Rating: 
Summary: Not a worthy sequel
Review: Katherine Kurtz doesn't seem to have had her heart in the Deryni books for many years. This book, which was written and then "left hanging" (sans sequel), seems to prove it. Compared to the subtle plot twists, action, and adventure of earlier books, the plot is fascile and the pace is slow.Fans of the Deryni books will probably read this volume anyway, eager for anything new on the topic. They will then endure a recap of events they vaguely remember from books read over a decade ago. Following this, all the characters talk and talk about who King Kelson will marry. Then they talk about talking about it. After the inevitable "surprise Deryni ancestry" revelations, the usual pack of fanatics and evil Deryni will try and thwart the wedding and will be defeated. Then King Kelson will marry the woman who was discussed and discussed. I was so excited that I decided not to wait another long span of years for another volume and gave up on KK after 30 years!
Rating: 
Summary: I would have liked a little more about the marriage
Review: All in all, this is a nice addition to the series and it wraps up some of the loose ends from the last Kelson book. However, for a book about "King Kelson's Bride," there is VERY little about the bride. Araxie, Kelson's cousin, shows up a third way into the book and then disappears for a few more chapters. She's beautiful, intelligent, very sensible, etc., but I was hoping for someone who would absolutely knock Kelson's crown off and make him forget Rothana. He spends too much of the book moaning over her refusal to marry him. I'd have liked to see Araxie very involved in the action as a heroine or to hear what she was thinking. On the plus side, it was nice to see Kelson's mother, Jehana, begin to explore her Deryni talents and the subplot about Kelson's ward, Torenthi King Liam-Lajos, was well done, even if it took up Ctoo much of the novel. Kelson's uncle Nigel and aunt Meraude deal with the two grandchildren left behind by executed son Connall satisfactorily, though one would think Meraude would be a little less fond of the man who chopped off her son's head, even if she knows Connall deserved it! All in all, a good effort.
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