Truth and Consequences

Charmed #21

by Cameron Dokey, Constance M. Burge (Series Creator)

Earth, water, fire, air,
Aid me in this task I dare.
Where Cole wanders let me see.
As I will,
So mote it be.

Cole is working late, and her sisters are having a girls' night in, so on the spur of the moment, Phoebe accepts what seems like an innocent date with a friendly stranger. But good intentions are quickly misconstrued when Cole leaves work early to surprise Phoebe—and is stunned to find her sharing a meal with another man.

Cole can't believe that Phoebe would betray him, and Phoebe can't believe Cole would even think she'd betray him. Their escalating argument quickly highlights some fundamental trust issues they each harbor. But soon they discover themselves trapped in the underworld, at the center of a lovelorn demon's plot to destroy the Power of Three. If Cole and Phoebe can't reconcile their suspicions and insecurities, there's more than their own relationship at risk!

Genres: Fantasy, Witches, Paranormal, Young Adult, Tv, Media Tie In, Fiction

196 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 2003

About the author

Cameron Dokey is an American author living in Seattle, Washington. She has a collection of over 50 old sci-fi and horror films. Cameron was born in the Central Valley of California. Cameron grew up reading classical literature and mythology, perhaps due to her father, Richard, being a teacher of Philosophy, Creative Writing, and Western Literature.

Cameron has one husband and three cats, and is the author of over a dozen young adult novels. Her favorite read is J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings." Her favorite TV show is "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

When she's not writing, Cameron likes to work in the garden and is learning to quilt.

Reviews

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cole’s working late so Phoebe decides not to wait for him and goes out to dinner by herself. She meets a charming guy there called Nick and they have a nice night. Until Cole shows up. He’s jealous to say the least. Nick’s clearly trying to drive a wedge between them. When Phoebe finds herself trapped in the Underworld, Cole comes to her rescue. But it’s clear they’re going to need to fix their relationship and trust each other if they ever want to see the light of day again.


Phoebe and Cole’s relationship was of course one of the biggest highlights of the whole show, so it’s really nice to revisit this timeline when it still felt so fresh and exciting. And the characterization of Phoebe and Cole is done really well here. Which makes this character-driven story a fun nostalgic read. It’s a bit too short though. This story needed some more time for everything to develop a bit more naturally, for the antagonist to feel more memorable and for the climax of the story to feel less rushed.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better charmed novels. I loved that this story featured Cole and Phoebe, but also had Leo playing a significant role. I always wanted Phoebe and Cole to have a HEA, but that's not the direction the show took. At least in this book we get a bit more of their romance before it ended.

Would definitely recommend this to any Charmed fan.

[Rianne Heartfilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

So the good thing about this part was that: no mistakes in names! Or anything else. Made me a bit more motivated to read this again every time that I have a chance. I think I'm almost halfway there to finish every Charmed book so that should also be a motivation!

I liked this story, it was interesting but in my opinion half finished. I wanted to know how this Nick thing thought about making the couple not trust each other anymore since they had made up for the fight before. As if love is that easy, the story was good but a little bit pathetic considering the challenge for Phoebe and Cole. The only challenge Cole really had was walking towards Phoebe, not really what was necessary considering the biggest challenge should be to free her but apparently you have a Paige and nothing scary needs to happen.

[Sophia Reedijk · Rating 2 out of 5]

De nostalgie factor was het grote pluspunt met dit boek. Maar verder is het eigelijk wel echt een slecht boek. Als je opgegroeid bent met de tvserie dan is het nog wel leuk, maar anders zou ik het niet aanraden.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

Glad to see another book with Cole and Phoebe. Also glad they were able to sort out some of their issues. Nick was very interesting.

Can't wait to read more Charmed novels!!!!

[Courtney Gruenholz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even if the books aren't canon, this one is in Season 4 despite The Charmed Ones having Season 5 hairstyles on the cover.

I can determine that because Phoebe and Cole are engaged.

Oh yeah there is going to be a lot of Phoebe and Cole in this book so if anyone was on that ship watching Charmed, you will love this one. We get some Piper, Paige and Leo but this is mostly about Phoebe and a now human Cole.

Having no powers and working as an assistant district attorney for real now yet still trying to shake of demon bounty hunters who want him dead doesn't really leave much time for Cole to spend with his fiancee. Having to cancel date nights is becoming constant but Phoebe is just glad that her sweetie isn't running for his life as an excuse.

Phoebe tries to salvage her night by calling her sisters but Piper and Paige have plans to stay in and bond watching movies and eating popcorn. Phoebe is a little glum but also realizes that the two need more time together as Paige is so new to their family.

The man next to Phoebe is on the phone having a conversation that isn't going well by the snippets Phoebe can pick out as he knocks over her mineral water. Ending the call, he apologizes to Phoebe and his boyish looks convey that he wasn't ready to be dumped. He introduces himself as Nick Gerard and thinking that Phoebe has been dumped too offers to share his dinner reservation with her.

Phoebe tells Nick she is engaged but the waiter arrives and believes Nick is with his date so Phoebe agrees as long as they both split the bill...why waste a meal and meeting someone new as just a friend to chat with?

Cole, however, rushes to get his work done so he can meet Phoebe and he arrives at the restaurant to see Phoebe laughing and smiling with another man. Phoebe doesn't act ashamed at all because it has been innocent conversation and greets Cole warmly but Cole decides to be rude to Nick which doesn't sit well with Phoebe.

Nick tries to be polite but Phoebe isn't proud of her boyfriend acting like a jealous jerk so she pays for the whole bill and leaves, Cole on her heels. He accuses Phoebe of hooking up with some guy and assumes that Phoebe didn't even try to talk her sisters into going out at all. Phoebe leaves Cole on the sidewalk and drives home in her own car as Cole goes off to cross the Golden Gate Bridge and drive out to Sausalito to think about the fight.

The next morning, Phoebe wakes up to a single red rose and a note from Cole apologizing in his actions of the previous night. Cole is at his job so Phoebe goes about her normal day of errands and ends up running into Nick as his car is being impounded for parking in a NO PARKING zone, a sign hidden by a tree. Embarrassed about last night and having the worst luck, Phoebe offers to drive Nick to go and get his car.

Us, as the readers, have already learned that Nick Gerard is not who he appears to be and Phoebe's phrasing has him whisking her away to the Underworld. Nick is a demon working for the Powers of Darkness which puts him in the top 3 of demonic evils with The Source of All Evil being Numero Uno and he has a beef with Cole.

Cole gave up his demon powers for the love of a witch, A Charmed One, freely but Nick doesn't see it that way. He believes Phoebe forced him to give up his true nature but that she isn't as committed to him as she thinks. Nick says he proved that last night by Phoebe accepting his dinner invitation and the jealous way Cole acted, proving that neither one completely trusts the other.

Phoebe is now a bargaining chip in this game.

Cole gets a frantic call from Piper and he rushes home to find her and Paige tied up with a snake like demon there as a messenger from Nick or Tauschung. Cole is to come after Phoebe but with no help from the Charmed Ones and if he can rescue her, he'll have to face down his foe.

Leaving Phoebe in the Underworld will end the Power of Three, dead or alive, and work in the favor of all demons so what can Cole do but accept or else lose the love of his life and leave her family in ruins once again after already losing one sister...

Even though Phoebe is the damsel in distress, she doesn't play it that way as she is actually pretty clever which is nice to have them establish in these books as she did go to college and study psychology. She plays off Nick's own human past and is a bit sorry for what she learns about why he chose evil.

Cole gets a little bit of a spotlight which is refreshing because before they did this whole thing with turning him back to being evil...I was rooting for Cole to have some human redemption. He was born a half demon but embraced his whole demon side then he gave it up for love but clearly, he used his love to protect Phoebe and got sucked back to the dark side.

Here it is nice to see a fully human Cole with all of his demon knowledge going to save Phoebe and also be seen as a true member of the Halliwell family before he and Phoebe are even married. Leo and Piper and Paige all care for him and Cole shows that he does reciprocate being seen as a person and not just a former demon.

For all of those positives, Truth And Consequences cuts to the action just a little too quickly and ends with a happy family moment without any real payoff.

[Azul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phoebe and Cole!!! <3

[Mea Hemmings-crenshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean, it's Pheobe and Cole and their beautiful Love... so it's FANTASTIC!

[Petra Schweiger · Rating 4 out of 5]

An und für sich ein tolles Buch der Charmed Reihe, insbesondere weil mein persönliches Lieblingspaar, Phoebe und Cole hier im Mittelpunkt stehen. Gut geschrieben, schön fand ich auch, dass Cole hier selbst mit Paige und Piper eine sehr gute Beziehung zu haben scheint. Ich fands in der Serie nie gut, was sie ihm in späteren Staffeln angetan haben und was aus ihm gemacht wurde. Umso besser, wenn wir hier noch eine intakte Welt jenseits der Serie haben.
Einziger Kritikpunkt ist das Ende, das auf mich doch sehr abgehackt wirkte, das ging mir etwas zu schnell und einfach, hier hätte ich mir dann doch gewünscht, dass die Macht der Drei höchst selbst die Dinge zu Ende bringt, vielleicht sich auch an Nicks Einstellung noch etwas geändert hätte, Phoebe sagte ja, das sie Mitleid mit ihm hat und Cole und sie hätten ihm durchaus beweisen können, dass die Liebe nicht nur ein leerer Wahn ist. Der Figur "Nick" hätte man zum Ende also ruhig nochmal seine Fehler vor Augen führen und ihm etwas Tiefe geben können damit auch seine doch sehr tragische Geschichte zu einer Erkenntnis und einem Abschluss kommt. Ansonsten aber eine gute Geschichte.

Edit: Außerdem kündigt Nick ständig an, dass er Coles Herz brechen will indem dieser Phoebe mit einem anderen erwischt und man fragt sich schon als man die Drohung das erste Mal liest wie er das machen will. Diesbezüglich geschieht auch nichts mehr, aber da wäre noch Luft nach oben gewesen, sei es, dass er Phoebe mit einem Zauber manipuliert oder Cole eine Illusion zeigt, beides wäre gut gewesen um Coles Vertrauen zu testen. Ein bisschen mehr Verschlagenheit vom großen Bösewicht der auch noch Täuschung heißt wäre schon nett gewesen.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rewatched Charmed this quarantine and I just wanted to live in S3/S4 a little bit longer and moon over Phoebe/Cole and this book did just that 😍.

Things that I liked:
- Cole is treated as part of the family. Even Paige likes him still 😭
- The underworld! The underworld was one of the reasons I liked Cole in the show so much, he was the only one that would go there otherwise we know so little of it other than "it's the underworld where demons live"
- Phoebe/Cole being adorable

Things I didn't like:
- Short
- Tbh the villains in these books seems very one dimensional but I don't think the show was better lol

Human!Cole, tbh humans in supernatural series seem boring to me but I will forgive this because the alternative is what the show did and welp.

[Leanne Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this one had such promise the majority of the way through but I was left disappointed by the ending. It just felt so anti climactic, the story built for so long and kept me gripped through Cole’s trip through the underworld and I loved that it centred on him and Phoebe but it was almost like we missed the final chapter. I was disappointed to not find out what happened to Nick or why Cole mumbled ‘Love….Paige’. I definitely think we should have got some sort of conclusion on Nick and The Power of Darkness.

Strong start and middle. Didn’t stick the landing.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that one just sort of ended abruptly, and was ridiculous that booking a spa day was so secretive, but overall definitely one of the better Charmed books. Quite possibly because it didn’t really involve newly introduced dates being evil or sisters fighting in more than a red herring type of was and it ultimately was more about Phoebe/Cole than anything else.

[Linnéalukee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suomentaminen tässä sarjassa on valittu hassusti, muutamia osia sarjan keskeltä. En suosittele näitä jos ei ole täysin tutustunut tv sarjaan. Itse onneksi olen niin oli tuttuja asioita, muuten voi olla hieman pihalla asioista, niitä ei pahemmin selitellä tässä.
Muuten ihan ok.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely my favourite Charmed book so far. I would have loved to see it as an episode of the show!

[Delilah Hammons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book! Great tie into the show and I love the focus on Phoebe and Cole!

[Sophia Aouichaoui · Rating 3 out of 5]

The meaning of Family is portrayed with such detail in this story. You truly feel the connection between the Halliwells / White lighter/ ex-demon!

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always liked the Charmed TV series and watched a lot of episodes during my time as an undergraduate at university This was the first book I'd read in the series. I bought it on the sale at a bookshop and read it very quickly . I agree with many people who've reviewed the book , in that it's too short. It did take me a time to get into , but I think that's due to the years that have passed since I saw the TV series, and I had to get to know the characters again.
I really enjoyed this book and I agree with many of the comments people made here on Goodreads- that the book is a perfect mixture of fantasy, suspense and love . I wasn't sure about it at the beginning , and thought the plot was a bit simple and predictable in some parts . That said, the book was a delight to read , and the first I've read based on the Charmed TV series. There were times during my reading when was surprised by the twists and turns in the plot , and that's what kept interest . I wanted the book to go on and on , and it is short at just 185 pages, but a has very good storyline and has me wanting to read more books from the Charmed series , as well as see the TV show again. Despite it's few faults, well worth a top rating

[Katherine Hayward Pérez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and I agree with many of the comments people made here on Goodreads- that the book is a perfect mixture of fantasy, suspense and love . I wasn't sure about it at the beginning , and thought the plot was a bit simple and predictable in some parts . That said, the book was a delight to read , and the first I've read based on the Charmed TV series. There were times during my reading when was surprised by the twists and turns in the plot , and that's what kept interest . I wanted the book to go on and on , and it is short at just 185 pages, but a has very good storyline and has me wanting to read more books from the Charmed series , as well as see the TV show again. Despite it's few faults, well worth a top rating

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a long time fan of the show this really didn’t resonate well with me.

This book really didn’t represent the sisters accurately, all of them had lines which sounded out of character and behaviours which just did not capture the iconic characters. It was as if it had been written by someone who had never seen the show, a real shame for charmed fans.

Some others in the series written by other authors I found to have more accuracy but this one really missed the mark, I would not recommend.

[♡ Jeri's Book Attic ♡ Jeri the Romance Bibiliophile ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like all the other Charmed novels, a great book, and just as good as the actual show.

[Ariana Jouzdani · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it!!!!!!!

[Yvenalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The mix between love, mystery and magic is great.

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

F CHA
Fantasy

[Mary]

GReat book had alot to think abut with trust and illusions one of my favortires

[Paula M. Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read the book because of the Phole plot. It was actually pretty cool. Too bad it was so short! I wish it could be longer...

[MarylineD · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great Charmed novel!