My Enchanted Life [NOOK Book]

Very Creative

Emma is 18. She graduates high school, has plans to spend time with friends and family until college starts until she gets a couple of mysterious envelopes. She has inherited a house in England. She gets a plane ticket, money, and directions on how to get there. What's wrong with a little vacation before school starts again?

Everything. Especially when you find out you have special powers, a hereditary job to do, and people depending on you. And a boy named Matthew who is handsome, nice, and a half-demon.

Her teacher, Randolf, is a stuffy, stodgy, and bossy Sentinel who has been picked to teach her what her job is and how to do it. He is all about rules and laws and things and he hates demons, even half-demons.

I enjoyed this book for what Laura put in it. It's whole dimension of fairies, ogres, dragons, gnomes, and other mythological creatures. It is written for young adults and I spent some time reading part of it to my 10 year old grand daughter, who loved it. I didn't get to the part with the kissing, that may have been "icky" but she loved the adventure of finding out about a house and new people who were different than human.

The thing that I didn't like was the lack of character development, the rush to finish. It was like everything was just "accepted" as fact. Matthew is one-dimensional and the time at the end when he is separate from her and then comes back is rushed to the point that it left me wondering what happened and how he fared where he was. There were a lot of questions left unanswered as she pushed to finish the book.

The six-month jump to her family's visit was another void that left questions. What happened during that time? Did she improve her power? What happened with Randolf? Was there further interest between Matthew and Emma? And how did her family handle him being with her? So many questions left undone.

It was so short and she could have written more in that first book to clear up some of the questions and still lay down the clues and build the interest for the next book that I know is coming from something she was told late in the book. I do want to read the next one because I did enjoy most of the book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Very Creative

Emma is 18. She graduates high school, has plans to spend time with friends and family until college starts until she gets a couple of mysterious envelopes. She has inherited a house in England. She gets a plane ticket, money, and directions on how to get there. What's wrong with a little vacation before school starts again?

Everything. Especially when you find out you have special powers, a hereditary job to do, and people depending on you. And a boy named Matthew who is handsome, nice, and a half-demon.

Her teacher, Randolf, is a stuffy, stodgy, and bossy Sentinel who has been picked to teach her what her job is and how to do it. He is all about rules and laws and things and he hates demons, even half-demons.

I enjoyed this book for what Laura put in it. It's whole dimension of fairies, ogres, dragons, gnomes, and other mythological creatures. It is written for young adults and I spent some time reading part of it to my 10 year old grand daughter, who loved it. I didn't get to the part with the kissing, that may have been "icky" but she loved the adventure of finding out about a house and new people who were different than human.

The thing that I didn't like was the lack of character development, the rush to finish. It was like everything was just "accepted" as fact. Matthew is one-dimensional and the time at the end when he is separate from her and then comes back is rushed to the point that it left me wondering what happened and how he fared where he was. There were a lot of questions left unanswered as she pushed to finish the book.

The six-month jump to her family's visit was another void that left questions. What happened during that time? Did she improve her power? What happened with Randolf? Was there further interest between Matthew and Emma? And how did her family handle him being with her? So many questions left undone.

It was so short and she could have written more in that first book to clear up some of the questions and still lay down the clues and build the interest for the next book that I know is coming from something she was told late in the book. I do want to read the next one because I did enjoy most of the book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

fun & full of action

as always, thanks R2R and Ms. Eno for a copy of this book for a review... If this isn't just the cutest, but awesome book I've read in a while :)

Emma is a small town girl who is raised by her (very lovable) aunt and uncle, when both of her parents die. She actually doesn't remember almost anything of either of her parents, so to her, they aunt & uncle are her parents. One day, a package arrives and she is then in turn literally thrown into a world she doesn't know or understand in England.

She learns that she is somehow a magical being, with powers she isn't supposed to have. I love her growth, and her own internal debates with herself, with how she feels and how she is "supposed" to feel. I love that to EVERYONE (except one) she is nothing but a fresh breath of air, because she treats everyone equally, and gives people the benefit of the doubt. I really really liked this book!

Here's my favorite part... the hot bad boy, is exactly that, they hot bad boy. & the bad guy, you have NO IDEA, cuz I surely didn't hahahaha & I happen to think Emma picked perectly for her... I must say this one was a crazy ride, which had me holding my breath, and cursing ignorance and entitlement and then cheering for the good guys! I really enjoyed this one. 4.5 PAWS FOR ME but there isn't a half star, so I always round up :)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

YA Fantasy Adults Will Like

My Enchanted Life by Laura Eno is a YA Fantasy. For Emma, the main character, it is a rite of passage. At 18 and barely out of high school, she receives a letter from a British solicitor notifying her that she has inherited a house in England. Since the notification also includes money to come see the house, she sets off on what she thinks will be a vacation before college.

It is anything but.

A taxi ride from the airport to the middle of nowhere is just the beginning of her enchanted life.

Laura Eno has the most vivid imagination and is a most adept teller of fantasy. My Enchanted Life moves quickly with twists and turns and wonderfully thought out characters, some deadly, some loveable. My Enchanted Life is not only a fantasy, it is in part, a love story. In the magical town, there are gnomes, dragons, Sentinels, and villagers, but it is a demon who captures her heart.

My Enchanted Life, like most books, presents the reader with a book question. In this case: Will Emma survive the new world she enters? But unlike other books, it also asks the question: Will she stay in the fantasy world or will she go home to the aunt and uncle who love her and raised her?

I would not be at all surprised to see Laura Eno write another book set in the magical community of Wode Gate. And I would not be surprised to find myself reading it.

I give My Enchanted Life a rating of Hel-of-a-Story.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly recommended

After Emma an eighteen year old graduates high school, she receives a letter telling her she has inherited a house in England from an uncle she never knew she had. She was raised by her mothers sister and her husband , so she never knew anything about her father or his family. Well she truly is about to find out. This story is full of disbelief, confusion, fantasy, humor and love. You have demons, ghosts, shape shifters, gnomes and even a dragon.. This book is like an adult fairy tale with some paranormal activities, what a wonderful book!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good read

On her 18th birthday, Emma inherits a home in England frim her paternal uncle. She was orphaned as a baby and raised by her maternal aunt and uncle. After receiving money, a passport, and a plane ticket to visit her new home. Emma travels to England. Once there she discovers her true heritage. She is a Sentinel, guardian of the gate, who protects the mundane world from demons. Her new home is located in a magical world unseen to others. In her new hometown, Emma meets many interesting creatures...dragons, shapeshihfters, gnomes, and demons. She finds love and learns alot about herself

I really enjoyed the read. The book was a quick read. I remember being 18 and wanting so badly to travel and leave my hometown in the dust. In this book, I was able to do that by reading about Emma. The only issue I had with the book was the fact that her aunt and uncle allowed her to go to England without them. I didn't feel this was realistic.

The end of the book left open the possibility of a series. I do hope there are more books. I am dying to know about the oracles last statement to Emma and about Matthews ability to cope with his demonic powers. I would recommend this book to others.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Loved it!!!!!

I loved this book...the main character emma is perfect the characters are perfect, expecially the dragon hehe... it was definately worth $3. I wish there was a sequel...the only reason i didn't give it 5 stars is because i thought both of the main guys in the story were just not for emma,.but thats just me! ;)

Really liked this book! Can't wait for more!

I received this book free in exchange for an honest review.... Just getting that up there at the beginning, so we're all on the same page. I liked this book, but agree with some of the other reviewers. It seemed a little rushed. There is so much more that can be done with the premise and the characters. Love the dragon! (Right now, my mind is blank on his name, but I loved him!) I think my problem is that it was such a short read. There could have been so much more! Laura, maybe you want to bring this back in and make it longer, more developed. I would sure love to read it again... For example, the climax of the book just slipped by - I almost missed it... there was more of a lead-in than there was the actual climactic scene! So, although I think I would love this book if it were expanded into a longer, or even another book, it was an okay read. I gave it 3 stars because of the potential I saw for a great story. Sorry, Laura, there's a lot of good stuff in the few pages I read, but I would like much, much more! Let me know if you decide to expand it - I'm definitely interested!

Fun fantasy, excellent heroine

American teen Emma knows her life's about to change--it's the final summer before college. But a letter from England brings news that turns her every dream on its head. Emma has inherited a house from her long-lost uncle, and the lawyers want her to come and see it, now.

I felt almost as unsettled as Emma when Laura Eno's novel moved to England, but, ignoring occasional un-English details, I soon imagine the village of Witton-le-Wear somewhere in the Cotswolds, perhaps, with stone-built homes, small graveyard, family plots and... all beautifully described and engagingly delighting all my senses.

Then there's the dragon, a gnome, a demon and more. Poor Emma's thoroughly perplexed.

Laura Eno's story brings magic into the mundane as a girl nervously facing change finds courage to make changes of her own. Standing up to the establishment, sticking up for her friends, trusting her instincts and bravely seeking out the truth, Emma's a fitting hero for teen readers and her story's filled with fun and mystery. I love the dragon, and I really enjoyed the book.

Disclosure: I was lucky enough to get an ecopy while this book was offered free.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.