Vampire Charming

Not Another Vampire #2

by Cassandra Gannon

Not Another Vampire Book was only the beginning of the story… Slade, King of the For a thousand years, Slade lived a rarified existence on an enchanted island. Now, he’s stuck in modern day Chicago and he hates it. His destined mate has divorced him, his people have abandoned him, and no one in the backwards human world makes any sense. He needs a new kingdom to rule. A better kingdom. Somewhere he can regain his glorious crown, defeat nefarious villains, and save a damsel in distress. Somewhere he can prove that he’s a still hero. Luckily, he knows a Witch who can transport him into a very interesting screenplay. Jane A pragmatist and a loner, Jane doesn’t believe in fairytales. She’s got her sensible life under control, working the nightshift at a grocery store and taking acting jobs on the side. Then, the self-proclaimed “King of the Vampires” arrives to turn her peaceful world upside-down. Slade’s sure that he needs Jane to sidekick on his epic quest. Not only does the arrogant lunatic get her fired, but she’s somehow transported into the worse fantasy movie imaginable. The Kingdom of With script pages full of stolen dialogue, random musical numbers, a whole cast of supernatural weirdoes, there’s no denying that Jane and Slade are stuck in a swords-and-sorcery film. The egotistical (and annoyingly gorgeous) Vampire loves his new realm. Determined to overthrow Infinia’s Werewolf despot, Slade is happily battling dragons and gathering an army of Merry Men. And making Jane feel like she’s part of something for the first time in her solitary life. In fact, despite the Hollywood bad guys trying to kidnap her and the lack of hot water heaters… Jane is starting to think maybe she’s found her Prince Charming.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Vampires, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Magic, Humor

374 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 27, 2014

Reviews

[Nancy •͙͙✧⃝•͙͙✩ͯ · Rating 3 out of 5]

──⟡⋆˙✩ 3 stars ✩ ⋆˙⟡──

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　βօօҟͲąցʂ　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

・❥ Fated mates
・❥ Reverse Grumpy x Sunshine
・❥ No Other-Woman-Drama
・❥ MMC falls first
・❥ MMC chases FMC
・❥ Forced proximity
・❥ Body betrayal syndrome
・❥ Neck-biting and blood drinking

A sweet, laugh-out-loud romance between a cynical pragmatist in her 30s, who doesn’t believe in fairy tales or heroes, and a charming optimist, who is a hero straight from a fairy tale. He’s also a thousand-year-old vampire himbo, but that didn’t sound very poetic, so-

ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ- Jane Squire is a perfectly plain, perfectly practical, no-nonsense woman working in a store when Slade, the recently ousted former-king of vampires, decides to stop by her for a chat. He thinks it’s a good idea to tell a random woman his entire life story. This book had me on its grip by its beginning lines because Slade is the most annoyingly endearing, narcissistic idiot ever. He thinks he is what dreams are made of, and any girl is immensely honored to be in his blessed presence. Not that I disagree but, hey, that ain’t the point here.

ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ- What made his moronic-ass loveable is, I think, the really cute way this was executed? Reading the chapters from his point of view, getting acquainted with his thoughts, tells you that this boi genuinely believes he’s God’s gift to this world and truly means no harm when he refers to Jane and all the other characters as peasants. No, really. He’s just so… oblivious. He makes me go: oh well, not his fault he was born without brain cells.

Overall, I really liked how his character developed throughout the book. Since he believes himself to be this destined-for-greatness hero, he runs off to another world so he can conquer it like a true king - and he also drags the very reluctant Jane into this mess. But by the end, he went: let the world be damned, I do not give a shit about anything but you, Jane.

Jane didn’t play the delicate or beautiful heroine. She was the character who made the wisecracks and encouraged the film’s stars to follow their dreams … And it pissed her off.

Let’s move on to Jane Squire. I am always happy to discover rational, independent female leads in media. Don’t get me wrong, but it feels like I always read the same kind of FMC recycled and after a certain point, it gets… frustrating? And I start mechanically scrolling and skimming, and reading without any feelings and I do not like being that person, not when reading is something that brings out the flame and passion in me. I liked Jane because she was relatable in the, say, real sort of way. Not to mention, it felt so damn good to read about a sarcastic, grumpy loner with trust issues and a risk-phobia.

ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ- While Slade was such a cheery brat who came up with stupid plans which didn’t have a chance in hell of working, Jane snarked at him and everyone else who was just as stupid and this woman got the job done and everyone’s respect in the process. And I am attracted to competent women. Also, she’s plus-sized, so yay for different body representations!

ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ- That said, the romantic development felt a little too early (but that’s just slowburn-loving me, feel free to ignore my bitching) so I felt like I wasn’t as invested towards the 75% mark as I should have been. So I did skim through and read the last few chapters very quickly. Again, me and my short attention span. However, I feel like it did make sense since they are literally fated mates. But this book ended on a good note and I really did like it.

[Linda Kage · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's gotta take talent for an author to get me to like the moron of a hero that was offered in this book. Seriously, I'm not sure a guy has ever made me roll my eyes as many times as Slade did in Book 1 - "Not Another Vampire Book." He was just so clueless and stupid and self-involved and so freaking arrogant, but naively so. He was meant to be laughed at...a lot. Which I did. But then we get to this book, and he was actually the main guy? Ugh. But somehow, by the end of the story, I not only tolerated him, but I actually kind of loved him! I like it when books do that! Jane was the best match ever for him!!

I also like these stories that aren't really meant to be taken too seriously. They're just fun. And when it sneaks in and offers more than you expect, that makes it even better!

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This sequel to Not Another Vampire Story was a whole lot of fun. The first book in the series poked fun at PNR and YA vampire books. This second book poked fun a old school fantasy movies. It was light and fun!

The absolute best thing this book had going for it was that the hero of the tale was the last instalment's accidental villain Slade! Slade, a pompous arrogant ass, has been ousted from his role as King of the Vampires and tossed out on his ass by his, supposed, Eternal One Melessa. With nowhere else to go he ends up turning to his old frenemy Damian for help. Unfortunately Slade does not adapt too well to living in modern day Chicago and manages to get poor Jane Squire sacked from her job at a local shop with his heroic Slade like antics! Damien's witchy sister decides the time is perfect to save both of them so, being a witch, she transports both to the world of her new fantasy movie From Here to Infinia.

The story ended up being quite fun. Slade was as hilarious as ever with antics and belief that he was the worlds greatest hero but I also loved the fact that both he and his love interest Jane got chance to show plenty of character growth over the course of the story. The made a fun couple as they soon found that working together was the only chance they had to save Infinia from an villainous werewolf!

All in all I enjoyed this light and fun PNR. It was not quite as good as the first book as the world was not quite as fun but it did have the fantastic Slade so that was a massive plus!

Rating: 3.5 stars.

[Jessi ❤️ H. Vojsk [if villain, why hot?] · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You can go anywhere and do anything you wish, Jane Squire." One of his massive palms cupped the side of her cheek. "You will just never have to do it alone."

I love books where characters transmigrate into another universe / book.
This second book was about Slade’s story (the idiot vampire from part one).
It started with witty comments and banter and I loved in instantly.
Jane was such a badass intelligent main character. Slade was just her loyal obedient puppy.

I had so much fun reading this book!
Can’t wait for more of this author

[gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

himbos are the true building blocks of our society 💘💘💘

[CC · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF@50%

I can’t stand stupid insufferable MC’s and Jane was the epitome of it. What a let down after the first book was so good. This should’ve been a novella. It dragged and was too repetitive.

[Shel Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond awesome

I am so glad that I found this author. Everything about this book was amazing and fun. I loved the characters and the unique dialogue. And the awesome twist I didn’t see coming. I’m definitely reading more of her books!

[Abar Afrn · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! This book was amazing even more so than the first one. I mean I love the first one but I loved the second one even more.

This book is about Slade. I was totally irritated by him in the first book. He was so obnoxious, self-centered and a total moron. Imagine my surprise when few chapters in the book I was totally rooting for him. The book started a little slow but it went up from there and it is truly an amazing book.

Slade had to leave Vampire Isle, as Melessa cheats on him, divorces Slade and then claimed Vampire Isle as her own, and he is now living in Chicago with Damien and Kara. While living in Chicago he meets Jane Squire. He is inspired by her and plans on going on an adventure to claim a new Kingdom for himself aaanndd he drags her into it with him.
Slade with Jane in tow travels to the magical Kingdom of Infinia, which just so happens to exist in a horrible fantasy movie script of 'From Here to Infinia' which is full of stolen and misquoted dialogues, random and spontaneous musical numbers, background music and sound effects.

Once there they meet some supernatural weirdoes, "Some punk named Roland", the rebels, and of course the bad guy or bad werewolf in this case. They visit locations like Endless Woods, Magma pits, Obsidian Fortress, etc.

Vampire Charming was an amazing read full of funny moment, sad moment, earth shattering revelations, Sudden plot twists that you don't see coming, It also has - a hero ( Slade) you totally fall for and can't help loving, a heroine (Jane) who is a pragmatist, an amazing actress and is very, very reluctant to accept her feeling about the hero (She have her reasons), a bad guy who is creepy and obsessive, a kidnapped princess (Allandrina) who is well kidnapped and has done nude photo shoot but is not a slut. a whiny punk (Roland) who even when told he is the chosen one to save the kingdom care more about his stupid band and is only trying to save the kingdom so he could bang the kidnapped princess (Allandrina) after rescuing her and [He also happens to be Slade's long-lost half-brother]

All in all it was a fun read and I think Cassandra Gannon is an amazing author with tons of talent because what she did in this book with Slade, how she made us love this character is truly astonishing and amazing

[Mira Sol · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This was a really fun sequel and while it could stand alone, I loved knowing Slade from book 1 where he was honestly just pure comedy for me and so I was excited to see him as the hero in his own story. It’s such a different vibe from the first one. We have a major HIMBO who is pretty competent at being a fairytale hero and just hilarious details of his life.
I laughed so much at the idea of his “Eternal One” leaving him for the werewolf who planned their wedding, and him losing everything in the divorce. It’s such a comic juxtaposition of the tropey role he played in book 1 and the reality of life in the 21st century.

Overall I really enjoyed this, but it did get a bit long at the end. Could have wrapped up a bit quicker since it was all just hinging on FMCs negative motivation. Move it along, sister. I enjoyed the spice between the mains.

There was a sex scene between the villains that felt very out of left field and was really porn-like, and since I am not a fan of pornography, I did not enjoy it. It was reminiscent of her Cinderella/rat scenes in Wicked, Ugly, Bad which I also found weirdly out of place.

Safe. No OM/OW drama. There is some talk of him “marrying” the princess but he is planning a business arrangement type marriage and has never even met her. It’s just his goal to rule the kingdom. But he becomes very obsessed with FMC early on and is constantly trying to convince her to take a chance on him.
No cheating.

TW: there is a scene where FMC gets taken prisoner by the villain who has also become obsessed with her and wants to rape her basically, and she plays this fawning role to try to spin out the time to give herself a chance to get free (she does get free in a badass way!). He doesn’t actually do more than touch her over the clothes but the fawning felt like such a legitimate response to the very real fear of sexualized violence that I found it hard to read.

[★ Belle The Bibliophile ★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guys. I literally do not know how I lived my whole life without knowing the existence of this book. It's so good I think I finished it in three hours.

There's just something about an overly confident, optimistic, otherworldly guy that I absolutely love. They're so utterly ridiculous that you cannot help but fall in love with them.

I think I've read exactly three books with this type of Alpha and I loved them all. I also have a huge respect and adoration for the heroine. She is exactly the type of heroine that I've always wanted to see in my fiction.

She's insecure enough that she is relatable but she also takes no shit from everyone because she respects herself. Most authors tend to lean towards to both ends of the spectrum in my opinion. They either make the heroine too insecure to the point that she's a pushover or she's either literally too perfect to the point that she's in no way relatable.

Overall, I loved this book. I know I only gush about the characterization in this review but the plot is also super good, albeit the premise being cliche. I definitely recommend this book for those who want a good laugh!

[Eternity's Raven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.5 stars.

I did not love this anywhere near as much as the first book. I almost wish I hadn't read it.

While Not Another Vampire Book managed to take all those tropes and cliches we love to hate from paranormal fantasy books and mock them while using each and every one of them to great effect, Vampire Charming tried to do that with movies and just failed. Badly. It didn't translate anywhere near as well.

While I quite liked Slade and his lack of self-awareness, golden retriever energy and stubborn refusal to accept he is not the best thing since sliced bread, I found Jane a really boring and annoying FMC and it made the romance just really uninteresting. Her repeated thoughts of how she was a tough so and so from Chicago, and she didn't need anyone, and how plain she was, became tedious to read and it just sucked all the fun from the story.

I'm sad to see all the magic from the first book completely lacking in this one.

[Ria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I so enjoyed Not Another Vampire Book, but I was not sure that the ridiculous Fabio-esque vampire could possibly take the lead and be the hero of his own book. I shouldn't have worried, Cassandra Gannon does such a good job at taking Slade from a fluffy-headed, arrogant lunatic in a grocery store, to a lovable hero worthy of his own well-earned HEA. It's a real skill, consider me impressed. I loved how his journey wove so smartly with Jane's, and the story was delightfully nuts, the screenplay was a blast and I enjoyed how the bananas plot unfolded.

I'll be going on a Cassandra Gannon binge soon, lots of her back catalogue to enjoy.

[K.Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but super repetitive.

[Coyora Dokusho · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. Less typos than usual for the Gannons. Still disturbed by the confusion of passed and PAST. I lol'd loooooool'd

[Jessica Zaszczurynski · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I went into this knowing it is a sequel to Not Another Vampire book, and also kinda dreading it? I don't know if dreading is exactly the right word here, but I definitely was feeling hesitant about reading a whole book about Slade, who was a *major* dumbass (I say affectionately) in NAVB... so, imagine my suprise when he was my favorite part of Vampire Charming!

Is it that surprising when he is the titular charming vampire? I guess not, but if you've read the last one, then you know how annoying this man was. Yes, it was the whole point (and yes, it was funny), but I'm glad that Gannon dialed back on his himbo-ness in this one. It also helps that he was served a HUGE slice of humble pie between books, so we get to see him as a bit more vulnerable and pathetic this time around. It also helps that he genre hopped from a shitty-paranormal-romance manuscript to a shitty-fantasy-epic screenplay... progress?

This PAINS me to write - ESPECIALLY for a Cassandra Gannon book - but leading lady Jane was... boring. I'm sorry! Usually, I'm 10000% team FMC in a romance book, but Jane leaned too far into the "grumpy" side of the "Grumpy/Sunshine" dynamic they had going; girl was ALWAYS in a bad mood and dragging things down. I liked that she was a chubby brunette (gasp! like me!) and I liked her backstory of being a failed actress, I just wish we got more of her, I don't know, enjoying herself? Having fun on the bonkers fantasy adventure she found herself trapped in? She was mostly just there to ridicule Slade and complain about genre tropes.

Overall, I had a good time reading Vampire Charming, but it still left me wanting... more. The whole "trapped in a story within a story" thing wasn't as well executed as last time around, and I wish we got more romance, more character development, more supernatural, more more more! Speaking of more, I know this book is 11 years old at this point, but I want the hypothetical Amalie sequel mentioned in the author's note!

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is just as funny and ridiculous and amazing as the first one in the series. I didn't think the author could make me root for Slade after what a jackass he was in the first book but I'm glad to say she did. And Jane was a perfect woman for him. The story was, again, over the top silly, but in a good way (if that makes any sense). I'll gladly pick up another book by Cassandra Gannon in the near future.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up because I’m sure there’s an audience for this. It just wasn’t me.

This book was painfully boring compared to the first and used a lot of the exact same pieces, down to the descriptions of things. Some parts of it got a small chuckle, but the MMC is annoying as can be and got on my nerves more often than not. And he’s obsessive and persistent to the point of being creepy, fated eternal ones or not.

[Thush · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slade was annoying in the 1st book and didn't start off much better in this one. However, we did get to see him grow, and he was likable at the end. I liked that Jane was capable and smart, but she spent a lot of time fighting with Slade, and I thought that it went on for too long. It was a fun and ridiculous book, but you have to be in a certain mood in order to suspend your disbelief about the "plot".

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Super good! Still some spelling and grammar errors but I loved it. It was goofy, cute, and exactly how I pictured Slade's story ending. While I enjoyed the first book more, this was still a really fun ride! I wish I had a giant magical butterfly.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cassandra Gannon could write the ingredients on the back of a shampoo bottle and I would still give it five stars.

[Autumn Marsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute haha

[Jasmin Jace · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing kind of confused me at times but it gave me my first genuine laugh of the day so I'm giving this one a high rating. :)

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn’t care too much for Slade in the first book, but Cassandra Gannon made me root for this lovable moron in this book. Kudos to you Ms. Gannon!

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so amazing. EVERY person should read this!!! It single-handedly inspired my joie de vivre! Wow!

[Jenny Koch · Rating 5 out of 5]

The hero was hysterical. Overall, a funny, light-hearted read.

[Smut Report]

The Smut Report team is participating in Wendy the Super Librarian's #TBRChallenge 2025. Our goal: to dust off our TBRs once a month and talk about the book we read.

Read our full TBR Challenge update at The Smut Report

This book is ridiculous. Super campy, very hilarious. The hero is a himbo vampire king (Slade) who’s been kicked out of his own kingdom by his ex wife, and the heroine is an actress-slash-grocery store clerk. When the hero is expelled from his realm he ends up in Chicago, complaining about his circumstances to Jane, who is sort of held conversationally hostage as she restocks shelves. When Slade gets Jane fired, she tracks him down and demands he helps her get her job back, but Slade launches them into another realm, determined to find a new kingdom for himself.

I’m not sure Slade would be able to explain “rizz” but I’m pretty sure he has it. He’s kind of like Prince Charming from the movie Enchanted, but make him a bit whiny and a vampire. He becomes utterly devoted to Jane, and has to compete with a werewolf who is determined to steal her away.

Look; I don’t think I have to add any more details. The book is really funny, the characters are dynamic, and the plot makes almost no sense whatsoever, but I think that’s kind of the entire point. If you need an absurd escape and belly laughs…do it.

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

[LaCath · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had serious hopes for that book and, for the first third, it really seemed that those hopes would be fulfilled. However, the more I read, the more I realized that there were two major problems standing in the way.
The first one is that the cheesy heroic fantasy movies' parody is over the top. Not a bit over the top, not quite over the top, majorly over the top. It's just too much, to a point it's not even funny anymore.
The second problem, way worse, is the heroin. She's supposed to be a soft-hearted cynic, but she just comes off as bitter and in denial. I didn't like her at all.
So why the three stars then ? Because Slade was an amazing character. At first, he seemed like the archetype of the arrogant jerk, but it became rapidly obvious that he was much deeper. He was adorable and protective and strong and a genuine hero. I liked him so much I read the book until the end just for him. And I'm glad he got his happy ending... even if she wasn't worth him.

[nat. ❦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿Recuerdan la historia secundaria de Enchanted con Nancy y el príncipe Edward? Pues es como si este libro fuera básicamente eso🤌🤌
—-

Tanto como la siguiente chica ama a un villano como interés amoroso… AMÉ la aspiración de Slade por ser un héroe y demostrar su valía, especialmente si esto era para impresionar a Jane… y para ofrecerle un hogar donde ella siempre se sintiera amada ughhh, lo amo

No diría que este y su anterior libro son mejor escrito, pero aún así he regresado a releer varias escenas, y solo estoy obsesionada por como él está obsesionado con ella ok?

(A propósito olvidé cualquier detalle que se haya mencionado sobre Slade del libro anterior)

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saved this for a long time because I knew it'd be perfect pick me up. Loved this as much as the first. Really hope the author gets back to this series and writes Amalie's story.

[Ana Stasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF@42%, skipped to the end
The concept is funny, the MMC is hilarious, but this should have been a shorter novel IMO. It felt too long winded to me considering how fluffy the concept is.