A Lost Touch of Magic

A Lost Touch of Magic by Amy Tolnitch

Touch series

ISBN# 978-1-934-75551-8

Available now
Published by Medallion Press 
Format: mm pbk., 465 pages
Genres: fiction, historical, paranormal romance

This is the latest addition to Tolnitch's Touch series, which has more to do with the titles sharing the word "touch" than anything else.  Some of the characters may have met before, but from what I can tell there's no real overlap or story arcs going on so reading each book as a stand-alone novel is fine.  Her covers are simple and not very original, but this is a book you definitely shouldn't judge by it's cover.  I had a hard time putting this one down for any amount of time and ended up finishing it in about a day.  I don't even usually like historical romances, but Aimili is immensely likable and unusual for the time period.

Padruig MacCoinneach starts off this story in self-imposed exile from his land and clan until his sister, Brona, calls him home from the grave.  Once on clan land he hears that his other sister, Freya, has been promised to a beast of a man.  To save her he's going to have to gather his allies quickly and oust the current laird, Grigor.  Unfortunately for him, in order to get help from neighboring de Grantham Castle he has to marry 17 year old Aimili de Grantham.  Padruig quickly takes Grigor down without much of a fight, but the real troubles for him and his clan are only beginning.

Aimili is not like other young women of her time in more ways than most know.  Most days she can be found in the stables, surrounded by her horses, looking more like a boy than any young woman.  Her secret, that only her sister knows, is that she can communicate with animals.  She has dreamed of marrying Padruig since a chance encounter years ago.  Like most childhood fancies this dream dies a tortured death when she's confronted with the real thing and realizes he's nothing like the man in her daydreams.

Upon moving in, Aimili and her horses are almost instantly aware of an evil miasma hanging over Castle MacCoinneach.  Padruig starts to realize just how bad off the clan is when he finds the coffers all but empty and food stores that won't even last the winter.  Aimili is soon able to put a name to the evil thanks to a visit from Queen Sebilla of Paroseea.  In Paroseea he is Vardon, but here he hides among the clan causing accidents and minor disasters while he bides his time waiting to strike at Aelfric's descendent.  If Padruig doesn't swallow his pride and see Aimili for who she really is Vardon will go on undermining the clan until there's nothing left to save.

 The reason I don't like most historicals is because of the way women of the time are represented, but I liked Aimili immensely because she was independent and not even close to being a damsel in distress.  I don't really know why they're trying to sell this book as a paranormal romance.  The realm of Paroseea barely comes into play at all and there are no big acts of magic or anything like that.  If you're looking for historical accuracy with rich descriptions of day to day life this probably isn't for you.  On the other hand, if you're looking for a light romance that's character driven and just happens to be set in the past, in a castle you will probably love this book.

Zhye