationships complemented each other made this book so special. The way the book wrapped up, with the solidification of one relationship and the promising beginning of another, was perfect. In some ways this story reminded me The Tea Rose, which is probably why I liked it. There’s nothing better in a historical story than seeing characters rise from nothing and fight the social system to reach unimaginable heights. There’s something I just have to say. ‘Gotten’ in a historical romance? GOTTEN?! No, no, and NO. These characters are written by a modern-day American, but this book is set in nineteenth century England. It turned up every few pages, yanking me out of the world of the story every single time. While I’m nitpicking, my copy of this book has Aline’s age at the beginning as seventeen on one page, and then nineteen a few pages later. I reread it and reread it, but I still haven’t been able to figure out what’s going on. The heroine is not my favourite ever. Though others have complained about the way she behaves later in the book, it’s the pushy and promiscuous girl at the beginning who annoyed me. Her character as a teenager was not only on the irritating side, but also came across as a modern-day girl. I know many reviewers had issues with Aline and the way she hid her burns, but when it comes down to it, they lived in a time when it WOULD have been a major issue. Women were judged only on beauty and dowry, and being considered ‘damaged’ the way Aline was would have been a major hindrance. The way I see it, it’s similar to some things I have seen in my life. My family lived in India for some years, and there even today marriages there are arranged through the classifieds sections of newspapers. Prospective husbands and wives are listed under categories determining their worth. Women with minor health or appearance problems – and certainly women with any kind of fertility problem – are listed under a separate heading; they’re ‘faulty’ and cannot hope to have a normal marriage. Men who come with an American passport are like the ‘peers’ you read about in historical books. A man with a ‘title’ (or international citizenship!), a woman with perfect ‘feminine’ traits – that’s the way people have been valued forever. On top of this, ‘bride burning’ is a common way to dispose of an unwanted Indian wife – being burnt is considered something shameful for the victim, and she will be thrown out onto the streets (if she survives). I know it is a completely foreign concept to modern-day Western women, but Aline’s issues are – for me – extremely believable from a societal point of view. So, political moment over. This probably sounds crazy, but I also loved that issues such as birth control (in its primitive form!) were discussed in this book, and that babies weren’t a gigantic focus of the story. That’s one of the main reasons I have issues with historical romance – they tend to be baby-a-thons, which I suppose cannot be helped in such old-fashioned, misogynistic societies. Lisa Kleypas found some ways around it here, and I was better convinced to believe in the love between the characters rather than struggling to see the romance in the twenty-kiddie futures we usually expect them to have. The last couple of chapters made up for any faults earlier on. Lisa Kleypas’ writing towards the end is emotional and moving, and made the conclusion of the book so satisfying. On top of that, the epilogue did not follow standard historical romance fare, and it was so refreshing to end the story on such an upbeat note, at just the right moment in the plot. We’re left with a feeling of happily ever after without having too many pretty bows tying it up. It was the perfect way to end the story – it left you wanting more.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I am not a great fan of the 'great misunderstanding' plot device. And not much character development went on with the major characters. We were 'told' not 'shown' what they were like.That said, I loved the 'secondary' romance between Livia and Gideon. I found it much more interesting and less predictable. For me, they stole the book. [And I can't help wondering if they did for Kleypas too, since she ended the book on their story.]This is the last Kleypas I will just buy off the shelf without reading reviews first. She's like the little girl with the curl, 'when she's good, she's very good, and when she's bad, she's horrid.'
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    First off: awfully weird cover. It looks like a carpet-cum-straightjacket ensemble or something. Secondly: not a very good book. She's the daughter of an earl. He's a stable boy. Can true love transcend all obstacles and bring these two together? If anything, this book shows that true love is certainly powerless against rampant stupidity. Again the Magic offers a revenge plot wherein the hero, John McKenna, is the injured party. Once her father finds out about Aline Marsden's involvement with the stable boy, he forces her to get rid of McKenna. She does this in a suitably dramatic fashion and tells McKenna she doesn't love him. So he runs off to America brokenhearted. Cut to twelve years later and McKenna has come back to his former place of employ after amassing a vast fortune with his American partner Gideon Shaw. All his youthful ardor for Aline has turned into hatred, (so he tells himself, but he doesn’t fool me for a second) and he plans on a devastating assault of seduction against her. Aline still loves him (almost as much as she loves being a martyr) and so there's not much victory in his conquest of her. From the start she's happy to be his doormat, sexually speaking. Since these two are in love from the start, there has to be something to keep them apart, however. The class issue, a favorite platform of Kleypas’ it seems, provides for the initial estrangement, but that can't be all, since neither of them care about class and are oh so pure, noble, and selfless in their undying devotion to each other. What could possibly separate Aline and McKenna, then? The stupidity. Of course. For the sake of dragging us through 391 pages Aline subjects us to her whiney, tortured martyr act. She has a deep dark secret that she can't tell anyone, especially McKenna, and so she puts the poor guy through the wringer again and again, hurting him abominably, all for this poor excuse for a plot contrivance. She had a terrible accident, but I just couldn't dredge up the necessary sympathy for Aline because of the ridiculous way she dealt with it. She has no reason to push McKenna away - the book even admits this and spells it out for us. Despite myself, I actually felt sorry for McKenna. He truly seems like a broken, humbled man when he gives up on his hatred and revenge (after Aline's sister has revealed part of Aline's secret to him) and comes to her, hat and heart in hand. I feel even worse for him after Aline has her random epiphany, chases after him, and finally nabs him. Needless to say, besides being annoyed by their antics, I really couldn't care less about their happily ever after. If you find some way to feel sorry for Aline and her plight, you will probably enjoy this book though. I guess. For me, the only enjoyable aspect of Again the Magic was a secondary romance between Aline's sister Livia and Gideon Shaw. Despite its rosy depiction of alcoholism, (Gideon has a drinking problem) their romance still managed to be believable and interesting, everything that Aline and McKenna's wasn't.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Hampshire, England 1832 - 1844Sometimes the best thing to do for yourself is to save someone else. That is what Lady Aline Marsden thought, she wanted nothing more than to save John McKenna from the terrible threats her father had made. Aline loved McKenna enough to give him up, push him away, but after he left a terrible accident left her even more sure of her decision to stay alone in a self imposed exile from most of society. McKenna thought never to return to Stony Cross after the way Aline had hurt him, but after he made a fortune and proved he had higher ambitions he decided a little revenge was in order. Spending just a few days in the presence of Aline, Livia and Marcus (younger sister and older brother) knew what McKenna was after and feared for Aline’s and McKenna’s hearts. Very predictable storyline, even with the subtle twist (also predictable), a heartfelt rekindling of emotions, while the undertones of vengeance were never strong, the feeling of being disappointed in each of them is more real. (** Spoiler **)The best part of the book (for me) is the surprise relationship between Livia and Gideon Shaw. The struggles that Gideon face with his business, his own family as well as his drinking gives him the ‘tormented soul’ persona and then he steps up. Gideon has the best line (IMHO) of the book, “You don’t have to say it back. For once, I want to have the pleasure of loving someone without asking for anything in return.” The strength of character that he shows till the end is so encouraging. This is an older Avon Historical Romance form 2004
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    My first and favorite Lisa Kleypas novel. The secondary romance of the younger sister was as interesting as the primary.