Charmed : Shadow of the Sphinx

 

By Carla Jablonski

Based on the TV series Charmed created by Constance M. Burge.

New to the Halliwell family of witches, young Paige finds herself alone while her two sisters are busy elsewhere. She heads upstairs to spend her alone time with the Book of Shadows, a collection of information and spells created by the witch ancestors of the current three Halliwell sisters.

Paige is browsing through the book when she finds a spell for shapeshifting. She decides to try out the spell because the power to shapeshift is one her two sisters don't have and that is appealing to Paige. As she rushes to gather all the items needed for casting the spell, she fails to read to spell instructions all the way through. 

The spell works and Paige finds herself turned into a kitty cat. But when her sisters return home, Paige realizes she doesn't know how to stop being a cat. And her sisters are surprised to find a strange cat in their house and she is captured and hauled off to an animal shelter.

At the shelter, Paige is quickly adopted by a man and taken away by him to a meeting of a small cult calling themselves the Disciples of Thoth. Paige becomes the focus of a ceremony being performed by the cult members, lead by the man who adopted her from the animal shelter, Tyler Carlson. 

The center of attention, Tyler and Paige abide while the acolytes chant and the two vanish from modern times and find themselves back in ancient Egypt, in a temple dedicated to the cat god Bastet. And find themselves surrounded by hostile guards and hysterical priests, accused of being foreign spies. Locked away in prison cell with no way out, even Paige's witch powers don't work because the walls of the prison are covered with anti-magic spells that nullify her powers.

Meanwhile, back in current times, the sisters have figured out what Paige did and are on her trail. They soon understand that Paige and Tyler are in ancient Egypt and they use their magic powers to travel into the past after her. Ending up in the same temple in which Paige and Tyler had appeared, they see a cat in the temple and assume it is Paige and grab it and take it back to their present time. They perform a spell to return Paige to her human form and the spell works but the woman who appears is not Paige. She is Hoptith and she was condemned to be confined a cat form because she was an evil and dangerous witch. And now she is thrilled to be herself again and she has all sorts of plans that don't bode well for either the past or the present.

This was an OK read, if a bit juvenile. I was not familiar with the TV series when I got the book  but it sounded like a fun read. It was a bit chaotic and the action often happens with little explanation and lots of improbable coincidences. Like what are the odds that when the two sisters change the temple cat into a person, it turns out to be a powerful and dangerous witch bent on world domination? Or that when Paige, in her cat form, is dropped off at the animal shelter, she is immediately adopted by a man who wants to use the cat in a magical ritual that very night? Too juvenile in tone for me.

Stardoc

 

By S. L, Viehl

First book in the Stardoc series.

Cherijo Grey Veil worked hard at her studies and became a very skilled surgeon. Then she found out something about her father, Dr. Joseph Grey Veil, that turned her world upside down. And she fled her home and found a job at a medical clinic on another planet, trying to start a new life on a new world.

As a woman with a strong personality, Cherijo stepped on a few toes, mainly Drs. Mayer and Rogan. Really, though, she never had a chance with Dr. Mayer, who seemed to hate the very sight of her. But when a patient nearly died because of Dr. Rogan's failure to diagnose the patient correctly, Cherijo read him the riot act and earned herself an implacable enemy. 

Cherijo's father found out where she was and sent her threatening messages demanding that she come back home. He even sent people to kidnap her. But Cherijo laughed at his threats and continued on with her work at the clinic, treating whatever beings showed up in need of medical care. 

Most of her patients were not humans but that did not slow Cherijo down. She seemed to have an instinct for what all her patients who came to the clinic needed. That is until Alun Karas, a furry being who accidentally became covered with some kind of plant sap and had a reaction to it. No matter what she tried and for reasons she didn't understand, Alun Karas steadily went downhill, eventually dying. The medical tests showed no source of infection. But even worse, it soon became apparent that whatever had infected Karas was now spreading throughout the city. And none of the doctors have a clue as to what organism or toxin is responsible for the epidemic. Together, they are working to try to understand this sudden illness, but soon most of the doctors and nurses are infected too. Cherijo is unaffected and is bearing the weight of trying to crack this puzzle before the whole city is wiped out.

This was an OK story. Long, though, nearly 400 pages, way longer than it needed to be, I think. The epidemic section was way too long, it just goes on and on about how big of a puzzle the infection is. I found the story slow paced. And I never really liked the main character, Cherijo. I guess a lot of readers do like her story because it became a long series consisting of ten novels.

Gateways

 

By F. Paul Wilson

A Repairman Jack novel

Jack hasn't been as close to his dad as he probably should be. He knows his dad was disappointed that Jack didn't come home for his sister's funeral. Even so, when he gets word that his dad was in a vehicle crash, he wants his brother Tom Jr to be the one to go down to Florida to check on their father. But Tom Jr says he's tied up with business and it's up to Jack to step in.

Tom Sr has been in a coma since the crash, which happened on an unfrequented rural road. The circumstances of the crash are mysterious and will remain so until Tom Sr comes out of his coma.

Jack flies down to Florida and visits his dad in the hospital. The dad is not conscious but still has a visitor, his next door neighbor, an elderly lady named Anya. She and Tom Sr live in a community for retirees called Gateways.

After stopping by the hospital, Jack goes to his dad's house to stay while his dad is in the hospital. He notices that his dad's neighbor Anya's house is surrounded by lush green vegetation even though everyone's lawn in the community is brown and dead because of an extended drought. When he asks Anya about it, she has no explanation but assures him she is not watering her plants on the sly, against the water conservation orders.

Anya is not the only odd duck in this story. A group of strange, deformed people live in the swamp, led by a young woman with a mob of pure white hair who goes by the name of Semelee. She and her gang of thugs are somehow involved with the dad's accident. She also has weird, uncanny powers that enable her to control animals and insects. She is aware of Jack's arrival to Gateways and she has decided he is the man she fated to be with. Which is going to come as a surprise to Jack, who doesn't even know of her existence. And he already has a wife and child waiting for him back home.

I really enjoyed this story up to almost the end. It's part of a series but this was my first read of a book from the series. I found that, even though I hadn't read the previous novels, knowledge of the previous books was not needed to enjoy this story.

However, the ending was disappointing as it ends in a big battle with the bad guys. Bullets are flying, people are getting hurt. I just skimmed through the battle stuff to get to the results. 

I guess we're supposed to hate little Semelee but I just felt sorry for her. I wish the author had come up with a better fate for her than what he did. The same for Devil, the alligator, who was given a cruel and painful fate simply because he was a big, dangerous gator. His crimes weren't even of his own creation, he was simply a tool used by a pathetic, confused child. 

You Shouldn't Have Come Here

 

 By Jeneva Rose

Grace Evans has come to Dubois, Wyoming for some rest and relaxation and to enjoy the country scenery and breathe some fresh country air. She has a reservation at a ranch where she will be staying in a bedroom of the ranch house.

Her host is Calvin Wells who also lives in the ranch house. He is a handsome and strapping young man and is thrilled to have someone as beautiful as Grace staying with him for a few weeks.

But there's problems. His friends and family are a bit less welcoming as one could hope for. And one of his friends is frankly hostile to Grace's presence in Calvin's home. Charlotte is clearly giving off ex-girlfriend-hoping-to-get-back-together vibes. Calvin, however, is just as clearly indifferent to whatever Charlotte's hopes might be, calling her a just part-time ranch hand.

Another problematic person is Calvin's brother, Joe, who comes off as a bit nutty. His relationship with his brother seems a little mysterious to Grace and he also seems a little too interested in his brother's houseguest. 

Grace doesn't feel quite comfortable with Calvin and his brother. But that doesn't stop her from having an intimate moment with Calvin. Which Calvin misconstrues as more than just a one night stand. He thinks it is the beginning of a whole new relationship and is already making plans for Grace to stay on the ranch permanently. But Grace is not enamored with Calvin and refuses his further advances, something that Calvin is unwilling to accept. 

Trouble is brewing on this Wyoming ranch.

This book is not a winner. I found myself skipping about half of the book, just wanting to finish it. I bought it new and didn't want to feel like I wasted my money by not finishing it. But it was boring and predictable and the two main characters are completely unlikeable. The book, almost from the beginning, gives hints that Grace is a phony. The only thing that actually surprised me a little was that she was not motivated by any honorable reason.

Also check out this review by Kirkus Reviews.

Twice

 

By Mitch Albom

Alfie Logan's mom died when he was just a youngster. The trauma of losing his mom turned on a strange power in him. Alfie woke up the next morning and discovered his mom hadn't actually died. She noticed his confusion and knew what had happened because she had the same ability, an ability that gave the possessor the power to travel back in time and get a redo. As she explained it, "This is something you're going to be able to do the rest of your life. Get second chances...It's a gift. A power. Some people in our family get it...But it won't fix everything, Alfie. The second time won't always be better than the first. Don't try to change everything, OK? Don't correct every mistake. Don't take advantage of people. Don't use your power for money. Be careful." 

So do something stupid? Jump back before the stupid action and just not do that. But you only do that for each event once. So if you went back and changed something and it didn't work out you couldn't go back again. 

Alfie's grandmother also had this time travel ability. And she warned Alfie that if he cheats on a lover and then tries to time jump to set things right, the person he cheated on would never love him again, no matter what. 

Given that Alfie inherited this ability at a very young age, he naturally used it for silly things. But he also found out that he could not prevent someone from dying. No matter how he changed the circumstances, the person will still die. Of a different cause, but they would still die. He learned this when he tried to save a friend who enlisted in the military. The man was up for two positions, one on a ship and the other at a training center. He chose the ship duty because it sounded more exciting. But that ship was attacked and he died. So Alfie went back in time and talked his friend in signing up for the training position instead.  But friend died anyway, in an accident, on the same day and at the same time. 

Back when Alfie was a kid, he had a friend who was a girl that he really liked but her family moved away. But they reconnected as teens and Alfie fell in love with her and used his power to get closer to her, but not particularly successfully. Eventually though, it all worked out and they moved in together. Marriage followed and then the girl, Gianna started talking about wanting to have kids. Alfie was not keen on the idea, though. They cooled off toward each other. 

Alfie got involved with another woman and when that affair ended, he did his usual time jump to reset everything but discovered his grandmother was right. Gianna no longer cared about him and had reconnected with an old boyfriend. The marriage was over. 

Forward a few years and Alfie is in trouble with the police because he used his time travel ability to win big at a casino to the tune of two million dollars and he had wired the two million dollars to his ex-wife, Gianna, implicating her what the police viewed as cheating trick pulled on the casino. Now they are both being questioned by the police, even though Alfie assures them she is not involved. Gianna denies all knowledge of Alfie's casino shenanigans but also says she and Alfie were never lovers, were never married and she has no idea why he would wire all that money to her.

The whole story is framed inside a notebook written by Alfie, the story of his life. The times he used his magic power to reset time, to improve his life, to correct mistakes but mainly to pursue and win the love of Gianna that he stupidly threw away for a faithless other woman. He presents this notebook to the investigator who is interviewing him after the casino incident. As he is led away in handcuffs he tells the detective to finish reading the notebook and it will answer all his questions about the money and the casino and why it all happened.

This was a fascinating story about how even second chances are not enough to make things right. I think the author gave this story a lot of thought. He made his hero a person of good character because, in the hands of an evil person, a power like Alfie's could cause a lot of chaos in the world. Alfie uses his power in fairly harmless ways. For instance to impress a girl who is likes a certain song, he time jumps back to learn the song and how to play the piano so that when he encounters this girl later, he can impress her by playing and singing it for her.

I really enjoyed this story even though the premise is so wacky. 

The author is a very successful writer and several of his books have been made into movies. It is in the works for Twice to also be made into a movie.

Here is a review of the book by Kirkus Reviews.