Hi... I just borrowed this book-- "Stronger Than Magic" in the Library. I usually just pick up books without knowing the author. I'm so happy I picked up "Stronger Than Magic." Now, I can't forget Heather Cullman--a fantastic writer. I'm just fourteen years old but I've been reading since I was nine and I'm fond of reading romantic novel and I'm telling you... Stronger Than Magic will make your heart ache. Alys and Lucian (also called Lucan) are really in love. I liked the way Heather portrayed Lucian... first as a hateful man who doesn't know how to love... but when Alys (a fairy) should find him his true love... she can't help falling in love with him. Alys sacrificed her life just to keep Lucian alive. It really saddened my heart when I thought Lucian is going to die because Alys is gone. It's hard to explain the story but it was really worth reading. This is one of my favorite books and I hope you read it!!

This book is the beessstt.It has everything you will ever want in a romance novel.The love between the hero/heroine is totally magical.If you don't believe in magic and healing, then this book will change your mind.If you are looking for devotion,healing,and compassionate hero/heroine,STRONG THAN MAGIC has everything and much much more. I recommend STM for anyone who are looking for true love and magic in their romance.FYI-THIS NOVEL HAS NO VIOLENC,NO RAPE,AND NO UNFAITHFUL H/H.

This is a truly superb tour de force. When I finished the book I was crying happy tears for the two wonderful, wonderful people in this book.

There's magic in our pseudo-faerie heroine and her faerie-folk sidekick. A Cinderella story. A funny reversed My Fair Lady story, with our heroine teaching our hero to love and *feel* things. And oh, these aspects gel in lyrical, beautiful writing. OK, I admit Miss Cullman is no Kinsale or Putney or Ivory, but I know this book is a keeper when the goodbye scenes made me cry. This book is special. It makes me believe in magic.

This book is funny and sexy--everything the perfect romance should be! Jake and Hallie have a real chemistry, and the mystery element is delightful. A stellar read!

Interesting plot... but the characters and story weren't very well taken off of. The ending was a bit rushed, I only wished it lived up to the summary. I just love books where the female is in trouble and her identity is hidden. Although, more sexual tensions!

What I liked the best was this cover, I avoid buying books with a woman draped on a half-naked man.

I picked up this book out of the blue, and throughly enjoyed it. However, I enjoyed its hard to find sequel, Quentin's story - "A Perfect Scoundrel" even more - get your hands on it while you can.

Few authors do humor and romance well. Heather Cullman is one of them. After reading this, I went searching for the rest of her books.

The very wealthy Gideon Harwood returned to England after an absence of close to ten years. He had been forcibly taken from England; pressed into the navy; later escaped and vowed to not return until he had the means to make a better life for his mother and siblings. Upon his return, it was to find his younger brother missing, mother dead, and both his sister's in dire circumstances trying to survive. While searching for his brother, Gideon accidentally discovered a secret of one of the leading members of the ton, Lord Stanwell. Thinking Gideon would ruin him, Stanwell offered him acceptance into society by offering him his daughter's hand in marriage. Gideon never thought to marry, nor was he overly impressed with the Lady Julia, Stanwell's daughter - but the thought of having his dear sisters accepted by society with the chance of making advantageous marriages convinced him that he would accept the offer only upon the condition that Lady Julia convince the ton that it was a love match.

Lord Stanwell, being an unscrupulous rat, convinced Julia that Gideon was a dishonorable cheat but that she 'must' marry this commoner for the sake of her family who would be ruined and destitute by Gideon if she refused him. Julia believing the lies told to her by her father would do as he asked - for the sake of her siblings. She would play the part of the love sick Miss in front of the ton, but in private she would trade insults and show her disdain for Gideon. She knew she should hate him, but horror of horrors, why did he have to be so handsome and nice!

This was an engaging and intelligent regency romance - although if there had been a bit more romance and a little less antagonism between our two main protagonists I would have rated this higher as the sensuality was very well written and expressed. The plot was quite interesting; I thoroughly enjoyed the little tidbits of history with regard to the telling of the young ladies 'snail game'. The numerous secondary characters were very interesting and I heartily look forward to and hope for sequels that will tell us who Gideon's friend Christian really is as well as a possible story for his hoyden sister 'Bliss'. This is a book I do recommend with some very inspiring dialog - for some very cleverly worded insults - very enjoyable

Greed for a greater fortune kept Gideon Harwood toiling beneath the hot Indian sun long after he should have set sail for England and been reunited with his siblings. Wealth is naught but an empty husk without a family to share it with, after all -- and such was Gideon's ultimate goal: to provide financial security for Bethany, Bliss and his brother Caleb. He has returned to England too late, however, to protect his family from poverty's greedy grasp, and the desperate decisions one must make when confronted by so hopeless a situation.

His sisters' innocence has been lost, and his brother has disappeared into the ether, leaving scant clues behind him. Gideon's guilt over this situation is nearly unbearable, and will drive him to make a deal with the devil, his honor be damned! Revisiting the village of his birth (in search of clues regarding Caleb's disappearance) is the catalyst for the black events to follow. Gideon unwittingly discovers an ugly secret about Lord Stanwell, you see, an influential peer of the realm who has weighty ties to the ton.

In exchange for Gideon's silence, his lordship is willing to provide the wealthy commoner with entrée into London society, and thus, respectability -- something Gideon dearly craves for his beautiful sister, Bethany, who has suffered so much. To perpetuate this lie, however, Gideon must marry Lord Stanwell's daughter, Lady Julia, a milk and water miss who sets his teeth on edge. His tolerance for her missish airs is almost negligible, but there is a banked spark of mischief in Julia's fine brandy eyes, and a kindness to her gaze that bodes well for the treatment of his younger siblings.

Heather Cullman's descriptive prose weaves a tangled web in this spirited historical romance, where lies, half-truths and misconceptions muddy an already muddled courtship, and put the hero and heroine on the defensive. Attraction is a mighty force, however: Scandal is a love story that gradually evolves out of a series of awkward, messy and unfortunate misunderstandings that are only worsened by a lack of communication and the interference of well-meaning -- and yes, selfishly absorbed -- third parties.

Although they have much in common, Gideon and Julia are initially blind to these shared traits, preferring to nurse their individual feelings of frustration and helplessness. Love for one's family can motivate one to act in a wholly uncharacteristic way, and in essence, sacrifice one's own happiness and future well being. Unfortunately, snap judgments are all too easily formed from such touchy and regrettably irritable behavior. So instead of seeing the parallels in their situations for what they truly are, they see an enemy to vanquish, a marriage to endure, a martyrdom to embrace...And standing between Gideon, Julia and that all important moment of epiphany is a mountain of pride, and the rippling undercurrents of a scandalous secret.

Yes, their floundering relationship is shaky and tempestuous at times, but once reconciliatory steps are taken -- and the hero and heroine's blinders are removed -- readers' bones will melt into a limpid pool. But is this a case of too little, too late? Ms. Cullman's characterizations are aloof and splendidly arrogant by degrees, but such high and mighty mannerisms are naught but a smoke screen. Look beyond it and you'll find vibrant, likeable characters aching for love, acceptance, stability and the warmth of home and hearth. All frivolous frustrations aside, Scandal is a romance novel confident of its path, plot and meaning, and positively shimmers with a delicious self-awareness.

Reviewed by C.L. Jeffries

SCANDAL is the first book by Heather Cullman I have read and I was delighted to receive this advanced reading copy with a beautiful pink bow encasing the papers. After reading this story, I truly feel as if I was given a gift.
Rich in history and culture of late 18th Century England, I found myself immersed and completely enraptured by this story. This regency romance, supported by brilliant characterizations and characters motivated by the love of their siblings, is both believable and captivating.

Gideon Harwood, a commoner who has recently returned from India as a self-made wealthy man is in search of his lost brother. Discovering a secret about London's most influential aristocrats, Lord Stanwell, he finds himself bribed for his silence. Desiring proper acceptance and social standing for his siblings, Gideon finds himself engaged to Lord Stanwell's very proper daughter, Lady Julia. Lady Julia, having no say in the matter, is told she must make it appear a love match for Gideon Harwood to truly be accepted into society.

Proper society and rigid social etiquette gives way to a lusty and passionate love affair. Prepare yourself to fall in love with this wonderful story by Ms. Cullman. I look forward to reading more of her books, and feel Ms. Cullman is a true star of the historical romance genre, capturing all elements necessary to make it a wonderful experience for the reader.

If you've ever read Heather Cullman you know what great characters she creates and she doesn't disappoint us with this book.

Her characterizations are the highlight of A Perfect Scoundrel. She puts her hero and heroine in truly unique situations and you can't help but wonder how they're going to get out of this one. The heroine's naivete adds a splash of humor to not so funny situations. Poor Quinn! But by the end you can feel how deeply these characters love one another and how truly devastated they are during the black moment.

Heather offers us another great story in the tradition of her first and my favorite novel, Yesterday's Roses.

I read a review for this book when it was first published a year or so ago. The review was great, but I didn't read the book because I usually don't like plain Jane stories where the heroine's kindness outshines her lack of beauty so on and so forth. I picked up this book not remebering the review or the reason I didn't read it when it was first released. When I was far enough into the book to remeber,it was too late, I was hooked.
I loved the heroine Jane especially. She took a bad situation and made the best of it. As intended, the Hero was hard to like at first. The wonderful thing about Heather Cullman's books is that she can take a less then perfect person and make them into a hero or heroine. The transformation for me was very believable.
This was a great book with a great love story.

This is even better than "For All Eternity", to which it is a sequel. The characters (Nicholas' brother Quentin)and his undesired wife, Jane, are complex and enjoyable.

When I read the back of this novel, it sounded like a very interesting story: a man who's stricken down with seizures has to fight through the humiliation and self-hatred to find love. While that's in there, it is obscured by the book's problems.

First, the book takes much too long to get things going. They don't even come face to face until page 61, and they spend the first MONTH of their marriage without speaking to each other. On page 116, he finally decides to go get acquainted with his wife. Well, it's about time!!!

Its biggest problem, however, is that the plot does not mix fantasy in very well. The plot is very serious and realistic, then all of the sudden elves and fairies are dancing around as the heroine takes a trip to get some herbs. It's jarring and I found myself annoyed and speed-reading over the parts where the heroine visits the local "go-between" and meets her friend the magical goat. (This goat, by the way, is apparently a cursed ladies' man. Despite this explanation, it still made me uncomfortable when the heroine told her husband that the goat looks at her like he's imagining having ...with her!)

This not-so-well-done fantasy element reaches its ultimate ridiculousness when they go to break the curse by summoning a spirit, who zaps them with lightning bolts to test their love.

Frankly, if this whole bizarre "curse" aspect had been lifted from the book, it would've been much better. The author seems to have two tales in mind: one an complex, emotional story of a woman bring a man out of the hell he suffers as a result of his brain fevers, both physically and mentally. The other is a fanciful fairy story about conjuring up spells and wearing protective amulets etc. The two simply don't work together here, and it brings down the whole book.

One thing I did like was the "cure" for Michael's seizures. Too bad that doesn't happen until practically the last page. Still, I will give the author her due, that was well-done.

Heather Cullman creates an imaginative, romantic tale that breaks the most common plot lines in BETWITCHED. Rather than relying on an action driven plot, a miscommunication, or lust, Cullman presents a heart touching tale of friendship that evolves into love, thereby deeply touching the reader's emotions.

Michael Dane, Duke of Sherrington and once a favorite member of the ton, now lives sequestered in a gloomy and dismal former abbey surrounded by fierce gargoyles and ominous noises. Members of society believe he is mad because he suffered humiliating seizures in their highbrow presence. After several years of isolation, Michael's grandmother and her best friend determine to bring happiness into his life again. They threaten the loss of his dukedom and banishment to an institution if he refuses a marriage of convenience.

Freshly arrived from Boston, Emily Merriman's father's dying wish was to see her married. A terrible curse has already resulted in the breaking of three engagements, leaving Emily determined to remain forever single. Despite Emily's vow to remain single, however, her grandmother complies with her deceased son's wish, and arranges the marriage to Michael. After meeting Michael and assuming that he's only marrying her for an heir, Emily reluctantly agrees because she wants children. Emily fears falling in love with her husband, however, for the curse promises to make her "a plague to any man she loves." She only believes Michael will be safe from the curse because their marriage is not meant to be a love match.

Michael differs from any many Emily has ever known because he listens, really listens, to her. His refreshing, careful attention values her intellect rather than pretending to hang onto her worlds with banal pleasantries. Michael was once rather shallow, as he wanted nothing more than momentary pleasure and to keep up with the vapid ton. His rejection from society has allowed him introflection. Emily's presence inspires a desire different from that which he's known while a member of the ton. There he freely partook of the sexual favors of the flirtatious and daring. Emily touches not just his libido, but also his heart. She makes Michael want to share once again in the joy of living, in simple games and pleasures, in laughter and her vivaciousness. Indeed, just the sight of Emily stirs sensual feelings that Michael hasn't felt in several years. Sadly, his treatments have insured that he cannot perform any longer. And frustration that he can no longer perform occasionally leads to abominable behavior toward Emily. Consequently, their wedding day and subsequent time together lacks the promise and joy to which its entitled. Instead, their wedding day only seems to be the beginning of a lifetime of broken dreams and emptiness.

Lovely, impertinent Emily has a marvelous hobby that mirrors her flights of imagination. She creates kites; elaborate affairs complete with drawings of angels and details of feathers. Flying kites gives her the opportunity to think and a way to deal with difficult emotions. Just because she had not expected to find love in this match does not mean that she did not expect to be wanted. Although their marriage begins with great difficulty, soon Emily's good-natured enthusiasm for life affects Michael. When Emily discovers the truth about Michael's epileptic-like fits and witnesses the results of his "cures," she puts her practical nursing knowledge to work, bringing him tremendous relief. Michael becomes devoted to Emily and comes to treasure her friendship. Slowly their easy friendship develops into a love that has the potential to destroy them both.

BEWITCHED touches all the right romantic elements for a great love story. Although Michael initially presents himself to be a self-pitying jerk, sympathy builds for his character as the story progresses. Michael's self-centeredness soon gives way to growth under Emily's spell. The progression of the plot allows tremendous opportunity for appreciation and growth, making him a powerful and entrancing character. Emily's vivacious love for life sees beyond Michael's wasted body and angry facade to the kind, and nurtures the vulnerable man beneath. Her kindness and love are the catalyst that pulls Michael out of his destructive cycle. Their love is strong, true, and beautifully portrayed. Further, rather than allowing the tiresome plot device of miscommunication divide these characters, they always talk things through, bearing their vulnerabilities and risking embarrassment and hurt. The result is a convincing plot filled with genuine love.

Unfortunately, several pesky details hold BEWITCHED back from its potential. A fascinating secondary character named Rebecca gives Emily the encouragement and magical knowledge to solve many troubles. Yet Rebecca's own history remains dismally shadowed, only revealing that this daughter of a high-ranking family of the ton has magical powers and is the "go-between" between the fairy realm and the human realm. But no concrete reason for her presence on the moors is clearly stated, only hinted; yet her role is pivotal to the story. Although hints suggest that a sequel starring Rebecca may be forthcoming, more information now would make the novel more plausible for the critical reader. Nevertheless, BEWITCHED is an enchanting novel that comes highly recommended.

Heather Cullman has become my all time favorite author. Her characters jump right off the page and into your heart. This book is no exception. Read it. You won't be sorry!!!

This is the first book that I have read from this author. The first half of the story was actually enjoyable. However, the second half was just agony to read. There were just too many twist and turns that weren't developed well.

My main problem was the characters. I couldn't identify with the female character at all. Penelope Parrish goes against what I believe a female character should be: strong, smart, and believable.... I think Penelope feel to easily into Seth's charm.