Christine Wenrick-The Charmed Trilogy Guest Post, Reviews & Blog Tour

Why the Secondary Characters are Just as Important?

First off I would like to thank Sandy and Barb and The Reading Café for having me here today to talk about my recently completed Charmed Trilogy, and why for me the secondary characters are just as important.

As an author I often look back on my secondary characters and realize they were an important key to the success of a story. Why? Because one of my favorite things to do is thread a character through the background of someone else’s story and bring them along slowly to the reader, gradually inviting more interest until the time is right to let that character shine in their own story. Some of my favorite authors, such as Lisa Kleypas and Julia Quinn have done it to me in their Hathaway and Bridgerton series and I love it! There is a significant investment for the reader in doing this, one that hopefully pays off in leaps and bounds in the end.

In my Charmed Trilogy I have two types of secondary characters, ones that have significant screen time with the hero and heroine and most of their story is told within the series, and ones that float in and out with little hints of what might come. Those are the ones to watch out for. And I’ll let you in on a little secret with regard to my books . . . if I tell you the first and last name of a character, then that character will be relevant somehow to that series or another one.

My friends and I often joke that if a character comes in with generic first name only, then they’re a goner for sure. Yeah, you really won’t find a main character for me named Chris or John (which happens to be my brother-in-laws name, sorry John).

I hope you will check out my Charmed Trilogy and fall in love with those important secondary characters. If done correctly, they can truly make a story all the more enriching for the reader. And in time, they can even prove to be a fan favorite!

SERIES SPOTLIGHT – COMBINED REVIEWS:

Links to order The Charmed: Amazon / Barnes & Noble /  Kobo

THE CHARMED will be on sale for ONLY $0.99 from May 13 – 27 on:
Amazon, Smashwords, BN.com and The iBookstore.

The Charmed – Reviewed by Erin

 Can Caleb fit into her new life and will he want to once he finds out what Olivia really is?  There is only one way to find out….

 

Let me start off by saying – DO NOT start this book before bed… you have been warned!!  This is definitely a – can not put down – pry my fingers from it – I went to bed at 4am – slept 3 hours – finished in one day kind of book!  I could absolutely not put this book down once I started it.  I had to and wanted to know what was going to happen next.  There are some extremely powerful scenes – like when Olivia must leave Caleb for the first time – for the sake of everyone’s own good.  I was left a hot mess of tears, sniffles and tissues.  I can honestly say that I do not ever remember sobbing at a book this way before.   The connection between Olivia and Caleb struck me so deep by this moment that it was heart-breaking as this scene unfolded.  The connection, love and sincerity between Olivia and Caleb is truly palpable, in every sense of the word.   As Olivia’s true nature is revealed – you soon realize that not even that will stop the two of them from being together!

 

The secondary characters – Jax (alpha vampire of Caleb’s coven) and Gemma (Dhampiresa of Caleb’s coven) – are extraordinary characters that I loved from the moment I met them.  Gemma is quirky, fun and down to mean business when need be.  I love the fact that she leaves poems around the house.  I was intimately intrigued by her doing that – I kept asking myself does she know it’s him that is reading them, keeping them.  Jax is a big, gruff, gentle giant of a vampire who collects Gemma’s poems and collects them and is obviously so in love with her that I wanted to scream at him to tell her how he feels!  I sincerely hope to read more of Jax and Gemma in the future books, as the love Jax feels for her is so apparent and so raw that it is definitely a must continue.  Alec, is Olivia’s Guardian in the Brethren – and while I believe he is pure of heart for his care and protection of Olivia – I did not care for him.  I believe I felt so strongly against him taking her from Caleb that I did not want anything to do with him.  Hopefully as the story unfolds in the next book I may grow to like him more but as of right now – not one of my favorites.

 

As sleep deprived as I am – I am diving head first into the next book – The Charmed Souls…






The Charmed Souls – Book 2

Links to order The Charmed Souls:
Amazon / Barnes & Noble /  Kobo / Smashwords / The iBookstore.

The Charmed Souls – Reviewed by Erin

The Charmed Souls is book two of The Charmed Trilogy by Christine Wenrick.  In this continuation, we find that Olivia has left Caleb to prove not only to herself but to Caleb and others that their love is real and not just an illusion brought on by her Charmer skills. In separating herself from Caleb she decides to go with her Guardian – Alec, to the Brethren, the group she is told and believes is sworn to protect her. In the mountains of Canada, on sacred ground, at the Brethren’s stronghold, she will train, learn how to use her new found talents and give Caleb the space he needs. On this sacred ground she can not be sensed by any vampires and is completely protected, as vampires can not step on sacred ground. Olivia makes some good friends with those sworn to protect her, and even with those that can give her answers to her past.  But her time with The Brethren does not go quickly nor smoothly and soon Olivia is second guessing her choices.  As secrets unfold, Olivia learns that the ones chosen to protect her may not all be there exactly for her well being. 

I found this book to be heart breaking in that I did not want Olivia away from Caleb nor anywhere near Alec at first.  While I understood why she was where she was and what she was trying to do, I found that my heart wanted her with Caleb – where she truly belonged.  This part of their story I believe was needed so that they both would know if their love was real and true.  But I found it very sad at times.  I loved the secondary characters that were sworn to protect Olivia. Guardian Lucas Rayner is a wonderful, foul mouthed golden boy that I fell for right away.  Hunter Phin Daniels is warm and caring best friend to Alec that you can’t help but want to know more about.  And then there is Kane, a very naughty shape-shifter that I truly believe no woman could resist, at least I know that I couldn’t. I also found it very heart warming that Olivia made a true friend in Maya Brunetti, an Empath, that you can tell will be a life long friend to her.  

I loved the fact that Olivia made real friends with true relationships and in the end I even started to like Alec, and that he accepted the fact that the love between Olivia and Caleb was real and not a byproduct of her Charmer skills. When Olivia does return home to Caleb – I must say it was gut-wrenching to see what Gemma put Jax through.  But in the end – I must say that I was extremely happy with the outcome of those two.  Looking forward to reading the third and final book in this series






The Charmed Fates – Book 3

Links to order The Charmed Fates:
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo /Smashwords

 

The Charmed Fates – Reviewed by Erin

The Charmed Fates is the third and final book in The Charmed Trilogy by Christine Wenrick.  Some time has passed since that fateful night when Caleb Wolfe, Daywalker saved Olivia Greyson’s life.  In that time, Olivia has found out that she is a Charmer, trained and honed her skills, and has come to realize that her destiny is with her mate – Caleb.  Just when you think life is about to settle in and get perfect – along comes a curve from the past!  Celeste – a vampire claiming to be Caleb’s first and only mate is back and she wants what she believes is rightfully hers.  Will Caleb return to his past and the vampire that changed him, or will he stay his ground with his destiny Olivia?  Olivia does what she believes is right and leaves Caleb – leaving him alone with her rival and nemesis.  The Charmed Fates are about to step in and the outcome may not be exactly what Olivia thought it was going to be.  

 

The final book in this series was heartbreaking yet again.  It seems every time Olivia thinks her life is settling and she is about to be happy the fates step in and throw her a curve ball.  The story begins with Olivia with her new family / coven and she is happy.  She believes she may finally have the life that she wants.  She has found her blood grandfather, her blood mate – making her truly feel like a family for the first time ever.  The Nightwalker, Luther Davin, is still obsessed and hunting her.  But she feels that she is strong and able to fight for herself and her coven.  But out of the blue, Caleb’s first blooded mate comes back and wants him – wants him back with a vengeance.  I disliked  Celeste from the moment she stepped on the page.  And I wanted nothing more than for someone, anyone to do away with her.  Olivia as well as myself, felt betrayed by Caleb’s reaction to Celeste.  I did however love what transpired between Jax and Gemma at the beginning of the book and prayed for a resolution for them in the end.  Olivia choosing to leave Caleb again was completely understandable and distancing herself seemed exactly the right thing to do.  Oh the things we do for love! In the end, Caleb and Olivia will forever be one of my favorite couples – although they took the long road getting there!  If you are looking for a wonderful read with lots of full-filling characters – this one is for you!





Christine is a graduate of Washington State University where she received a BA in Interior Design. And true to form of using mostly her ‘right brain’, she splits her time between her commercial design career and her imaginary world of writing. 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 Charmed Trilogy. 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. Some of her favorite authors include Lisa Kleypas, Julia Quinn, and Kimberly Derting.

To keep up on all the latest information about Christine and her books, visit her website or you can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.




May 13 – 27

5/13- Book Monster Reviews (guest post)
http://www.bookmonsterreviews.com/

5/13- My Reading Obsession (guest post & review)
http://4myreadingobsession.blogspot.com/

5/14- Ramblings From This Chick  (guest post)
http://ramblingsfromthischick.blogspot.com/

5/14- HEA Romances With A Little Kick (series spotlight & reviews)
http://hearomanceswithalittlekick.wordpress.com/

5/15- Red Hot Books (interview and reviews)
http://www.redhotbooks.com/

5/16- Book Lovin’ Mamas  (interview, series spotlight and reviews)
http://booklovinmamas.blogspot.com//

5/17- Romance Junkies (interviews)
http://www.romancejunkies.com/rjblog/

5/17- Froggarita’s Book Case ( series spotlight, excerpt & reviews)
http://www.froggaritasbookcase.com/

5/18- Mad Hatter Reads  (guest post)
http://madhatterreads.blogspot.com/

5/18- Reading Between the Wines  (guest post) http://readingbetweenthewinesbookclub.blogspot.com/

5/19- Toot’s Books Reviews (series spotlight & reviews) http://tootsbookreviews.blogspot.com/

5/20- Cocktails and Books (interview & reviews)
http://www.cocktailsandbooks.com/

5/20- Salacious Reads (Series Spotlight)
http://www.salaciousreads.com/

5/21- Salacious Reads (Review, Book 1)
http://www.salaciousreads.com/

5/21- Buffy’s Ramblings  (guest post)
http://buffy-kennedy.blogspot.com/

5/21- GraveTells  (guest post)
http://gravetells.com/

5/22- Paranormal Book Club (series spotlight)
http://paranormal-bookclub.com/

5/22- Reader Girls (guest post & reviews)
http://www.readergirlsblog.com/

5/22- Salacious Reads (Review, Book 2)
http://www.salaciousreads.com/

5/23- Vampires, Werewolves & Fairies Oh My!  (guest post)
http://vampireswerewolvesfairiesohmy.blogspot.com/

5/23- Salacious Reads (Review, Book 1)
http://www.salaciousreads.com/

5/24- Riverina Romantics  (guest post)
http://riverinaromantics.blogspot.com/

5/25- The Reading Cafe  (guest post & reviews)
http://thereadingcafe.com/

5/26- The Jeep Diva  (interview & reviews)
http://thejeepdiva.com/

5/27- Books-n-Kisses (series spotlight)
http://www.books-n-kisses.com/

5/27- Bookin’ It Reviews (series spotlight)
http://www.bookinitreviews.com/

 

Christine is giving away a $50.00 Amazon Gift Card and a signed copy of The Charmed to one lucky winner that follows the tour.

THREE (3) runners-up will receive an eBook of THE CHARMED.

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