The Warren Witches [Paperback]

The Warren Witches contains the following eight stories:

1) OLD FRIEND by Laura J. Burns (Inherit the Witch). While
dining at the Manor, Emily, Paige's college friend, reads
a spell from the Book of Shadows and disappears. Following
her trail, the sisters travel back in time to the 1920s and
discover Emily's secret.

2) THE CRUCIBLE by Micol Ostow (Changeling Places). The sisters
help a high school student tormented by classmates who are
spurred on by a demon of discord.

3) PATTY'S AWAKENING by Greg Elliot. 16 year old Patty, mother
of the Charmed Ones, contemplates giving up her powers,
marrying her boyfriend, and leading a normal life. Yet
visions of her future children in peril give her pause.
In my opinion the best story in the book.

4) SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW by Paul Ruditis (The Brewing
Storm). The sisters travel back in time to stop Prudence
Warren, Melinda's daughter, from giving up her powers.

5) PRECONCEIVED by Erica Pass. The sisters travel back in time
to save their teenage mother from a warlock.

6) WITCH TRAP by Cameron Dokey (Haunted by Desire, etc.)The
sisters- you guessed it- travel back in time to the gold-
rush era to save a woman from allegations of witchcraft.

7) OLD FAMILY RECIPE by Diana G. Gallagher(Dark Vengeance,etc.)
Piper unknowingly bakes bewitched apple pies for a
police bake sale- and her family.

8) FAMILY HISTORY by Laura J. Burns. An ancient demon attacks
the Warren Witches in several time periods simultaneously,
endangering the Charmed Ones' past, present, and future.

Overall, the stories focus on the same relatives- the sisters' mother, grandmother, Melinda Warren and her daughter, Aunt Brianna and the 1920s cousins. All of these are familiar to viewers of the show; no new ancestors are introduced. In some stories, the involvement of family members feels forced, and too many of the stories rely on time travel. Still, many of the stories provide a good read, and, if you can ignore story to story inconsistencies, Charmed fans will find something to enjoy in the Warren Witches.

This book just didn't have the show's signature sparkle. It was SUPPOSE to be about the Warren family, before the sisters!

PROS:

The few things that I liked about this book were the fact that Paige was able to meet Melinda Warren, in fact, Melinda's inclusion in and of itself was a major plus! I loved the episode, "The Witch Is Back," and I only wish that the show could've had more appearances by Melinda.

A bit of Paige's history was a nice thing to have, especially the part about her obsession with Twizzlers. If anyone remembers, Prue also had a love for Twizzlers (Andy said this in Season 1), and I thought that was another nice connection between Paige and Prue.

I really liked the inclusion of P. Russell and P. Baxter and her (P. Baxter's) use of her powers to slow down time. (In the world of the fans, whether Piper was able to actually freeze or just slow things down in her past life has always been a huge debate.)

The story that revolved around Penny and Patty was fabulous! I loved the detail, as well as Patty's struggle with being a witch. It was very believable and probably one of, if not the, best story in the entire book.

CONS:

There were just too many things that didn't add up and the consistent time travel throughout the book got old around the third time The Charmed Ones went back to the past. As well as Wyatt's display of magic in the past. Every fan of the show knows that without a spell or potion, you cannot possess magic when you haven't been born. So Wyatt using his powers in the past, let alone ORBING into the past, was completely unacceptable.

But I believe what bothered me most about this book was the fact that there was absolutely NO Prue! Prue was one of the hugest parts of the Halliwell line, the oldest of the Power of Three, the sister who died which allowed Paige to come in and finally allowed them to vanquish The Source because they had the ENTIRE family! I understand that the sisters couldn't summon Prue from the dead, but they could've had flashbacks of Prue. They refused to show Little Prue in Patty's visions, but they allowed Little Piper and Little Phoebe to be shown. Hell, we didn't even get to see P. Bowen (Prue's past life)! She was barely mentioned in the book! This is the biggest reason why I've given this book such a low score. The absence of the eldest Halliwell sister in any form, without so much as even an attempt at a reason, is completely unacceptable!

Any avid fan of the show could write a better book and not have such easily avoidable errors, inconsistent plots, and they could bring continuity to the storyline!

If the producers ever want to see a good book about "Charmed," I believe they'll need to hire one of us loyal fans who love to write about the show.

Sincerely,

~Camille May, A Fan For Life~

This short story collection was given the wrong title. For a title "The Warren Witches", it should be about various ancestor witches, from Melinda Warren to The Charmed Ones, not just stories about the 3 main characters. And there are too many stories which involved time-travel. At least, there was mention of the girls' main ancestors - their mother, Grams, the 1920s cousins, Melinda, Prudence and Charlotte Warren, and Aunt Brianna - all of them should be familiar with Charmed fans. What about the other Warren Witches? Please. Do let us know more about Prudence's daughter Cassandra Warren-Wentworth. Everyone knows Aunt Brianna as she was famous for defeating Lord Gabriel. As mentioned in "Family History", she said that she has 1 sister, who has gone to America. That sister happens to be Astrid Warren-Wentworth. Both Brianna and Astrid are the daughters of Cassandra. What about letting Charmed fans know more about these witches? And Astrid's three daughters - Laura, Helena and Grace Wentworth? Tell us about any magical disaster they faced, their lives as witches, and how they overcame evil. The Wentworth sisters, each had a daughter and they became the well-known 1920s cousins, P.Bowen, P.Baxter and P.Russell. And from then, you know how the Warren Line goes. Stories that have been passed down through generations, stories on each ancestor and most importantly, their fight against evil and protecting the innocents.

That is how the book should have been. Not time-travel stories about Piper, Phoebe and Paige. Although the only story with NO mention of the Charmed Ones was "Patty's Awakening", which in my opinion, the best story in the book.

Could have been better.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 11 reviews  3.4 out of 5 stars