haewilya's review
4.0
Definitely one of my fave Mary Balogh books. I love the sense of humor of the protagonists. I love that they both loved their spouses even if they were in love with each other from the first. I can't say that I loved the villains because I wanted to wring their necks. I guess that's their purpose so I can't really complain. I'm a bit dissatisfied with the final scene for some reason though.
nipomuki's review
3.0
I guess Mrs Balogh is growing on me. I liked this story much better than the first one I read. Even had me some feels for the lovelorn couple of "just friends". Too bad I gave the other book three stars - since I do not quite want to give this one a full fourth star.
jericca89's review
3.0
3.5 stars. A charming but predictable quick read. Like drinking hot tea it warms you up inside and leaves you feeling happy.
taramisu's review
3.0
The premise: The story of two friends who love the same woman.
Miscellaneous notes: It is quite possible that the story was ruined due to the speed at which I was forced to read this book. I had only a week of free time and wanted to get the book done before my next paper was due. I felt the plot lumbered along and never really got a good head of steam going.
Alice and Piers, as we find out toward the end of the book, have loved each other for years. But, since neither gave any clues as to their respective feelings, Alice ended up marrying Web, Piers' best friend. Web is now dead, leaving Alice and Piers to discover their true feelings.
Miscellaneous notes: It is quite possible that the story was ruined due to the speed at which I was forced to read this book. I had only a week of free time and wanted to get the book done before my next paper was due. I felt the plot lumbered along and never really got a good head of steam going.
Alice and Piers, as we find out toward the end of the book, have loved each other for years. But, since neither gave any clues as to their respective feelings, Alice ended up marrying Web, Piers' best friend. Web is now dead, leaving Alice and Piers to discover their true feelings.
kimalah's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
taisie22's review
5.0
A sweet second-chance romance that's one of Ms. Balogh's earlier books. Alice and Piers have been friends (and secretly in love) for years, though each married another. Now widowed, they have a chance to find romance when Piers is trapped by another woman.
I really enjoyed this story. Alice and Piers are sweet together, yet I wanted to shake Piers before he finally realized that Alice was the woman for him. When he was repeating the mistake of his first marriage, I was horrified. It was truly nice to see the happy ending.
I really enjoyed this story. Alice and Piers are sweet together, yet I wanted to shake Piers before he finally realized that Alice was the woman for him. When he was repeating the mistake of his first marriage, I was horrified. It was truly nice to see the happy ending.
ironskin's review
3.0
This was fine— my fave trope is second chance and know each other from childhood, and banter! So this should have been catnip. But there were loads of Yikes moments I couldn’t really pass over, and the heroine was kinda a Pick Me girl.
reader_fictions's review
1.0
Mary Balogh's novels are generally pretty fantastic, but this one was not. Go read another one.
A Certain Magic is a friends to lovers romance, and initially it seemed to have real promise. Piers and Alice have been besties since childhood, along with their third musketeer, who Alice married and who has sense died. Alice and Piers have both been in love with each other since childhood, which is not my preference in friends to lovers. Still, at the outset, they had a really adorable light banter going, and I actually thought I would like this book.
BUT THEN. THE PLOT HAPPENED.
Allie has come to London for the season to assist her brother and sister-in-law with their sick kids and chaperoning the eldest at events. Her family sucks, but she's a bit of a doormat so she does whatever she can to help out. Piers, meanwhile, has recently inherited a title, and, as a widower, now needs a new bride to make some heirs. He asks Allie to help him choose a bride, since he didn't do a great job last time.
Piers, who you need to remember IS IN LOVE WITH ALLIE, proceeds to flirt endlessly with all the brand new debutantes. Note, please, that Piers is 36. He's 9 years older even than Allie, and he is courting 18 and 19 year-old girls. Gross. Piers is a bit of a goofball, so I didn't totally hate him even here, and he does tell Allie over and over that he likes her better than the rest, but she thinks he's being silly and flattering her.
Piers ends up sort of accidentally courting one debutante in particular, as a favor to her mother who married a friend of his from school (that guy has since died). The girl's shy and brings out manly, protective urges, even though he mostly finds her kind of dull. But he does like her crass, offensive cit of an uncle. Allie suspects that the girl is pretending to be shy and retiring to trap Piers into marriage, and she warns him lightly to keep some distance there.
This is where things get awful.
- While walking in Vauxhall, Piers escorting the girl, he tries to keep her with the others but she claims she's seen a kitten, and they end up having to shelter alone together through a rainstorm for about an hour, everyone knowing they're alone. He kisses her, even though he knows he's not really interested in her. He takes her home when the rain stops, promising to come by the next day implicitly to make his offer.
- Depressed at having to marry someone he does not love once again, he goes to stand sadly outside Allie's house. She spots him, lets him in, and they bang on the floor.
- He leaves the next morning to propose to the girl and so now he's engaged, despite having sex with his best friend the night before who now might be pregnant.
- Allie goes back to Bath. Non-surprising twist: she's definitely pregnant.
- Piers' fiancée quickly proves herself to be the worst (she only wants to go out and flirt with other men now), so he goes to visit his friend in Bath, since he's not needed for the wedding planning.
- Allie and Piers spend an emotional few days together, and Allie's best friend is like 'why aren't you two together?' and it's all awful.
- Piers suspects that she's pregnant but goes back to marry the manipulator anyway!!!
- Because he's sad about it, he stops off to fuck a prostitute on the way. WHYYYYYYY
- VERY CONVENIENTLY, his fiancée decides to elope with a different man on the advice of her uncle (advice that honestly makes no sense whatsoever), leaving Piers free to marry Allie.
- Allie's not mad about any of this, and they get married and are happy forever.
BARFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.
My issues with are myriad, but I'll take it down to the top two.
1. Piers, despite his supposedly immense love for Allie, absolutely would have married the girl and left Allie pregnant, alone, and doomed to be outside society for the rest of her life, had the plot not conveniently had the girl elope with someone else. If she had not, he would have married her. One hundred percent. That's no kind of love story to my way of thinking.
2. Every single female character of note in this book, aside from Allie, is scheming, manipulative, and horrible.
I recommend this book to no one, except to other people like me who are determined to get through the backlist out of stubbornness. Not sure what happened with this book, but it's baaaaaad.
A Certain Magic is a friends to lovers romance, and initially it seemed to have real promise. Piers and Alice have been besties since childhood, along with their third musketeer, who Alice married and who has sense died. Alice and Piers have both been in love with each other since childhood, which is not my preference in friends to lovers. Still, at the outset, they had a really adorable light banter going, and I actually thought I would like this book.
BUT THEN. THE PLOT HAPPENED.
Allie has come to London for the season to assist her brother and sister-in-law with their sick kids and chaperoning the eldest at events. Her family sucks, but she's a bit of a doormat so she does whatever she can to help out. Piers, meanwhile, has recently inherited a title, and, as a widower, now needs a new bride to make some heirs. He asks Allie to help him choose a bride, since he didn't do a great job last time.
Piers, who you need to remember IS IN LOVE WITH ALLIE, proceeds to flirt endlessly with all the brand new debutantes. Note, please, that Piers is 36. He's 9 years older even than Allie, and he is courting 18 and 19 year-old girls. Gross. Piers is a bit of a goofball, so I didn't totally hate him even here, and he does tell Allie over and over that he likes her better than the rest, but she thinks he's being silly and flattering her.
Piers ends up sort of accidentally courting one debutante in particular, as a favor to her mother who married a friend of his from school (that guy has since died). The girl's shy and brings out manly, protective urges, even though he mostly finds her kind of dull. But he does like her crass, offensive cit of an uncle. Allie suspects that the girl is pretending to be shy and retiring to trap Piers into marriage, and she warns him lightly to keep some distance there.
This is where things get awful.
- While walking in Vauxhall, Piers escorting the girl, he tries to keep her with the others but she claims she's seen a kitten, and they end up having to shelter alone together through a rainstorm for about an hour, everyone knowing they're alone. He kisses her, even though he knows he's not really interested in her. He takes her home when the rain stops, promising to come by the next day implicitly to make his offer.
- Depressed at having to marry someone he does not love once again, he goes to stand sadly outside Allie's house. She spots him, lets him in, and they bang on the floor.
- He leaves the next morning to propose to the girl and so now he's engaged, despite having sex with his best friend the night before who now might be pregnant.
- Allie goes back to Bath. Non-surprising twist: she's definitely pregnant.
- Piers' fiancée quickly proves herself to be the worst (she only wants to go out and flirt with other men now), so he goes to visit his friend in Bath, since he's not needed for the wedding planning.
- Allie and Piers spend an emotional few days together, and Allie's best friend is like 'why aren't you two together?' and it's all awful.
- Piers suspects that she's pregnant but goes back to marry the manipulator anyway!!!
- Because he's sad about it, he stops off to fuck a prostitute on the way. WHYYYYYYY
- VERY CONVENIENTLY, his fiancée decides to elope with a different man on the advice of her uncle (advice that honestly makes no sense whatsoever), leaving Piers free to marry Allie.
- Allie's not mad about any of this, and they get married and are happy forever.
BARFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.
My issues with are myriad, but I'll take it down to the top two.
1. Piers, despite his supposedly immense love for Allie, absolutely would have married the girl and left Allie pregnant, alone, and doomed to be outside society for the rest of her life, had the plot not conveniently had the girl elope with someone else. If she had not, he would have married her. One hundred percent. That's no kind of love story to my way of thinking.
2. Every single female character of note in this book, aside from Allie, is scheming, manipulative, and horrible.
I recommend this book to no one, except to other people like me who are determined to get through the backlist out of stubbornness. Not sure what happened with this book, but it's baaaaaad.