Although I wasn't thrilled by Mary Jo Putney's previous paranormal books, I was hoping this one would put more emphasis on the romance - and bring back the enjoyment I always got from her best books. (She's one of my all time favorite authors, although I'm not a big fan of paranormal so I tried not to get my hopes up too high.)
The Marriage Spell by Mary Jo Putney
(2006, Paranormal Regency Historical) 7/23/06
Grade: 3.5
In a Regency world where magic is commonplace (if not quite accepted), Jack is sent to school to beat the magic out of him. But when he ends up married to a healer, he discovers that magic isn’t all bad - and it may be the key to saving his family. And Abby finds herself pulled into a social world she’s never known, and discovers passion and acceptance within herself.
I enjoyed the first part of this book - the magical background was interesting, but not overwhelming, and the arranged marriage story worked well. The characters were sympathetic, and the blend of magic and romance seemed to work. Unfortunately, in the second half, the story went downhill. The focus turned to external problems, and magic conveniently solved everything, much too easily. The characters were still interesting, but there wasn’t much more to say about them - their relationship didn’t really develop in the second half, it just stayed the same. There were opportunities for more (especially when it came to Jack's background and the way his magic was suppressed by his father) but it was just pushed aside in favor of fighting the "bad guy" and using a few spells to fix everything. More disappointing than bad, but not one of Putney’s best.
Perhaps it's unfair, but I couldn't help comparing this to some of the arranged marriage stories that I've loved in the past - by Putney herself, as well as other authors. This one just seemed superficial by comparison. Throwing in some magic doesn't compensate for the lack of deep emotion, at least not for me.
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