Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Recent Read

The Master by Jean Jonson

Steam Level: Well – the hero has to perform Tantric sex – need I say more?

Why this one: Well – I had so much fun in the TBR challenge with The Sword and The Wolf, I had to continue with the series!

Amazon Blurb: Kidnapped and put on the auction block, Dominor is sold to Lady Serina, arithmancer extraordinaire. Initially outraged, he is soon curious as she explains that she needs him not as a slave but as an assistant. An inadvertent spell cast hundreds of years ago is the root of the battle between the sexes and the war that is ravaging her world. She has found a way to reverse the spell, but she needs a strong male mage to help. Dom has yet to back down from a challenge, and he finds the lady to be as pleasantly challenging as the task itself. Johnson turns up the heat in her third outing in the Sons of Destiny series (The Sword, The Wolf, 2007) as Dom and Serina not only engage in their own battle of wills but also relish practicing the tantric skills needed to cast their spell. Johnson's quirky, modern-touch sense of humor is a keynote in her historical fantasy, and the series grows more intriguing as each brother fulfills his part of the prophecy.

My Thoughts: I can’t say enough about how much I’m enjoying this series! Dominor kind of fits his name in that he is quite arrogant – in a charming way. It’s interesting to see how this total and completely sure of himself hero suffers the indignity of being captured and sold as a slave. I can’t imagine anyone less humble. Yet he accepts with his own estimable aplumb and decides to see what happens. Of course the thought of Tantric sex is not something he sneezes his nose at as they need lots of practice before hand to make sure they get it right.

Although he was arrogant as all get out, he was also a fascinating character. I think he might be my favourite hero in the series so far. And Serina is an equally great match for him.

Ms. Johnson’s heroines are interesting. The first couple were the typical virgin heroines – ok, well they weren’t typical, but you get what I’m saying. But Serina had ‘known’ a few men before she met Dominor and she has a healthy enjoyment of sex. She's a genius in her particular area of magic but in her personal life she is a scatterbrain. Being a scatterbrain myself in many ways, I really liked her. And I loved the way Dominor took charge of her and took care of her. He reminded me a bit of JD Robb's Roarke in that way. He freely admitted and without any issue about it at all, that Serina was smarter than him and he admired her for it. Can I say I really liked that part of him.

A great deal of the story took place in the land she was living in, so we didn’t get as much time with the extended family in this one. And I really enjoy all the brothers with their varying personalities. But towards the end of the book the family were together again.

There was an especially tender moment between Dominor and his twin brother Evanor, who lost his magic, his voice in the previous book.

As Katie said in the previous post, it’s wonderful discovering new authors and it’s been wonderful discovering Jean Johnson!

And for the shallow me – although they are all very similar, this is my favourite cover.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

16 comments:

KT Grant said...

You had me at "tantric sex"

Anonymous said...

I am reading this one right now! This is the first book of hers that I have read and so far I am really liking it. :) Even though I haven't read the others in the series, I am not having trouble understanding her world. She does a very good job of explaining it so I don't feel lost.

I will be shallow with you...I bought it for the man-titty on the cover!

Kristie (J) said...

Kim: LOL - his lips aren't too bad either are they? And I like the colour of his robe. It's interesting 'cause you compare the covers for the first three books and he's the most covered *g* And you really should read the first two. They are enchanting!

Katie: And they have to practice and practice and practice.........

Anonymous said...

So this series really REALLY is that good?

*sigh*

*chucks another series onto the wish list/TBR pile*

It just so happens the latest one, The Cat, caught my eye today at the store with the purty font for the title. :P The nifty cover made for good visual aid too.

azteclady said...

She had me at the cover :p

(but I won't sneeze at the tantric sex either :wink: )

Kris said...

I love this series. They are a lot of fun fantasy stories. I cannot wait to read The Cat.

KT Grant said...

You now had me at practice.
Anyone need a fan?

Bev(QB) said...

This is hands-down my favorite of the series so far. I liked the storyline, I adore Serina, and I loved how Dominor evolved outside of himself for her. And I also loved that we got to know a bit more about Rydan.

Has Shannon C. shared her Rydan theory with you yet? I think she nailed it. And I also think Serina's family and her land will pop up again in the future.

Oh, and that cover? I saw it somewhere listed as a Nathan Kamp cover. Photoshopped obviously.

Kristie (J) said...

kmont: *heavy sigh* yes, I'm afraid so. For me this series really IS that good. I feel bad for causing you to rearrange your book piles.

AL: it's so comforting - knowing I'm not the only shallow reader who can be persuaded by hot covers. It' when the inside matched the outside that it's a real good thing :)

Kris: Isn't The Cat the ladie's man? Its interesting she gives them all such different and unique personalities isn't it?

Kristie (J) said...

Katie: you need a fan for all of them so far *g*

Bev: No, I haven't seen Shannon's theory on Rydan. Hopefully she drops in and shares it *g* He is getting to be more and more mysterious though isn't he? There was one line in this book that really intriqued me - the one about him not wanting to be touched - even by his brothers.
I loved how Dominor bent for Serina but still remained his charming arrogant self. And I didn't think this one was a Nathan Camp cover. I've noticed now he has a very distinct belly buttom - and the cover model seems to have a normal one unless they touched it up - which the thought of makes me laugh.

Carolyn Crane said...

What fun this sounds like. I love discovering surprise authors like this.

Anna said...

This is currently one of my faves too. I've enjoyed all the books in the series so far. Make sure you read The Song, it too is just as good as the others. The Covers alone make the read worth it. :D

Kristie (J) said...

Anna: *g* I'm reading The Song now. I am SO glad I had these all in the TBR pile and able to read them back to back to back to back. Usually I get a bit tired reading so many in a series like this, but they are all so different, it's not old at all.

CJ: These have been a real treat - that's for sure.

Unknown said...

I loved it when she had to set up the chalk boards to record their practicing and the special fruit that helps him taste yummier ;o)

I need to go look up when the next one comes out :o)

azteclady said...

So now I have The Sword and The Master at the top of my TBR mountain, but can't even look at them 'cause I don't have the other two, and there ain't a way in this green earth I'll read this series out of order.



:sigh: See what you make me do, kristie????

Anonymous said...

Don't worry about reading them out of order. You can pick up any of these books, except maybe the last one (which doesn't come out until March 2009, so you're safe for now) and read them whenever you find them, and you'll still be able to follow the story. I made sure of that. (Of course, at first I had to chase down my friends, lasso 'em, hogtie 'em, and duct-tape 'em to a chair to make 'em cold-read the books...and then I had to beat more of 'em off with several sticks once the first few books hit the shelves--do you know how expensive sticks are, these days??)

And yeah, I have to agree, that's one helluva cover. I'm torn between The Master and The Song, myself, on which is the higher one on the ol' drool-o-meter...

~Jean
(yes, THAT Jean)