The Lightning Charmer

by Kathryn Magendie

He brought down the sky for her.
In the deep hollows and high ridges of the ancient Appalachian mountains, a legacy of stunning magic will change their lives forever.
Laura is caught between the modern and the mystical, struggling to lead a normal life in New York despite a powerful psychic connection to her childhood home in North Carolina-and to the mysterious stranger who calls her name. She's a synesthete-someone who mentally "sees" and "tastes" splashes of color connected to people, emotions, and things. She's struggled against the distracting ability all her life; now the effects have grown stronger. She returns home to the mountains, desperate to resolve the obsessive pull of their mysteries.
But life in her mountain community is far from peaceful. An arsonist has the town on edge, and she discovers Ayron, scarred and tormented, an irresistible recluse who rarely leaves the forest. As her childhood memories of him surface, the facade of her ordinary world begins to fade. The knots she's tied around her heart and her beliefs start unraveling. Ayron has never forgotten her or the meaning of their astonishing bond. If his kind is to survive in modern times, he and Laura must face the consequences of falling in love.
Kathryn Magendie lives in the Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina with her weird discombobulated dog (who is strangely like Kathryn), two much missed ghost dogs, her husband GMR, ("Good Man Roger,") a mysterious shadowman, and many wild critters. Visit her at kathyrnmagendie.com.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Fantasy

266 pages, Paperback

First published October 18, 2013

About the author

Kathryn Magendie is an Amazon Best-selling Author of five novels and a novella—TENDER GRACES, her first novel, was an Amazon Kindle Number 1 best-seller, SWEETIE and THE LIGHTNING CHARMER were Amazon best-sellers.

As well as her novelist life, she’s a freelance editor, personal trainer, and former Publishing Editor of The Rose & Thorn.

Her short stories, essays, poetry, and photography have been published in print and online publications. Her novels are available in print and ebook.

She lives in the Smoky Mountains in a little log house in the Cove at Killian Knob in Maggie Valley, Western North Carolina.

I appreciate and adore all my readers! *muwah!*

Reviews

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry, sorry, sorry. Strange, strange, strange. When an author cannot express her character's emotion in any other way than repeating the same word over and over - usually 3 times - is 3 times the charm? - then it is time for the author to increase her vocabulary a bit I think. The book is not well written and is poorly edited and is rambling and confusing and contains inconsistencies. I received it free to review from Netgalley. I am giving it a two star review rather than a one star because there is a bit of a plot in there somewhere trying to be found and I was able to actually finish the book although I did want to just give up on it for a while because parts of it are so bad. I don't recommend this book.

[jeanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a Kindle Daily Deal and it had pretty good ratings and a description that sounded like it would be good, so I gave it a try. Hmm. A group of Native Americans has the power to harness lightning? I can get into that. A girl stumbled upon one of their ancient rituals in the woods and was bound to a young native boy by his great grandfather, the leader of the tribe? Sure! Why not? I realize now that in addition to being filed under fiction/fantasy/magical realism, it should have also been in the romance category, which I know I don't like and usually try to avoid.

I did not enjoy this author's writing style. The story could have been very entertaining, but I found Laura's internal dialogue to be distracting. For example, on three separate occasions, she thinks to herself "la la la la." "I don't care. I don't care. La, la, la, la." "One more week at Bryan's to go, and she'd hike up again -- no reason, just for the hike, la la la la." "'Saturday? Let me check.' La la la, la la la, sip, sip. 'Yes, my calendar seems to be free that day.'" She also repeated phrases. A lot. Who talks like this? She comes off as sort of a ditz and I can't figure out why the guys in the story want to be with her.

The other thing that really annoyed me is that I don't like reading books with a ton of sex. It seemed like every other page had her going on about how the scar on her back was tingling and burning and how she wanted wanted wanted to feel the pleasure and pain pleasure and pain pleasure and pain! and nobody could fulfill her. So she just decides to run into a clearing in the woods and strip down naked and go to town on herself while imagining being with the mysterious forest man. Uh, right.

I feel that the author must have read a book about plant symbolism that she found fascinating and wanted to somehow incorporate this into her book, so she had the neighbor, Betty, constantly talk about the meaning of plants. "Differing plants mean differing things. That one I gave you, like I said, means good cheer and friendship. Orange would be luck and money. Don't get a mock-orange, because that means deceit! Knotweed means health -- you aren't sick, are you?..."

Anyway, the book seemed like it had potential but it disappointingly turned out not to suit my taste at all.

[Chris Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

The mysterious power of love is a major theme of Kathryn Magendie’s latest novel, The Lightning Charmer. Disappointed in love and disenchanted with her career, Laura leaves her job with an ad agency in Manhattan and returns to her childhood home in the mountains of western North Carolina.

Laura is not your normal 30-something single woman. She suffers from synesthesia, a neurological condition in which she sees colors and hears voices and, like Harry Potter, she has a scar on her lower back that flares up when a crisis is impending.

Filled with self-doubt, she struggles to find herself. She is pursued by Matthew, a plastic surgeon from Atlanta, whose interest in Laura almost borders on stalking. Laura could take the safe route with Matthew, but she is drawn to Ayron, a mysterious man of the woods she meets while hiking in the mountains. It turns out they have a history, though Laura doesn’t realize it.

The mystery deepens when Flem, a mangy drifter who lives in a shack in the woods, kidnaps Laura. She escapes just as Ayron shows up at the scene, but the threat of Flem looms over the story. The pace quickens in the latter part of the story and gallops along toward the climax.

This story has a lot to say about the power of love and the choices people make in relationships. Laura eschews the safe choice of Matthew, who would have given her a comfortable, if passionless, life. Instead, she is drawn to the mystical Ayron, a man who refuses to be a part of her world.

The author has populated the story with a cast of quirky characters, none better than Laura’s neighbor, Betty. A feisty, middle-aged woman with an affinity for growing a variety of herbs and plants that she claims can cure whatever ails Laura, Betty takes Laura under her wing. Bryan, Laura’s brother, has a typical sibling relationship, chiding his sister but showing his love and support throughout.

[Cokiereads · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book was weird even for me.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird and got weirder throughout

[Donna Boynton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kathryn Magendie's Graces series ranks among some of my favorite books, but the Lightening Charmer is at the very end of the spectrum. Basically it is a horny woman's quest for sex with a large mountain man. I tried. I couldn't. The characters were underdeveloped and stereotyped. The dialogue was pedestrian (If If Laura said "Whatever" one more time I was going to scream . . . . That word is annoying enough in real life - it should not be part of any adult dialogue). I felt the author was trying to communicate so much , but it all got jumbled on the way out. I was so disappointed in this book.

[Cynthia Chamblee · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a 2.5. There were some definite cool ideas here but they got somewhat lost because of the pacing and which narrative threads the author focused on. I did like that it was set in the mountains of NC since I read it while camping in said mountains.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of Laura, a synesthete, a person who mentally sees things in colors, for example, colors attached to emotions or people. This means she can pretty much tell exactly how people are really feeling about anything. She returns to her childhood home in the North Carolina mountains to try and tame her "gift". She finds Ayron, scarred and tormented, an irresistible recluse who rarely leaves the forest. She starts to remember more and more of her childhood and together they discover who the arsonist is and what he's trying to hide.

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the story of Laura, a synesthete, a person who mentally sees things in colors, for example, colors attached to emotions or people. This means she can pretty much tell exactly how people are really feeling about anything. When she was little, she met a little half caucasian and half Indian boy, that grew up on the mountain near her small town. This put in motion events that would effect her for the rest of her life.
What I liked about this book:
The premise is really different. Laura, as a synesthete, is not the only magic in this book. The Indian, now a man named Aryon, is able to summon lightning and can control it. He is a recluse and still lives on the mountain and lives off the land. And he has loved Laura since he was a little boy.
I liked the mystery in the story and the magical( good or bad) things that were happening around Laura at every turn. It was all pretty different from most books of this type. There’s an arsonist at work in the small town and that’s where the mystery comes in to the story.Knowing that Aryon controls lightning and could easily cause fires keeps the reader wondering, did he or didn’t he?
I liked the romance in the story. Although part of the story involves a really not so nice man named Matthew, that Laura dates, you know that she is just waiting to find the mountain man she glimpses on one of her hikes up the mountain.
What I didn’t like about this book:
The personality of Laura was really different and I thought she was acting pretty goofy at times. Then when she starts dating someone, he tells her he thought she was kind of a goof. I agreed with him. So i didn’t really totally connect with her. She constantly is thinking when she should be listening to people that are talking to her. To me, she was pretty strange, but at least she wasn’t a cookie cutter character.
The only other thing I didn’t like was that it took so long for Laura to re-connect with Aryon. There was much more interaction between her and Matthew, when I would have rather seen more interaction between her and Aryon.
Who I would recommend this book to:
It’s definitely for adults but more specifically, adults that like books with magical occurrences. Also people that enjoy mountain stories, or even stories with Indian legends, might enjoy this, as long as they don’t mind that it is an extremely adult read. I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for a honest and fair review. 3.5 stars rolled up to 4.(PureTextuality.com)

[Stacy Sabala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review- The Lightning Charmer by Kathryn Magendie

Laura is not a normal woman who is thirty. She is known as a synesthete, where she suffers from a neurological condition in which she sees colors and hears voices. She also has a scar on her lower back that flares up when a crisis is impending. Her self-doubt gets the best of her and she struggles to find herself.
Matthew is a plastic surgeon from Atlanta, who pursues Laura to the point of almost stalking. Laura is tempted to take the route that is safe with Matthew, but she is drawn to Ayron. Ayron is a mysterious man who lives in the woods. She meets him while hiking in the mountains. They have a history, however Laura doesn’t realize it.
When a drifter kidnaps Laura, the mystery deepens. Laura escapes, but the threat of Flem looms over the story. The pace quickens as the story evolves and gathers along toward the climax.

The story idea is really different. Laura is not the only source of magic in this book. Aryon is able to summon lightning and control it. He lives on the mountain as a recluse but has loved Laura since he was a little boy.
The mystery in the story was intriguing and the magical things happening around Laura at every turn kept me reading. The storyline was very unique and the romance in the story was sweet.
I wish that Laura and Aryon re-connected faster in the story. I liked their interactions more than the ones between Laura and Matthew.
The story was also filled with a cast of great characters that kept the story moving. Betty and Bryan add to the story as they interact with Laura and steer her in the right direction.
I give it a 4 out of 5.

[SueK · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magnificent, magical, sensual book. My heart and brain are filled with images of the beautiful and compelling North Carolina mountains, and my soul is happy to think of the many types of love found in this story.

I flipped and flopped between a four and five rating on this one, but as I thought about what I wanted to say about the book, I landed on a five. I realized that, because the intimate/sex moments are a large part of this book, I was tamping down my rating, worried about what certain people might think. Ultimately, when you factor in how every sense is engaged in this book, how synesthesia is used to tell the story, it would be a disservice to play down the intimacies.

As I said - every sense is engaged, from the perfect descriptions of bakery treats, to the colors, sounds, and scents that thankfully are a huge part of the story. Interesting from beginning to end - I read this in one day. I'll read it again, to savor.

Kathryn Magendie is a favorite author, primarily because of the quirky Carolina characters she develops, but also because she seems to see the same North Carolina magic that I have experienced.

[Susan Scribner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this novel because it was recommended by my favorite author, Deborah Smith, and published by her company, Belle Books. But all I could do is think about how much better it would have been if Smith had been the author instead of Kathryn Magendie. The major problem is that the author keeps telling us that Laura and Ayron are meant to be together and perfect for each other, but their actual interactions are very limited and stilted at best, so I didn't believe in their love and had no investment in their HEA. Ayron appears to be a stereotypical "noble savage," not a real person, and Laura's synesthesia doesn't serve any real purpose. The villain is so completely one-dimensional EEEEvil that I was surprised he wasn't portrayed as having devil ears and tail.

I actually enjoyed the secondary characters, including Laura's brother Bryan and her neighbor Betty, more than Laura and Ayron, which makes me think Magendie should try writing a different type of novel. Next time, show me the romance, don't tell me and expect me to accept it on faith.

[Kelley]

I wanted to read this book because the main character has synesthesia, and the overall premise seemed like a sort of fantasy type that I might enjoy. Sadly, this book was just not for me. The main character was (I assume) supposed to be clumsy and quirky, but she ended up just grating on my nerves with her ridiculous personality. I was expecting to see more of her synesthesia, but all I got was a few mentions of color here and there that were so vague I wasn't sure what was going on (and this is coming from a synesthete). Meanwhile, all of the characters seemed to be preoccupied with sex and couldn't seem to interact with each other without wanting to debauch constantly. Maybe if they'd been more believable and less self-absorbed, maybe if there was more depth to the story, I could have stuck with it all the way to the end. As it is, I had to mark this one as DNF (did not finish) about halfway through.

[Emsy Van Wyck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting paranormal romance with a southern flavor

I couldn’t resist this book as it combined a southern setting (deep in the Appalachian mountains) with a paranormal tinged romance. The heroine, Laura, is fascinating as her paranormal talent as a synesthete (seeing and tasting colors that are reflective of emotions, people, and objects)is not something that’s written about often. When she’s drawn back from New York City to her Appalachian mountain hometown and rediscovers a friend from childhood, Ayron, who is now a recluse. Magendie writes their story in a lyrical prose that is imbued with accent of the inhabitants of Appalachia. As in the south, there is no hurry to rush to finish this book, but each page is slowly savored. Sometimes a bit too slowly for this more fast-paced northerner, but absolutely perfect for the lazy, hazy days of summer.

Three and a half stars

[Devin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be some cool woodsy Carolina fantasy with lots of action and love about demigods but found out the hard way it was honestly just smut. Don't get me wrong, I love a dirty book with awesome character development as much as the next girl, but NOT sexy at all, just... unpleasant. I thought I could chin up and plow through if it was just mediocre. 2 stars for tricking me into reading at least half the book.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely little romance infused with magical-realism and a heroine that owns her own sexuality. This isn't a straightforward formula romance with a canned plot and simplistic style. The POV character is frequently distracted from reality by her synthesia and thus her story is revealed in a scattered daydreamy way. I rather liked the device, but it won't be for everyone.

[Debra Sterling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way Kathryn weaves a story .... it is so unique. This story captured me from the beginning and kept my attention to the end. It just goes to show from some of the negative reviews that what is wonderful to one person is not to another. I can't think of one negative thing to say about the book. Great Job Kathryn! I loved the story line and the characters ...

[Kye Morrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I REALLY enjoyed this book! The story and plot were of a different sort for me, certainly not predictable. The book engaged me from the start all the way to the end. As with all good books/stories, I didn't want it to end. I definitely recommend.

[Marilyn Slagel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved, loved, loved this book! Can't wait for the sequel.

[Lillian Diane Woodcock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charmer

I chose five stars because once again, this was a hard book to put down. Fictional, but a great story. Good read!

[Marya · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars