Summary:
Little-noticed Felicity Seymour is a woman with a problem: she can't take control of her parents' lands until she can prove her magical abilities, of which she's never had the slightest hint. When she meets a handsome were-lion baronet, Terence Blackwell, she's surprised at his interest; what she doesn't know is that Terence smells the taint of relic-magic on her, the same magic that killed his brother. Resolving to learn her secrets, Terence courts the worried wallflower and is as surprised as anyone when he falls head over heels. Soon after they marry in secret, Felicity discovers that people she's trusted all her life are conspiring to steal her magic, her title and her land. Now she's got to stop them with the help of her new husband—but how much does she really know about her mysterious mate?
Reviewer: Dolce Amore
In a world where Merlin existed and passed his magic down through his offspring, the Society is ruled by magic.
In Britain, kings and queens held the strongest power. After the royals, dukes had the greatest magical abilities in that they could change matter. Marquesses could cast spells and illusions and transfer objects but not change them. Earls mastered illusions, while viscounts dabbled in charms and potions. Barons had a magical gift, which could be as simple as making flowers grow or as complicated as seeing into the future.
And then there were the baronets. Part man, part animal, the shape-shifters were Merlin’s greatest enchantment, and eventually his greatest bane. For out of all mankind, they were immune to his magic.
However, Merlin created thirteen magical relics from the gems of the earth and these items held the only magic stronger than the magic of his children. And just the shape-shifters can find them; that’s why the shape-shifters became the secret spies of many rulers.
An orphan, Felicity is bullied by her cousin every night. Son of a viscount, he shouldn’t have been able to create any illusions, but he does; and she, daughter of a powerful duke and duchess, should have a powerful magic, but she doesn’t.
When she has to prove her magic before the king and fails, she is stripped of all rank, lands and title. No longer Duchess-of-Honor Stonehaven, now she is just Miss Seymour.
Sir Terence Blackwell watches her while Felicity is doing her test and realizes that she was spelled to be nearly invisible.
Unknowing if she cast the spell herself using the relic or whether it was cast by somebody else, he decides to court her, so he can find out the truth. As a shifter, Terence is favored by Prince Albert because he can sense the black magic associated with the magical relics. He is also a null which means he has no magic of his own but also, magic cannot be used against him. He can also see through any magical illusion. Felicity smells of the taint of the same magic that killed his brother. And he lies to himself that he will court her just until he discovers the truth and he will not marry her. Yet Terence’s beast screams mate when he has her close.A powerful relic-spell that only a shape-shifter would be immune to. Anyone else would have to concentrate just to see her.
His first gift for Felicity is magical, incredible and will protect her when he can’t be around, needed especially after he sees that some magic creations are trying to attack her during the night.
It’s a dragonette. A magical copy, if you will, of their larger dragon cousins.
So every night, Terence protects her from those creations … until the dragonette, Daisy, is hatched.
Terence starts to believe that Felicity is in danger and marries her; wants to believe she isn’t using the relic, but he feels Felicity connected somehow to it. He must undercover the truth or he could lose her along with his own life.
I can’t say what I loved most: was it the storyline? Original, unique and full of imagination, about the Society being ruled by the magic and some of the nobles trying to possess more they had. Was it the dialogs? They are charming and captivating.
“Are you saying that my presence brings out the animal in you?”
His brows lifted in complete astonishment, and then he leaned back his head and roared with laughter.
“You are refreshing,” he finally managed to say. “I’ll give you that.”
You are refreshing,” he finally managed to say. “I’ll give you that.”
Were the characters? OMG, I totally loved the characters.
Still, I can’t decide what I loved most. I think all that merged into an awesome book you don’t want to miss. And maybe in the second book of this Relics of Merlin series I might discover what happened in the rest of the world while all this happened in Britain. 5 stars.
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Source: Net Galley
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