The Mage (The Sons of Destiny, Book 8)

I have slogged through the good, the bad, and the ugly of Jean Johnson's Sons Of Destiny series just because I had to read Morg's story. The polite, charming, nearly all-powerful matchmaking mage of the cursed eight Nightfall brothers. Some in the series I liked, some I tolerated, and some I loathed. But I have to admit I was not disappointed with The Mage. Sometimes looking so forward to a book is just setting yourself up for a let down, but I was happy with Morg's destiny. And while Morganen was done justice in his installment, so was Hope. Of all of the Destined brides, I liked her the most, and thought that she had the best back story as well. It was also good to get the resolution to the whole Nightfall-as-independent nation theme, which began way back in book one, with the arrival of self appointed "Queen Kelly".

Through all of the series, my one major complaint has been my utter revulsion at the character of Kelly Doyle. If it is possible to hate a written character, I am pretty much there. I have found her to be at turns abrasive, domineering, demanding, arrogant, childish, abusive, and ungrateful. And so it is with quite the shock that I must say that I didn't totally despise her in this one, even though she played her usual major role. And while I will never like the character, she did not turn me off of enjoying this finale in the Sons Of Destiny series.

The final verse of the prophecy of the Sons of Destiny is about to come true.

Morganen is the last single brother on Nightfall, he was the matchmaker who played an important role in bringing his brothers together with their destined wives. Now it is finally his turn, but he knows that know one will be able to help him find his destiny, because his beloved Hope is not whom he thought she was. She is the Duchess of Nightfall who disappeared two centuries ago without a trace. Morganen realizes that his beloved could be the downfall of everything that they have achieved so far on Nightfall.

Wow, what a terrific ending for this wonderful saga. The readers get glimpses of the relationship between Morganen and Hope in the previous books of the series, but you would have never guessed what kind of secret is behind her person. Okay one knew that she lives in the same dimension where Queen Kelly came from, but who thought there would be such a world shaking secret.

I highly recommend that you read this series in the correct order, because all the books are strongly connected with each other, but the series is soooo much fun!

I am really sad that this is the last book of the Sons of Destiny series, but it is a worthy end. I am looking forward to what Ms. Johnson comes up next. She is definitely an author I will keep an eye on.

Thanks to Ms. Johnson for one of the best fantasy romance sagas in years!

Courtesy of Loveromances and More!

This completes the series- ALL eight books ARE 5 STARS right to the end! Imaginative last book- NOT the let down you get in most series....could wish for more

I had a very hard time putting this book down. I decided after the 1st book in this series that I wanted all 8 books. I've got and read all of them.

I enjoyed every book in this series. Jean did an amazing job transporting me to a totally different realm. Each character was unique in their own way, and the storyline was fun and kept you hooked until the end.

I have read all eight of the books as they were released and they were all great. I hate that it's over, I want to know what happens in the future to them.

The end of a series is never what one expects and is often disappointing, since it has to follow and yet be different than the numerous other romantic twists and turns that came before it. Morganen's story was disappointing. It took several absurd turns, the drama and romance were weak and the final chapter fell flat. The buildup to declaring Kelly Queen and its final completion just didn't pan out the way I had hoped nor did the resolution of the final prophecy meet my expectations. I did enjoy most of the series. I thought the ideas were great and the romances for the most part were fun and exciting to read,but some of the text was so detailed and tedius that I skimmed the parts I did not feel moved the plot along. Too much explanation about how things worked, too much emphasis on explaining every event and too much of Kelly's silly antics. After a while I could not stand her. I think Jean Johnson is a terrific writer and has the potential of producing a riveting series from start to finish and I anticipate much more from her.

The finale of the prophecy of the Sons of Destiny is now at hand. The residents of Nightfall are preparing to call the Convocation of the Gods but there are factions elsewhere who want to stop this from happening, no matter the cost. Meanwhile, Morganen is finally face-to-face with his prophesied bride, Hope O'Niell. There's just one little catch... Hope isn't exactly who she says she is. Will her secret destroy everything? And just how far will the enemies of Nightfall go to stop Nightfall from becoming an independent kingdom?

If you haven't read the prior books in the Sons of Destiny series, stop right now and read those books first. THE MAGE is the culmination of all the story arcs that have been building up to the finale and is not a stand alone story.

Jean Johnson takes readers back into the past for some of the early portions of THE MAGE and then proceeds forward with a great deal of emphasis on Kelly, the heroine of the first book in the series. Admittedly, the beginning seems a bit confusing and just a notation in regards to the time period would have greatly helped. The romance between Morganen and Hope has been developing over the course of the series and so the actual romance itself feels a bit anticlimactic. However, as the storyline progresses, the tale picks up the pace quite a bit and makes THE MAGE overall a satisfying read.

THE MAGE is not your typical fantasy romance. It's hard to carry a theme throughout such a lengthy series without some of the focus remaining on past characters. Kelly can be a somewhat dominating figure and yet her part is necessary to conclude the series. Hope's role is important but almost seems secondary; only towards the middle to latter portion of the book does Hope take on more the role of the traditional heroine.

The Sons of Destiny series has been an enjoyable one to read overall. I look forward to reading more books set in this world as Jean Johnson's vast imagination has left countless possibilities for future books.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

this was a great ending to the series. makes me want to see more from the brothers and their wives.

This entire series was fantastic, I read them out of order from friends, then bought them myself to read in order and keep!

I don't know how you can add more books to a limited series, but I would like to read a few more stories about Nightfall. The children of these couples should prove interesting.