"Taken" by Charlotte Abel

I should say that "Taken" was better than the previous one - "Enchantment". The characters have grown and with them the author's skills. The beginning was a little slow, and kind of made me want to slap Channie and Josh for being such crybabies. It felt like the only thing Josh wanted to do was have sex and that's it. It was so annoying.
I was so glad about that encounter with the two trackers, that you wouldn't believe it!! Finally everyone was rushing to do something meaningful! Something other than argue over a pot of stew or killing mice or making cornbread. But, all that annoyingly normal stuff was kind of insightful of the characters' thoughts and feelings. And I liked how this time there were multiple points of view. It was nice to hear Josh's thoughts for a change.
This novel seemed to take the story to a whole new plane. There was action, lots of running away from things and people, strong emotions and of course - every decision came with its consequences. Towards the end, everything was so intense, I was having hard time breathing. It was really an exhilarating ride.

The characters:
*Channie - Oh goodness, this girl irritated me so much with her weird decisions! Protecting Josh would've been much better if she'd actually listened to him. Besides, how could an Empty protect a powerful mage? She brought more trouble than anything else.

*Josh/Valor - I can't wait for him to actually step into his real shoes. Josh is a boy, while Valor is a man, and I really want to see the man. He's been peeking out from time to time both with resolution and cold-blooded decisions. Too bad nobody listens to him half the time. I guess though that this is what keeps the story going. I mean, if everything got solved right away, then there would be no story, so I get it :)

*Hunter - omg, Hunter was hilarious. And the new job he got - it cracked me up!!! I can honestly not imagine him doing those things. His accent was amazingly well portrayed.

*Daddy turned out to be not-so-selfish after all. I felt really bad for him when his wife turned psycho.

*Momma - urgh, just URGH!!! Magic here was like drugs in our world. The woman got seriously addicted and it turned her all Wicked Witch of the West. I really wanted to just see her dead. Harsh, but true. Sorry.

The ending was really powerful. It made me all emotional, but I didn't cry. I was just angry. Such a cliffhanger, Charlotte!!! You're playing dirty!!! LOL
Love it :) Really a great read!! It deserved those