Charmeine by Emily Guido

First Novel in the “Light-Bearer” Series

This is a review of the first three books of the series – Charmeine, Mactus, Accendo.

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Published:  September 02 - 28, 2012 (e-book)

Rating:  4 stars

Contemporary Romance, Paranormal Romance, Emily Guido, Book Review

Tabbruis feels that something is coming.  Charmeine is someone that brings him joy.  She is an angel and so is Tabbruis.  They complement each other.  What’s coming is going to affect Heaven.

I have a thing for great cars and Tabbruis drives a Dodge Charger SRT8.  If I thought I could get away with it, I would love a chance to take a car like that out on the open road and get a first-hand look to see what kind of power is under the hood.   It also makes me question; why Heaven need with a car but then you realize that we are finding how they came to be in Heaven together.  We find out that he has actually lived on Earth for quite a while.  He is what is called a blood hunter.

Charleen is an elementary school teacher.  We see that sexual harassment can also occur out on the playground.  But Charleen can take care of herself.  She also has a pseudo brother named Shane.  They ended up at the same orphanage and became fast friends.  Shane is someone that is very brave – he served our country and he somehow ends up working for Tabbruis.

It seems like the music choice at the beginning of the book is Billy Joel.  If you like, you may want to listen to some of his music as your read this book.  One song that is brought up a couple of times is “Piano Man”, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxEPV4kolz0.  And you can also check out one of my favorite tunes, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g&feature=relmfu, it makes me think that Tab has seen a lot of the history that Billy Joel sings about.  At the end Char’s music choice is Chopin.  So if you’ve never listened to him before, I hope you will give his work a chance.

As I’m reading this story, I get a sense that this is about good vs. evil.  And evil can take many forms.  Good can also take many forms and one such form are the “light-bearers”.  An acquaintance of Tabbruis’ explains what they are.  There is always a fight between the blood hunters and light-bearers but who will come out on top in the end.

One good thing about this book is that Emily gives each chapter their own title.  It gives the reader some idea as to what the chapter is going to be about.  In one scene where Charleen meets Tab for the first time, we find out that Char has some very interesting abilities – you will have to read if you want to find out what those abilities are.

This is one story where opposites actually do attract.  Emily also shows us that some people can change when they meet the right person.   And they will overlook their differences when the need to survive is there.  Tab has been told one thing about the blood hunters and the light-bearers but that doesn’t stop him from connecting and protecting Charmeine.  Char is very calm about believing everything she has been told – I don’t think I would be quite as calm. 

In one chapter, I got a total shock – it’s not something I saw coming or even thought as a possibility.  This is what makes a great author – they surprise you when you least expect it.  We also get lots of action and suspense along with our romance.  We have a lot going on but you won’t get lost or think things are going on too long.

This is a book that I would love to see as a graphic novel.  I say this because I would love to see the art work that would go along with Emily’s words.  It would just bring this story to life more than my imagination could.

There is some religion involved in this book – God, Heaven, Angels, Lucifer – but Emily does not preach to her readers.  It just shows the possibilities of what may happen between Heaven and Earth and those that fight for the good and those that follow evil.  It is your choice as to what to believe.

The book I received to review actually includes three books.  The books can be read by themselves but I hope you will read them in order.  Once you finish these three, you will want to see what Emily has in store for us in book 4 titled “Seditious”.  I also suggest that if you have a chance, check out Emily’s web site http://emilyguido.com/.