CHARMED: The Gypsy Enchantment
Carla Jablonski
Pocket Books
Young Adult
ISBN: 0743412354

The Halliwell sisters are at it again, except this time their witchy ways have led them to a mysterious and devastatingly handsome gypsy in the circus. (Does anybody else wonder if there are days that go by when the Halliwell girls don't save modern civilization and meet a ton of hot guys in the process? I mean, don't they ever just sit around watching bad TV?) Prue's assignment for 415, the magazine she works for, is to photograph the behind-the-scenes excitement at the Carnival Cavalcade. But being a coulrophobic (for all you phobia fanatics out there, that's a person with a serious fear of clowns), Prue allows Piper and Phoebe to come along…and you just know supernatural trouble is bound to erupt when these three sisters get together.

While Prue is off pondering the weightiest of all existential questions --- "Why do guys always get the great lashes…while we girls have to load on the mascara?" --- and snapping pictures of Ivan, the swoon-worthy gypsy/animal trainer, Piper decides to pay Madame Olga, the fortuneteller, a visit. Olga immediately senses a dangerous and unsettling aura about Piper. "You must leave this place and never come back," the psychic pleads. Moments later, we find Phoebe in the midst of having a terrifying vision of Piper being strangled by a handsome stranger. Who is this dashing, young strangler, and is Piper's life really in danger?

As it turns out, Ivan is the man Phoebe saw in her vision. But Prue, who has become quite fond of the chiseled-featured circus star, finds it hard to believe that "gentle" Ivan is capable of such violence. Fortunately, the wise and quick-witted Phoebe is there to remind her moony-eyed sister, "Demons and warlocks come in all guises…one minute a guy is sweet as mocha-chip ice cream. Then without any warning he's trying to zap a girl into oblivion."

Is it possible that Ivan is really just a demon disguised as a human hottie? Will Prue put the romantic or the "evil be damned to hell" moves on him? Well, one thing is for sure: the Charmed Ones will undoubtedly use their powers to save the day and go home with a few hunky circus-freaks on their arms.

--- Reviewed by Hester Prime

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