Review: Sons of Destiny Books 2 and 3

Title: The Wolf

Author: Jean Johnson

Published: April 2007

Genre: Romance, Fantasy

Stand Alone/Series: Book 2 of Sons of Destiny

From the Author Site: Eight brothers, born in four sets of twins, two years apart to the day-they fulfill the Curse of Eight Prophecy. To avoid tempting their destiny, the brothers are exiled to Nightfall Island, where women are forbidden. When a childhood friend seeks refuge among the brothers, it triggers a confrontation with their mysterious enemy.

Alys arrives desperate and afraid, but welcomed by Wolfer, the second-born brother who harbors deep feelings for Alys. But she harbors a secret: her own uncle is tormenting the exiled brothers, and seeks to kill them to secure their ancestral inheritance for himself.

Confessing her uncle's plan to the brothers puts them at even greater risk, for their resistance against the evil mage has stirred his wrath. Alys fears her uncle is determined this time to exterminate the brothers once and for all-destroying the star-crossed lovers as well.

Review: I enjoyed this second installment in the Sons of Destiny series. Alys is a bit timid, but that's understandable since she had to make her uncle believe that she had no backbone. She had been trapped and forced to help her evil uncle Broger of Devries, and current Count Pro Tem of Corvis, by caring for the mage-created animals that had been used to plague the brothers. After faking her death, she joins the brothers on Nightfall Isle and with the help of Kelly, she soon finds herself able to stand up to adversity. Wolfer, other than having a laughable that makes me think of a name a child would name their stuffed animal, spends a lot of time growling, guess that goes with the name, though he did make a great stallion.

Once Wolfer decided that she was his, the love story became quite steamy. The continuing subplot of the story was well incorporated and smoothly transitioned from the previous book. More of the magic of the world is explained with sufficient detail, but didn't distract from the story as a whole. And the "curse" part of the prophecy was made clearer to me. Humor is well incorporated throughout the story making it a real pleasure to read.

Keeper?: Yes

Recommendation: Yes

Rating: 4 of 5


Title: The Master

Author: Jean Johnson

Published: September 2007

Genre: Romance, Fantasy

Stand Alone/Series: Book 3 of Sons of Destiny

From the Author Site: Eight brothers, born in four sets of twins, two years apart to the day-they fulfill the Curse of Eight Prophecy. To avoid tempting their destiny, the brothers are exiled to the Isle of Nightfall, where women are forbidden. But when the abducted third-born brother is taken by a powerful and beautiful mage, he wonders if she is his own Prophesied Disaster, his foretold wife-to-be.

Kidnapped from the Isle of Nightfall, taken captive by slavers, Dominor is sold to a lovely mage, who promises freedom. But Lady Serina has plans for him; she needs another powerful mage to re-enact a mating ritual, to help reverse a Tantric spell cast centuries ago. Agreeing to help her, Dominor doesn’t suspect the secret she holds back from him: there is more to this magical mating than the Arithmancer has revealed.

Once the ritual is complete, he will be returned to Nightfall. But when that secret finally shatters, baring the truth behind the misunderstandings now separating them, Dominor is determined to retake possession of the woman who is his Destiny.

Review: Still enjoying the series, and this next installment was great. Arrogant Dominor, who was abducted by the women hating Mandarites at the end of The Sword, gets more indignities heaped on him when the Mandarite ship is taken by a Natallian warship and then sold in a slave market. He is bought and oath-bound by Arithmancer and Font Guardian Serina to help in a Tantric spell. So the relationship is steamy from the start. When he realizes that Serina needs a master to keep her life balanced, since she often forgets the mundane things in life like eating and sleeping in favor of her work, he knew she was for him. Dominor is definitely a competitor and loves to beat his brothers in any contest but is also willing the see that he is not the best in everything and willing to admit that Serina is smarter than he is and admires her for it.

I have really been enjoying the uniqueness in the heroines in this series. The first two were physically virgins, but educated in the art of loving making. One by being of our world and one by education by a prostitute. This heroine is not only not a virgin but has a very healthy appetite for sex. Each heroine was unique and their personalities continue to be well expressed throughout this series.

More of the world's magic and general history is explained as well as the Curse of Nightfall, not to be confused with the Curse of the Sons of Destiny. We also get to see more of the night-loving brother Rydan and his secrets. Humor is again a great part of the story and is well incorporated making the book fun to read.

Keeper?: Yes

Recommendation: Yes

Rating: 4.5