When
Jinissa uses magic to save a child from a bad fall, she reveals
herself as both a Calavrian witch and a spy in the land of Lendiil.
In a place where magic is regarded as evil and its practicers
as hopelessly corrupt, witchcraft is a capital crime. Jinny
is sentenced to torture and death.
Before
the sentence can be carried out, however, a delegate from the
king arrives to announce that the king wants to question the
witch himself. Lord Stephan has been sent to fetch the witch.
A long trip over the mountains gives Jinny and Stephan time
to get to know each other better. In the face of all the things
that should keep them apart, including Stephan's deep and well-founded
hatred for her people, they begin to learn the truth about each
other and fall in love.
Stephan
is an honorable man, loyal to his king, and his feelings for
Jinny will cause only conflict. And Jinny, for her part, is
determined to escape during the trip, because she's sworn to
keep her people's secrets, even though her background ensures
that she will never be welcome back in her own country.
Reviews:
"This is a most unusual and intriguing paranormal romance, sure to please fans." (four stars)
Kathy Boswell, Romantic Times
"WITCH'S JOURNEY is an enchanting paranormal romance that is fun to read because Karen McCullough makes witchcraft seem genuine. Thus, she turns her tale into a medieval historical romance between two wonderful star-crossed lovers with witchcraft being the cross they bear."
Harriet Klausner For Painted Rock Reviews
"Witch's Journey is pure romance, two people left alone to discover each other's virtues, overcoming prejudice and learning to trust. The tale personifies compassion, the journey is of the heart. A recommended read."
Leslie Tramposch, Paranorma Romance Readers
"If Witch's Journey were just a romantic fantasy with elements of adventure,
it would be quite entertaining. Naturally, we want to know if our
protagonists will arrive safely at the end of their journey in spite of
snowstorms, rockslides, and slavering wolves, and we are anxious about
Jinissa's survival if they do reach their destination. The love scenes are
by turns playful, passionate, sweet, and sad, and always written with grace
and delicacy. We also learn something about magic and its uses. But in
creating this story, Karen McCullough gives us a deeper, richer experience.
Jinissa and Stephan both have reasons to be bitterly disillusioned. She is
lonely and has never known true love; he has loved and been betrayed.
Besides, they have been raised to mistrust each other automatically. Desire
alone might have tempted them, but understanding and appreciation of each
other's fine qualities and of their own worthiness to be loved is what
really draws them together. With Jinissa and Stephan, we travel not only on
a physical journey but also a spiritual one, vibrant with pain, joy,
anguish, and triumph.
Reading this book is like walking through alternating
light and shadow. Only when the seemingly irreconcilable demands of love
and loyalty are finally addressed can we be sure whether the journey ends in
the sunlight or darkness. Before that can happen, we must meet King
Randell, a character well worth observing.
Witch's Journey stimulates the mind, delights the spirit, and touches the heart."
Reviewed by Ilene Sirocca for Running River Reader
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