[Sons of Destiny 01] • The Sword

The Barnes Noble Review

Magic, passion, and true love are intertwined in this romantic time-travel fantasy, the first in Jean Johnson's Sons of Destiny series. At the heart of it are eight handsome brothers, all with varying magical powers, all exiled to an island back in time. The eldest, Saber, is cursed with a prophecy: If he falls in love -- true love -- disaster will befall him and his brothers. Enter Kelly Doyle from the present, transported by the youngest mage through time from a small town where she was accused of witchcraft.

Much like the setup in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (or, for that matter, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves ), Kelly finds the castle in severe disarray. There is plenty of battle-of-the-sexes dialogue as she squares off against the brothers, trying to improve their medieval manners, clean up the castle, and generally show who is the alpha dog. Unsurprisingly, she and Saber fall for each other and give in to their passion, but is it true love or magic? And will the prophecy come true and put them all in danger? Ginger Curwen