January BOTM: CHARMING by Elliott James

[JP]

Hello All and Happy New Year!!

The votes are in and our Book of the Month for January is:

CHARMING by Elliott James
Charming

Please read and discuss below with the rest of the group.

Have fun!

[Amyiw]

Ooo, I just finish reading this book December 19th and loved it. Kept my attention from the beginning. I intend to read the next this month so will be back to say if I liked it as much.

[T. K. Elliott (Tiffany)]

Oh, cool. Looks like I might have found something to fill the gap till the next Jim Butcher... :-)

[Amyiw]

I think it more like the Iron Druid in that he is Uber good at fighting and attitude/knowledge though he is not as old. It isn't quite as funny either but I actually liked it better in some ways and not as much in others. It doesn't have the dark noir feel of Dresden.

[T. K. Elliott (Tiffany)]

I tried Iron Druid and lasted half a chapter before my desire to hit the smug bar-steward right in the cake-hole actively started to endanger my Kindle, so I gave up.

So far, Charming is going nicely (although with an author name like that, it's got to be good, right?). @Amyiw - I agree that it doesn't have the noir feel that Dresden does, but it's still holding my attention. So far, Charming is amusing, and Sig looks like she might be interesting. I quite like where he's going with vampires, too.

I could have done without two 'chapters' of infodump, but hopefully now Elliott's got it out of his system, he'll stop.

[L.E.]

I read this book months ago, even though not on my top list still, I loved it, recommend it and am reading the next ones.

[L.E.]

Amyiw wrote: "I think it more like the Iron Druid in that he is Uber good at fighting and attitude/knowledge though he is not as old. It isn't quite as funny either but I actually liked it better in some ways an..."

Joining in here. I hadn't thought of that before but now that you mention it. You have a point.

[T. K. Elliott (Tiffany)]

Well, finished it. Well happy with that - he just scraped four stars, and I think there are signs that when the series gets going, he'll infodump less and plot more.

Reviewed it here.

I really liked Sig - and I liked the dynamic of how Charming fitted into her team.

James isn't giving Butcher a run for his money yet, I don't think, but he's got potential.

[Amyiw]

So I read on and liked even more than Charming. It has a different feel and because he is away with the "clan" (pack) for much of the time, you don't get as much with Sig and thier relationship doesn't move very far. Still I really liked some of the new characters and like how the plot came to a head. So with 2 books now, I know it hits the spot with me. Not as fun as the Iron Druid for me, but definitely in the same class.

I have another friend that didn't click with the Druid and that's OK but it is one of my favorites. Dresden I like but it is not one of my favorites. So different strokes. So far, I actually like this better than Dresden. "Hells Bells" is actually one of my pet peeves. Might even be a danger to the Kindle. :-)

[L.E.]

Amyiw wrote: "So I read on and liked even more than Charming. It has a different feel and because he is away with the "clan" (pack) for much of the time, you don't get as much with Si..."
Don't know if this is the place but you made me curious. Which other UF books do you like. All the same style as this one and the Druid?

[Amyiw]

My top
Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews
Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs
The Others by Anne Bishop
I have an old list of 25 UF and 25 PNR (found it very hard to find 25 PNR favorites) but it is a 1/2 year old and I think I might put this series, Urban Shaman, Soulwood, Jaz Parks, and Arcadia Bell on the UF. Only the top 10 series are in order.
Top 25 forum UF and PNR

[L.E.]

Ever hear of John Levitt?

Laura Resnick? She writes differently compared to James though.

T. A. Pratt

I would think that Benedict Jacka's Alex Verus could be close to the way Charming and for that matter the Iron Druid does things.

And-if this violates a rule I have forgotten please ignore it, me.

[Amyiw]

I liked Benedict Jacka's Alex Verus and planned to continue but I wasn't wowed by the characters. Nor did it have the snarky humor. I have to really like the characters. I didn't like the first Vampire Empire, The Greyfriar and did't think I would ever read on but months later and the characters were still calling to me. I could still remember them really well. I ended up really liking the trilogy.

I've heard of all of the authors. Laura Resnick was the closest to sounding my style. This book, Charming, was right up my alley. Even though the next book, Daring, deals with a lot of new characters, I actually liked them too, even the bad guys. You got to love a good bad guy! Hugh D'Ambry from Kate Daniels has to be one of my favorites.

[L.E.]

Oh yes, Lisa Shearin's SPI series. The third one is about to come out. More paranormal really but still has some UF tendencies.

Going along with that is Seanan McGuire's InCryptid series

Both have characteristics the same as Charming even though not at all the same plots or settings.

[L.E.]

Oh speaking of Charming have you read any of James' short stories about Charming.

[L.E.]

I wasn't planning on doing at third post but I just thought of one criticism I have of the series. I don't think James does enough with the premise of who Charming is-his family. He mentions it a few times throughout the series but more as a side note.

[Amyiw]

I think you are right on that as I would like to know more about the Charmings. I haven't read the shorts yet. I have to go on in my TBR pile before coming back to the Pax. I do have them on my list. How are they?.

I loved Lisa Shearin's Magic Lost, Trouble Found Reine Benares series but only the short novella of SPI really hit it for me.

[L.E.]

I have read two. They are short versions of the books. The two I read had one adventure each. Neither had anything new on the Charmings. But by their titles a couple of others might.

I think it is book three where he goes into a little detail about his dad and mother. Not all that much but still I was surprised by something.

James could do a whole book on the Charmings.

[K.]

This wasn't one of my favorites. It was ok, but I wanted to know more about the Charming family. And I simply couldn't connect to Charming's character.