The Wizard of Seattle

Rating:
Summary: Magically delicious!
Review: I enjoyed this story very much. It kept me reading on to find out the puzzles to their problems. One outstanding drawback for me was Serena's story background. I felt it needed more telling. We learn about his background and parents but nothing of hers except a few comments. Apart from that, the different twists and personalities make for good reading. I enjoyed the history and on going relationship Merlin and Serena had between them. I thought they complimented each other very well. In fact, I think the repartees in this story were excellent! I enjoyed her "unusual" experience that changes her view of him, adding humor and more spice to the relationship. The fact that Merlin was older (10 yrs.) didn't bother me and I thought his personality as a young Master Wizard & guardian, discovering he had latent feelings, comical. Wizards being raised in a scholarly and distant fashion for millenniums, having an important human element bred out of them, not lost but unused and dormant. In the trip to the past to attempt to repair the problems of the present, the countryside descriptions were a little too bazaar but the Curtain was very sinister and added uncertain danger. The strangeness of a split and dying society with the added element of the second romance was good, rushed but good. The story is about finding the missing element, that vital element that brings us together beyond sex and I found it touching.
However, I think this would have been just as good a story without the hero and heroine being so strikingly beautiful and might have even added a little more interest to it. I am a little tired of them always being so perfect but with problems. So, ...although I think this an enjoyable read, I give it 4 stars and look forward to reading the next Kay Hooper story.

Rating:
Summary: One of Kay Hoopers best
Review: I looked at the book because I saw It was Kay Hooper already one of my favorite writers. The title screamed time-travel so I bought it when I started reading I could not put it down. From the first when the Orphan Serena knocks on Merlins door I was Captivated by them both.liked that they did the time-travel with a reason and together it was like a mystery, romance & sci-fi together Serena's spirit and Richards caring enough to risk everything on a chance to fix something made wrong a very long time before he was born. So they can stay together. I have reread it so much I had to get another copy. When I finished reading it I menttioned it to my friend he borrowed it and also liked it and loaned it to a friend who also really liked it. It took awhile to get it back. liked that they did the time travel on purpose and together

Rating:
Summary: Good Book.
Review: I really enjoyed this book. The ending was a little anticlimatic, and I was left wondering at how little initiative the female wizards took towards changing their situation. Hooper leaves them a little dry, skips over them, as she continues the story. Although there were a few little things, this book was an enjoyable read, and when you think about all the time and imagination going into writing an entire novel, you can definately cut her some slack! Good job! I hope we get a story about Kerry, when she's older!

Rating:
Summary: Cute but Stereotypical
Review: I took the book on a camping trip because I figured it was thick enough to keep me occupied for a day, but still light enough that I could enjoy it. It didn't disappoint, it's an easy read that's enjoyable, but you end up wading through many stereotypes and clichés in the book.

The heroine, Serena, is a red-headed, green-eyed, fiery orphan that found her way across the US at the age of 16 and ends up on the doorstep of a powerful master wizard, aptly named Richard Merlin. Against his better judgment (and Wizard law), he takes her in and teaches her, claiming she is his niece. They keep up this guise for years, until Serena slips up around a journalist who then uses his national column to raise questions about Merlin. This attracts the notice of the council of wizards, who tell him to remove her powers or they'll do it for him since teaching a female the wizard's arts is forbidden. Merlin returns to Seattle and tries to find out why female wizards are forbidden. He finds out the answer lies in Atlantis, and he and Serena embark on a journey there to try and reverse history to save her.

The plot has a few twists, like the issues Atlantis (called Atlantia) faces with the power struggle between witches. most of the book is pretty straightforward though. The clichés and stereotypes don't really grate on you, and for a romance and sci-fi novel, this does pretty well. I only give it three stars because the stereotypes really stood out to me, the red heads with fiery tempers, love that one or both people don't realize, extremely powerful people taking in urchins off the street, tying Atlantis in with magic users, and journalists being the ones to raise issues. Many sci-fi and romance novels are driven by one or more of these clichés, but when you gather so many together in one book they tend to really stand out.

Rating:
Summary: I wouldn't say this was a "keeper"
Review: I'm currently going through my TBR (to be read)pile and this one has been staring at me in the face for years now. Since I just finished reading "Forever" by Jude Deveraux, which had a similiar subject matter, I figured because it's so close to Halloween I would continue on this genre.

This book is a Time Travel, although you couldn't tell this from the excerpts and brief description on the back of the book. The Hero is quite a bit older than the heroine (Serena)so if you have a problem with a almost 10 year age gap this might not be your cup of tea. The Heroine is quite mature for her age and she is developing her "Wizard" skills under the tutelage of Richard Merlin who we find out was forbidden to teach a female the art of Wizardry (sp) they have to go back into time to try and "fix" and/or discover whatever caused the reason for this rule, in order for Serena to survive.

This book was.... "weird" if you can find it for a reasonable price I say go for it, if only to add to your collection of Kay Hoopers books. This is one of her earlier ones and is not a reflection of her writing skills today. I found it to be weird because the whole "curtain" thing was never really explained thoroughly enough for me... and the whole idea that raping a Female Wizard was a way to gain her powers was a bit ridiculous and bad taste for a story line yes, I know this is fiction but I still had a problem with that.

Maybe it was me that I was thoroughly confused about the War between the Female Wizards and the Male Wizards, then the ending was a little strange too. Anyhoo the gist of this review is if you can obtain it from your local library first, or happen upon it at a Yard/Garage Sale then sure get it but I don't know there are a lot more books out there now in this genre that are more of a fulfilling read.

Respectfully Reviewed

Rating:
Summary: Unexpected Twists in Character & Story At Every Turn
Review: I've been a fan of Kay Hooper's storytelling since discovering her via my Loveswept subscription. I don't care for thrillers, so I was pleased to find some recent work of hers outside that genre.

The cover blurb, etc., does not really prepare you for the story. It is not so much about two people drawn over the bounds in modern Seattle as an exploration of the past. The major and most important part of the book is a trip by the lead characters into ancient days in order to try to change the world into which they were born to make the heroine's survival possible. The greater journey, though, is into the heart and mind of the hero as he discovers that it is not an ancient law but a long-cultivated flaw in wizards that is the true barrier in their romance.

Character is all in romances, and in this one you get a dandy assortment, complete with a secondary romance couple and even major antagonists you can come to understand (if still dislike). On top of this, add a charming visualization of magic and perfect atmosphere in the exotic sections where the implications of the culture are well followed-out. Combined with Kay Hooper's storytelling and pace and a hero and heroine whose obstacles are not in the least contrived (none of this "one sensible question would solve everything" stuff), you are in for a fine read. I meant to stretch this out, but wound up gobbling it up the first evening.

Why only four stars, then? Say I'm being mean because I expect a great deal from an author with this much talent. The characters are somewhat stereotyped, a common failing of the genre. I don't know if the heroine is rash because she's redheaded or redheaded because she's rash, but I'm tired of hair color and personality being so tied together. I'm also way tired of blue-eyed blondes and green-eyed redheads. Every natural redhead I've known had usually brown or occasionally blue eyes. The only green eyes I've seen were on brunettes. But when was the last time you read a redheaded heroine in a romance who didn't have green eyes?

The ending, I'm sure, will not be quite what you expect, either in Seattle or out of it. It's worth the money: indulge yourself in a good read.

Rating:
Summary: A Master Wizard, An Apprentice - A Forbidden Love!!
Review: The Wizard of Seattle by Kay Hopper is an OUTSTANDING romance. I could not put this book down. I was rivetted by the main characters and how expertly Ms. Hooper fans their growing attraction into an deep abiding love. This was such a wonderful romance . . .

Richard Patrick Merlin is a wizard. Not just any wizard but a tenth degree wizard. He possesses an unimaginable power which draws a young Serena Smyth across the country in search of . . . him.

Serena "feels" the powers that lurk within her and is very determined to become a wizard. She never images how hard it would be to remain indifferent to Merlin's seductive handsomeness and power. In return, she has no knowledge of the powerful hunger she stirs within him as she blossoms into a beautiful woman. Beneath his calm facade, he longs for Serena, desires her with a growing hunger that is becoming harder and harder to control. Even as he is drawn to her, there is a part of himself that warns him of . . . danger. As if Serena somehow poses a threat to him!

There is an ancient law that strictly forbids a wizard to take a woman of power as his apprentice. From that first fateful day when she had stood before him, he sensed her untapped powers and was unable to turn her away.

Merlin believes that such a law is senseless and continues to teach Serena. He teaches her secretly without the knowledge of the Council of Elders. He is an excellant teacher, patient and gentle and he encourages Serena to develop and control the power that lurks deep within.

Now the knowledge of his teachings are no longer a secret. There are consequences for disobeying this law. Consequences that will destroy Serena if he should obey. Unexpectedly, fate might have given him the answer out of this dilemna.

He finds a very old ancient writing, describing in detail, the horrible destruction of Atlantis. This eyewitness was a wizard who warned that such terrible destruction could happen again. Merlin knows that there were some wizards living amongst the powerless there yet all details of Atlantis are sketchy. What really did happen to compell another wizard to write such an omnious warning???? A warning so foreboding that is still affects the wizards of this day and age!!

Merlin and Serena risk their very lives in a desperate bid to unravel the mystery surrounding this ancient law. They travel back in time, to the lost continent of Atlantis, hoping to change history.

Yet, there is a danger in tampering with history for it alters the future as you know it . . .

I LOVED this entire book. I absolutely loved the way Serena and Merlin fought for their love even when the odds were so clearly stacked against them. The interaction between the two characters were perfect. As the reader, you felt the intensity of their feelings as they tried so hard to deny them. Merlin, an omni-powerful wizard risks all he is, all he has been taught to claim a love none of his kind have ever know.

Also, there are a special pair of secondary characters which I grew to love. I could have read another hundred pages!!

AH - - - - - What a BEAUTIFUL, incredible lovestory!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Wizards and Love - What a great combination!
Review: This is the first book I have read by Kay Hooper, although I love fantasy and romance - together and separate. I really enjoyed this book. Very unique and thought-provoking. I couldn't stop thinking about it even after I finished it. The plot was fairly complex and I really liked the hero and heroine. Mostly what got me was that the conflict between male and female wizards was very unique and yet still very believeable. I have not read any other books that approached magic and power in this way. Definitely recommended reading!

Now I've got to find more of Kay Hooper's books!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Great read!
Review: This is the first book I've read by Ms. Hooper but it will not be my last. I loved it. Entertaining and fast-paced. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Story!
Review: This was a fascinating look at magic, and the secret of Atlantis (as imagined by Kay Hooper)...this author is amazing in everything she writes & I have recommended this book to many people!