Book Review: Charming

Title: Charming

Author: Krystal Wade

Genre: YA Fiction

Reviewer: Aly

Book Blurb:

They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and that's great . . . as long as you don't die. 

Sixteen-year-old Haley Tremaine had it all: top-notch school, fantastic family, and a bright future, but all of that changed when an accident tore her family apart. Now, an alcoholic father, a bitter younger sister, and a cold headstone bearing her mother’s name are all she has left.

Chris Charming has it all: a powerful CEO for a father, a prestigious school, and a fortune at his fingertips, but none of that matters when he lands a reputation as a troublemaker. Struggling to follow in his father’s footsteps, he reaches out to the one person he believes truly sees him, the one person he wants: Haley.

Little do they know someone's determined to bring the two together, even if it means murder

Review: 

I’m gonna say this straight out but it’s definitely not a story full of rainbows and butterflies. Although it does have its moments. 

Haley definitely hasn’t had the best life and we hear about much of it up front, which is great, but it leaves a little less mystery to undercover. But at the same time it’s perfect because while we get all of this information about Haley, we know next to nothing about Chris or his actions. It balances things out and definitely makes things interesting.

This book definitely reminds you that kids can be jerks or blind to the obvious. Or at least indifferent. Although who knows maybe Jocelyn sees things differently or a different side of her father.

It almost seems as if Charming is a Cinderella story. And before you say anything yes, I can be a bit slow to pick up on things at times. After all, shouldn’t the last name Charming be a hint at all? But it was definitely a lot better than the disney version. Nothing against it but as I’ve grown I’ve found I’ve felt that I have less and less in common with the story and it just makes things seem more distant to me. So, it was interesting to see an author tackle such a well known story.

There are lots of things that just kind of get dropped on you while reading the book. It adds the shock factor, and it keeps readers reading, just to find out what the next bomb to be dropped will be if not for the excellent story itself.

Emotions were portrayed realistically as was behavior. There were certain places that the author could have gone several ways but I feel that she went in the right way for her characters.

The ending was not a cliffhanger(thank god) or at least not in the typical cliffhanger way. I was extremely happy for this. Cliffhangers are great, but many times it’s more of an annoyance in a good way? If that makes sense. It’s annoying because you want to know what happens but at the same time the excitement to find out is great? But I loved the fact that there wasn’t really much of a cliffhanger in Charming. The ending fit really well. 

Overall, I was pleased with Charming. It was a good spin on the Cinderella story.

Rating: