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Fortunately, Adhemar's brother, the Prince Archmage Miach, may have a solution. In order to protect the kingdom until the king's magic is restored, they must find a wielder for the legendary Sword of Angesand. In the hands of the right person, the magical weapon has the power to fend off even the most determined of enemies.
Meanwhile, Morgan, a young woman raised by mercenaries, is tasked with delivering an ancient magical dagger to the king. Since her childhood, she has learned to hate and fear magic of all kinds, but now it may be the only way to save her land.
This trilogy is one of the best secular fantasy series I have ever read. Lynn Kurland does a fantastic job creating a story that is entertaining, mysterious, exciting, and-- yes,-- romantic. I loved this series. To use a common phrase, I couldn't put it down. The plot was well-paced, and laced with drama, humor, suspense. It had a perfect balance of light-hearted fun and foreboding fear. The one thing I wished for was a little more extended action scenes, but as the series was written by a woman, it doesn't surprise me that the battles were somewhat breezed over. It was still quite engaging.
There were several swear words dotted throughout, limited to 'D', 'H', and 'B'. Also, as a warning, the romance gets a little thicker in book two, The Mage's Daughter, for those of you who aren't too keen on romance. However, it is totally clean, with no particularly intimate scenes, and absolutely no bedroom scenes.
While the series does involve magic (a lot, actually), it is completely innocent. No symbolism whatsoever. They don't even tell you the words that are used to cast the spells.
Overall, it was a great series- especially for character development, which is my favorite part of any book. I give it a full five stars and recommend it to any lover of fantasy or romance!
Overall, it was a great series- especially for character development, which is my favorite part of any book. I give it a full five stars and recommend it to any lover of fantasy or romance!
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Forgive me if I hype a little more about the book. :D Having just finished the series, I'm still excited about it. I have to say that my favorite character was definitely Miach. I might even have a little bit of a crush on him... and my sister, who has also read the books, agrees with me. ^_^ He's just so cool... and funny... and a lot like me. I love the relationship between he and his brothers. But I won't spoil anything for you. I'll let you read the book for yourself.
By the way, I've been playing around with Doll Divine lately, and I used the Hobbit and LOTR dollmaker to create this portrait of Miach and Morgan. :)
Sounds like an interesting series. I'll have to see if my library has it next time I'm in need of a new book.
ReplyDeleteIsn't the LOTR Dollmaker awesome? :D
Definitely check it out, if they have it. :D
DeleteAnd yes, the LOTR dollmaker is fantastic! I've been having a lot of fun with it.
The plot sounds somewhat similar to one of my novels, "Bound to the Flame", which is being posted serially on my blog. ;-) Only in mine, I'm trying to see if I can pull off a good "hero is fairly normal and has a good rapport with family" story, because too many heroes are from dysfunctional families.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read much of your "Bound to Flame", but I'd like to. It sounds interesting. :D I like your idea of making your hero normal and having a good relationship with the family. The orphaned/disowned hero cliche is... well, not to be redundant, but it does get old. ;) I've been doing much the same thing with my characters lately.
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