Shannon C.’s review of The Cat: Sons of Destiny, Book 5 by Jean Johnson
Fantasy/paranormal romance released by Berkley 3 Jun 08

As I’ve stated numerous times, I love the Sons of Destiny books. The family dynamic is a lot of fun, the world building just keeps getting better and better, and there’s always a new twist on the romances presented that keep them from becoming too trite.

The premise of these books is that eight brothers are sent to Nightfall Island because of a prophecy foretelling some kind of disaster. Trevan is the fifth of the eight brothers, the reputed ladies man. Living without a woman for the past three and a half years has left him horny and frustrated, and illusions just don’t really cut it for him. He’s all too eager for his verse in the prophecy that exiled the brothers to come true, because then he can get laid.

Enter Amara and Arora. They have their own issues, namely that Arora is pretty much every mage’s wet dream, since she has access to a lot of power. Amara, on the other hand, is a natural shapeshifter, whose job it is to protect her twin. She isn’t always happy about this, and all their fleeing has resulted in her becoming cranky, resentful and paranoid. Naturally, they end up on Nightfall, and naturally, Trevan immediately notices and begins courting the prickly Amara.

While Amara is probably my least favorite heroine to date in this series, just because she’s such a shrew, I really liked her and I couldn’t fault her for being paranoid and resentful. I also thought it made her human to hold on to her resentments as long as she did without apologizing, because it’s something that I think we all do, and honestly, her paranoia and prickliness felt justified. I also liked that she made Trevan work to win her, which is a really nice thing considering that he’s pretty much set on fulfilling his part of the prophecy. Oh, and she calls Kelly on some of her bitchiness. It was *really* nice to see Kelly have some human moments as a result, because my major complaint about her lately is that she’s been sooo perfect and knowledgeable about everything.

As for Trevan, I liked him. He’s one of my favorites out of the brothers, and I liked the progress of his romance, as I said. I definitely felt the chemistry between himself and Amara, and I didn’t realize that makeout scenes could be so hot. I think where I had quibbles was that the actual consumation scene went on just a smidge too long for me, and that was right near the end. But I definitely felt the chemistry and the romance, and I believed in their HEA.

The rest of the characters were fun to visit, although I can’t help but think that the AAR reviewer got it right when she said that sometimes the writing feels sitcom-ish. I definitely got that vibe in places, but it’s something that’s always been present, so I didn’t mind. I also liked the touches of humor, and I have to say that the random gay sailor who makes a minor appearance for about five minutes near the end of the book totally stole the show for me. I wanted to know more about him, and I think if an author can get me wondering about bit characters like that, she’s doing something right.

I still could have wished for a bit less in terms of the building the kingdom from the ground up aspect of the books, because some of those digressions drew the story out unnecessarily. But the world building does keep improving from book to book, and I feel that by the end, I really will understand the whole of the world Ms. Johnson has created.

If you’re just starting out with the sons of Destiny books, I think you could pick this one up without being too lost, but I also highly recommend starting the series in order with The Sword. Though this isn’t my favorite entry in the series, I’m still looking forward to seeing what the next three books bring.

Grade: B

Summary:

New in the national bestselling Sons of Destiny series, hailed by Jayne Ann Krentz as “wildly entertaining.”

Amara is wary of mages––they chased her out of her homeland. Yet there is something about the mage Trevan of Nightfall that Amara can’t resist. But can he be trusted with her most fiercely guarded secret? Courting such a pretty yet prickly outlander won’t be easy, but Trevan is determined to try. She may be fierce, proud, and from a different culture, but after all, he is the Cat, and none but the most fascinating and challenging of women could satisfy him…

Read an excerpt.

You can read my thoughts on other books in this series by clicking on the Sons of Destiny Series tag.

Other books in this series: