{REVIEW and SERIES GIVEAWAY} THE CHARMED FATES by CHRISTINE WENRICK

Series: The Charmed Trilogy #3
Category/Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Red Tree House Publishing
Publication Date: 3/1/13
Format: eARC
Pages: 295

Over a year has passed since Olivia Ann Greyson discovered that she is a Charmer, a Dhampir fated to be part of the violent supernatural world that surrounds our human one. In that time, she has strengthened herself physically, learned of her family’s secret past, and found a deep and abiding love with the strongest man she has ever met, Daywalker Caleb Wolfe. But Olivia’s biggest challenge still lies ahead of her . . .

Dark vampire lord Luther Davin has been obsessed with capturing Olivia so he can use her special gifts for his own reasons. As Caleb and Olivia try to make a new life together with their coven, the Nightwalker’s attempts to capture her only intensify and inadvertently bring an unwelcome visitor from Caleb’s past barging back into his life.

She is Caelestis—Celeste to the modern world—and she claims to be Caleb’s first and rightful mate. Although Olivia has grown confident and secure in her relationship with Caleb, she soon realizes that Celeste sees herself as no less than a goddess among mere mortals and will stop at nothing to get Caleb back—which means Olivia herself must die!

When these two threats collide and fate steps in to pull Olivia away from her new family, will she be ready for her darkest hour and her greatest battle?

Oh gosh, I have no idea how to review The Charmed Fates without spoilers. I want to gush about the story, how everything wrapped up, and how much I loved Caleb and Olivia. But to go into specific details about the story would definitely give away too much about The Charmed and The Charmed Souls.

So I guess I'll go with feelings. And my feelings about this series are all positive. It's not too often lately that I find a Paranormal Romance book or series that I truly fall in love with. It's not that I don't like them, but something about The Charmed Trilogy has really won me over, and I am so sad to see it end, but so happy with how it ended. I absolutely love author Christine Wenrick's take on vampires, guardians, and shifters.

The Charmed Fates was tense, with the danger that's been building since book one coming to a head. Caleb, Olivia, Jax, and Gemma are such a tight-knit coven/family, and their strength is definitely put to the test more than ever. There is also the matter of Caleb's maker Celeste, who is determined to get him back into her (horrible bitch) claws. Celeste is the worst. I hated hated hated her, which of course, means the author did a brilliant job in writing the character.

My favorite aspect to the series, and this story in particular, was the romance. I know this comes as no surprise to anyone who regularly reads my reviews. Honestly, I had no idea that the series would become so romantic. And it wasn't the cheesy kind of romance that makes you cringe a little and roll your eyes. It was as simple as the intensity of the emotions between Caleb and Olivia, what they had come through together, and what they meant to one another. I loved how they were genuinely friends and liked each other, but damn, did those two ever have some serious freaking chemistry on a physical level! I seriously had to set the book down a few times and fan myself until I could cool down and quit blushing. The scenes were so erotic and emotionally intense, but in a truly tasteful manner. I loved it.

As I said before, I am so sad The Charmed Trilogy is over, but am so happy with the way it concluded. I felt content with the way the story ended, and with characters and their relationships. And, in a pleasant surprise, it turns out that Christine Wenrick is working on a spin-off series with the Guardians and Shifters. I am so happy that I actually don't have to say goodbye to this beautiful world she has created.


Favorite Quote:

    Responding to the strength of him, feeling his skin on mine, my breaths came slower and deeper. There was no way for me to resist this man when I knew he was about to take me. Because my body was his, always his, just as my heart was. "You're so beautiful," he whispered, his voice brushing over me like his softest caress as he stretched my wrists even further upward, causing my breasts to round and lift higher, the already hardened tips rising until they were right there for the taking. "Let me touch you. Let me...have you."   ~18%


  "Stay with me," he whispered, like a promise, his breath tingling over the shell of my ear. "I was wrong not to tell you the truth...for hurting you like this. I was trying to protect you. But please don't pull away from me now when I need to feel you the most."  ~25%


  "I have missed you," he said. "Every day I have missed you. I don't know if there has ever been a single moment since I met you that I have needed to be lost inside you more than I do right now."  ~55%

The Charmed Trilogy

Click on cover to visit GoodReads page

My Reviews of

The Charmed  |  The Charmed Souls

You can purchase The Charmed Series at:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

GIVEAWAY

Christine Wenrick is giving one lucky winner all three books in The Charmed Trilogy.

Must be 17+ years of age to enter.

Open Intl.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author:
Christine is the author of The Charmed Trilogy. She lives in the scenic Pacific Northwest where she enjoys hiking, camping and photographing many of the wonderful places that served as inspiration for her novels. Her biggest reward in life is any given day when one of her books connects with a reader, because she herself is such a lover of reading.
You can connect with Christine at

Website  |  GoodReads.  |  Facebook

{REVIEW} THE CHARMED SOULS (THE CHARMED TRILOGY #2) by CHRISTINE WENRICK

Series: The Charmed Trilogy #2
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Red Tree House Publishing
Publication Date: 11/22/12
Format: ebook
Pages: 365

Olivia Ann Greyson is a Charmer, a Dhampir with the power to lure the supernatural world’s most dangerous of creatures – and she’s in an impossible situation. She must leave behind Caleb Wolfe, the strong, protective vampire she has fallen madly in love with, in order to learn how to protect herself from the vampires, shifters and demons that will be drawn to her for the rest of her life.

Human Guardian, Alec Lambert, has been assigned to see to Olivia’s training by the organization he belongs to, which is known simply as The Brethren. He takes Olivia to the group’s stronghold in the mountainous regions of Alberta, Canada, where she discovers the answers to her family’s painful past and the extent to which those hunting her will go to capture her. But she also uncovers many secrets and even more questions about this mysterious group she has trusted to protect her – secrets that will have her fighting to get back to the man she left behind.

. . . but will it be too late?

 

With a battle between Good vs. Evil and a swoon-worthy romance, The Charmed Souls is a great continuation of The Charmed Trilogy.

I have to admit, I was a little worried about picking up The Charmed Souls. Second books in a series are always tricky, even more so when the heroine and her leading man are separated, as Olivia and Caleb were at the end of book one. Because of that separation, although mostly necessary, it did take me a bit to warm up to this book. I understand that Olivia was doing what she melt she must, but I'm a romantic at heart. She and Caleb are a great couple and I wanted them back together. Pronto. But Olivia isn't away just for the sake of adding angst to the story. While she is with the Brethren, she is learning more about their world, and training to protect herself. That in itself was great because I love to see a proactive heroine.

However... Caleb can't stay away for long and once they are reunited, this book became fantastic. Yes, the entire story is an interesting and cool take on vampires, but the heart of this series is the love between Caleb and Olivia. It is sweet, exhilarating, and intense. I have to say, the author turned up the steam factor and I was one super-happy reader. It was romantic, erotic, and left me fanning myself. Wow. I will never look at a piano bench the same way again.

The Charmed Souls deals with a lot of revelations about Olivia's family, with a big surprise on that front, and about the Daywalkers like Caleb and Jax. I thought I was sick and tired of them, but I love Wenrick's take on vampires. There's also the secondary relationship issues between Jax and Gemma, two characters I adore and hope find happiness, with one another.

The Charmed Souls was surprising and sexy, and I ended up having a great time reading it. It wrapped up really well, leaving me satisfied on all fronts. But then...the epilogue. I'm scared! It set the story up for a great final book, The Charmed Fates.


Favorite Quotes:


    Caleb silenced me by fisting his hand into my hair and dragging my lips over his. He kissed me hard, literally taking full possession of my mouth as if he dared anyone or anything to come between us at that moment. And, like a private dance between two people, he coaxed, caressed, and eased me until I fell under his lead, taking his pleasure like a man who had been starved for three long months.  ~39%


And the music was amazing, ultra-clear and sharp, like being in the middle of a live orchestra under a cloudless night sky. The notes became alive, three-dimensional, and part of the energy around me in a way I had never experienced before--from the inside out. I wanted to hold on to the feeling, commit it to memory so it would be there for me in the future.  ~ 52%


 

The Charmed Trilogy 

Click on cover to visit GoodReads page

My Review of The Charmed

You can purchase The Charmed and The Charmed Souls at:

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Smashwords

About the author:
Christine is the author of The Charmed Trilogy. She lives in the scenic Pacific Northwest where she enjoys hiking, camping and photographing many of the wonderful places that served as inspiration for her novels. Her biggest reward in life is any given day when one of her books connects with a reader, because she herself is such a lover of reading.
You can connect with Christine at GoodReads.

{SPECIAL FEATURE} THE CHARMED TRILOGY ~ EXCERPT AND GIVEAWAY

Today I have a nice feature/excerpt and giveaway to share with you all. I recently reviewed The Charmed, book one in The Charmed Trilogy. And now author Christine Wenrick is offering you the chance to read an excerpt from The Charmed, along with a giveaway of your choice of either The Charmed or book two, The Charmed Souls.


Series: The Charmed Trilogy #1
Publisher: Red Tree House Publishing
Publication Date: 8/29/12
Format: ebook
Pages: 306
Source: Received from author for review.

In The Charmed—Book One of The Charmed Trilogy—Olivia Ann Greyson sees only one future for herself—to compose and perform the music she has loved since she was a child. But that future changes in an instant when a commuter train taking her to the city crashes and is attacked by, unbelievably, a coven of vampires! As the rabid creatures feed their thirst on the surviving passengers, Olivia is spared from an unthinkable fate because of the intervention of another vampire—Caleb Wolfe, a figure from her past who, for reasons he doesn’t understand himself, would do anything to protect her.
After one familiar touch, Olivia recognizes the man behind the vampire. Soon love, and a powerful supernatural connection, begins to grow between them. But with that connection Olivia starts to notice starling changes happening within herself, and violent events make it clear that the vampire coven which wanted her the night of the train crash won’t stop until they have her.
Time is running out for Olivia and Caleb to discover why all this is happening. And the answers they find may painfully tear their new love apart.

 

My review of The Charmed.

Series: The Charmed Trilogy #2
Publisher: Red Tree House Publishing
Publication Date: 11/22/12

Olivia Ann Greyson is a Charmer, a Dhampir with the power to lure the supernatural world’s most dangerous of creatures – and she’s in an impossible situation. She must leave behind Caleb Wolfe, the strong, protective vampire she has fallen madly in love with, in order to learn how to protect herself from the vampires, shifters and demons that will be drawn to her for the rest of her life.

Human Guardian, Alec Lambert, has been assigned to see to Olivia’s training by the organization he belongs to, which is known simply as The Brethren. He takes Olivia to the group’s stronghold in the mountainous regions of Alberta, Canada, where she discovers the answers to her family’s painful past and the extent to which those hunting her will go to capture her. But she also uncovers many secrets and even more questions about this mysterious group she has trusted to protect her – secrets that will have her fighting to get back to the man she left behind.

. . . but will it be too late?

 

Excerpt 

(I was thrilled when Christine let me know the excerpt was from one of my favorite moments in The Charmed. )

Humiliated by my own weakness, I couldn’t look at him while he quietly remained at my side. His fingers slid down to my hip, where he took my trembling hand in his. He was so close, I could hear his soft breaths, feel them as they blew against my skin. It was as if he was silently asking me to look at him . . . but I couldn’t.

I was scared.

“Why?” my tear-filled voice pleaded.

“I’m sorry, Olivia,” he replied, misery in his words. “I promise, I’ll take you home when I’m confident that the danger—”

“No . . . I mean why me? Why did you save me?”

For a long moment, silence fell over the dark room as I verbally continued to force out the pained thoughts in my head. “I know you couldn’t save us both . . . but why me?”

My teary gaze turned to face him, and the vampire’s presence was never more real to me than at that moment. His lips lingered just inches above my own, and his sweet, cool breath tingled across my cheek while mine drew in sharply. This was the first time I had seen him out of the shadows—and his human face was stunningly handsome.

Deep-set gray eyes stared back at me with such intensity that my heart began skipping out of its normal rhythm. They were an intricate weave of muted grays and icy silvers that seemed to dance inside his iris, which was rimmed at the edge in a deep charcoal. I felt trapped by the hypnotic color as his dark brows pulled toward each other in—disbelief? It was like he couldn’t believe I had asked him the question.

Unthinkingly, I reached up to cup his cheek in my palm, just wanting to touch him. The short bristle on his unshaven cheek scratched at my hand in that good way that reminded a woman that she was touching a man, and his mood seemed to change as a smile began to spread over his lips that I swear could have lit up the darkest sky. Long dimples dug into his cheeks, and that’s when it happened—a moment of déjà vu.

Those eyes. I had seen them before! I knew them—knew him.

He squeezed the hand he held at my side, slowly, gently, till the pressure could no longer be ignored. My breath caught. There was something so familiar in his touch, in that movement, it sent a jolt right through me from head to toe. I blinked hard, then, as if I were standing back there on that sunny day in the tall grass ten years ago, it came to me.

“The lake?” I whispered in wondering amazement.

His thumb scribed small circles over the palm where I had cut my hand as a girl. He nodded, several shuffling emotions seeming to cross his face as he closed his eyes and lowered his head. “I should’ve saved you both. And for that I’ll always be sorry. But I could never have let Isaac take you, Olivia. For me, there never was a choice.”

**Thanks to Christine for the lovely excerpt.**

 

Giveaway

 

One winner will receive their choice of either The Charmed (book one) or The Charmed Souls ebook.

 

The Rules:

•  Must be 17+ years of age to enter.
• Open to International residents, but you must be able to receive ebook gifts.
• Must fill out the Rafflecopter form.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway