The Fyne sisters have a problem. A generations-old curse keeps them from finding lasting love — either their loves will die before the age of 30, or leave them. Knowing this, Sophie sets out to take a stranger as a lover so she can have a child without the risk of love. A year later, though, Kane finds her again.
I enjoyed the beginning of this story. The setup was wonderful, and the issues real. Partway through, however, I began to struggle. The trouble was a combination of world and character building…let me try to explain.
Kane, I got. His motives were simple enough — rebel soldier fighting against an emperor who destroyed his family. He also longs for a family of his own, since he no longer has one.
Sophie, on the other hand, I didn’t get. The entirety of her being was defined by this curse. I think the story really lost me when she starts being able to use her magic in ways she wasn’t able to use it before — like there was some kind of block she is now learning to overcome. Then, suddenly, she was just *powerful* in a very nebulous sense of the word. She became a goddess, and the end felt very much like a deus ex machina. She didn’t triumph. Kane didn’t triumph. She was suddenly given control over phenomenal cosmic powers and then all was right.
Well, mostly. This is a trilogy, and not everything is resolved at the end of this book. There are two more Fyne sisters to deal with, so the curse can’t be lifted until the end.
I think a lot of what I wanted here was just a much clearer definition of the magic, and how Sophia came to improve so much. As it is, I felt ambivalent enough about this story that I almost didn’t pick up book 2. (I did, and that review will come soon.)
Rating 3/5
Title: The Sun Witch
Author: Linda Winstead Jones
ISBN: 0425199401
Published December 2004