The Mage's Daughter

I love Lynn Kurland's writing style- the humor, the local color, drama, and of course, the romance. Typically, I'm not a big fan of fantasies or science fiction books, but the story kept my interest secured through to the very end and left me wanting more NOW!! I hope Ms. Kurland continues to dabble in the fantasy arena; it makes for a different sort of read but with all the lovely elements that make her stories a joy to read. I am typically a pretty picky reader, but I have read almost all of her books more than once, some even three or four times. Even though I know the story, I still enjoy `visiting' with characters- who feel like old friends. I still laugh over little things that I may not have caught the first time. And they all still make me oohh and aaahh and smile over their happiness. For a single gal, these are great stories to live vicariously through- though it does set pretty high standards for any prospects... When Star of Morning ended, we learned that Nicholas of Lismor was a mage and he carried Morgan back to Melksham to heal from Lothar's poison. Miach didn't want to leave her but he had matters of the realm to tend to, as usual. She is never far from his mind and they're not apart for very long. He has to earn her forgiveness for lying about who he is and Morgan has to come to terms with her magic and her past. Miach is a wonderful hero- he's sweet, gentle, sensitive and yet strong in character and of course tall, dark and handsome. (LK fans, he reminded me of Patrick-A Garden in the Rain.. Doesn't hurt, especially since Patrick is Gerard Butler in my head ;-)) He has quickly become my new favorite LK leading man (a top honor that is always changing depending on what book I read last). He is so sweet and caring towards Morgan, even when she is mad at him. He always looks out for her best interests; trying to protect her even if it means leaving her behind. But Morgan isn't one to take being left behind well; not at all. She is Miach's equal is many ways- especially in their stubborn ways of thinking that they know what's best for the other. Their interactions/antics are often achingly sweet and smile/sigh-inducing. They are perfectly suited for each other and I can't wait until they get some happy time together, in peace, without worrying about any evil creatures that are tracking them or the imminent return of the evil mage, Lothar. The Mage's Daughter sets the foundation for a great battle between good and evil magic; and Miach and Morgan against Lothar and his minions. I am eagerly awaiting the conclusion to this trilogy. I tried very hard to save this for awhile and read it slowly, savoring every word. I have not found another author peer to Ms. Kurland's immense talent. She is in a class by herself in romantic fiction. She writes with such emotion, and wonderful detail and imagery that you feel apart of the story and feel like the characters are part of your own life. What a beautiful world to live in! She is the

I HAD to have this book on pre-order after I stumbled upon (and subsequently read) the first book. I am in love with this series and heartbroken that I can't have the next book already, and it's only been out a couple of weeks since this release! There are already some nice review that give story details, so I'll just embellish on why this book might be for you. Whether If you found this book under `Fantasy' or `Romance,'doesn't matter. You will be satisfied in either. This book is a fantasy that can contend with Tolkien's work, though I must say the fact that EVERY Fantasy has to have elves and dwarves made me shy away from this series at first. I felt this would be another copy of every other Fantasy I've read. It isn't. This is a wonderfully warm, witty, and humorous Romance. This is not an explicit Romance, full of sappy or sultry text, but a lighthearted, warm-fuzzy all over kind of Romance. The story is long and drawn, but that's because it is so detailed and interwoven. The plot is deep, unpredictable, and keeps you turning the pages to find out what's next. Even tiny details that seem abandoned will come up again. While the first chapter of this book did a great deal to remind us of the events of the first book, the blunt reminders stopped there. The author assumes the integrity and intellect of the reader and won't bother you by reading the same fact five or six times to make sure you remember. She has created a rich world full of things to explore with well rounded, true-to-life characters. If details, subtlety, characters, surprises, emotions, and romance are important to you in the books you choose, you won't be disappointed. I was so tired of reading shallow plots with even flatter characters, but I promise you won't be disappointed here past the standard `races/species' of Fantasy characters and animals. I love her humor, and I love her heros. Her villains haven't quite been developed yet, but I think that will come in time. This series is not something that can be read as one book and then abandon. The end leaves you in a safe place, but it doesn't leave you satisfied. I can't wait for more!

THE MAGE'S DAUGHTER picks up where STAR OF THE MORNING leaves off. As Morgan recovers slowly from a near fatal poisoning under the care of Nicholas of Lismòr on the Island of Melksham, the archmage Miach is leagues away in Tor Neroche where the attack on her, orchestrated by Lothar, the black mage of Wychweald, had occurred. Tor Neroche was currently being invaded by courtiers come to witness the marriage of his brother, King Adhémar, and Miach wished he was elsewhere. He was comforted by the fact that Morgan still lived, though he had greatly feared at times that she wouldn't. Only a few hours remained before the ceremony, after which he would be free to go to his lady love and hopefully convince her to forgive him for his deception. His departure is more panicked than expected for during the long dull stretch of the ceremony Miach had cast his mind to the University of Lismòr seeking Morgan but had found no sense of her. Morgan is alive but has fled to Gobhann in hopes that she could outrun her dreams, her own magic, and the lies of the man she had lost her heart to - a man who was not a simple farmer but what she hated most, a mage, the man who would have used her for his own purposes and who hadn't even bothered to inquire about her condition. Gobhann, the place where she had learned her sword skill was a "magic sink" a place that blocked magic. Her mentor Weger had shared her hatred for magic and mages. It was a place Miach would never go to find her. When Nicholas informs Miach, he quickly follows on her heels and enters Gobhann, putting his obligation to Neroche and the Seven Kingdoms on hold. For Miach this is a very large decision considering that evil magic has been eating away at his border wards for some time. But life without Morgan is not worth living. In order to exit Gobhann alive with his love he must earn Weger's mark of a master swordsman. No easy task and he makes at least one enemy in the process. It wouldn't be romance if Morgan didn't agree to throw her lot in with Miach's at some point but I won't go into detail. Suffice it to say that nothing and no one she holds dear is quite what she'd thought, including herself. Morgan's magic had lain dormant until the sword of Angesand has sung to her, now back at Lismòr she learns that her beloved guardian is in fact her uncle and that she herself is Elfin Royalty and that she is also the daughter of a notorious black mage. The pair has been attacked repeatedly by evil trolls without warning which leads Miach to believe that they are somehow tied to Morgan and the disintegration of his border wards. And so they journey to the Elf King's kingdom so that Morgan can meet her family and Miach can ask for her hand while searching Sle's library for answers that will lead to the black magic responsible for destroying his wards. Needless to say where there is dark magic, Lothar is not far behind. The story ends with Miach's discovery of its source and though he had planned to go

She was simply Morgan of Melksham before. She was a shieldmaiden, a mercenary famous for a disgust of magic and mages. Her life changed forever when she had laid her hand on a magical knife fashioned by Mehar of Angesand and her dreams began. Morgan found out too late that Miach was not who she had been led to believe. He is, in fact, all the things Morgan has hated her entire life. He not only has magic, he is a prince and an archmage! In the end, she had drank a poisoned brew from Lothar and nearly died. But Morgan wins her fight with death and recuperates with Nicholas, the man who practically raised her. Once able to stand, though not well, Morgan travels to the one place she knows Miach will not follow her, to Gobhann. It was in Gobhann where Morgan trained in sword battle under the infamous Scymgeour Weger. Once novices enter the gates they leave by either earned Weger's mark to leave or (according to rumor) are tossed off the highest tower. In Gobhann Morgan would regain her strength and since no magic works within the gates, Miach will be just a painful memory. Prince Mochriadhemiach "Miach", archmage of Neroche, may have taken Morgan to Nicholas for care, but he kept tabs on how she fairs with his magic. When Miach can no longer sense Morgan, he rushes to find her. Miach risks his life, his honor, and the safety of not only the realm of Neroche but all the Nine Kingdoms together to fetch her out of Gobhann. To do so, Miach must enter the gates and earn Weger's mark without magic while trying to locate Morgan and convince her to leave with him. The thought of a future without Morgan is too painful for him to even consider. But Morgan refuses to acknowledge her magic or destiny. It is up to Miach to help Morgan overcome her fears. Morgan is in for many more surprises than she could possibly imagine. She quickly learns who her powerful parents really were. This is followed by being presented to her royal elven grandparents, who believed her dead until Miach brings her forward. During it all, Morgan and Miach are being hunted by dark and evil creatures who are able to side step much of Miach's magic. Neroche is under a slow, but calculating, assault by some unknown species of magic. It is the same magic their dark pursuers are made of. Unless Miach and Morgan can figure out the source and a way to defeat it, the entire Nine Kingdoms will fall. Yet before that is possible, Morgan must find the strength and courage to face who and what she really is, as well as allow herself to love an archmage. ***** In book two, vital secrets are revealed in all their splendid and revolting glories. The publisher, Berkley, is lucky to have found this author before Baen, BL, TOR, or another did. There is romance, but no bedroom scenes. This is romance in a mercenary's way. (Try to figure that one out!) You do not have to read the first book to understand everything. This story updates the new readers and refreshes the memory of previous readers. (I mi

The Mage's Daughter continues what is turning out to be, in my opinion, one of the greatest and most romantic fantasy trilogies of all time. For me, what makes it so wonderful is the way Morgan and Miach's relationship grows stronger and more beautiful, even when you thought it couldn't get much more perfect. They are truly on their way to becoming the perfect couple - two people who have every reason in the Nine Kingdoms to want the other for reasons less than romantic, yet they love each other for the person behind the skills and power and birthright... two people who love each other for what they are together... and I have the feeling that they don't yet have a clue how powerful that will be! Having read this novel, Star of the Morning: A Novel of the Nine Kingdoms (the first in the trilogy) is now even more perfect. This past year, as I've waited for this novel to come out, I've warned myself that I might end up disappointed... that this book might be another one of those books where the hero and heroine spend the entire time misunderstanding each other... frustrating me in the process. It's not. Not in the slightest. Rather, the story continually presents surprises, and each is more satisfying than the last, telling a story that is totally different from any story I've ever read. So!.... If you've read Star of the Morning: A Novel of the Nine Kingdoms already and are just looking for a review before you buy, read away! If you HAVEN'T read it, please take a moment and read my review for that book first (it's the first review there), and then buy both and get ready to be whisked away to the Nine Kingdoms for days. Also, be aware that, although it is not required that you read Lynn's Nine Kingdom Novellas in the anthologies The Queen in Winter and To Weave a Web of Magic first, they do tie into these stories in a way that you won't want to miss! And now on to my teaser, in which I will endeavor not to ruin any of the surprises that await you... Morgan, weak in body from Lothar's poison and sore in heart from the treachery she thinks Miach dealt her, runs back to Weger's tower to regain her strength for swordplay and to be free from the unwelcome magic that now rages through her veins. But when Miach sets the fate of the realm aside to follow her inside the magicless Gobhann, she begins to realize that even here, things aren't as they've always seemed. She must face the fact that the man she loves is not only the simple man who prefers to be underestimated, he is also the archmage of the realm who spends his weary nights shoring up the spells that keep the evil in the north from overrunning the Nine Kingdoms... he is not only her Miach, he is the man of whom it is said, "I have lived centuries and seen mage after mage walk across the world's stage, and Prince Mochriadhemiach stands alone before them all,"... and he is not only willing to go to almost any length to protect the realm, he is willing to go even farther to ha