"A magical journey of love and adventure"

Jinissa is a Calavrian witch. Though she has never used her magic for ill, she keeps her identity secret for fear of what the townspeople would do if they knew what she was. When she uses her powers to rescue a small child from a bad fall, suddenly her secret is revealed and she is charged with being a witch and a spy. In an unfair trial, she is convicted of witchcraft, sentenced to torture and death.

Just as the sentence is to be carried out, she is rescued, or is she? A delegate from the King arrives, Lord Stephan, to take her to the King so he can question her himself. Stephan hates anything related to witchcraft and sorcery, so he is not too keen on the mission, only doing it because his King demands it. Jinny is given a brief reprieve from her sentence, as the two of them set forth across the mountains.

As they travel across the treacherous mountains, they must learn to work together and trust one another if they are to survive. Their journey is fraught with peril, and it will take all Stephan's skill to keep them going, for Jinny is blocked from using her magic, until Stephan is horribly injured while protecting Jinny, in a life or death struggle with some starving wolves. Now Jinny will go against Stephan's wishes to save him.

Through it all, Jinny finds herself falling in love with Stephan and it turns out he is falling for her as well. But his loyalty to his King comes first and that means delivering Jinny to him. Can they overcome the problems and prejudice standing in their way to happiness? And just what ARE those mysterious shrines they pass in the mountains on their way to the King?

This was quite an absorbing read. The story of Jinny and Stephan is a delightful one, captivating the reader from the get-go. Jinny is just a young woman who happens to be a witch, and is trying to do what is right. Stephan is a loyal and dedicated man, sworn to do his duty at any costs. The mutual attraction between the two of them causes plenty of believable conflict to keep the reader going. This story is about overcoming one's deeply ingrained beliefs, to find what one desires above all.

The detail in this story paints a very clear picture, so the reader feels transported to another time and place, where magic is a matter of course. How beautifully described are the mountains, and the magic emanating from them and Jinny, so much so, that one can really picture it in the mind's eye.

Jinny and Stephan are both strong characters, well developed and fully dimensional. They have to be, for through the majority of the story, they are the only two people. So they have to be thought out enough to be able to carry the story on their more than capable shoulders.

This reviewer loved this tale and eagerly anticipates many future stories from the talented Ms. McCullough. Go out and buy a copy of this book, it is sure not to disappoint.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, December 2002. All rights reserved.

Reviewed by Kelley Hartsell
Courtesy Love Romances
Posted November 30, 2003

Original release: Dreams Unlimited (February 2001), ISBN: 1820592605
"Watch Stephan and Jinissa's love flourish and restore faith"
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch

Summary

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 magic is regarded as evil and its practicers as hopelessly corrupt. Jinny is convicted of witchcraft and condemned to torture and death.

Before the sentence can be carried out, however, a delegate from the king arrives, announcing 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. With so much to keep them apart, is there any chance for Stephan and Jinny to find happiness together?