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MY REVIEW
Lord Garrick has an ambitious plan. On the surface, it sounds good, though it took a battle to bring him and Rickart face to face. Garrick wants Rickart to swear allegiance to him, the Lord of Cold Spring, bringing Esterby under his umbrella. I have a suspicious nature and see conspiracies around every corner…when it comes to novels. 🙂
Maura, Rickart’s sister, comes to Cold Spring to encourage Garrick to release Rickart and Garrick is smitten.
Magic had been banished under Garrick’s father’s rule and I won’t tell much about that because I want you to find out for yourself. I think you will enjoy it as much as I did.
The action is mild with many face to face conversations and I loved to watch the interactions. It is not so much manipulation as showing a person what could be.
Rickart is only eighteen. His father’s death made him the leader of Esterby. He puts his life on the line for his people, yet has a lot of life lessons to learn.
Gertie may be a peripheral character, but like Maura, I feel her importance. She is a pit bull and I love her.
“…Mother’s watching over her like a bitch with a one litter puppy.” I love that. I thought of the pitbull reference before I read that quote. It explains why Carmen Webster Buxton is a must read author for me and I love her stories so much. We seem to speak the same language.
As I learn more about Garrick, I love how Carmen Webster Buxton has written the story. Most of sword/sorcery fantasies I have read have brutal wars raging, blood and guts flying. Hidden Magic is more about characters coming together for the benefit of making a stronger unit.
Innocent romance.
Whether Carmen Webster Buxton meant to send a message or not, these characters made me feel good and have hope…that even in today’s real world, things change, circumstances change, rules change…nothing is written that can’t be rewritten.
Hidden Magic is not a series, the story is complete…unless you would like to prolong the ending by imagining what comes next for yourself.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Hidden Magic by Carmen Webster Buxton.
AMAZON SYNOPSIS
The valley of the River Wystan is isolated from the rest of the world. Many years before it had been united under the Lord of Cold Spring, who had suppressed the practice of magic. But when he died, his son wasn’t strong enough to hold the other lords’ loyalty. Now Lord Garrick, the new Lord of Cold Spring, means to resume his grandfather’s role of overlord for the whole valley. Young Richart Tallengen, newly minted Lord of Esterby, tries to fight off Lord Garrick’s men, but he’s captured and carried to Cold Spring Castle. When his sister Maura comes to Cold Spring to see her brother, she catches Lord Garrick’s eye. Lord Garrick is as attracted by her courage and her brains as much as by her looks, but he is very surprised to discover that there is more to Maura than meets the eye. She has magical abilities, even though she doesn’t know it.
ABOUT CARMEN WEBSTER BUXTON
Carmen Webster Buxton spent her youth reading every book published by Ursula LeGuin, Robert Heinlein and Georgette Heyer. This combination of far-future worlds, alien cultures, and old-fashioned courting customs influenced her writing, especially in her ThreeCon series.
Carmen was born in Hawaii and experienced a peripatetic childhood, as her father was in the US Navy. Having raised two wonderful children, she now lives in Maryland with her husband Charlie, and a beagle named Cosmo. She writes science fiction (often including a romance, and mostly set in the far future), and the occasional fantasy.
Carmen has published many books:
WAKANREO SERIES
Alien Bonds
Alien Vows
Alien Skies
HAVEN SERIES
The Sixth Discipline
No Safe Haven
THREECON SERIES (can be read in any order)
The Nostalgia Gambit
Saronna’s Gift
Shades of Empire
Tribes
Worlds Apart
ALTERNATE HISTORY
King of Trees
YOUNG ADULT SCIENCE FICTION
Turnabout
Drifters
FANTASY
Where Magic Rules
Bag of Tricks
Hidden Magic
THE NAMELESS WORLD SAGA (coming in 2021)
The North Edge of Nowhere
Oaths and Promises
Carmen often blogs about ereaders, digital publishing, writing, and speculative fiction. Visit her blog to see what’s coming out next! To ask questions or to provide feedback on her books, send email to carmen.webster.buxton (at) gmail.com.
MY CARMEN WEBSTER BUXTON REVIEWS
- Where Magic Rules (on Goodreads)
- Tribes (Threecon) (on Goodreads)
- Shades of Empire (Threecon) (on Goodreads)
- Drifters (Threecon)
- Alien Bonds (Wakanreo Series)
- Alien Vows (Wakanreo Series)
- Alien Skies (Wakanreo Series)
- Bag of Tricks
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