Charming

Haley Tremaine used to have a perfect life, with a wonderful family and a prestigious school. Things started to go downhill after an accident left her father disabled, and then her mother was killed in a car accident and everything fell apart. Now Haley endures daily abuse from her dad and is all but ignored by her sister. Unwilling to trust in anyone, she is naturally suspicious when rich bad boy Chris Charming takes an interest in her. After cautiously spending some time with him, Haley begins to see who he really is… and then her father disappears, followed by her sister. Someone who bears a grudge against Chris’s family, and is willing to do anything to get at them.

|Krystal Wade’s novel Charming is an interesting mixture of fairy tale romance and abject horror, with a smidge of mystery thrown in. Haley is a complex character, desperate for belonging but deeply distrustful after what life has thrown at her for the last few years. Many parts of this novel, unfortunately, feel rather hastily put together; some things are not explained very well, and others (such as the descriptions of the accident that killed Haley’s mother) feel like they could have been fleshed out to make the story fuller. Charming has potential for the right reader.