Charming (ARC review)

Pax Arcana: Charming | Elliott James
Urban Fantasy, Paranormal/Supernatural

September 24th 2013, Orbit Books/Hatchette

Characters ★★★☆☆
Setting ★★★☆☆

Writing Style ★★★☆☆

John Charming isn't your average Prince... 
He comes from a line of Charmings — an illustrious family of dragon slayers, witch-finders and killers dating back to before the fall of Rome. Trained by a modern day version of the Knights Templar, monster hunters who have updated their methods from chainmail and crossbows to kevlar and shotguns, he was one of the best. That is — until he became the abomination the Knights were sworn to hunt.
That was a lifetime ago. Now, he tends bar under an assumed name in rural Virginia and leads a peaceful, quiet life. One that shouldn't change just because a vampire and a blonde walked into his bar... Right?

Funny, exciting, and intelligent.

Charming tells the tale of John Charming, an ex-Knights-Templar-trained guy trying to hold down a normal life and a normal bar job - well, if you discount the fact that he's half a werewolf and a lethal assassin. When a mysterious woman and a vampire walk into his bar it sets him on the trail of a vampire hive threatening his town, and throws him into a makeshift group of supernatural hunters with the enigmatic Sig, a woman who knows more about him than is possible.

I did have a few problems with the book, namely all the info dumping, but that made sense at the end when I realised John was essentially writing a How To Kill Bad Guys manual. I could have done without the dialect dialogue that made me cringe, but these minor irks weren't enough to discourage me from finishing what was a solid, enjoyable book.

Charming is a fast-paced roller-coaster of highly charged supernatural battles, with a gripping plot, genuine, like-able characters, and a world that draws you in and refuses to let go.

I can only hope the second book will bring more of the same.

Overall: ★★★☆☆ (3.5 stars)

Galley recieved for review courtesy of Orbit/Hatchette book group and netgalley.