A Kiss of Fate: A Novel (Guardians)

If you like some fantasy mixed in with your romance & a real plot line instead of just love scene after love scene you going to love it. It is original & I love the whole wizard premise mixed in with a historical romance. It offers a completely new twist on the regular romance story which after a while gets pretty boring with same plot lines of the ugly duckling falls in love with the handsome rake or the rake falling in love with a beautiful girl but refusing to say I love you mixed in with numerous loves scenes without much of a story or developed characters.

Dan Brown and J. K. Rowling have two things in common. They both drew from Rosicrucian mysticism for their respective "What if?" novels: THE DAVINCI CODE and HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCEROR'S STONE, and they both wrote phenomenal bestsellers. Move over because here IS Mary Jo Putney with a better "What IF?" The imagination tickler of both those books, and especially Ms. Putney's, is the suggestion that we are living among people with extraordinary powers that guide our lives in ways we cannot see. The difference is that Ms. Putney's KISS OF FATE will lead you on a search for everything else she's ever written, rather than a quest to Italy to view the Mona Lisa (although that's nice too.) I have enjoyed all of Mary Jo Putney's historical fiction, but none more than KISS OF FATE. It is a CLASSIC story of a `plain jane' getting the most popular, most gorgeous guy within her circle, but out of her league... except that this story is set in 18th Century Scotland and England. Guardians are humans with special powers to control physical science. Gwynne is a Guardian, but more studious than powerful. She often feels inadequate in her own circle. Duncan Macrae, Lord Ballister and the Lord of Storms is... well, he's the Lord of Storms! Imagine such a character. Better yet, read about him. One stolen kiss from Ballister and Gwynne's passion awakens... along with her natural, and individual, Guardian powers. Imagine to what heights that can be taken! Read other reviews for a summary. I cannot tell you this story better than Mary Jo Putney can. She conjures in the reader the contented feeling of being curled up in a big fluffy chair and read to by a master storyteller. And indeed, she has been dubbed just that. KISS OF FATE is a passionate and loving, imaginative and emotive read. It is the best book I've read this year. (...)

This is the first book by Mary Jo Putney that I have read. I have really enjoyed it!! Since I am half-British myself (my dad and his ancestors go back many years and all from England), I enjoy English period novels (and history non-fiction). I have read many tales about the Scottish uprising and "Bonnie Prince Charlie" but this is the first that really made you feel as the reader that you were there in that time. From the opening pages of descriptions of Gwynne Owens and her attire and the library to the Scottish moors and the battles between the British royal troops and Scottish rebels, the detail was exceptional. This is a FANTASY so if you don't like fantasy or magic, don't read it!! This books tells that there humans with mystical abilities to control natural forces and look into the hearts/minds of others. They are called Guardians and are scattered throughout the world and ruled by their oaths of noninterference and by a Council. Gwyneth "Gwynne " Owens'father has just died. He was a Guardian and the head librarian for Lord Brecon, an English count. Gwynne was his assistant. Her mother, deceased, was a "mundane" or non-magical human so she is only half-Guardian. At age seventeen, Gwynne has shown no signs of power but she has made herself an expert on Guardians and Guardian history. She marries the elderly Lord Brecon at this request in a marriage of convenience and takes care of him and the wonderful library until his death when she is 24. A year later she is out of mourning and lives with Lady Bethany Fox, a very powerful Guardian and head of the Council, who is Lord Brecon's younger sister. A friend of hers and Lady Bethany's, Lord Simon Falconer comes with his Scottish friend Lord Ballister to meet with Lady Bethany. Lord Ballister is a powerful weather mage Guardian and has been on a tour of the Continent meeting at the Council's request with other "Families" of Guardians in other countries. Upon seeing the Lady Gwyneth Brecon, Lord Ballister - Duncan Macrae, is entranced and compares her to Helen of Troy. Gwynne is overwhelmed by his power and while feeling the attraction, pushes away from him. Duncan persists and then is finally repulsed and going to go home to Scotland where is has been announced/rumored the Charles Stuart has landed. The Guardian Council looks in a scrying glass and believes that Duncan will need Gwynne's balance or tip the scales in a possible civil war. The Council and Lady Bethany convince Gwynne to give in to her attraction to Duncan and accept his proposal of marriage. They are married very quickly and begin their journey to Scotland. The story is a lush romance plus a woman torn by love and her oaths and also wonderful descriptions of the people in the Macrae hold of Dunrath. How everything is revealed and resolved is an exciting read and well detailed. I enjoyed it immensely and look forward to finding more of Ms. Putney's books for sale!

I've been a devoted Mary Jo Putney reader since I read Thunder and Roses in 1993. I've read all of her backlist. Then sometime during the bride series, I became aware that the stories were not holding me the way they used to. I didn't even buy her contemporaries. But, this book reminded me why I love Putney. I really enjoyed the fantasy elements of the story, and they really added to the development of the characters in a realistic, unforced way. The characters were strong, but human and very compelling. Their attraction and courtship were incredibly dynamic. I wouldn't rank this work with Putney's best; however, it is a truly enjoyable read. I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Everyone carries a spark of magic in his soul. Guardians just have more ... "Guardians" have always lived among "Mundanes" (A.K.A. normal people). Guardians are those humans who have mage talents. There are several different types of mages with various levels of talent. Each take an oath, to swear to support what was good for the largest number of people. They were never to use their powers for harm, self gain, or to interfere with the normal process of the world such as war. Gwyneth Owens had, at one time, a Guardian father and a Mundane mother. She lived among the Guardians and took the oath, even though she had never shown any magical abilities. She would have been content to live out her remaining days in the vast Guardian library. Fate had different plans for Gwynne. She caught the eye of Duncan Macrae, Lord of Thunder, a powerful Weather Mage of Scotland. Though attracted to each other, Gwynne refused his offer of marriage. One with such power should marry his equal. However, the Guardian Council's scrying glasses showed dark times ahead. There was talk of a Jacobite rebellion. Prince Charles, The Pretender, had landed in Scotland and civil war loomed ominously. Gwynne was all but ordered to marry Duncan. No one could see why, but as his wife Gwynne would give him balance. She could make sure his emotions never clouded his judgement. As the Lord of Thunder, Duncan's power of controlling the weather could sway the outcome of the war, which was against the Oath. Soon Gywnne would learn about her own dormant mage talents and why they took so long to show. Only Gwynne's talents and her love for Duncan and the clan can keep the rivers of Scotland from running red with blood. ***** W-O-W-! This is not to be missed! It is the first of a new breathtaking series by the best-selling mistress of historical romance, Mary Jo Putney. Fans will want this one in hardback so it can be read many times in the future. (And just wait until you meet Gwynne's cat. It is half wild cat and very protective of her.) Excellent tale that will keep readers glued to the pages! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.