Charlotte Abel

NOTE: I received the eARC from the author, for which I'm beyond grateful.

Wow! Just, wow! I didn't expect this book to be such a black, but it left me speechless and wanting more! I'm greedy like that. Every chapter was full with tension and drama. Every page screamed that there was more, so much more in the next one. and I had to keep on going until I found myself at the end, eyes full with tears, heart racing in my chest.

Because River's Recruit wasn't just the next book. Oh, no. It was an show more adventure that left me breathless, it was like a fairy tale with elements of reality. It had me gasping in expectation at every corner.

Yeah, it was that good and I know I can't wait for the next installment to come out. So Charlotte, you better hurry it up!

So, here we're introduced into the lives of two very different people. Jonathan, who is an ex-marine (due to the fact that he's left with only one hand after his unit's car got blown up in Afghanistan); and River, who doesn't even live in our reality of this world. and then they meet in the midst of a snow storm that sort of placed them together for longer than initially intended.

When their worlds collide, neither one of them is left a choice but to embrace the card they'd been dealt. And what a card it is!

Outside of all the action, adventure, drama, etc., what's really interesting is River's world. Her community of people (kind of cult like) live isolated and outside of any technology and the like. Much like the Amish, now that I think about it. However, they have laws that are so severe, most of the punishments seem to lean toward death. That's how the Community control the people mostly - through fear of death. Understandable, isn't it? Family ties and family trees are respected more than anything. And of course, obedience is mandatory for everyone.

I really liked how the characters' names were almost all Biblical. Like Reuben and Issachar and others I can't think of right now. Out of all of them I really ended up caring for Reuben. He was just so amazing! He despised the severity of the laws but was well aware there was no way around them. If there was, he was definitely taking it. And he wanted the absolute best for River. He treated her like a daughter, even though if she'd been 'bought' by anyone else, she'd have been a concubine. Worthless and used up.

So, River. She was this wild spirited, but obedient to Ruben, young girl. She had a backbone and mad bow skills. Also, she always seemed to be able to see through people.

Jonathan warmed my heart too. H was such a sweetheart, knowing nothing about the Community but being determined to protect River with his life if he must. Brave, reckless at times, but always putting others before his own needs.

I don't think I need to go on. Really. You should've gotten the picture by now. This book is... an adventure you must not miss! show less

Talk about lightning striking in the same place twice, that's exactly what Abel did with Taken. Taken did not disappoint, the storytelling was as riveting as Enchantment. I'm still reeling from reading the pages of such an intense and fast driven story. Things never slowed, Channie and Josh were always on the go. Channie and Josh's life got more complicated as the story progressed, when it looks like fate might give them a break they have to face another obstacle. The evil magic book show more continues to control their life. They also have to deal with Channie's mother Prudence after her use of the book made her crazy. Channie's family were at the mercy of Prudence's wrath when she totally flipped her lid.

Some characters made a turn for the better in this book. One of such character was Hunter. When we were first introduced to Hunter in Enchantment, I thought he was just a jerk trying to get into Channie's pants. I fell in love with Hunter in Taken, he turned out to be a great guy who cares for Channie's well being and a good friend to Josh.

Channie continues to be her same old moody self, and Josh continues to be the sweetheart that Channie doesn't always listen to. There were somethings that Channie had to deal with that made me uncomfortable but definitely added to the story. Channie was used to her mage way of life so when her father and mother either hit her or threatened to she did not see a problem with it. She even thought she would deserve it if she was stupid enough to disobey. Channie and her sister Abby had a conversation about it being okay for a man to hit them if they stepped out of line and that a male in control of their life is okay too. I thought it was funny that Channie never cut Josh any slack for reacting angrily to upsetting situations although Josh would never try to control her or think of putting his hand on her. My female equality mindset really wanted to shake some sense into those women that this is so not right. This scene definitely builds on the mage world and life, it also shows Abel's boldness with her in-depth storytelling.

There is so much happening in Josh and Channie's world that kept me tuned in to their story and experiencing their trials and triumphs to their ultimate destiny. Such a intense action driven read. This time the cliff hanger has me anxious about how things will be in the next installment of the series. show less

NOTE: I received the eARC from the author. Thanks Charlotte!

This review was originally posted at YA Story Teller

Finding Valor is the last installment in the Channie Series. As such, I was scared to start reading it, because I had no idea how good it would turn out to be. It's a real fear you know, seeing how many trilogies have horrible endings. Luckily though, it scored a great rating.

And there's a good reason why. Charlotte Abel has done an exceptionally good job finishing this series. Her show more writing style has improved over the years and it's quite obvious. Sure, at times it felt that the book was just too long, but I realize now that if it had been written any other way, we as readers would have missed out a lot. The events just had to unfold the way they did, or the effect of this final novel would not have been the same.

Finding Valor started out slow, with Joshua's lack of memory of all things Channie related. I loved how it was explained that he would remember certain things for an instant and then forget them right away because of the curse Channie's mom placed on him. This way it seemed that the pain of the emptiness inside his heart felt all the more excruciating. I don't know how I would've felt in his place - not remembering a single thing for the past (was it a) year. Not remembering being married and completely in love...

It wasn't any easier on Channie either. She willingly gave Josh up, just so she could protect him from her insane mother. How sad is that?

The intensity of the action was held by the two major events: a) Channie's sacrifice and b) the fight with the mage queen Dominance. Each chapter built up the tension even more, until I could barely wait to see what was going to happen in the end. I felt like skipping to those last pages just so I could know. You know? There were surprises at every turn and I'm happy to say I couldn't really predict them. I love that kind of book.

But what I loved the most was that all the characters grew throughout the novel. Joshua started out as a naive, disbelieving guy and became a recognized, responsible leader. Channie started out as a girl who'd lost all hope, but ended up with more than she could've ever wished for. Even Hunter had grown into a man who understood the comings and goings of the world around him.

Lots of mistakes were made, even more love came to be and I could only say that I was entirely satisfied by this final installment of the Channie Series. show less

WOW…Exceptional start to a promising series. While this installment left me itching to start the next, I also found myself profoundly satisfied with the full arc of this novel as a standalone book. That's hard to do in a series. I'm already reading the next book: "[b:Taken|13432313|Taken (Channie, #2)|Charlotte Abel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327735049s/13432313.jpg|18931225]," as I missed author [a:Charlotte Abel|4962823|Charlotte show more Abel|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1319008676p2/4962823.jpg]'s idiosyncratic characters the moment I finished "Enchantment." show less