Princess of the Sword - Lynn Kurland

 As the mercenary daughter of Gair, the black mage of Ceangail, Morgan is the only one who can stop the terrible sorcery her father unleashed. To do so, she must race against time and find the spell that will allow her to close the well of evil he opened. But that quest will lead her to places she never dreamed existed and into a darkness she would give anything to avoid.

The fate of the kingdom of Neroche is intertwined with the closing of Gair's well. Miach, the archmage of Neroche, is determined to help Morgan find what she needs, not only because the safety of the Nine Kingdoms hangs in the balance but also because he will do anything to protect her. Together they must search out the mysteries of Ceangail, and the dangers of Morgan's own bloodline.

A wonderful conclusion to the Nine Kingdoms series, Princess of the Sword continues the tale of Morgan of Melksham and her beloved Miach, youngest prince and archmage of Neroche. The first two books set up the the big fight of good versus evil (in the form of Lothar, the black mage of Wychweald) that occurred in this final volume, but I found myself a bit disappointed when the fight turned out to not be so big after all. I felt there was so much buildup for something that was over a short while after it began. Once Lothar was defeated, I thought that would be the end of the book, but it wasn't . . . which was actually a nice surprise, as I got a look into what the life of Morgan and Miach was like once the threat of evil was gone.

It was nice, as a reader, to "see" Morgan 's transformation from sword-yielding shieldmaiden to Princess Mhorghain of Torr Dorainn, while not losing herself in the process; to see the bravery of Miach and Morgan as they joined together to defeat Lothar and his evil cohorts; to be witness to their growing love and affection for each other. Morgan and Miach are two characters who won't easily escape my memory.

Lynn Kurland has become one of my favorite new authors, and her Nine Kingdoms series is fantastic. Highly recommended.

4.75/5