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The Magic Knot is an imaginative book with a fun premise. Set in contemporary, but magical, Cornwall and Ireland, it features fairies, druids, leprechauns, and intrigue galore. Because I enjoyed the ideas of the book so much, I had a tough time grading it, because the actual execution of the ideas sometimes leaves something to be desired. <!– var browName = navigator.appName; var SiteID = 1; var ZoneID = 4; var browDateTime = (new Date()).getTime(); if (browName=='Netscape') { document.write('‘); document.write(”); } if (browName!=’Netscape’) { document.write(‘‘); document.write(”); } // –> 
Niall O’Connor would do anything to keep his siblings safe. Ever since he rejected an Irish fairy queen, Ciar, he has lived in exile, paying a druid (Tristan) enormous sums of money to cast protective spells for his family. As he makes his latest payment, Tristan asks for an additional favor: A Cornish pisky (fairy) has entered the area, and Tristan wants Niall to bring the pisky to his home.
It doesn’t take Niall long to find the pisky in question. Rose Tremain is staying at his brother’s inn while she investigates possible financial problems with the business. The real problem, though, is that Rose has no idea she’s half fairy. Her mother always warned her never to go near Cornwall or try to find her father, and she taught her to consult her “tTarot” cards with important life questions. But other than that, she’s lived a normal, boring life. When she arrives at the inn, she’s immediately attracted to the owner, Michael O’Connor, but she sees him as a ladies’ man, and she also thinks his finances are a complete disaster. He tells her that he doesn’t even have a computer, so she’ll need to discuss matters with his brother Niall. When she meets Niall, he seems attractive too, but in a different way. They start to develop a rapport of sorts, but when she consults her “tTarot” cards, her the reading seems to hint that Niall will betray her. He ends up taking her to see her father, she discovers her fairy ancestry, and matters spiral out of control from there.
This is a tough book to summarize because there is a lot (at times probably too much) going on. But the basic gist of matters is that Tristan the druid is Rose’s father, and he is holding the rest of her pisky troop captive. In order to save them, Rose and her entourage (Niall, Michael, and Nightshade – who is kind of a fairy/vampire/outcast from Rose’s troop) must travel to Ireland so they can receive instructions from Ciar. There’s a lot more to it that I can hardly explain here, including a backstory involving Nightshade and a much younger Rose, as well as the ins and outs of O’Connor family politics (dad’s an Irish fairy/giant, and mom is a leprechaun).
Much of the book really works well, most notably the interesting, creative setting and plot. I enjoyed the fairy world, which had clearly been well thought out by the author. There’s a lot of world-building in this relatively tiny book. And since my personal paranormal preferences run to fairies and time-travel rather than werewolves, shapeshifters or vampires, I found the book very much to my taste. The arc of the story is mostly satisfying and not completely predictable, which is also a mark in its favor.
Many of the characters are as inventive as the setting. Tristan is one of the better villains I’ve seen in awhile. He’s evil and downright creepy, living in a decaying manor filled to the brim with taxidermy specimens (ewwwww). I also really liked Michael and Nightshade, both of whom are well deserving of books of their own. Since this is apparently the beginning of a trilogy, they just might get them. I’d be willing to give them a try, despite my aversion to vampire fangs.
The story falters for me in a couple of areas. First of all, because there is so much going on, it’s a little convoluted. Some things are over-explained, while others are skirted over. Parts of the plot are illogical. For example, Niall is sent to live with his mother as a child, while Michael lives with their father in the Irish fairy court. Niall understandably feels rejected by his father. There’s actually a really good explanation for his father’s actions – which Niall only gets after he’s agonized over the situation for years. There is absolutely no reason his father couldn’t have given him an explanation sooner – other than some inexplicable need to have his son agonize over the situation for years. Similarly, Niall keeps Rose in the dark about crucial details of his plan. There’s no need for him to do this, so one gets the feeling that Ms. Taylor was just trying to prolong the suspense for the reader (regardless of whether Niall’s actions made sense in the story). With just a little bit more polishing, some of these rough spots could have been eradicated.
Unfortunately, I also found Niall to be a little bland – and overly prone to self-pity. There was a lot of “Poor me; I can’t have Rose because I’m not good enough and I have to protect my sister.” He eventually grew a pair, but it happened a little late for my taste. Mainly Niall just suffered because Nightshade and Michael were really more interesting.
That said, overall I found The Magic Knot to be an encouraging debut, and one I’d at least marginally recommend. I’ll hope to see more from this author in the future, and keep my fingers crossed that she works out some of the kinks.
Grade: B-
Book Type: Fantasy Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 27/01/09
Publication Date: 2009/02
I've been at AAR since dinosaurs roamed the Internet. I've been a Reviewer, Reviews Editor, Managing Editor, Publisher, and Blogger. Oh, and Advertising Corodinator. Right now I'm taking a step back to concentrate on kids, new husband, and new job in law...but I'll still keep my toe in the romance waters.
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.