The Star Witch by Linda Winstead Jones

Some say the Circle of Bacwyr is a myth – and practical Isadora, a young, widowed attendant to the Empress, numbers among them. But for Captain Lucan Hern, the powerful Circle is as real as the daggers he hides under his clothing. The warrior was raised solely to find – and capture – the elusive Star of Bacwyr. But his teachers never told him exactly what it was. They only made one thing clear: Stay away from witches…

Sounds easy enough. Then Lucan meets Isadora, a decidedly different kind of beauty. She is oblivious to his attraction while he is equally oblivious to the fact that she’s a witch. And he believes her ring is the Star he’s been searching for.

Isadora has slept in a cold bed these long years – but the arrival of this gorgeous creature sets her body afire. And after a lifetime of searching for the Star, Lucan all but forgets it, waiting for Isadora to give herself to him freely, when he will take her beyond her wildest dreams…

My Thoughts

The Star Witch is the third and final book in the Fyne Sisters trilogy (see The Moon Witch and The Sun Witch) and is the story of Isadora, the eldest sister. A curse from a wizard on an ancestor of the sister’s has robbed this family of love for three hundred years. It has personally touched Isadora as she lost her husband Willym, as the curse said she would. As a result, she has vowed to never love again.

When we last saw Isadora, she was taken to Emperor Sebestyen and imprisoned. Liane, his former concubine who is now his wife, makes Isadora her personal witch. Isadora, who has teetered on the line between good and dark magic, gratefully accepts the offer and hopes to rectify the mistakes she has made in the past.

Lucan is at the palace for two reasons: first to decide if his brother should be able to marry his pregnant mistress and secondly, to regain the Star of Bacwyr which he believes to be the ring that Isadora wears. Because of this, he requests that Isadora become his concubine while he is at the palace hoping to have an opportunity to steal the ring, and Sebestyen, seeing an opportunity to spy on Lucan, forces Isadora to comply. From the moment she looks upon Lucan her body responds to the sensual creature that he is while she does her best to fight it. What starts out as a simple mission for Lucan soon turns in to much more as he cannot get the prisoner out of his mind; his desire for her is that strong.

Rebels led by the other two Fyne witches are coming to attack the Emperor, who sends Isadora to a hell where no one has ever returned. Isadora sees this as the chance to finally lift the curse even if it takes her death to do so while Lucan risks his life to rescue the woman he loves.

While our hero and heroine is most certainly Lucan and Isadora, the subplot of Sebestyen and Liane pretty much steals the show. Since the first book, we have been following the twisted relationship of these two and no matter how twisted and evil these two are, you can’t help but wish them a happy ending. Even though Sebestyen was a horrible character I found myself wishing that there had been some way to save him from himself and redeem him.

All the many threads are woven together in the trilogy are addressed and all questions answered in this masterful conclusion of the Sisters trilogy. A fantastic ending to an outstanding series and if you are a fan of any romance that is mixed with fantasy, this is a series you definitely must read. Next up is her Children of the Sun trilogy, the stories of the firstborn children of the Fyne sister’s. If it’s anything like this trilogy, it is one not to be missed.