Customer Reviews

The Wolf (The Sons of Destiny, Book 2)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the second book in an 8- part series. The first book is "The Sword". You will want to read that first. It makes a big difference in understanding "The Wolf." If you haven't read "The Sword" yet, you will find yourself quite lost.
I'm writing this review under the assumption that readers have already read "The Sword." This will prevent having to bore everyone with a reintroduction of all the characters.


Wolfer knows he is next in line to fulfill his part of the prophecy. Years ago, he fell in love with a neighbor girl named Alys. He still wears a braid of her hair around his wrist. However, the two have been denied contact since the brothers were banished to Nightfall Island.

Alys has been abused by her uncle for years. He forces her to take part in his evil spells against the Sons of Destiny. However, Alys has never given up her dream of reuniting with Wolfer. Wolfer's youngest brother has secretly kept in contact with her. When the time is right, he helps her escape her cruel uncle and make her way to Nightfall.

Wolfer and Alys are instantly attracted to one another. Neither has forgotten their past connection. Alys is afraid to admit that she took part in her uncle's schemes against Wolfer and his brothers. When the truth comes out, she fears it will end Wolfer's love for her. However, with her uncle becoming an even bigger threat to the brothers, Alys knows she must confess and help stop his evil plan to kill Wolfer and his family.


I liked this story for it's uniqueness. Jean Johnson has a talent for creativity. My only complaint is her insistence that women are not strong unless they are being nasty to their men. Kelly, from The Sword, is back in this story... ruder and snobbier than ever. Lines like "I decide what happens in MY home!" just annoy me. She seems to have forgotten that it has been the brothers' home for years, and they were kind enough to share it with her when she entered a few months ago. What is worse is the way she pushes Alys to act snotty and bossy towards Wolfer, as if it is an insult to women for Alys to be kind- hearted and easy- going.
Wolfer's character is different than it was in the first book. Instead of the quite and gentle nature he had, he is now an angry man who constantly loses his temper and storms around. I was looking forward to his story, based upon how he was written in "The Sword." So this was a bit disappointing as well.

I'm still looking forward to the next book, as I am dying to know what happened to Dominor. I'm also still anxious to read the story of the dark and mysterious Rydan. Johnson knows how to keep our interest alive.

The Sons of Destiny is already in its second volume, and Jean does not let up in the flow of the story. This time, she can get right into the plot, without too much exposition.

This time around, the story centers around the second of the Sons of Destiny, Wolfer, who is also known as the Wolf. Largest and wildest of the brothers, it does not seem possible for any woman to tame him.

It also does not seem possible that the woman introduced here, Alys of Devries, a childhood friend, will be the one to tame him, either. A mixture of courage and shyness, she is an enigmatic contradiction that nonetheless captures his heart.

Unlike Kelly Doyle of The Sword, however, Alys is a native Katani woman with a dark secret - a connection to the brothers' hitherto unknown enemy that may just drive her and Wolfer apart.

Wolfer is a quiet loner, and the sweet, charming Alys seems to be the one made for him.

I enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed The Sword, and I am looking forward to The Master, which is due out in September of 2007.

Step into a world where magic and fantasy collide....

Alys of Devries is determined to escape the wicked machinations of her uncle, Lord Broger. She plans a daring escape and flees to Nightfall Isle, the home of her childhood friend, Wolfer. Wolfer and his seven siblings have been exiled to Nightfall Isle due to a prophesized disaster. Alys hopes to find refuge and perhaps even love with her childhood hero, Wolfer. Will her secrets destroy their chance at love?

THE WOLF is the second book in the Sons of Destiny series and follows up the phenomenal tale, THE SWORD. If you haven't read THE SWORD first, please note that THE WOLF has some major spoilers to the first book. Fans will want to read this series in order as THE WOLF builds upon the events that occurred in THE SWORD and then furthers the plotline as the revelations from the Seer Draganna begin to unfold.

Once again, Jean Johnson has penned a fabulous fantasy romance! The attraction instantly sizzles between Wolfer and Alys, but Alys has secrets Wolfer doesn't even begin to imagine. In fact, one of the most intriguing aspects of THE WOLF is watching Alys come alive! She has been forced into a life of subservience in order to survive but now, as a free woman, she is being to recognize her own sense of empowerment. Teaming a personality like Alys up with Kelly, from THE SWORD, is a stroke of genius on the part of Jean Johnson as the two women complement each other well, making for some rather interesting dialogue.

THE WOLF is a beautifully written tale that should please fans of fantasy romance. Jean Johnson provides a whole host of supernatural creatures, from pookrahs to wyr-wracks, while creating a fascinating storyline and a steamy romance. THE WOLF is definitely a book for the keeper shelf!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

I read the first book, The Sword, and enjoyed the fantasy world Johnson created and the premise of the 8 brothers and their destiny was a new twist. However, The Wolf did not meet up to the standard of the first book. The mixture of the "shy" Alys and the "brazen" Alys did not jive. There were no new innovative magic arenas and from his actions, Wolfer comes off as almost stupid. His jealousy of the youngest brother is overdone, he keeps growling at everything and about 75% of the story was sex which detailed every minute and when they weren't having sex, they were thinking about sex. It got so bad, that I had to turn pages to hope there was actually a story line to read as opposed to a fantasy version of "The Joy of Sex". There was only a scant story here and as one reviewer said, Kelly comes off as a not very likable character. I will try the next book and hope the author gets back on track.

I really want to love these books. I keep trying to love them. The plot and the setup are brilliant. The idea is unique. The writing is excellent. Wolfer and Alys were wonderful characters but Kelly from the first book is ever present.
So, I guess my only wish is that the books could be about the main characters and leave Kelly in the first book where she belongs.

Fun, interesting series with likable characters (or at least likable brothers). The Sons of Destiny live in a magic dominate world and when a seer makes a prediction about eight brothers (four sets of twins) that will bring about disaster, the people of their world decide to exile them to their own island alone. Since the prediction seems to be largely based on the fact that they will meet their true loves, the council believes if the keep them exiled and not allowed any women near them they they can prevent the disaster from ever happening. They don't even think about "trying" to kill them since the brothers are the strongest thing around magically, but it doesn't stop some people from covertly sending dangerous magical creatures to take them out.

The island alone doesn't keep women off the island either, apparently. It the first book, Kelly is brought through magically from Earth, and in this novel, an old childhood friend runs away from home to find Wolfer (I hate this character name, by the way).

I gave this book three stars instead of five because I didn't think it had as much action or creativity in this one as much as the first. Second of all, Kelly (from the first book) is absolutely annoying! She is bossy, controlling, and completely stuck on herself. Is Johnson attempting to try to make her witty? Or is the character purposely that dumb sounding? The whole kung fu thing was ridiculous and could have been cut from the book. I mean, really, what was the purpose of all that anyway? I felt as if I was in the middle of a geek fest. Lastly, the scene with the whore who spends two hours giving Alys sex advice could have been cut, too. Alys is 24 years old and had been exposed to sex already. We/she didn't need the advice of a prostitute. I still plan to read the next one. The Master is suppose to take place in another culture so I'm hoping that Kelly will not be part of that story and I will get to enjoy the book more.

I was again pulled into the story quickly and enjoyed the characters. The female lead of this book, Alys, is a gentle and charming woman who is completely different from the lead of Jean's first book, the stronger, more domineering Kelley. And the male lead, Wolfer, is a truly different personality from his twin brother who centered the first book in this series. Wolfer, also known as The Wolf, is earthy, instinctual, and sensual enough to satisfy the biggest romance reader out there. Jean has proved that her characters are not "cooky-cutter" types nor single-dimensioned who will repeat from book to book. Again, I look forward to continuing to follow this series even though I very rarely read this venue.

After resolving the first verse of the prophecy of doom on Nightfall Island, the second verse begins. As children shapeshifter Wolfer and Alys were inseparable best friends until he and his seven siblings were exiled to Nightfall Island. He misses her with all his heart, but holds no hope to ever see her again.

Alys has big issues to face with no hope except perhaps one. As her evil Uncle Lord Broger uses his malevolent spells to harm her almost as much as he tries to kill the brothers, she makes a bold bid to reach her beloved friend Wolfer. She knows of the prophecy and realizes her appearance will move it one giant step closer to happening, but prays she can find sanctuary and much more with the man who has owned her heart since she was a little child.

The second "Sons of Destiny" is an excellent romantic fantasy that can stand alone, but most sub-genre fans will prefer to read the first thriller (see THE SWORD) as THE WOLF moves forward the overarching theme of the eight siblings and the prophesy. The courageous Alys knows that Wolfer is a terrific hero who will be there for her even at the risk of what he knows her presence means to him and his seven brothers. The audience will appreciate Jean Johnson's second verse as it's same as the first in terms of being superb, but has a unique flavor of its own due to brother number two being quite different than his older sibling Saber and Alys from these medieval times vs. American businesswoman Kelly Doyle entering a "reenactment. Two for two as Ms. Johnson provides another winner.

Harriet Klausner

I give up, this series could have been awesome but a few things killed my enjoyment.

Disclaimer: While I read the entire first book The Sword, I only made it about 85% of the way into The Wolf before nearly throwing my Kindle across the room. In an act of mercy I decided to ignore my rule of always finishing a book. Because seriously enough was enough.

1. Lack of conflict between the H/h. If it's so easy for them to be together, why has it taken this long?!? And if you aren't going to even attempt to have a conflict for the main H/h and instead focus on world building and a conflict that grows throughout each subsequent book: then please (please, please) don't throw in token conflict points just to gloss over them and take up page space.

(speaking of page space)

2. I have never (NEVER) seen so much info-dumping in my long history of reading. First a character thinks it (taking several paragraphs to do so) then when a new character comes in, the first character then explains everything they thought OUT LOUD to the new character. You know there is too much talking going on in a book when someone's dialogue is broken up into several paragraphs. (AND I MEAN SEVERAL AS IN MORE THAN 3...) It brings a whole new meaning to SHOW don't TELL.


(speaking of telling)

3. Can someone tell Kelly to be quiet and let the grown ups talk? She was slightly annoying in the first book. (To be fair she mainly just got annoying during the last half of the first book) But in this book I wanted to slap her. She's bossy, rude, condescending and frankly I'm surprised the brother's haven't revolted against their so called Queen and thrown her off the island yet. Cause I totally would have.

*After taking a glance at the reviews for the next couple of books, they don't so I am officially voting myself off the island because I am done with her.*

(speaking of the island)

4. The world the author created was very interesting but I found myself skimming a vast majority of the "explanations" because they were long and boring and felt almost like they had been ripped from an encyclopedia. It's like the book went like this: Character introduction-3 pgs, minor character developement-1 pg, world building-4 pgs, info dump about aspect of world building no one cares about-10 pgs.

(to sum it all up)

The brothers were awesome and I wish I could have held out longer because I wanted to see them all get their HEA. But frankly the women they are being paired with seem like a fate worse than death. And even if the women get better, they are all going to be stuck with Kelly (aka THE DISASTER - cause folks I hate to break it to the brothers but everything else they are going to face has to seem easy as pie compared to living with that woman...) Really I probably could have made it past the Kelly point if there hadn't been so much info-dumping. Kids info-dumping kills, just say no!

If you have not read the first book in the series, The Sword...start with that book...The Wolf is the second in the series...

I have heard it said that authors portray themselves in the character of the first book they write and I wonder if Kelly is really Jean or what Jean projects herself to be/want to be it is my only explanation as to why one would put the heroine in the first book as such a dominant Character in the second...so Kelly/Jeans character in the second book was so annoying and in waaayyyy toooo many scenes that it left out room for Wolfer and Alys to grow in their new found love and friendship instead the sex scenes are with Wolfer and the friendship scenes were with Kelly...bummer!!! skip it!!