Title: Enchantment, Book 1
Author: Charlotte Abel
A YA Paranormal Romance
You know that saying about something tickling your funny bone? Most people’s funny bones are on their elbow. Mine is in my heart and that is where this story tickled me.
Channie grew up in a community of witches in the Ozarks. When children are born the parents bestow upon them a magic name and bind it to them. Channies older sisters name is Abundance, Abby for short. When she gets pregnant and has triplets you can see how her name fits. Prudence is her mothers name and as you get to know her you will see that it suits her just fine. Her father has a problem with gambling. He can’t hang on to his money and maybe that is because his magic name is Money. When his gambling problems endanger the family they have to run for their lives, winding up in Louiseville, Colorado.
Now. Let me tell you about Channie. Enchantment is her magic name and now that she has turned 16, her body has blossomed. In Louiseville she must hide the fact that she is a witch since everyone there is an Empty, slang for MD or Medically Disabled. They don’t know that witches are real. The boys at her school can’t shield themselves from Channie and her magic draws them like bees to honey. This is new and exciting for Channie and a cause of great concern for her parents.
They decide that the only way to protect Channie is to change her magic name. She is very upset and begs them not to. Her father tells her, “We made the mistake of naming your sister Abundance, and look what happened to her.” Her argument that it doesn’t mean she will get pregnant like her sister did falls on deaf ears. They’ve made up their minds.
My first spontaneous outburst of laughter was at Channies response when she learned her new magic name. “What?No! You can’t name me Chastity – not when our last name is Belks.”
Her new name comes with a curse. Any boy who gets too close to her gets zapped. This becomes a problem when she meets Josh. As their friendship grows into attraction, Channie is forced to tell him her secret in order to protect him from the curse. After several electrifying episodes Josh comes to believe her. They put their heads together, trying to come up with a way around it. This is what lands them in a pickle.
Channie is the girl I wished I could have been when growing up. She is strong-willed and confident, with plenty of sass, and Josh has stolen my heart. That grin of his! He is loyal and self-aware and never wavers in his affection towards Channie.
The whole time I was reading, I was rereading parts of it out loud to my mother. She is down here visiting for the summer and I am using her as a sounding board for my reviews. We were both chuckling and, at times, laughing out loud as I read to her. The book had me so excited that I told my sister about it also and she is now demanding that I tell her the ending. We were all wet-eyed from laughing about the IFB’s and had plenty of snickers throughout the day when one of us would say, “Those IFB’s!”
This is a delightful journey, filled with humor, drama and plenty of action. The pacing is smooth and the sexual content is handled delicately, suitable for young adults. I am still aglow about this book and I want everyone to read it and feel like I do. You too will fall in love with Channie and Josh. My fingers are itching and I am off to start reading Taken, Book 2 of this story. I’ll be back later to tell you all about it!
I gave this 5 Heart Filled STARS. The highest rating I could give.
Some praise for Enchantment
“If you crave excitement and danger with your romance and can’t get enough of Stephenie Meyer, Suzanne Collins, or Cassandra Clare, make room for Enchantment.”
“Every girl wants their prince charming to be just like Josh. It made me cry and laugh and gasp … a make your heart warm and tingle kind of love story!”
About the author
Charlotte Abel was born and raised in Oklahoma. She spent many happy summers visiting relatives in Arkansas. She now lives in Colorado with her husband Pete, and loves hiking, biking, snowshoeing, and skiing in the Rocky Mountains, but will always have a special fondness for the Ozarks. Visit her at www.TheChannieSeries.com