Heroes Adrift by Moira J. Moore
Prince of Magic, Swords & Fire (3 books) by Linda Winstead Jones
Lucky's Woman by Linda Winstead Jones
Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson
Goddess of Love by P.C. Cast
Storm Front (Harry Dresden Files, 1) by Jim Butcher
Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
I REALLY need to restrict myself so that when I finish a book I write about it.
Since I just finished the 'Prince' Trilogy by Linda Winstead Jones I guess I'll jot that down before my need to read overwhelms me yet again.
The Prince of Magic was the first in this Trilogy that for some reason is called "The Children of the Sun Trilogy." Since the three main characters of these novels are the children of the Sun Witch, the Moon Witch and the Star Witch (from the Fyne Witches Trilogy, a name that makes perfect sense...) the name doesn't quite make sense to me.Reading these easy novels is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. There seems to be some small plot lurking somewhere and it has to do with the emergence of a demon that eats souls and has inhabited the body of Emperor Arik's son Ciro. Ariana, Sophie Fyne Varden's firstborn, is a witch who has been working in the palace at Arthes to help heal the Emperor who has been dying since his son disappeared (when he was taken by the Isen Demon).
Sian (which is not a great name in my opinion) is a wizard who has the general ability to move things and make illusions. He enters the palace bearing a prophecy from his grandfather which has to do with the firstborn of three "fine" women which the Emperor (knowing the Fyne Sisters) is immediately able to translate to "Fyne." Ariana, being one of the firstborn of the prophecy seems too delicate to be of any use in the war to come so Sian takes it upon himself (stupid, arrogant man) to teach her to strengthen her magic and combat skills.
As any good guilty pleasure goes he falls irrevocably in love with her, risks his life to save her and in the end she saves him and maybe the world as they know it since she is one of the few who can weaken the Isen Demon that threatens them. It was my least favorite of the books I think but then I had trouble finding Sian's character to be likable. Perhaps it was the odd illustration on the cover or her description of his too large nose. Maybe it was his spiky, snarly personality that seemed completely undeserved. I have no problem with a tortured hero but he didn't really have the past to justify his snarky behavior.
This second book by Linda Winstead Jones in the 'Prince Trilogy' or 'Children of the Sun Trilogy' was by far my favorite. In Prince of Fire the plot from Prince of Magic continues but is now focused on Keelia, the daugher of the Queen Mother of the Anwyn Juliet Fyne and Queen of the Anywn in her own right. As the Red Queen that was prophesied about a long time ago (in the Fyne Sisters Trilogy) Keelia is supposed to take a Caradon lover (a species that is different from her own in that on the full moon they turn into panther-like cats and not wolf-type creatures like the Anwyn) and unite their peoples. Keelia doesn't see this a likely possiblity since her people are already at peace. Even though Keelia is a psychic she just didn't see him coming. Literally.Joryn is Caradon (naturally) and has gifts and talents of his own. Aside from the panther he can shift into at the full moon, Joryn commands fire that can open the spirtual doors between worlds (and make normal campfires I suppose). Joryn kidnaps the Anywn Red Queen and holds her prisoner for several days as he tries to determine why she would have put a curse on his people that when bitten cause them to turn into soul-less half beasts at the full moon, unable to shift fully into man or panther. Keelia is suprised by his assumption that she has cursed his people and steadfastly denies any such power. After days of watching her Joryn has to agree that she is incapable of such maliciousness even if their separate species have been unfriendly in the past.
After a time it becomes necessary to move on and face the real perpetrator of the curse on his people and Keelia is determined to help him. They strike an uneasy truce; a partnership and they have a hard time keeping their hands off of each other. After awhile Keelia tries to convince Joryn that they are mates because all the signs are there. He adamantly denies any such assumption (stupid, stubborn man).
Unknowningly Keelia has a part to play in the firstborn prophecy and must betray love for victory. She is kidnapped (again! You would think being psychic would really cut down on her odds of getting captured in plain sight) and taken to the wizard responsible for the Caradon curse. The wizard wants to take her for his wife and create with her a baby according to the will of the Isen Demon. Joryn immediately goes after her but is himself captured when Keelia reveals to the wizard his exact location and when he would be resting. When Joryn is brought to her, he can see that she is not herself and that her will has been sapped by a talisman so all the hurtful things she says to him can be dismissed as she wasn't in her right mind etc. Of course it all works out in the end for Joryn and Keelia but Ciro and the Isen Demon are not defeated yet and there is one more person left to fulfill the prophecy and put an end to the fighting.
I really loved how absolutely stubborn these two characters were. Keelia is imperious and absolutely used to getting her own way without being frail or delicate or clingy. Joryn is addicted to the freedom he thinks he has and spurns her requests at every opportunity until he can't deny what they both want. One part I found particularly amusing was when Keelia demanded sex and Joryn being completely bull-headed turned her down because of her wording of the demand which was more like an imperial decree. Lol, no one ever said these were based off of reality...
In the last novel of the 'Prince' series the Prince of Swords, Lyr Hern, son of Isadora Fyne knows full well the trouble he is getting into when he travels from his home in Trynfyn (a different country) to assist his cousins in war against the Isen Demon. He knows that he is part of the firstborn prophecy and that he must find the Crystal Dagger in order to defeat Ciro and reclaim peace for the land. He is an honourable man who has earned his position in the Circle of Bacwyr as Prince of Swords and never uses his ability to stop time without just cause.What he didn't know was that finding the Crystal Dagger meant finding Rayne, the daughter of the wizard Fynnian who made brief appearances in the first two books as the woman that Ciro "loved" and planned to marry and impregnate. As a woman that was pure in body, heart and soul this apparently made her the perfect carrier of his child. This scared the socks off of Rayne (as it should) and so when Lyr rescued her from the prison of her own home she gladly gave him the Crystal Dagger that her mother had fashioned and made him take her to a safe location.
Lyr didn't want a complication like Rayne added to his little warrior party and was pretty much determined to leave her at the first stop they made until he discovered Ciro's plans for her and her white soul. Knowing that having a child by Ciro would be worse than death Lyr tried to convince himself to kill her outright but couldn't make himself take that dishonourable action especially as she was so innocent of any crime. Rayne did try to sully her soul with cursing (which was amusing) before deciding that a sin like lust and covetousness would do just fine. She decided that maybe if she wasn't a virgin (pure of body) that Ciro might not want her anymore. After an interestingly straightforward conversation about her own deflowering, Lyr comes to her room to fix that oversight.
This seems to unleash some of Rayne's own magic which has to do with the Earth and growing things. Before long Lyr and Rayne find out that Rayne is an Earth Goddess incarnate and has the power to manipulate vegatation, rocks and water. This proves to be a useful gift in the end. With the crystal dagger and some illusory magic Lyr is able to get close enough to defeat the Isen Demon and Ciro before anything truly dark happens. But the story is not over as Lyr still has to prove his love to Rayne and the true heir needs to be crowned Emperor.
This was my second favorite novel mostly due to Rayne. She was an interesting enough character but I still liked Lyr better. At times Rayne seemed passive and fragile - not as strong as the other female characters even though she was supposedly an Earth Goddess. It was also a bit unresolved with some of the other characters but one can assume Ms. Winstead Jones is setting herself up for another interesting trilogy.
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