Uncertain Magic

By: Laura Kinsale

Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton

Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's Summary

As a lovely heiress, Roderica Delamore should be a prize catch--except for her shameful secret. She has the ability to hear the thoughts of those around her. Even her family and close friends can't hide from her strange gift. Knowing that she can never marry, for no man could bear it, Roddy still longs hopelessly for a family of her own. Until she meets the man she's been waiting for--the Earl of Iveragh, a mysterious Irish aristocrat whose thoughts are entirely closed to her.

The impoverished Devil Earl is damned in society by dark rumor and innuendo, and, for all she knows, he could be a liar, a rogue, or much, much worse. But Roddy must dance with him at midnight on All Hallows Eve, and entrust her life--and her heart--to a riveting stranger, called by his torment into the faerie mists to discover what she most fears about herself and her own magic.

©1987, 2010 Hedgehog Inc (P)2014 Hedgehog Inc

Critic Reviews

"A whole new style of historical romance. Beautifully written... a definite must-read." ( The Long and Short of It Reviews)

"Kinsale weaves fey magic into a tale of love, political unrest, and loss, and delivers some riveting plot twists." ( Rundpinne)

Remarkable!

With the pairing of author and narrator, this book comes alive. Since I cannot tell the ending, I simply say that it is riveting. Wonderful to hear such compelling words. And this is not my first reading. This story is one that you can save and listen to, over and over. Well done, Audible.

A little too odd

Really excellent narration but very off-the-wall story. Not at all what I expected and I had a really hard time getting a hold of this book.

I hate to say this, but NOT one of her best!!!

I LOVE LK so this is extra painful to admit. This supernatural story was out there. Weird and uncomfortable and yet very imaginative. I like supernatural except in this story it really did not work for me although LK did a fabulous job dragging me into her thoughts to the point I could imagine being there even at that strange dance in the ruins of his family home. I found the ending a bit abrupt too when I would have liked to know a little more beyond where the story stopped. I don't know how to explain it except that I felt weird reading this book. When I saw the 3's for the first 10 or so reader ratings, I thought they must be mad. How can that be for a LK book? Then I began reading it and for the first third I thought the book was great until it wasn't. For a Lady to live like nomads and work that hard to rebuild his family home lost to fire when they had so much money to hire an army was ridiculous. SAD to say but I really will never re-read this book. Not my cup of tea at all.

NB was however AMAZING as usual. He can give characters life and each one their own voice. Such a talented actor!

Seems Like Laura Kinsale Had A Bad Day.

For those of you who read my reviews - you know I love Laura Kinsale's Books. Whenever one of her books comes to Audible I have to listen. I was anticipating her usual greatness for this book but I have to agree with Cam and say its not my cup of tea either.

It wasn't a total loss though. I'm convinced that LK,, even in her worst day, couldn't ever write a total dud. This book did have a good character development, story, mystery, and Nicholas Boulton narrating. I've always said he could make an okay book even better and this is proof.

If this one goes on sale give it a try. My advise for now: Listen to LK's other books and enjoy!

What Was She Smokin'?

I have read all the author's books on audio (except those set in the middle ages as I don't like that period). I've loved all of them, but this one. They've all followed a scenario of two slightly damaged people who manage to overcome the odds, fall in love, and have a future together. This couple seemed to follow that mode at first, then it veered off into airy fairy land with telepathy and visitations of odd other worldly creatures. Several times, I asked myself "where is she going with this?". Even the plotting seemed uneven and uncertain. I still love the narrator, but the story lacked Kinsale's usual tight control of her plot and characters.

What the heck was that?

I love paranormal stories… Fantasy… Romance… History. But I’m not quite sure what the hell this was. The mythology was never properly developed. And the romance was great until suddenly it wasn’t.

I don’t really have the energy to give it a thorough review. Right now I’m kind of mad I wasted so much time on the book. I will say for the first half of the story I was intrigued and it was seemed like it was building to some thing. It really held my attention. And then the plot suddenly got disjointed and confusing. Cryptic nonsense. The last half of the book was basically a hot mess. I started to not care for the characters, especially the heroine who was alternately weak and fearful, and stupidly defiant. I guessed who the “villain” was going to be the minute they were introduced, even though their character development was poor.

I can’t really recommend this book, unless you’re a completist with this author.

Midsummer Night's Dream Feel

I found this to be very charming with a dry sense of humor in some places. Sort of Jane Austen like humor as another reviewer had pointed out though this by far a more passionate couple than Lizzy and Darcy. Whew. Same Kinsale touch but more often than her other couples I know. Also like Ms. Austen, this may not be your cup of tea. If you like Ms. Kinsale's more tormented heroes then you may not like Phelan. He's tormented but he doesn't obsess about it. Also, there's a 15 year age difference between him and Roddy and she is definitely a 19yr old girl. Laura pegged that real well. Basically, if you liked My Sweet Folly or Lessons in French, you'll probably like this.
This was Laura's first dive in to the paranormal/fantasy genre and I have to disagree that it's amateurish. A new genre is always unfamiliar even to a seasoned author but it takes guts to step out of your comfort zone which Laura did and for that she gets credit. Actually, it's more folkloric and mysterious than paranormal in my opinion. I was disappointed in the ending though because it just seemed to stop like turning a page and finding the next missing. I wish more clarification had been given by (not telling) on Phelan's "blackouts"...did he really do what he was accused and made to forget or where they the machinations by (not telling) to keep up the charade. Do they rebuild again after (not telling) or do they start over somewhere else? Does she lose her gift like it's implied or was the gift left to her and she was given the ability to hear him? Was the gift a child? It almost feels like Laura was pulling an all nighter after being told the deadline got pushed up and she had to get this out fast so alot of corners got cut. That's my only negative on the book but I'm not good at reading between the lines so maybe she did clarify and I missed it.

highly disappointed!

as much as I enjoy this authors books, I couldn't even finish this one! with the ridiculous amount of infidelity in the book, and the constant misunderstandings and unnecessary lack of communication, this book frustrated me to no end!

An intersting story that keeps up the mystery

If you could sum up Uncertain Magic in three words, what would they be?

Uncertain Magic Lovestory

What other book might you compare Uncertain Magic to and why?

I honestly haven't read one close to the story line of this unique tale

What does Nicholas Boulton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Mr Boulton is a true professional who brings life to the varied characters and I look forward to listening to more of his works

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

An Uncertain Magic Lovestory

Any additional comments?

I rarely listen to books by female authors because most have female readers and I can't hear them very well, Female authors write great books and it is my lost I should read more of their books, with male readers.

An Enjoyable Read

I love all of Laura Kinsale’s works. This was not my favorite story, but the visuals of Ireland are wonderful. As always, Nicholas Boulton is outstanding.

Another wonderful combination!

Perfect writing and the best ever narration. This is my tenth LK and NB AUDIBLE with only two to go; I will have to go back to the beginning and start again.

More Magic from Kinsale and Boulton

Would you consider the audio edition of Uncertain Magic to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the book, but I think anything read by Nicholas Boulton is guaranteed to be better than in print!

What does Nicholas Boulton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

His performance is incredible. There are a large number of secondary characters in the story, all of whom are skilfully delineated, and when it comes to the central characters, he really gets into their heads and under their skins; he understands them and conveys that understanding to the listener brilliantly. It's not that I dislike making my own character judgements and opinions when I read a book, but having such an accomplished actor narrating the story brings the characters so vibrantly to life that it's a truly wonderful listening experience.

Any additional comments?

Incredibly, this was Laura Kinsale's début novel. The writing is rich and layered, and her incorporation of supernatural elements was unusual for the time (1987) - but she has once again created a couple of compelling protagonists (if you like tortured heroes, you'll LOVE Iveragh!) and a wonderfully complex story.

Magic indeed

Kinsale/Boulton magic once again. A fey tale, marvellous prose and another masterful narration. Kinsale is always fresh and original.

Magical

Magical, beautiful, sad, a surprising pull between fairy land and this plane, beautifully written and brilliantly told (as usual)

Lovely story

I really enjoyed the characters in this story. Now it's finished I feel at a loss. The narrator was really good.

Always love the Laura Kinsale, Nicholas Bolton duo

Always love the Laura Kinsale and Nicholas Bolton combination, great story and great voice. Leaves me hoping there will be more of them everytime.

Better than other Stories by Laura Kinsale

I have enjoyed the story more than other stories of romance and mystery. The Story is more interesting, because it is not quite a fairy tale, although it makes reference to Irish lore and fairy tales.
It is more complex, and so is the historical background development; the magic element is kept to a minimum and intelligently treated so as not to disturb too much the necessary suspension of disbelief, but could be interpreted as a metaphor for immature conscience or self awareness and sensitivity. Another plus is for me the fact that the sex is less boring and is played through poetic metaphors, rather than through graphic descriptions as it it is in others of her novels, Repetition of full sex scenes is also less insistent, although some of it is structural to character development. The historical background, is also better researched and more integral to the story.
The ending is rather unsatisfactory, though, as it brings about a 'Deus ex Machina' intervention rather than a more 'natural' internal resolution due to the characters reaching a greater level of self awareness, and a better tidying up of loose ends, for instance who is/are the real author/s of the crimes imputed to the hero is left to the heroine and the fairies to 'tell' the audience, rather than the discovery ensuing from the action. Proper development of plot and subots, in this respect is sacrificed to repetition of lengthy sex scenes brooding over what in real life would be called lack of ability to communicate.

Not impressed =(.

How can one get a book wrong on so many levels??? Book reads like a braindump of ideas.

Strong start, very weak finish

Would you try another book written by Laura Kinsale or narrated by Nicholas Boulton?

Yes because I have heard fantastic books by Laura Kinsale, but this was not one of them. I especially liked her female James Bond story. (The loving daylights).

What will your next listen be?

I did a lot of easy listen lately, but might go for a popular science book next for a change.

Would you be willing to try another one of Nicholas Boulton’s performances?

Would not be a search criteria like Rosalyn Landor was.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Strong start and not the usual story, but I finished it yesterday and already forgot the name of the heroine. The pig was most lovely and I shall remember it.