The notion of "soul mates" has been around a very long time. Some believe that a soul mate is someone with whom a person has shared other lifetimes through reincarnation. Others believe, like the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, that a soul mate is a person's "other half". A third philosophy states it is written in the stars that everyone has at least one soul mate. However, is it possible that there are two?

Dara Shea-Neilan is dealing with the loss of her husband, Aidan, and that of her parents three years ago. Nevertheless, she agrees to meet some stranger at a deserted warehouse in the middle of the night simply because he says he knows something about Aidan. Dara is sure that both her parents and Aidan were hiding something about her Irish roots but she did not count on those roots coming back to haunt her in the form of Rowan Mackey.

Rowan Mackey, a six-and-a-half foot, fiery-haired Irishman insists that Dara is his destined life mate, but how can that be? She was Aidan's life mate. After losing Aidan, Dara certainly does not want to put herself at risk of that kind of devastating loss again. Therefore, Rowan must do some fast-talking to convince her to return to Ireland with him. In addition, he must convince her that he is her new chosen life mate by the ancient Law. He has to make her his mate in the ancient Kanjali way--by taking her against Lia F·il, the Stone of Destiny, upon the Hill of Tara.

First, he needs to save the both of them from the Hound, an ancient enemy and destroyer of their kind. They escape the Hound with the help of a Sidhe guardian, into the de-Danann's subterranean Otherworld, home of the Fae. On the run across the five fairy realms, they find old enemies. Prince Donn, ruler of one of the realms, joins the Hound in the hunt. His goal is to destroy forever all remnants of his long dead brother Amergin's bloodline. Unsure of whom is the remaining survivor of the bloodline, Prince Donn vows to kill both Rowan and Dara. No matter how she fights it the life mate bond draws Rowan and Dara closer. Before Dara can reach a decision on their final act of commitment, which must be performed before their people, their enemies find them.

Can Rowan as a Guardian of the Kanjali lead them to victory in the final battle? Can Dara take the final step of commitment to save Rowan and her newly found people? Who will win the battle intent on wiping out the Kanjali for all time? Will the last surviving member of the lost prince's bloodline be saved?

Dawn Madigan's Celtic Charms: Destined is a quick-paced paranormal erotic romance that kept me at the edge of my seat. Ms. Madigan uses a unique blend of the contemporary and Celtic fantasy along with well-written characters and an intense plot to deliver a book well worth reading. Mix a hot sexy man with a smart sassy woman and some intensely hot sex and you get a book that is a keeper. This is Dawn Madigan's debut
novel and I, for one, will be anxiously awaiting her next book.

Reviewed By Tammy Adams
© July 2005