A Kiss of Fate is Mary Jo Putney's foray into the paranormal world of the Guardians. The Guardians are a race of magically endowed humans who have sworn to serve and protect the human "mundanes" they live amongst in secrecy

This is the first novel in a terrific new paranormal historical series. Duncan Macrae is a powerful Guardian whose reputation for controlling the weather has earned him the title of Storm Lord. One of the most powerful mages of his time, he is also the Laird of powerful Scottish clan leading into the ill fated rising led by Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Gwynne is a young, fiery spirited widow, who, though raised within the domain of the Guardians, has no powers to call her own, or at least none that have manifested yet. She has spent her life as a scholar of Guardian knowledge and has lamented that her half Guardian heritage did not see fit to bestow upon her powers other than the occasional precognitive flash.

During a garden party Duncan sees Gwynne and can immediately feel the passion that lies just below the surface, it isn't until a shared kiss and a marriage proposal that Gwynne "sees" a horrific future surrounding Duncan, blood, death, and destruction. The vision so scares her she tells her friend, who in turn calls a meeting of the Guardian council to ponder these visions.

Under the suggestion of the council, Gwynne accepts Duncan's proposal and acknowledges her attraction and fear of Duncan. Unbeknownst to both of them, Gwynne's dormant powers will manifest upon the loss of her virginity, something that her first husband, who "seen" part of her destiny, had taken pains to see remained intact. Upon Duncan and Gwynne's wedding night and the passion that kindles so hotly between them, her powers begin to blossom. Neither, she nor Duncan could have known that she carried the very feminine power of the legendry enchantress's and the discovery leads to some interesting occurrences.

As the two journey to Duncan's ancestral Scottish home, they must deal with the impending rising and its dire consequences. Duncan's Guardian vow not to act in a partisan way in the upcoming rising, and Gwynne's inability to understand completely what she has seen in her visions combine to create a tense situation that is even true love may not be able to solve. Gwynne's indomitable will to do what must be done leads her to betray the man she loves in order to save him and his people, but in doing so, will shatter the trust and her marriage to Duncan.

A wonderful book filled with romance, magic, honour and duty. Well worth your time to read. The second novel in the series - which I read first I might add, is Stolen Magic and follows the lives of another pair of Guardians as well as other continuing characters. Both are excellent but Stolen Magic will be enhanced by reading A Kiss of Fate first. A quick note: "The Alchemical Marriage" published in the Irresistible Forces Anthology was the first story in this fantasy series. A Kiss of Fate and Stolen Magic are novels 1 and 2 in the continuing series.