While mourning the death of their sister Prue, Phoebe and Piper learn of the existence of half-sister Paige. Abandoned at birth and raised by adoptive parents Paige had always felt that there was something different about her, that somehow she didn't quite belong. Could this all be about to change? Could Paige be the one to complete the Power of Three once again? Reluctantly, at first, Paige joins the remaining Halliwell sisters and together they help harness the power in the battle against evil. Now the reconstructed trio must attempt to overcome their pain and learn to deal with their new places in the reformulated family.
“I almost feel sorry for her, the Oracle thought gleefully. Here it is the last night of her young life and she’s dancing.”
All the warmth and charm — no pun intended — of the fun television series is captured nicely by Elizabeth Lenhard in this breezy novelization of the two episodes, All Hell Breaks Loose, and, Charmed Again, both written by Brad Kern. It’s a good novelization, not trying to do more than the series did, and is much like watching the show itself. Any fan will recognize these episodes because it was a changing of the guard, with Prue being killed, and the sorrow over that blended with the discovery that there existed a half-sister who could not only give back to Piper and Phoebe the Power of Three, but also help them heal after the loss of their sister Prue. Because just about anyone interested in the book has no doubt seen the series, I won’t mark anything as a spoiler, but if you don’t want to know what happens, this might not be the review you want to read.
Crushed by the loss of Prue, the oldest and the lynchpin of the sisters’ magical abilities, Piper is taking the loss even harder than Phoebe as this one begins. There is frustration as well, because Leo chose to save Piper over Prue — he could only save one. The Source is after Phoebe’s love, Cole, and he’s shadowed by the Source’s bounty hunters everywhere he goes. A plea from Piper to the Book of Shadows brings back — at least briefly, in ghost form — Grams, and then their mother, but not Prue. But when a lovely young woman who reminds Phoebe a bit of Prue shows up unexpectedly at Prue’s funeral, something strange happens. As Phoebe takes Paige’s hand in hers, she gets a vision, and knows Paige is in danger from the demon bounty hunter, Shax. But why would the Source be worried about Paige?
Well, we know, of course, but as yet Paige has no inkling that she’s part witch, part whitelighter. Paige only knows that she feels close to the Halliwell sisters, and was drawn to Prue’s funeral. It’s only during a battle on a rooftop as Cole and Phoebe attempt to protect her from Shax that Paige’s power to whitelight kick in. It freaks her out. As the remaining two sisters attempt to figure out what’s going on, while grieving the loss of Prue, Inspector Cortez is very intent on taking down the Halliwells. The Charmed Ones’ cop friend Darryl Morris, tries to help, but Cole has a very hot solution!
Paige wants to get away from all these crazy people, and the arms of her boyfriend Shane seems as good a place as any. Eventually, however, the Source decides to use to his advantage the 48 hour period during which Paige can choose of her own free will whether to be good or evil. And to that end, he takes over the one person Paige trusts, Shane, using Paige’s work as an assistant to a social worker, and her good heart, against her. But Phoebe has a trick or two as well, including some pink glasses which allow you to see the evil. Seeing evil and defeating it is an entirely different matter, however.
Someone doesn’t survive going up against the Source, but it’s best not to forget that Leo’s not the only whitelighter in the family now. There is a nice, warm ending to this breezy and enjoyable narrative, as Piper and Phoebe get a new sister, and begin moving forward after a terrible loss. At 181 pages this is a light and easy, yet extremely enjoyable read anyone who loved the show will like. It doesn’t go further, since it’s a novelization based on the two aforementioned episodes, but it’s nice to read, and a good way to get you back to San Francisco, and the magical world of the Halliwell sisters. Really nice for fans.
This story is almost completely the same as the episode of the same title, but it had one glaring error for me. The book kept referring to the Halliwell's father as Victor Halliwell, when his last name is Bennett. The book also left out some things from the episode, such as when the Source killed Paige's pet bird. All in all, this was an okay novelization but it could've been a lot better.
It is kind of obvious that the books about the Halliwell Sisters started with this one. Or that’s what I have heard. It’s also a bit obvious that the last three books of the series with Prue are missing in the Netherlands, I can only buy them through amazon if I would want that. At the moment I don’t. However in the Prue-series, Leo was never mentioned, not Cole. So everything has to be explained in this one, the new powers for Phoebe Levitation and for Piper Molecular Combustion (Yes I looked that up) and I find this a little bit of a shame. I love Charmed, I loved Leo and secretly Cole, so it was a shame they were never mentioned and suddenly a burst of information has to come.
This book is almost if not completely the same as the episode. And even though that’s a good thing, it is a bit weird because it misses out on the other parts of the series. You can’t read the series without actually knowing the faces and structure of the series. This so you can fill in the gaps yourself but otherwise it would be quite a guessing work.
I have to say that I can’t remember Paige meeting Patty at the end of the episode but if it is true and it didn’t happen in the Episode, than I find it a great add to the book and story, because yeah it is great, a bit emotional and I can’t wait to continue (or still to start rewatching, after all the series I still have to watch).
"In this night and in this hour I call upon the Ancient Power Bring Back my sister. Bring back the power of three."
I had no idea the Charmed series had a whole series of books. I can't tell if the show came first or the books - but I strongly guess the show. I love that the book spent the first chapter or 2 really introducing everyone and giving you a back story, showing that you CAN pick the series up at #11 and be able to keep up!
The books read a lot like the show - at least of the few that I saw. They were funny and silly and really light. Don't pick these up looking for really deep thoughts. Instead it was a light fluffy read and interesting take on magic and the meaning of sisters.
I loved the intro of the new one and also their struggle to let go of the one they lost.
I remember watching episodes here and there when I was younger. Sometimes Paige had brunette hair. Sometimes her hair was ginger. But it wasn't until 2010 and 2011 that I watched the entire series. It was the first I'd seen Prue (and I loved her!). And when Paige came into it . . . well, she remained my favourite.
Reading her first episodes (as "Charmed Again" were two different episodes, though, on the DVD, they are presented as one, long episode) as oppose to watching them was different. Refreshing. I loved getting into each of Charmed Ones heads; each were amusing in their way, but also had moments that made my heart ache for them, especially everything to do with Prue: how Piper and Phoebe lost their sister and how Paige never got to meet her.
My favourite amusing lines came from Paige and Phoebe. “What is pulling me toward those sisters? [Paige] wondered. It's eerie. Is there some connection between us? Or am I just turning into some freaky stalker?" “Okay, when she's not evil anymore, Phoebe thought, I'm going to have to ask Paige for knife-throwing lessons. That was so cool."
Elizabeth Lenhard did a great job. Her characterisation was great; each characters thoughts were distinctive; Paige was Paige, Piper was Piper, and Phoebe was Phoebe. Now I want more Charmed novels; I'll try the ones that aren't based on an episode from the show.
I love the Charmed TV series and read this because I love the show so much. I found that while I liked the book, the show is definetly better for the magical aspects, pacing etc. This might be biased as I loved the show so much but I thought that it was a good read but I would pick the show over these spin off books any day.
A few reasons why I didn't give this one five stars...
These tie-in novels are not meant to be canon but when the 11th book in your series is a novelization of your 4th season premiere, it is sort of confusing for those just discovering Charmed.
Mostly because Cole just shows up out of nowhere and you have to explain all of this history between him and Phoebe from one whole season to this point. It just seems very odd reading it and well...Cole shows up in a lot of Charmed tie-ins now that Paige has entered the picture.
I'm glad the show got a fourth season after the way the third season ended because that would have just been a major middle finger but these books just seem to gloss over Prue after the character's death. Now with Shannen Doherty gone IRL I guess it seems so awkward...
Storywise, it deals with Piper and Phoebe dealing with the loss of their older sister. Piper's grief is front and center but Phoebe's grief is buried under concern for her half demon-half human boyfriend Cole trying to be on the run from bounty hunters because he turned his back on evil for her.
Piper tries to bring Prue back with any spell she can find but in doing so a spell to call a lost witch finds one Paige Matthews instead. She is in her early twenties and we find out that she is adopted with her parents having died about a year ago in a car accident. She tried to find her birth mother but the trail went cold...
An obituary for Prue's funeral in the newspaper draws Paige to go even though she didn't know Prue or her sisters personally but always found herself at P3. Phoebe thinks Paige looks so familiar when she accepts the girl's condolences but taking her hand brings her a terrifying vision of the same demon that killed Prue going after this girl...
Piper isn't in the spirit of helping any innocents now that her sister is gone and there is no Power of Three to vanquish demons. She believes that her Whitelighter-Angel husband Leo should have used his power to heal on Prue instead of her just because they are married and isn't interested in her magical destiny anymore...
Phoebe is on her own with Cole to seek out their newest innocent and it is when they discover that she can protect herself by orbing, disappearing and reappearing, when the demon is sent after her.
Yet why would an assassin for the Source of All Evil want to kill a Whitelighter?
Soon, the truth is revealed and all sorts of family drama begins to happen. It is interesting to read Charmed Again and get the more inner workings of Piper and Phoebe's feelings of learning they have another sister and losing someone they have loved all their lives.
It is also interesting to see what Paige is thinking and feeling as well but we also get some insight to, shockingly, Cole as well. Introducing them to the tie-in novels was sort of strange but they seem to work and fit seamlessly in this Charmed universe.
This is the first with Paige but for me, I have read two other books and since they are more "original" it may be hard to compare how much better they stack up.
So, this one wasn't as good for me as the other Charmed books. Because, for one, I had already seen the episode on which this story is based, and I sort of knew what was coming. I don't think I have ever read a novel that was a rewriting of a tv series or a movie before, so it was sort of weird.
I honestly don't know how to review this. It was like reading someone's account of the episode. Or a translation of the script to novel format. The book was faithful to the tv episodes, unlike most book to tv/film adaptions.
I love Charmed the series and have been enjoying reading these books to bring back the magic of the show. This was one is clearly stated as a novelization from the 2 episodes after Prue dies and Paige is introduced. That being said, I knew it would very much match the show, there were some things that were skipped over, like The Source killing Paige's bird as Shane and Victor was called Halliwell when his last name is Bennett. Overall, it brought back the magic for me and made me want to watch the show again.
Reading this book certainly brings back memories. And makes one feel like a teenager again. So I went to my charmed box collection and watched the whole season 4. (Hey, don't judge. These sisters are taking names and kicking serious ass) Though one of my favorite quotes would be Cole: "Apples don't fall far from the forbidden tree, I see." (Referring to the fact that Leo and Piper are going down the same road as Patty and Sam). One of my all time favorite series.
One of my favorite episodes in the series, and this book was an excellent adaptation. The introduction of Paige added new life in my view. I found her to be a very feisty, amusing, strong character. I also really love books that delve into history or backstory, in this case of a family.
A good novelization of the episode, again with some differences. I felt like the story could have been fleshed out a little more, but all in all an enjoyable read.
This was a great novelization version of the episode it’s based off of! I really loved reading it and being back in the time of when Paige first becomes a Charmed One!
This was a fun and fast read. It is set after Prues death and the sisters meet Paige at that point. They learn that the power of three isnt gone after all and that they have another sister.
The book I’m reading is charmed again. In the book the two sisters Piper and Phoebe is in a lot of the danger because they lose their big sister Pure. They think they are not the power of three anymore. Although Piper husband is a white lighter and Phoebe boyfriend is a demon and they are trying to protect Piper and Phoebe. But when Pure died Piper didn’t know what to do. Piper was the middle child. That always tries keeping the family together. Her power was freeze time and blowing things up. She never thought she was going to be a special one. She always looked up to Pure. When Piper knew Pure wasn’t coming back she tried every spell to see Pure. Piper didn’t know what to do being the oldest sister and she can’t do it without pure. Phoebe never knew her mother. When she was a child she grew up as a trouble maker. When she moved back from New York, Pure wasn’t happy she came back but Piper was and Phoebe power was seeing the future. Phoebe always was the trouble one and loved getting men. She was the youngest of the three. She loved pure and tried helping Piper get over it because Phoebe was stronger than Piper. Pure she was the oldest. She didn’t like her dad that much; she loved her mom to death. Pure has the power to move things with her mind, which made her the strongest sister. When Pure got killed by a demon she went to be with her mom and grandmother. When Piper and Phoebe find out that their mother had affair with her white lighter and had another daughter Piper didn’t accept her, but Phoebe wanted to give her a try, the demon that killed Pure, he tried killing Paige. Phoebe and Cole saved her and killed the demon. Piper began to like Paige and accepted her in the family and Phoebe was now the middle sister and how to try and keep the family together. Paige powers were calling things and they come in her hand and she was a part white lighter. I think this was meant to show how to accept new family members and learn how to get over your spouse dying.