New Review! Enchanter (Giver of Life Trilogy #1) by Kristy Centeno 4 Cranky Stars

Enchanter by Kristy Centeno
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 Cranky Stars


I was apprehensive when I started with this series. Reading the synopsis about the book, I was a little put off because it sounded like a ghost story. I am not into ghost stories. I was pleasantly surprised that is was more than just ghosts. I’m afraid if it would have been what I feared it was, I would have stopped reading it. But thankfully it turned out to be something completely different. I like when books surprise me.


Leah, the lead female in this story, is your average 21 year old auburn haired college student. She comes from a not so lovely family. Her mother despises her and blames her for the death of her father. She is utterly alone in the sense of family, but she is determined to make it on her own. Her life was going great until she got stuck on an assignment with the feared Brandon Morris. Her life became complicated the day of her 21st birthday with the sudden appearances of these ghostly images and the reunion with Brandon on an assignment the two of them wanted nothing to do with. I love the personality of Leah and her conflict between doing what is right in her heart and struggling to do what is expected of her. The self-turmoil is easily relatable and something many young adults in her position are faced with. Especially the peer pressure when it comes to bullying and having to make the right decision to protect oneself but also protect someone that is faced with being bullied.


Brandon Morris, long time ex friend of Leah and the epitome of gothic. His long black hair adds to his sexy blue eyes and pale skin giving him the edge that bring a different light to the term goth. His appearance and his inner personality are two different characteristics you would think go together. Brandon has an outer shell he has crafter to protect himself from the constant bullies he has lived with since his early childhood, but deep down he is tender, kind, loving, and big hearted. This is what I love most about his character. His ability to understand and forgive is amazing. He was best friends with Leah as childhood friends but they grew apart when bullying became so overwhelming that Leah was faced with the same problems. In an effort to protect herself she abandons Brandon and he understand and forgives her because he cares too much for her to be hurt in the ways he was hurting. What a fabulous character this author created with Brandon. Things get complicated though when the two are reunited for a class project.


I was excited to discover there was more to this ghost story than being haunted. Sadly it took 65 percent of the book before it got anywhere near interesting on the supernatural scale. I thought for the whole first half that maybe it was just a regular love story that blossoms back between old friends. It was slow to pick up interest and I wish that the author spent a little less time going to behavioral classes and picked up the pace a bit more with the plot.


The one major problem I had with this story was the over use of name calling. It was like Brandon and Leah were constantly saying one another’s names. It became a bit redundant. I also don’t understand the random insert of vampires into this story. It was a bit odd and they didn’t fit. Maybe it fits in later, but for me the lack of supporting character development outside of Brandon and Leah was disappointing and the oddity of vampires in this world doesn’t add up.


I was originally going to give this book a 3 star rating, but changed my mind towards the end to give it 4 stars since the ending picked back up to pull my interest in for the next book in the series. Let’s hope book two isn’t as slow as book one.


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