Reviewed by Dan

TITLE:    Sons of the Countryside

AUTHOR:     Jenni Michaels

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH:     200 Pages

BLURB:

In the kingdom of Ailis, the Council removes all magicians from their family at the onset of their powers. All except one—Knox Cane, whose father hid him to keep him safe. But when Knox’s skills become known, the Council captures his father and gives him an ultimatum: use his abilities to help them locate and kill the last prince of the Phela line, the royal family the Council overthrew twenty years before, or never see his father again.

When he was just a child, Cailean Phela lost most of his family in a senseless slaughter perpetuated by a power-hungry group of men. His race—the Mac Tire—were banished to the nearly uninhabitable northern mountains of Cairn, where their numbers have dwindled. Luckily for the Mac Tire, the rising resistance is finally ready to make a move. If they can harness the magic the land holds for them before time runs out, they might find the strength to take back their kingdom.

Cailean knows he is a hunted man. He anticipates a difficult battle to free his land from the Council’s tyranny, but he never expected to fall in love with the man charged with ending his life.

REVIEW:

Please Ms. Michaels, tell me there will be another book coming! I loved, loved, loved this book. It is exactly the type of fantasy, good against evil, magic user type story that I like best!

Knox Cane has been coerced into helping the Council hunt down and kill a Beast. The Beast is the last prince of the Phela line, who the Council seized power from twenty years before. No one has seen a Beast since, but Knox has a special magic. He can communicate with animals, so the Council figures he is perfect for their plans. In order to ensure Knox does what he is told, Knox’s father Uilliam is captured, beaten, and thrown in the deepest dungeons. The Council tells Knox if he cooperates, his father will live.

Knox is forced to ride off with three guards to look for the Beast. What will happen though when he hears of the Mac Tire, and then meets Cailean, the very man they are searching for? Will he tell his captors?

Ms. Michaels takes us on a romp through the kingdom of Ailis, all the way to the frozen north where the Mac Tire have been banished by the Council. Knox will be dragged along against his will, and will be kidnapped from the kidnappers. Or is it really a rescue? What will happen when Knox’s magic begins to increase beyond his ability to communicate with animals, and he becomes an elemental magician? Can he control his power?

As I said above, I loved the book, and thoroughly enjoyed the read. The story builds all the way through and right up to the last page. I need MORE! What happens next? The only problem with reading books before they even hit the market, is I know I’ll be stuck waiting for a while for the next installment, and even worse, I don’t know if there will be one or not!

I highly recommend this book. Pick it up today if you’re a fan like I am of magic users, fantasy, good versus evil, and love between two wildly different men.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon

ARe