From Publishers Weekly
In bestseller Putney's spellbinding second romantic fantasy (after 2004's
A Kiss of Fate), Earl of Falconer, Simon Malmain, chief enforcer of the Guardian Council, which oversees the use of magic in 18th-century Britain, has been turned into a unicorn by Lord Drayton, a renegade mage whom Simon charges with encouraging the Jacobite uprising; only a virgin can transform Simon back into human form. Luckily for Simon, animal-loving "Mad Meggie," Drayton's "servant," succeeds in doing so, while Simon breaks the spell that's kept Meg in the dark sorcerer's thrall. Allied in a "pretend" marriage, the pair pool their unusual talents in an effort to ruin Lord Drayton's plan to prevent the Industrial Age from revolutionizing England. Putney's skill as a historical romance novelist serves her well in the depiction of London and the subplot featuring a gifted developer of the steam engine. The love that grows between Simon and Meg, though pretty standard fare, includes some wonderfully steamy moments. While the final battle between good and evil offers few surprises, it's still entertaining enough to raise anticipation for the next installment.
(June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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From Booklist
*Starred Review* Putney continues the tale begun in
A Kiss of Fate (2004) about magically gifted Guardians in eighteenth-century Britain. Here the focus is on Lord Drayton, a Guardian who goes rogue, and Simon Malmain, the earl of Falconer, who must stop him. Lord Drayton transforms Simon into a unicorn, planning to murder him and increase his own power with the magic of the unicorn's horn. He uses Meg, his homely, simpleminded ward, as bait; but the virgin and the unicorn escape, and, lo and behold, when their blood mixes, Simon returns to his human form and Meg turns out to be neither homely nor simpleminded. Putney's fully imagined magical system, combined with Georgian detail, is a terrific setting for a tale of intrigue and danger. As Meg and Simon try to stop Drayton's ever-more diabolical plan, they must stay close together or Simon will turn back into a unicorn. Consequently, the sexual tension is high in this enchanting blend of fantasy and romance by M. J. Putney, an alter ego for romance star Mary Jo Putney.
Diana Tixier HeraldCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.