Ariana Varden is the first-born child of the Sun Witch, Sophie Fyne.  For the last two years she has gone against the wishes of her parents to be the palace healer of Arik, the ailing emperor of Columbyana.  Using the knowledge she learned firsthand from her mother, Ariana utilizes daily everything she knows to continue to keep Arik alive.  Her good work will be in vain if Arik's missing son and heir is unable to be found because if Arik succumbs, the kingdom very likely could end up in turmoil without an emperor. 

The plot thickens with the arrival of Sian Chamblyn, the grandson of a powerful magician who is hell bent on relaying his grandsire's last prophecy about Columbyana.  As he is waiting for his audience, a blonde beauty leaves the imperial suite and Sian can't help becoming angry at being kept waiting while the emperor diddles with his latest ladylove, and he verbalizes that exasperation very loudly, much to the chagrin of the woman.  Too late Sian realizes that the woman he just called a concubine is in fact a healer.  Things continue to get worse when, after telling Emperor Arik about the last prediction of his grandfather, Arik sends for the sun kissed healer.  It seems that Ariana is part of his grandfather's prophecy, whether Sian likes it or not.

Sian must train Ariana for the battle that will ensue.  He vows to ignore how alluring and sexy she is but that proves easier said than done.  Then, to top it off, Ariana just might be as attracted to Sian as he is to her. 

I have to admit that Sian fought a good fight but from the first moment he saw Ariana at the emperor’s palace his fate was sealed.  Unable to remain impassive, his falling for Ariana was a powerful as her finally becoming the compelling healer she was meant to be.  Love was the key and Prince of Magic was emotional, steamy, and for want of a better word, simply magical.

Having been a fan of Linda Winstead Jones since reading her Sisters of the Sun trilogy, I had to read Prince of Magic.  In reader heave at the thought of experiencing the Sun Witch’s daughter’s story, I began to read.  Seven hours later I read the last word and the first adjective that came to my mind was “magnificent”. Simply magnificent so much so that I had to run out immediately and get the next two installments. 

Prince of Magic is the first book of a trilogy called The Children of the Sun.  Lovers of paranormal romance won’t want to miss this first installment. It was gripping, addictive, and stunning.  I loved it.