Lynn Kurland is one my favorite romance authors because of her great comic timing and natural writing. Star of the Morning kicks off her new trilogy in the fantasy medieval realm that she previously created for the novellas in the anthologies, To Weave a Web of Magic and The Queen In Winter. Her ending on the romance aspect, though, was really unsatisfactory for me, and I’m not sure if I’ll be around for the rest of the series.

Miach is one worried archmage. Not only has he learned that the sword of his brother, King Adhémar, has lost its magical power, but he further discovers that his brother has lost his ability to cast spells. Their kingdom needs a new source of magic to help defend its borders against an evil mage. Miach thinks a magical sword fashioned by a previous queen of the kingdom will be that source. He realizes they would quickly need to find a person possessing magical powers to wield that sword, and King Adhémar will have to find that person since he is the only one knowledgeable enough about magic, other than Miach, to do so.

Morgan is one annoyed mercenary. Receiving an urgent, mysterious note from her foster father, she abandons a profitable job to rush to his side, only to find him perfectly well. He wants her to take a dagger heavily overlaid with magic to King Adhémar. Morgan hates magic and ergo magical things, but she cannot refuse any wishes from the man who gave her – an orphan – a home.

Her friends and one stranger meet up by chance and decide to accompany her on her journey. The stranger is very handsome, but also arrogant and ill-tempered. He says his name is Adhémar, but Morgan doesn’t think he looks much like the face on the king’s coin, and besides, the king’s name is a very popular one for men hereabouts. Morgan happens to pick up his sword to defend him during a battle with some creatures. The dead magic in his sword flares to life. Later that night, Morgan sees him with a large hawk, which seems to transform into a man that greatly resembles him. It’s actually Miach, who is searching for his brother. Morgan faints, exhausted from the fight and a lingering bout of seasickness. Miach catches her before she hits the ground, and the beauty of her face captivates him.

Star of the Morning is another one of Lynn Kurland’s pleasant yet realistic medieval novels, which also happens to include mages and other individuals having magical powers. The story is a road romance, although the leads are in almost constant company with her friends and one king in (somewhat) disguise, Adhémar. This gives lots of time for Morgan and Miach to get to know and fall in love. The pacing is leisurely – a little too leisurely.

Morgan is one of my favorite types of heroines: a strong, tough woman. There isn’t much physical description of her in the early chapters, but when Adhémar mentions she is a shieldmaiden, I thought, Aha! She’s Éowyn (specifically from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King movie). Morgan is incredibly skilled in swordplay, more than most men, but is not comfortable with feelings, and she’s definitely feeling them when it comes to Miach.

Miach is a much nicer man than his brother is. He knows he can’t be serious about an unmagical woman like Morgan because he has a duty to pass his powers on, yet he can’t stay away from her. And, of course, he’s quite worried if she should ever find out that he’s not a farmer who knows a few useful spells and that he’s actually a very powerful and skilled mage. (Note: Make sure she’s not holding a knife if she does).

The sensuality rating may puzzle you. It’s not a mistake. For a book labeled as a fantasy romance, there are no love scenes. Nada. Zilch. Not even a kissing scene. And yet a satisfying romance develops between Morgan and Miach from the enjoyment in the other’s conversation, a touch on the other’s arm, and hands held. It may be not very physical, but it is rather sweet.

So while, in the end, the lack of physical love didn’t bother me, a couple of other things did. Kurland describes the creatures that attacked at various occasions as looking and dying like men, but are not men; I would have liked some definition. Part of the enjoyment of fantasy fiction is reading about imaginary beings, and these vague descriptions fall short. That’s a minor complaint but the biggie has to do with the couple. I can’t go into much detail but what happened at the end for the couple I just could not like, and it veers widely from a reader’s basic end-of-novel expectation for a romance.

There are other loose ends, which too obviously, will be addressed in the next book. Lynn Kurland’s writing is still engaging for me, but because of her treatment of the couple at the end, it doesn’t make me eager to continue the series.