"Witch duet stirs mixed feelings"
Charmed is Ana (Anastasia) Donovan's story.
The youngest
Donovan is an empath. Her gift is the ability to heal. She
is able to determine the extent of the damage to a person
by the laying on of hands and cure them from within using
her gift. However, there is a toll to be paid. The healer
must take the persons pain upon herself. This can be
draining or even deadly, depending on the timing and the
seriousness of the patient's ills. Because of her empathy,
her feelings are extremely sensitive. Her cousins try to
protect her from pain whenever possible for Anastasia has
been hurt before, in a matter of the heart. She had once
revealed herself to a man she had loved and been cruelly
rejected. She has accepted that she will probably lead a
solitary existence, but delights in the newfound happiness
of her two cousins. That is until the house next door
becomes occupied.
Boone Sawyer, fantasy writer and single father, has already
lost the love of his life. He has moved to California to
remove himself and his young daughter from the sad memories
and the interference of her grandparents. He is determined
to start over, but love is not to be part of the equation.
He's very well off and has had experience of gold diggers
trying to attract him by cozening up to his daughter.
Naturally he is suspicious of Ana' friendship with the
little girl. When she realizes who his is and tells him of
her admiration of his work, he is extremely rude to her.
Determined to put him in his place she shows him her
collection of his work, along with that of her aunt, Bryna
(Morgana's mother) who also writes fantasy novels.
Realizing that Ana isn't the kind of woman he suspected, he
let's her into their lives. It isn't long before he
realizes that he wants her to be a permanent part of their
family. Once burned, twice shy, Ana is too afraid to tell
him what she is, and too polite to read Boone's thoughts to
determine his feelings for her. She puts off telling him
until tragedy forces her to reveal her skills. The toll on
Ana is great. Now Boone doesn't know what to do with his
feelings. Which will prevail, gratitude for her aid, fear
for her life, or anger that she didn't trust him enough to
share her secret with him? Can he accept who she is and
make her a part of his life or is it all too much to take?
Can Ana bear another rejection? This third Donovan story
ties up all the loose ends and gives a glimpse of the
amusing elder Donovan's in the process. I think the reader
will enjoy
this believable and highly lovable witch tale.
Enchanted is Liam Donovan's story. Unlike the
others in the
DONOVAN LEGACY, this one did not enchant me. It featured a
self-centered hero, a gullible heroine, and a decided lack
of plot. The premise was fine but it went nowhere in a big
hurry. This Donovan is a second cousin to Morgana
(Captivated), Sebastian (Entranced)
, and Anastasia
(Charmed). He has isolated himself in the
mountains in
order to make a grave decision. He's been requested to take
on the mantle of Prince of his people, by his father the
current Prince. On the wind comes a message.....Love is
coming to Liam, but he wants no part of love and is
determined to make this decision without its influence. In
fact, he shrewdly decides to use his knowledge of the
coming love prospect as the excuse for his final
decision.
A prince must choose another hereditary witch as his mate.
Should the prospective young woman not be, he could marry
her and use her as his excuse to decline the offer. Should
she prove to be a witch he could refuse her, sighting a
lack of feeling as his reason to refuse. This should give
you a pretty good insight into his character already.
The heroine, Rowan, is at a crossroad in her life.
Everything in her life has been chosen for her, her career
as well as her blas� fianc�. She is dissatisfied and
convinced that something is missing in her life. She
retreats to the mountains to come to a decision as to the
direction her life should now take. There she meets
Liam.
Liam's gift, among others, is the ability to change form.
Taking the shape of his favorite form, a wolf, he scopes
out his new neighbor, Rowan. Ever astute he draws the
conclusion that she is his prophesied love interest. Rowan
is quite taken with the wolf, but not with her enigmatic
neighbor, at least at first. Liam attempts to avoid her in
his human form while watching over her and learning about
her as the wolf. He crosses the bounds of decency however,
taking advantage of opportunities to share her bed and
watch her bathe. He quickly realizes something that Rowan
herself does not know. She too is a hereditary witch. Rowan
is unaware of her gift because her mother had married a
mortal and chosen not to accept her nature. Rowan's
maternal grandmother whom she is named after, was explained
away as being merely an eccentric old woman.
In spite of himself, Liam finds himself wanting to be near
Rowan in human form as well and eventually feels compelled
to reveal her true nature to her. He decides that the best
way to convince her is to reveal his own. Justifiably
appalled by Liam's deceit and the way he has taken
advantage of her loving nature, she flees back to her home.
She is determined to make the life of her choosing without
him, until his mother appears and tells her he is
miserable. Unfortunately Liam's nature does not really
improve after she gives him a second chance.
I don't think the characters ever really connected for me.
I wasn't sure they belonged together, nor that I liked them
enough to care. I enjoy romances with subplots or intrigue.
I like to see the pair working together to a common goal,
or against a common foe. Even if they are working at
cross-purposes, I like that little niggling in the back of
their
minds that says, I love this person, why am I doing this?
There just was no story here, just two self-involved people
who never quite get over themselves. Not a keeper for me.
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted October 30, 2006
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