Tag: Patricia Rice

Entrancing The Earl by Patricia Rice

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Paranormal/Fantasy, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

Entrancing the Earl (School of Magic, #5)Entrancing the Earl by Patricia Rice
Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: School of Magic
Publication Date: 5/18/21
Period: Victorian
Number of Pages: 300

As a through-and-through, logical, unemotional Ives male, Gerard, Earl of Ives and Wystan, avoids Wystan Castle as much as he possibly can. Why? Well, because it is filled to the brim with those lovely but pesky Malcolm women who like to manage him. It is his responsibility to care for and provide for the dears, but his coffers are all but drained and he has absolutely no idea how he’ll manage to keep the castle and lands going. If only he could find the treasure that the voice from the old Roman coin keeps talking about, he could do the necessary repairs and preserve Wystan – but if he can’t … Maybe he should just find an heiress to marry. He could do that – as long as she isn’t a Malcolm – he couldn’t do that. He just isn’t ready for marriage yet and since his father isn’t pushing him – well – he can wait.

Lady Iona Malcolm Ross and her twin sister Isobel have fled Craigmore, their home in Scotland because their debauched and evil step-father has usurped the title Earl of Craigmore. That title rightly belongs to Iona, but since she is a young female, nobody questions him. He has gone through all of their funds and is now planning to sell Iona to an American who wants a title. That American has more money than sense and has absolutely no idea how their Scottish title works. The American thinks he is buying a title for himself. Iona and Isobel have assumed new names and are well hidden within different Malcolm households – they should be safe. They were, safe that is, until their nasty step-father – using the American’s money – goes public with a tale of woe about his daughters having run away and offering a large reward for anybody finding them.

I always love all of the quirky ‘talents’ that manifest themselves in the Malcolms. Iona’s talent is that she talks to bees. That might not sound like much of a talent – but when it is needed to save the day – well – we find it might be more valuable than we realized.

The Malcolm I most appreciated in this book was Gerard. Poor man – can you imagine how conflicted he is? Yes – he is both a Malcolm and an Ives – and that pretty much puts him at war within himself. His logical, scientific, Ives mind absolutely cannot fathom that he has a voice talking to him in his head – so he often thinks he must be insane. Can he come to accept and embrace his Malcolm gifts as well as his Ives brilliance?

I really enjoyed Gerard! His conflicts within himself are really well done. Iona, on the other hand, wasn’t my favorite Malcolm. I loved that she calmed Gerard and seemed to amplify and focus his emerging gifts – but I just didn’t love her personally. She was strong and independent but didn’t trust anybody and I can understand that given her life over the last few years. Still, she was much too headstrong and often put herself – and perhaps others – at risk. Even when she was presented with logical alternatives, she still went her own way without caring a whit about what her decisions did to others – particularly Gerard. So, I liked Iona – and I liked Iona and Gerard together – but I didn’t love Iona.

I can definitely recommend this book and this series. I hope you’ll give it a try and will love it as much as I did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Librarian’s Spell by Patricia Rice

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

The Librarian's Spell (School of Magic, #4)
Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: School of Magic #4
Publication Date: 3/23/21
Number of Pages: 322

I absolutely LOVE the Malcolm and Ives world this author has created. We have followed them around the world from century to century and they are always delightful. The wacky Malcolm’s are always marrying scientifically inclined Ives – and – OMGoodness, the talents that can come from the combination of wacky and scientific is delightful. The book, as always, is excellently written and the story is well-plotted with completely relatable characters. It is, of course, wonderful to have a re-visit with characters from other books and series. In this story, we meet Max and Lydia who are absolutely perfect for each other and I loved to watch them come to realize that.

Poor Maxwell Ives has a mixture of Ives and Malcolm blood – so he has the scientific mind of an Ives AND the Malcolm ‘talents’. Sometimes those Malcolm ‘talents’ seem to be more curse than talent. Maxwell’s talent is magnetism. No, he doesn’t attract random pieces of metal – he attracts females – all sorts of females. Now, you’d think a man would think that is a wonderful thing – but – picture a room full of females – all fighting over you. Yep, pretty uncomfortable. So, Maxwell has lived most of his life in remote areas working with males. He has absolutely no intention of ever returning to England and society – let them just think he is dead. However, when he learns that his mother is about to be evicted from her home because her fortune is gone – he has to come home to see about it. Since he cannot possibly deal with society in Edinburgh, he heads to the Malcolm Library at Calder Castle where he has been corresponding with the Librarian Mr. Cadwallader.

Lydia Wystan has been at Calder Castle for several years acting as assistant to the Librarian. It is the first place she has ever felt truly at home. Now, however, she’s feeling fearful because she’s sorely afraid she isn’t qualified to be the next Librarian. Mr. Cadwallader says she can be – but – the books don’t talk to her as they do to him. Mr. Cadwallader had apoplexy a year ago and has been totally incommunicative since then, so Lydia has been doing the best she can. What in the world will she do when he dies? If the books won’t talk to her, she won’t be able to be the Librarian and she’ll not only lose the library, she’ll lose the only home where she’s ever felt at home.

Max and Lydia both need something within themselves. Max needs the calming/settling effect that Lydia has on him. With her, something settles and he can deal more easily with all of those females who are attracted to him. Lydia needs the self-confidence and self-worth Max brings out in her. He makes her feel as if she has value. Can Lydia break the spell of Max’s magnetism? Can Max learn to be faithful? Can Max solve his mother’s financial problems? Can he and Lydia save the Library? Can Max prevent his uncle from having him declared dead? OMGoodness – so much going on and the answers are all right in this lovely story.

I am so glad to have read this book. I think the author did a remarkable job of making Max and Lydia into real people. People we could get to know and like. Now, I can hardly wait for the next book in the series, Entrancing the Earl.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.