Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas Book Review

Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas, is a poignant historical romance with a second chance romance, which is perfect if you are after a book with a class disparity and a lovely secondary romance.

Disclosure: I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This post contains affiliate links. That means we receive a small commission at no cost to you from any purchases you make through these links.

Lady Aline Marsden, sister of Marcus, Lord Westcliff, has been friends with John McKenna since they were children and as they have gotten older the friendship has grown in to love and passion. However, it is not to be, McKenna is just a stable boy, a servant, where as Aline is a Lady. When her father finds out Aline is forced to make McKenna hate her and send him away. Twelve years later McKenna comes back to Stony Cross much changed with revenge on his mind, unaware of the secrets that Aline holds.

Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas is one of my favourite books. Aline and McKenna are just such a compelling couple. You could feel the pull they have for each other right through the pages of the book. Their reckless love when they are young and then the helpless longing twelve years later is tangible. The only thing that niggled me with this book was Aline’s stubborn refusal to tell McKenna the truth. Of course that would have made this a very short book! And I did understand her initial reluctance but after a while I think it was just silly. But that was the only thing that irritated me.

I have to mention a particular part of the book when McKenna is exposing his feelings. It makes me cry every time! And I have reread this book numerous times. The scene is just so wonderfully intense. It’s one of the most heart wrenching scenes I’ve ever read, here’s a taster:

He came to her, dropped to his haunches, and took one of her cold, perspiring hands in his own. The heat of his flesh was startling. “Aline” he said with difficulty. “I love you enough for the bother of us. And there must be something about me worth loving. If you would just try…

Anyone who has read Lisa Kleypas’ Wallflower series will recognise some of the characters, the most well known one being Westcliff. We get to see Westcliff as the caring, if a little overbearing, elder brother, and it just made me love him even more!

We also get a secondary romance through Livia, Aline and Westcliff’s sister and Gideon Shaw, a friend of McKenna’s. Although these two don’t receive lots of page time, their love story is just as powerful and interesting as Aline and McKenna. It’s just another reason why I rate this book so highly.

in conclusion

Although this is a prequel to the Wallflowers quartet it can be read anytime or as a standalone. I highly recommend this book, it is a great complement to the Wallflowers series and a touching, poignant and an excellent novel in its own right.

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