Review: The Flame

Title: The Flame

Author: Jean Johnson

Published: December 2008

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Stand Alone/Series: Sons of Destiny #7 (see author site for complete list)

From the Author Site: Koranen of Nightfall is tired of the Curse—in his case, a destructive flame that courses beneath his flesh. His brothers have wives and lovers, but all Koranen has are blistering reminders of a touch that burns…unless he can find a woman able to endure the literal heat of his passion. Then the Aquamancers arrive, at last affording Koranen the chance to find his Destined Bride.

Ostracized for being too good at her job, Danau is resigned to her punishment: never knowing love. But fire and water always create steam, and things do get steamy as Danau and Koranen gradually realize they were meant for each other—even as Nightfall’s future becomes flooded with more trouble than either of them could have imagined.

Hero: Koranen aka the Flame, Pyromancer extraordinaire. Poor, frustrated, virgin brother number 7. He's quite literal, as well as figuratively, hot! Every time he gets excited he heats so that he burns everything around him. So he's never been able to cozy up to anyone, except his birthday gift from brother number 5, a magical blow-up doll and that was only on his latest birthday at that. But he gets his chance and, quite unlike the others, he's presented with choices but no hints as to which is his destined lady. I quite liked him.

Heroine: Danau, Aquamancer. Poor thing has exactly the opposite problem as Koranen (as if you couldn't have guessed), she freezes everything, and I do mean everything, when she get emotional. Talk about *ow*, frostbite on sensitive manly parts. The worst is everyone knows about it and most think less of her as a person because of it. A bit frosty but warms up to Koranen when he won't take "I don't date" for an answer.

Review: The book was a slow starter, at a beginning. Amusing but not something that grabbed me and kept me completely engrossed. Once the lead characters start getting together, about half way through the book, thing heat up (I know I'm keeping with the bad puns.. *g*). From that point on it was quite a good read. The story just sort of took off and I didn't make it to sleepy-time on time as I kept with the "just one more chapter" until the whole darn thing was read. *sigh*

Jean Johnson certainly building up to a huge climatic ending and we hope that she will deliver as she tosses in more and more problems as the storyline progresses. I will certainly be eagerly anticipating her last installment of the Sons of Destiny, The Mage, coming to us in April.

The storyline is kind of predictable as they have a Destiny to fulfill, but character just show up as they are needed/required. I guess it goes with the whole destiny-thing but its not very interesting. Some of the interesting luster of the series is fading. The romance is definitely the focus, but I keep wanting some unexpected twist or some unique solution, but alas it is all quite predictable. The one thing that keeps nagging at me is the desire that the other prophecy, only written in The Master, was also written somewhere in the book so that we could see those fulfillment as well since they have complete that one as well if they are to succeed in their bid for independence

Keeper?: Yes

Recommendation: Definitely need to read the other Sons of Destiny books in order. They build on each other and each takes the on-going storyline a bit further to what we hope will be a wonderfully dramatic climax in the last installment of the Sons of Destiny, The Mage.

Rating: 4