Rating: 
Summary: Again the Magic
Review: I have always counted on Lisa Kleypas for an exceptional read. Not so with this long, drawn-out downer. The plot (pretending not to love a man, sending him away for his own good at great sacrifice to yourself, causing him to hate you, go make his forture and come back for revenge) has been done many, many times. Even in Victorian England, is this ever really the only way? And is a young man who is aware that a young woman has loved him all her life, really supposed to fall for this when it comes out of the blue? Finally, the heroine's disfiguring leg burns being the "conflict" that nearly keeps these soulmates apart forever, is an insult to the heartbroken hero and the suffering reader.I would not buy this book. I suggest checking it out of the library at the threat of the next big snowstorm.
Rating: 
Summary: Again the Perfection
Review: I've selfishly appreciated all the reviews I've read over the years before deciding on a book but never been compelled to give my opinion on one before. Not for Linda Howard, Anne Stuart, not even for Judith McNaught, and not for Laura Kinsale's Flowers From The Storm and God knows they all deserve praises. But here it goes.
I won't go into the synopsis of the book because the reviewers ahead me did so already. I want to talk about Lisa Kleypas. People who read her know and adore her for her deeply emotional, well developed characters in her books. Of course, all of them feature the tortured hero. Her readers won't have it any other way and really, are there any other kind worth reading?? In Again The Magic, she gifts us with not only the damaged hero, but also a tortured heroine as well. To make this even more of a twist, Ms. Kleypas starts off with the heroine as a lady and the hero as the servant. Then, of course, the fun begins since, as we all know, even in the romance world, their union is nearly impossible with such class division.
The reason I want to share my thougths with other readers is this. I don't remember the last time I've read more of two tortured souls who deserve each other. Aline and McKenna's story is completely wrenching and so gripping that you physically ache for them. My only criticism would be that -yeah, I'm sorry too - the secondary characters were distracting rather than endearing, and the "conflict" of the book was drawn out a little longer than I would have liked. I also heartily wish that LK would have devoted the epilogue to just Aline and McKenna.
I've followed Kleypas' career since I was a teenager, and other than her, Dreaming of You, this is my favorite of hers.
Ladies, if you want your toes to curl and fingers to tingle with a few dime size tears plopping on to your pillow in the wee of the night, grab this book even if you have to wrestle with another buyer for the last copy(little drama never hurts). It's one of those books you don't want to share with anyone and yet once you let out a deep sigh, tell all of your girlfriends because you need to talk about it with someone other than your husband who'll just condescendingly nod his head. So, please do yourselves a big favor and buy two copies. One to stash it on your keeper shelf and the other to wear it out in the years to come. Trust me, you won't part with either copy no matter how high in value it goes up on ebay.
Rating: 
Summary: exciting second chance at love historical romance
Review: In 1832 Hampshire stable boy John McKenna and Lady Aline Marsden, oldest daughter of an earl, exchange vows of love. However, her father angrily shouts at Aline that her feelings for John prove she is her just like her whore of a mother. He warns her that if she fails to end it, he will destroy John. A heartbroken Aline tells her father he better help John start a new life or she will give her virgin body to the first available bum which will cause scandal to the family name. Aline tells John that she never loved him as he is beneath her. Her dad arranges an apprenticeship with a shipbuilder for the former stable boy. Twelve years later, John arrives back in Hampshire accompanying his American business partner Gideon Shaw. John hates Aline for her "betrayal", but is shocked she is not married. He begins to learn the truth about how much she sacrificed to keep him safe from her now deceased father's reach, but even before that he knew at first sight that he still loves her. This time he vows he will not let her go. This an exciting historical romance that readers will enjoy due to a strong cast. The story line engages the reader from the moment Aline and her father confront one another, but really takes off when John returns to England after years in the United States. Though having her amiable brother as the earl instead of her acrimonious father takes away from the potential squabbles, fans will enjoy this fine second chance at love tale. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: One of her best books
Review: I really loved this book, couldn't put it down. This is one of my favorite Lisa Kleypas books.
Rating:
Summary: Again the Magic has a certain Je ne sais quoi!
Review: If you prefer your books filled with frequent and explicitly described sexual occurrences, this is a must read for you and Ms. Kleypas knows how to tastefully depict them! The dialog between the characters is smartly witty and continually electrifying. The plot is enjoyably good and satisfyingly told; however it's doesn't have fast-paced, high-drama exciting adventure. Again the Magic is tenderly compassionate and will keep you interested to the last page.
Rating: 
Summary: No Magic
Review: Lisa Kleypas is one of my favorite authors. I have bought, read and loved every single book she has written. This one missed the mark.
The story starts out with young Lady Aline Marsden and John McKenna, a stable boy who works for Aline's family. They grow up as close friends and become intimate adolescents before her father is alerted to their budding romance and threatens to destroy McKenna unless Aline agrees to send him away forever. So McKenna leaves. Later, Aline encounters a tragic accident leaving her thinking her legs were scarred enough to send every man fleeing from the sight of them! Thus, we enter into the "big misunderstanding" and essentially the main plot of the story.
Normally I will "fall in love" with the good looking, sexy hero, but nothing much was mentioned here to show that John McKenna was anything exciting. Aline Marsden seemed to be a sweet heroine but we never get to know her very deeply. In fact there was not much depth to any of the characters in this book. I never felt the love between this couple.
There is a secondary romance in the story consisting of Aline's younger sister, Livia, and McKenna's business partner, Gideon Shaw. This romance took up close to half of the story. In fact there was a time or two that I began to wonder exactly who the story's main focus was really on.
There are still some good elements in the book to keep the reader reading. But unlike all the other books written by Lisa Kleypas -- this one had no magic.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing!
Review: Dear readers, this book was very disappointing! Lisa Kleypas could have done much better. She should have given Livia and Shaw their own book. They totally overshadowed Aline and Mckenna's story.
Rating: 
Summary: Downhill.....try Dreaming of You
Review: I don't read any romance novels EXCEPT for Lisa Kleypas, a strange habit I picked up when she came out with her first (now out of print) book.
She makes a point to explore different kinds of love, and she is a great sensualist, and can be quite funny.
But....her older work is so much better, it's stunning. It's as if all the rich detail she used to put in her early books is too much effort, and now we get the barest, sketchiest description. She's actually a good writer, but if you've never read her before, try "Dreaming of You".
Rating:
Summary: Frustrating Motivation
Review: I'm unsure how to feel about this book! It was full of so many up and downs, back and forths. The H&H's motivations were never clear for very long, as they'd change the next page. First of all, McKenna returning to "get revenge" 12 years later isn't a very psychologically sound reaction to being dumped. I suppose nowadays we'd just say "let it go!" :)
I never saw any clear reason why Aline would fall for him--he was gruff, nasty, and surly almost the entire book. Then Aline's brother Marcus tries to ruin McKenna & Shaw's business, yet they pleasantly turn back up at his house, acting like nothing happened, doing business with him again.
Aline kept going back and forth. She waits 12 years as a virgin because no one's as good as McKenna, yet when he pops back up, she keeps hiding from him, keeps her "big secret" (that didn't seem so insurmountable after all) from him. All in all, just a sort of confusing read.
Rating:
Summary: Once AGAIN - Kleypas Delivers - Magic!
Review: Setting - Hampshire, England, 1832 --- Neglected by her aristocratic parents it wasn't surprising when the daughter of the house, Lady Aline Marsden would seek out a friend amongst the servants, and so, she and the young stable boy, John McKenna become bosom friends. As they grew older the childhood closeness they shared turned to a sensual desire of a love that they both knew could never be -even if they dreamed otherwise. When their growing attachment was revealed to the Earl, her father threatened Aline with plans to destroy McKenna if she didn't break it off permanently. Knowing the heartlessness of her father, Aline told McKenna the lies that she knew would send him away and never return - all the while breaking her own heart as she was forced to break his.
Twelve years later, McKenna, wealthy and successful beyond belief has returned to exact retribution on the woman that spurned his love and lowly status so many years before. His plans were to seduce and then abandon her, hopefully leaving a remnant of the `bastard' she had spurned. Nursing his hatred for all those years, he was not at all prepared once he saw her again for the flame of passion that still burned in his heart - not of vengeance but of a love that had never died. Try as he might, McKenna was kept in the dark as he did his best to discover the secrets Aline kept, both of the supposed `sickness' that had befallen her and of the lies she'd been forced to tell. In a spine tingling, climax that will have your heart in your throat, Aline would have to confront her greatest fear and trust that the love she still felt for McKenna would hold true and that the love he'd once felt for her hadn't been completely destroyed. A love that that still burned brightly and defied all time.
I know when I pick up a Kleypas novel that I will find another of her very powerful, and sensually filled romantic love stories and once more with, AGAIN THE MAGIC, she has captivated me again. This had not only one, but two very distinct and totally different romances, both featuring characters with overriding obstacles to overcome that were blended beautifully together. Kleypas has a gift for creating characters that simply are so real and multi-faceted that the reader cannot help but become emotionally involved with the many passions and moods her eloquence with the written word creates. She has once again whetted my appetite, and now, I suppose I am going to have to faithfully wait for what I hope will be her next book featuring, Aline and Livia's brother Marcus' story. A warning must be given though, not to start any of her books late in the day, as this one again proved to be one I simply could not put down until finished! When it comes to writing in the historical romance genre - Kleypas proves once more she is the 'Master of this Game'!... --- Marilyn Rondeau, (...)
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