Mackenzie's Magic by Debra Dier

The present day in this book is some time in the 1800s. Dominic Stanbridge is a titled rake who desires plain Jane. He is drawn to her because of her disinterest. He thinks she is just playing at being disinterested because he’s wealthy, titled, handsome & quite the ladies’ man. He can’t help but be intrigued. He manages to manipulate circumstances so that he wins Jane in marriage. He’s intelligent so he makes a bargain w/ Jane – If he can’t get Jane to consummate the marriage within 6 months, he’ll give her an annulment. If that would have been what the whole book was about I would have been happy because I like the set up and they seem like interesting characters. I was thinking of Devil In Winter by Lisa Kleypas – and Dominic reminded me a little of Sebastian. However that’s not what the story is about. At some point Dominic takes a knock on the head. That night the magical being Aisling comes to him and speaks of his destiny. When Jane next encounters who she believes is Dominic Stanbridge, Marquess of Lancaster (it’s like Freaky Friday – inside the person is different than the outward person, so it looks like Dominic) who she really has is Colin MacKenzie , a Scottish earl who lived 300 years before. This story is a really good story – probably as good as the story that never was. The sparks fly between Jane & Colin and they like each other as well as being attracted to each other. Throughout the book Jane fears that it’s not real and any minute the reality will be that Dominic recovers his memory and Colin will be no more. At the end of the book, the author has a note saying “Was Colin transported 300 years to meet his destiny, or did a bump on the head alter Dominic for the better? I will let you be the final judge.” I don’t want to spoil it for anyone but there are enough things thrown in the story to make you believe that Dominic & Colin did switch souls – each of them were meant for another time and place. So there is one actual story and 2 potential stories with this book. I would love to have also read the story of Dominic’s trip back to ancient Scotland, but sadly I don’t think the author ever writes about it with another book.