Shannon C.’s review of The Master: Sons of Destiny, Book 3 by Jean Johnson
Fantasy romance released by Berkeley Sensation 4 Sep 07

I absolutely love the Sons of Destiny series. I’ve tried to analyze exactly why this is so that I can write a more coherent review than one that simply says, “OMG read this boook! Now!” So far I haven’t figured out exactly what it is I love so much about the series except that it works.

You can read my reviews for the first two books in the series here and here.

The third book brings us back to Dominor, the third of the eight exiled Sons of Destiny, who’s been kidnapped by Mandarites. The Mandarites believe in the inherent superiority of men, and are trying to convert Dominor, who is, after all, a male mage, to their way of thinking. But they don’t get too far before the ship on which they’re sailing is captured by a Natallian warship. The Natallians, we find out, are engaged in a civil war against the Mandarites, because Natallian magic is passed on through the female line, thus causing issues. Anyway, Dominor is captured with the rest of the Mandarites and sold into slavery where he is purchased by Serina, guardian of the magical font of Coral-Tae. Serina needs Dom’s help to enact a ritual that will bring balance to the power between the genders and thus end the war.

I absolutely adored Serina, mostly because she was a pleasant surprise from what I was actually expecting. Given what we know of Dominor from previous books, I assumed that his and Serina’s courtship would involve a lot of shouting, foot-stomping, and then hot angry sex. But while Serina is the equal to the competitive Dominor, and has a strong will, she isn’t feisty, thank the gods. I in fact loved that she was an intelligent, if scatterbrained woman who really did need someone to take care of her. I liked her a lot, and I admire Johnson for writing a very different woman from the loud, opinionated Kelly and the gentle Alys in Serina.

I warmed up to Dominor as well. It turns out that behind his arrogance there is a man who really wants to be important to somebody. When he realizes that someone is Serina, he does everything he can to ensure that she needs him as much as he needs her.

The romance between them works well, for the most part. Given that Dominor and Serina aren’t on Nightfall, there is blessed relief from the rest of the family clammoring for attention. The only problem I really had was a big misunderstanding that would have been resolved pretty easily had Serina not had a really stupid moment. But given that Dominor says as much to her when it’s resolved, I can’t really bring myself to subtract any points from the book.

The plot moves along at a good pace, and I pretty much read the book in one sitting, which is a rare treat when it happens. I wasn’t sure how everything was going to resolve itself in the end, which is something I haven’t always been able to say about the books I’ve read lately, so it’s a nice treat when that actually happens.

Unfortunately, this book isn’t perfect. I wish the world-building was a little tighter. Sometimes it really does seem to me that the people in this world are pretty much modern Americans in funky clothes, especially when they start espousing liberal values and beliefs, which in itself isn’t a bad thing but seems kind of inconsistent at times with the rest of what is presented. There’s a lot of potential for some really cool stuff–I’m especially intrigued by the mention of the Moonlands–but the world-building in other places is particularly sketchy, with things just kind of happening with no real explanation of why they do. And some of the characterization feels a bit forced. A boisterous, loving family like the Nightfall brothers, who are all perfectly content to matchmake their own siblings in a way that I’m pretty sure most *real* men wouldn’t, ought to notice that Rydan, the most mysterious and aloof of the brothers, gets disturbed by strong emotions. And these men and their mates aren’t generally stupid, so I really want to grab someone and shake them and shout, “He’s a freaking empath you idiots!”

The sequel-baiting here was pretty obvious. We know pretty much from the start who Evanor, my favorite of the brothers and the hero of the fourth book, will have as his mate. I was a bit skeptical of that particular pairing, but I have to admit the first scene between Evanor and his heroine was very cute in a way that I thoroughly enjoy.

As I said, I love this series, and I don’t know many people in romancelandia who are reading it. It is definitely a series I highly recommend.

Grade: A-

     Summary:

     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.

     Read an excerpt.