Elliott James

"A fascinating twist on the Prince Charming fairy tale with a modern twist and a hunt for monsters -- both within and supernatural."

No, I'm afraid it has absolutely nothing to do with Prince Charming or a fairy tale, but it does have to do with a hunt for monsters, or vampires to be more exact. Luckily, I enjoy urban fantasies filled with hunts for vampires, especially when they are told in a way new to me. John Charming is a Knight (the remnants of the old Knights Templar) who has been show more trained to hunt monsters, and even though he was basically kicked out of the group because he is half-werewolf, which makes him an abomination in their eyes, the need to hunt and protect the Pax Arcana, a very old spell of sorts whose purpose is to "encourage" humans to look the other way and not notice supernatural activity around them, by killing any supernatural entity or being who is drawing a little too much attention to their activities, will never go away. John is an enigma, and can be charming when he wants to be.. He's weary and cynical because he's been around a long time and has been on the run from a radical branch of the Knights who have decided that he needs to be killed. When he bands together with some other supernatural outcasts to hunt a particularly messy family of vampires in the town he has been living in, he doesn't really know how to work well with others because he has been on his own for so long, but they eventually find a way to work together, sort of.

I enjoyed this book and thought the characters were unique and interesting. Some of the information felt like it was dumped on me, and I could have done without a lot of the in depth explanations about weird stuff that wasn't really relevant, but I still found myself invested and wanting to find out what happened next. I will be continuing with the series.

4/5 stars. show less

4.5

Book source ~ Purchased

John Charming is an unassuming bartender in Virginia trying to lead a quiet life and stay under the supernatural radar. Because he’s something special in their world, but liked by none. Hunted by the Knights Templar (or current version thereof) and disliked by the typical supes (maybe because he kills them - who knows?), he’s just trying to live his life. But then a super hot blonde (Sig) walks into his bar with a vampire soon following. John figures it’s time show more to move on. Again. Except this time, he’s pulled into Sig’s world and has to decide - stay or go?

The fast pace, mystery to solve, danger, sarcastic humor, and supernatural all put me in mind of Harry Dresden (The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher). If you like your stories to have those ingredients then dig in. It’s a tasty treat. It’s different enough to be fresh, too. The world building is great, the characters are terrific, the mystery satisfying, and the villain makes me want to chop a body into a million tiny pieces. Probably with a wood chipper. There’s plenty of plot here and no boredom in sight.

I finally had a chance to listen to this on my drive home to North Carolina from my mom’s farm in Ohio. Listening at 1.5x was just about perfect. I finished right before I pulled into my driveway. I’m looking forward to picking up book 2 because it was so easy to fall into this world and let the hours fly by. show less

Ah, Charming. You know, I was looking for something fun and light when I picked this up. Color me surprised at how much magical lore, relationships, and actual emotions are packed into this book. It's still a seriously fun read. Is it perfect? No. However I can say that the entire time I was listening to this on audio, there was something that kept me going. Either some snarky banter, an interesting female lead, or John Charming without his shirt... erm... I mean emotional depth. Yup. show more Emotional depth.

I think Urban Fantasy is my new go-to for books that are easy to get lost in. While there's definitely a fair bit of explanation into certain mythical creatures, their habits, and their communities, it doesn't feel heavy handed here in Charming. It blends in nicely with everything else going on. Actually, it kind of balances out the action scenes. Add in a bit of awkward but adorable relationship building between John and our female lead, and you have a book that held my attention. show less

I've long enjoyed the amount of mythology that is worked into the Pax Arcana series. This is what John Charming does, he's almost a century old, and he knows the territory. I'm also struck by his believability as an almost century old (regenerating, Wolverine-style). Yes, he's still a smartass after all these years. He's been through some stuff; he was raised by people who thought he should have been killed as a freak of nature, and he's seen someone he loved killed because of him. He has show more very believable problems with authority. But as odd as it is, he also has a certain maturity. His relationship with Sig is one of the most reasonable I've seen in urban fantasy. They didn't rush into it after some stuff that went down with her previous relationship in the first book, and when their various issues get in the way they work stuff through and deal with it like adults.

I love this series. It and the Rivers of London books by Ben Aaronovitch are my two go-to recommendations for fans of The Dresden Files. I just wish I knew what the release date was for the next book, Legend Has It. show less