I totally have a new FAVORITE series that I will be stalking forever now!!!! It’s majorly awesome and I need to show you some goodies!

Charming (Pax Arcana #1)

by Elliott James

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?

400 pages Published September 24th 2013 by Orbit

ISBN 0316253391 (ISBN13: 9780316253390)

My Review:

YES! I LOVED IT! So, I love a good fairy tale and all, but this is the fairy tale twisted, gone wrong, and having to go through life with a little curse instead of the HEA. It’s so awesome 🙂 This is your normal world, except the Pax Arcana is like the shield that keeps us humans from seeing all those big bads that walk among us. We have a Prince Charming, which we find out that it’s a family tree not just one dude. And this Charming is named John Charming. He’s also the abnormal Charming of the group. He’s a mix-ling, but I won’t tell you what, other than the fact that it’s awesome. LOL And John’s been on the run from the other Charmings who would love to kill him for being that abnormal. And now, let the rollercoaster ride begin!

Our main character is John, who starts off with a little arrogant, slightly cocky swagger that might make you think twice about him being a cool character, BUT I loved him. He’s willing to put himself in danger to help others he doesn’t even know, even those who may want to hurt and kill him. He’s also on the hunt for some monsters with some other monster hunters, which is unheard of, because of the Charming genetic tree. I also think he’s loyal, and brave, and quite funny, and though he makes some bad choices, he still has some honor. He definitely has me intrigued and I look forward to so very much from him in the future.

The secondary characters made this one as much awesome as the main character. I loved Molly. Molly used to be a priest, but now she’s like the wielder of the mother of all holy things, and you’ll have to listen to her explain it as to why she is now a hunter and not a priest. She’s very cool. Cahill is also the very human detective who helps out the team as the team also helps him solve his cases. The pot smoking, exterminating, Choo who just makes me giggle. I also am not a fan of some of the monster hunters. They are just ugh! And Sig, I have so much to say about her, but I won’t… no spoilers, but I expect a whoooooole lot in the future!

The writing is well done. Not only as the first of a series, it reads like a skilled writer who has been writing for forever. I am still so surprised that this concept could be such a great spin. The plot twist at the end, and the character that’s going to “change” I mean I can’t wait to see how this is going to play out. And I have so many thoughts about what might happen and what could be. I know it’s also going to surprise the hell out of me, because this one definitely surprised me so much!

There is ONLY ONE reason that this book is not getting a 5 PAW review….. And that would be because those damn vampires from Louisiana had the most GOD AWFUL ACCENT!!!! Seriously, could you people who want to write about Louisiana people just call me… I talk a lot, and I can prove that not only do we not talk like that, AT ALL, like almost the New Orleans, meets Texas drawl, meet something unholy. Seriously. My grandparents are from the serious South, like born where you can’t get there except by boat- yes I’m serious- and THEY DON’T TALK LIKE THAT! *sigh* I absolutely loved this book, but I seriously said some very inappropriate naughty words when I read the vampers dialogue…. those Southern Louisiana vampers…. UGH! AND, seriously, does anybody really talk like that, ever? If it were for a little fight, I would have had to make sure each of those vampires who spoke so terrible met a very horrible end…. HINT HINT, stop making us sound uneducated and like we’ve lost our brains and teeth. LOL Yes I know, so very many authors do that, not just this one. I just had to make it know that I was not, nor will I ever be, ok with that accent. Ok, rant over, I am back to loving this book! Other than that little snaffoo, it’s an excellent story. It’s got a very fresh, all new concept, with a great plot twist, and some very interesting takes on some of the lore and myths. I really hope that this book become a large, very full, long term series. There’s so much that could be done and I know the author is going to do wonderful things with it! I definitely can’t wait for more. Like GIMME GIMME GIMME MORE right now! Ok, thanks very much! LOL With that, a VERY SURPRISING, VERY CHARMING 4.5 WOLF PAWS!!!

Favorite Quote:

“I’m a mean mother-hmmnhmmnh man of God,” she informed me. “Except that I’m a woman, of course.”
“You just quoted something, didn’t you?” I asked.
“Yes, I did,” Molly agreed. She seemed calm but her heart was beating fast. “From Dusk Till Dawn. Its a vampire movie with George Clooney.”
“Is it too late to get a different priest?” Choo wondered. “Like maybe one who quotes The Bible?”
― Elliott James, Charming

About the Author!

An army brat and gypsy scholar, ELLIOTT JAMES is currently living in the blueridge mountains of southwest Virginia. An avid reader since the age of three (or that’s what his family swears anyhow), he has an abiding interest in mythology, martial arts, live music, hiking, and used bookstores. Irrationally convinced that cellphone technology was inserted into human culture by aliens who want to turn us into easily tracked herd beasts, Elliott has one anyhow but keeps it in a locked tinfoil covered box which he will sometimes sit and stare at mistrustfully for hours. Okay, that was a lie. Elliott lies a lot; in fact, he decided to become a writer so that he could get paid for it. – See more at:http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/auth…

I hope you guys check this one out! Happy reading and later gators!