Customer Reviews

Prince of Swords (Children of the Sun, Book 3)

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I may be a man, and not just a man, but an accounting man, but even I need to occasionally get out of the mundane world of balance sheets, amortization schedules, adding machines, and green eye shades and get into the magical world of demons, monsters, shapeshifters, and witches that unfolds within the pages of a Linda Winstead Jones romantic fantasy.

The "Prince of Swords" concludes Jones's Children of the Sun trilogy, itself a continuation of the Sisters of the Sun trilogy. The children are the first-born of the Fyne sisters, beautiful witches who fight in the epic battle between good and evil and in whose offspring the Prophecy of the Firstborn will be fulfilled. I am a firstborn and my prophesy was that I would become an All-American footballer, but I had fragile bones and dainty hands, so I became an amateur doll dressmaker instead.

The first two books of the Children of the Sun trilogy saw the completion of the first two phases of the Prophecy, and in this last installment, the daughter Rayne, imprisoned and fearful of the return of Ciro, the demon-possessed man who needs her soul to combine with his to produce the perfect child and the final piece to his grand design, must decide whether the handsome and well-muscled stranger Lyr Hern offers salvation or doom in his quest to find the crystal dagger, the key to the final phase of the Prophesy. The key to doll dressmaking is to use really small stitches. Despite Rayne's uncertainty and Lyr's wariness, the two form an immediate attraction and Rayne decides that Lyr may be just the sword-wielding, bare-chested fellow to ruin her (in a romantic way) and ruin Ciro's plans (in a non-romantic, clashing-swords kind of way). I have never wielded a sword, but the pen is supposed to be mightier, so I guess that makes me a hero too, in a skinny, fragile, trembling sort of way.

You will find yourself trembling also as you follow Rayne and Lyr on their mythic quest which also leads to their growing passion, a passion that will ignite your desire and inflame your sensibilities, and finally leave you wishing that you too could be, dare I say it, the prince of swords.

Linda was saving the best for last, of course i started with the children of the sun trilogy and i couldn't wait to purchase them all, Prince of Swords was my favorite though, Rayne was the perfect female character and fit Lynx well.

I love the lead female character in this book. This author made me laugh out loud many times while reading this one. AWESOME read.

i loved this book, i have the whole series of this one and wish there was more books to this series,

A satisfying end to the series. The prince was indeed a hunk and his talent is fantastic indeed!
Sexual tension was good. I like this author because sex isn't the main ingredient, the story is.
All in all, a satisfying read.

I was sorry to see this series end - I loved all of the books. As with the others, this is an easy read, that keeps your interest throughout. There's a little of everything - good and evil; suspense, romance - and lots if imagination. thoroughly enjoyable!

In the last novel of the 'Prince' series the Prince of Swords, Lyr Hern, son of Isadora Fyne knows full well the trouble he is getting into when he travels from his home in Trynfyn (a different country) to assist his cousins in war against the Isen Demon. He knows that he is part of the firstborn prophecy and that he must find the Crystal Dagger in order to defeat Ciro and reclaim peace for the land. He is an honourable man who has earned his position in the Circle of Bacwyr as Prince of Swords and never uses his ability to stop time without just cause.

What he didn't know was that finding the Crystal Dagger meant finding Rayne, the daughter of the wizard Fynnian who made brief appearances in the first two books as the woman that Ciro "loved" and planned to marry and impregnate. As a woman that was pure in body, heart and soul this apparently made her the perfect carrier of his child. This scared the socks off of Rayne (as it should) and so when Lyr rescued her from the prison of her own home she gladly gave him the Crystal Dagger that her mother had fashioned and made him take her to a safe location.

Lyr didn't want a complication like Rayne added to his little warrior party and was pretty much determined to leave her at the first stop they made until he discovered Ciro's plans for her and her white soul. Knowing that having a child by Ciro would be worse than death Lyr tried to convince himself to kill her outright but couldn't make himself take that dishonourable action especially as she was so innocent of any crime. Rayne did try to sully her soul with cursing (which was amusing) before deciding that a sin like lust and covetousness would do just fine. She decided that maybe if she wasn't a virgin (pure of body) that Ciro might not want her anymore. After an interestingly straightforward conversation about her own deflowering, Lyr comes to her room to fix that oversight.

This seems to unleash some of Rayne's own magic which has to do with the Earth and growing things. Before long Lyr and Rayne find out that Rayne is an Earth Goddess incarnate and has the power to manipulate vegatation, rocks and water. This proves to be a useful gift in the end. With the crystal dagger and some illusory magic Lyr is able to get close enough to defeat the Isen Demon and Ciro before anything truly dark happens. But the story is not over as Lyr still has to prove his love to Rayne and the true heir needs to be crowned Emperor.

This was my second favorite novel mostly due to Rayne. She was an interesting enough character but I still liked Lyr better. At times Rayne seemed passive and fragile - not as strong as the other female characters even though she was supposedly an Earth Goddess. It was also a bit unresolved with some of the other characters but one can assume Ms. Winstead Jones is setting herself up for another interesting trilogy.

As with the Sister's of the Sun Trilogy the third book of the Children of the Sun Trilogy, Prince of Swords was my over all favorite. After my dissapointment in Prince of Fire, I wasn't sure I wanted to continue to the end of the trilogy; but I hate lose ends and had to finish the tale.

I had until this point thought that Rayne was a somewhat unimportantat side character, which was silly looking back. It just never occured to me that she would end up Lyr's love interest, even though I knew he had to have one. I really enjoyed her character. and when she started making things grow I almost cheered. the was such a sweetness and beauty to her magic, it was touching to watch Rayne find her worth through magic and love after years of neglect.

the reader really feels for Lyr as he struggles to come to terms with the depth of his feelings for Rayne. Their romance is passionate without being over the top, and their connection is believable. I won't say whether all ends well or not, but Prince of Swords is a worthy ending.

The last in this trilogy is on of the best. I couldnt put it down and was even reading it in the drive through of a fast food resturant. This whole set is wonderful. Ms Jones is a great writer and I loved the imagination and the planning and the way everything came together. I would love to see more about all the characters in this set. The only thing about this one is the death of Ciro is a little cheesy and anti-climatic. For him being this big bad butt He should have given more of a fight even though the way it was crafted was a great idea. All in all this is a great set.

This was a beautiful ending but it has left me hollow inside. I just do not want it to end. The concepts that Linda Winstead came up with are so fascinating. She writes like she actually experienced these things. Her writing triggers childhood fantasies that once danced in my head. If the author ever reads this, please, please write more of these books!!!