Unexpected Magic

A Romantic Fantasy Series

by Jude Knight

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Book 1 of Many Kinds of Magic

Pub Date Jun 16 2026 | Archive Date Jun 19 2026

Dragonblade Publishing

Historical Fiction | Romance | Sci Fi & Fantasy

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Description

Unexpected Magic is the first book in the series, Many Kinds of Magic. It is set in the Regency era of another universe—one in which magic is real and has never faded out of the world. And that changes the history of the United Kingdom and the time of the Napoleonic wars in ways both subtle and obvious. For some relevant touch points regarding the historical changes, see the author notes.

***

Jasper Thornton was just a child when his mage-gift first surfaced—a powerful gift that delighted his relatives and won him recognition as heir to the Duke of Findlater.

Twenty years on, he is still failing to live up to that early promise, his power still strong, but erratic and unfocused. Now the despair of his family and of the London College of Mages, he has been reduced to running errands for the duke and the Crown.

Cordelia Nettleford is the ordinary daughter of a couple with only sufficient magic to cling onto the fringes of the peerage. Her parents’ hopes and dreams are fully invested in their only son, her younger brother.

Everything changes when Delia wakes up one morning to find that a dragon has hatched out of a hen’s egg and eaten most of the flock. The following explosion of magical manifestations centered on Nettleford Manor includes the birth of a unicorn. Delia is selected as the unicorn’s maiden.

Sent to bring the unicorn and its maiden to London, Jasper discovers that Delia has one of the rarest gifts of all—and England’s enemies want her and her effect on others.

Falling in love with a lady set aside as the unicorn’s maiden is almost as futile as his unstable mage-gift, but he can’t seem to help himself. He is enchanted by her calm competence, her sense of duty, and her intelligence. He will just have to adore the lady from a distance and do everything he can to protect her.

Many Kinds of Magic

Book 1 - Unexpected Magic

Book 2 - Twisted Magic

Book 3 - Small Magic

Book 4 - Wild Magic

Book 5 - Forgotten Magic

Book 6 - Ordinary Magic

Book 7 - Dangerous Magic

Book 8 - Weird Magic

Book 9 - Dark Magic

Available Editions

EDITION	Ebook
ISBN	06052026UMJK1
PRICE	$2.99 (USD)

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Additional Information

Average rating from 23 members

Featured Reviews

Justina R, Reviewer

This was so fun!
The world was very creative, I enjoyed the magical creatures sprinkled throughout and totally fell in love with Delia and Jasper.
The story wasn't as romantasy as the summary lead me to believe, but this was so well written and the world was so interesting, I simply needed to know what happened!
Delia, a newly appointed unicorn maiden and Jasper, a guy with some magic who doesn't know how to use it. They come together on a unique journey in this world of dragons, sphinx, and unicorns. Jude Knight does this wonderful job of re-imagining the Regency era and combining it with magic in such a way that makes sense!
I really enjoyed how lady- centric this was! We got the warrior nuns? WARRIOR NUNS! and lots of very powerful mages are women!
Again this wasn't as romantic as I wanted. But this is the first of 9 books, so I'm hopeful as we go on it will build more and more. Still, cant wait to see what these characters do next and still a 5 star read!
Thanks to NetGalley and Dragonblade for the ARC, I really enjoyed it!

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Reviewer 367529

I was fascinated by this alternate world and fell in love with Jasper and Delia. I cannot wait to read the next book and hope it won’t be too long in coming!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Kadie L, Reviewer

I adored this book. I do like sweet, clean romance on occasion, and historical romance was my very first love when I began reading it in my tween years. Jude has an expressive way of writing that makes you ache for the characters and their childhood/adolescent wounds. I also loved the alternative history; it is incredibly well researched, and I gobbled up every word of the world-building afterword at the end. I loved the expansive vocabulary as well; I found several new words that I didn't know, and I highlighted many passages of prose that I found particularly well-written. All around lovely book!