Customer Reviews

The Charm Stone

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have to admit that when I first picked this book up, I wasn't expecting to be involved. But I was! Who would have thought that a surfer and a ghost would hit it off? Donna Kaufman apparently did.

What do you get when you combine leprechauns, surf boards, ghosts? Well, if you throw in a beautiful setting peopled with intriguing secondary characters who act as the perfect foil to the star-crossed lovers, then you get a fun read!

Yes, it is a bit of a slow start and not being familiar with the surfing terms threw me, but I would say this one is for my keeper shelf. I fell in love with Josie and Connal. And I plan to read more of Ms. Kaufmann's books too!

I thought that this sounded great when I read the back. It started out really well, and I thought quite credibly. Out of this world things were happening, and Josie was in the proper denial.

I mean when you are surfing and hit your head, and then see a funny little man in a kilt, you have to wonder if you need to go to a hospital, and she actualy thought this way instead of immediatly buying into the story.

I found it to be enjoyable, but once she got to Scotland, I had a little trouble with all of the ghost parts. I thought he and Josie should interact a little more instead of doing so much apart brooding. But all in all a good story worth reading.

The plot of this book sounded interesting, but it didn't quite meet my expectations. I was a little impatient about 3/4 of the way through, thinking, alright already!! Too much waffling back and forth from the characters.Also, I always have a problem with time travel novels wondering how the author is going to twist the plot so that they can stay together. The ending is hurried with little explanation of how he reappears to be with her in the end. Easy to scan and a good pool or beach read.

I have to say, I was really disappointed in this book. It was the first ghost romance I'd read in a while, and I was expecting something better. Maybe it is that I had just finished reading a novel by Karen Marie Moning and thus the CHARMED STONE lacked substance.

Regardless, I really didn't think that the story was accurately reflected in the books description and I was disappointed in the writing quality as well. To me, the story just dragged. The community seemed like a very spread out town covering part of an island but there are giant holes because it wasn't flushed out. There are people living here, granted not many, but there had to be more than the hand full Josie always talked to and gave surfing lessons...which was interesting.

Josie actually is an interesting character. I admired her spunk for not letting Connal force her into doing something she didn't want to do or tolerate some of the things he did do (hide her pills). Which gets me back to gaping holes in the story...how did they fall in love? I think it must have been squeezed into the space between one page and the next, because I missed it.

The three-foot leprechaun/elf Bagan really drove me nuts. Talk about walking misfortune. If you want a villain, I pick him. I almost quit reading the story because he wasn't funny, and yes, he may mean well, but ... UGH.

Finally, unless you really enjoy having to pronounce everything (out loud) that is getting said several times to understand the statement, the dialogue will drive you nuts.

THE CHARMED STONE is a fun idea, but I was really disappointed in overall. If the story was 100 pages shorter it might have read better, but I'm not sure. The only thing I really liked about this book is the way Donna Kaufman brings our ghostly hero, Connal together with our surfing heroine Josie. This is a redeeming quality to the story, but I can't recommend just reading the ending of a book now can I? So overall, I have pretty much deleted the story from my brain cells, it has made this much of an impression on me.

I have to admit, I had my doubts based on the premise, but this book has turned out to be one of my absolute favorites! I've always liked Scottish lore and adding in that the lead character is a tough-talking surfer chick, this book has everything. The gradual attraction between Connal and Josie is endearing and the love scenes are very well-written; not at all trashy. I have and will continue to recommend this book to all avid readers.

Daydreaming while surfing is not a good idea. When this happens to Josie Griffin and she wipes out after hitting something hard in the water, she's shocked to discover an antiquated treasure chest is the culprit. Opening the chest, she discovers a beautiful necklace and puts it on. Now, the fun begins. Enter a wee kilted sprite named Bagan who tells her the necklace is her destiny and that she must travel to Scotland for marriage to a three hundred year-old ghost. Okay, the bump on her head must've been worse than she thought. Josie quickly puts the necklace away, tucks the treasure chest into her Jeep and goes home thinking to save her sanity. Circumstances soon lead Josie on a trip to Scotland for business. When she arrives, Josie is inexplicably pulled to the Isle of Glenmuir, Connal's ancestral home.

Connal MacNeil, ghost laird of the MacNeil clan, has been waiting three long centuries to fulfill his bargain of exchanging his soul for the birth of a son to carry on the MacNeil name. When Josie arrives in Glenmuir with the magical charm stone of his clan, Connal wastes no time in explaining that she is his fate and destiny. Now, all he has to do is convince Josie that she isn't halucinating or insane.

THE CHARM STONE is an exceptional mix of paranormal, historical and modern day romance. As a strong, independent woman of the twenty-first century, Josie gives Connal a run for his money when he thinks he can dictate to her. Scenes of Connal trying to save Josie from killing herself while surfing are priceless. Bagan is hysterical as the much put upon guardian of the stone and is kept on his toes trying to keep tabs on and protect Josie. The older villagers are in turns humorous and emotional in their quest to learn how to surf and quickly endear themselves to Josie making it almost impossible to leave.

Donna Kauffman outdoes herself in this tender, emotional and passionate intriguing tale of a man intent on continuing his line and the woman who teaches him how to live, love and have fun. If you liked THE LEGEND MACKINNON, you'll love THE CHARM STONE. Don't miss it!

Though she has ridden waves in Hawaii and Australia among other global locales and the Atlantic is a bit cold in May, Josie Parker enjoys surfing so much that she arises early to ride the waves off of Parker's Inlet, South Carolina. However, instead of the anticipated smooth ride, she wipes out because her board hit something. The next breaker includes the treasure chest that wiped out Josie. Removing barnacles from it, Josie pries open the chest to find a necklace with a yellow stone dangling from it. Suddenly out of nowhere Bagan, Guardian of the MacNeil Stone, appears though no one else see the little man. He informs her that she is engaged to Connal MacNeil, who happens to have died about three centuries ago.

Before she knows what happened, Josie heads to Glenmuir, Scotland where the spirit of Connal has awaited her return for three hundred years. As Josie and Connal begin to fall in love, she wonders what kind of future is there with someone from the eighteenth century.

It is the use of mundane items such as surfing and Josie and the Pussycats (TV show not movie) that make THE CHARM STONE a charming paranormal romance. The plot is fun especially when Josie teaches the ghost and the senior citizens of Glenmuir how to surf as Donna Kauffman never takes her story too seriously even with a warm romantic undertow. Sub-genre readers will want to ride this wave from start to finish.

Harriet Klausner

For a time-travel romance (which I tend to dislike), this one was pretty good. The little Scottish leprechaun-like spirit was a tad annoying and a bit much for the story, but it all came together with a really passionate romance in a location it was easy to get excited about. I wouldn't have thought that a story based around surfing and men in kilts would be anything to get terribly excited about, but the humorous aspects of the story were more than worth the weirdness.

Josie teaching a bunch of old Scottish duffers to surf was probably the best part of the book, and even Connal eventually warmed up to it.

Donna Kauffman is a fantastic writer with some pretty weird ideas, and this particular book is hilarious and well worth the read.

Sheer escapism and a wispy charming romance lies at the heart of The Charm Stone by Donna Kauffman. The mechanisms of fate and destiny has brought expert surfer Josie Griffin to the isle of Glenmuir, Scotland after she discovers The MacNeil charm stone while surfing in the beaches of South Carolina. Badgered by an elf who mysteriously appears when she puts on the stone, she is most willing to return it to the owner. Her fateful trip starts an intergenerational romance with a three century old apparition Connal MacNeil. He believes that Josie is the chosen one to bear him a bairn to continue the lineage. Yet Josie isn't the submissive woman who bends to his will. He is intrigued by her spirit instead of lust and most unexpectedly surrenders his heart. It is with this pivotal decision that he acknowledges the fact he has failed the gods and his family obligations because he hasn't the heart to compel an offspring from Josie... The Charm Stone with its dash of humour and ensemble of amiable senior citizen surfers makes a splash with the sparklingly original romance. The fusion of magic, passion and legends along with the energetic couple sprouts buoyant fun and unfettered joy.

I would have given this book 5 stars but I felt the beginning was a bit slow to get into but once I did, I could not put it down.