This is a prequel to the Witch Hunter trilogy, and it deals with how James Bennet and Hunter Astley become a witch hunting team in the following books. James is a working class boy, with a tragic background, excited to start his university life, and is accidentally assigned Hunter Astley as his roommate. Hunter and James are very different people who dislike each other almost instantly, as Astley is arrogant and rude, while James is likable, friendly, and honest-to-a-fault. James becomes suspicious of Hunter, who behaves strangely and disappears from their social activities, giving nonsense excuses, so he decides to follow Hunter and stumbles upon witches committing murder and discovers Hunter's secret life as a witch hunter. James and Hunter are thrown together by circumstances, and James begins his life as a first generation witch hunter, while Hunter tries to navigate the politics of being a seventh generation hunter from a powerful, rich and ancient family, as well as trying to solve crimes as a team. The story is entertaining, and I found James funny and relatable, with all the humor brought by his big mouth and goofy attitude, although I did not like Hunter half as much as I liked James. His arrogant attitude wasn't exactly endearing and he didn't grow on me, even after the story develops to the end and he suffers through some tragedy of his own. Charlotte Summers is also a good character, and it is always nice to see a good female character, with a strong personality, whose purpose in life isn't to fall head over heels for either man. Overall, the book was fun, but it didn't exactly hold me enthralled, since I found certain aspects of the story to be a bit inconsistent; for example: witches as described as soulless creatures, incapable of human emotions, but were proven to have familial bonds with each other, which seemed to me that they do, in fact, have emotions like love and affection, just not directed at regular, non-magical humans. Also, I thought this book would have LGBTQ characters, but none of the main characters were presented as such. I liked the book, and I may continue to read the trilogy, since James is such a funny, entertaining guy.

James is attending Oxford and he's always been a normal guy with a normal life until his roommate Hunter comes into his life. James accidentally witnessed a ritual sacrifice and realizes that his roomie is actually a witch hunter. The more he learns about this hidden world the more he wonders if he should get involved.

This is the prequel to Marsden's series in which we get a great look at James before he becomes a very different character. I love prequels because they extend the life of characters and make them blossom even more. I appreciated Marsden's writing style and would like to read more!

This book was given to me by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

james is a normal working class lad starting uni and shares his rooms with hunter who comes from a very different background and who also doesnt come across very friendly...

hunter it seems comes from a long line of witch hunters which james just happens to stumble across..
the concept of the story is very interesting but i feel this story was written for teenages as i felt at times there was not enough substance and kept jumping around quite a bit...

that said it is about james and his background story so maybe the rest of the stories will hopefully have more substance to them

I received a copy of James: Witch-Hunter by K.S. Marsden from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was intrigued by the summary and really wanted to like this novel, but the storyline could have been pulled together better. The overdone descriptions, bland characters and predictable plot lessened the impact of the writing or my enjoyment of it.

There is a darker side of Oxford than meets the eye, one where covens of powerful witches practice inhumane rituals in order to grow their power. Emotionless, self-centered beings, they are a danger to all of society--in particular, anyone that's human.

James knew nothing of the witches' existence. At least, not until he witnessed an acquaintance being ritualistically sacrificed by a couple of the hooded figures. Stunned by the event, James discovers that his unpleasant college roommate happens to be a part of a witch-hunting ring of families that can be traced back for generations. Thrust into a world of the magic-wielding enemies, James must choose if he will fight against these evil-doers, or run.

James: Witch-Hunter is the prequel story to the Witch Hunter series.

Things that I liked:

#1 This may sound but I tend to dislike male characters written by female writers. This is only because they end up sounding more feminine than masculine, and it messes up my mental depiction of the character. I'm glad to say that this is not the case with Marsden's male characters. Even though we never get extremely in-depth with the characters due to the length of the book, the picture the reader is privy to is accurate, effective, and appropriate for the story being told.

#2 The book retains a sense of fluidity throughout its events. Everything stays focused on the issue of the story, and makes for an easy read.

Things that I didn't like:

#1 Even though I thought the depiction of the characters was done appropriately, I still lacked a sense of connection to them. Perhaps it was simply due to the fact that I'm not used to reading books with male protagonists (at least lately) and that I feel less of that. It wasn't a point that really got under my skin, but I felt that it was worth mentioning because it made me feel more indifferent to the characters and their stories.

#2 The overwhelming presence of alcohol simply became annoying. Yeah, I get it. These are college kids who want to "take the edge off of their days," but it became monotonous to read about every time the characters must have a drink in their hands to enjoy themselves.

#3 I would have liked a little more time with the witches themselves. Many times the reader is told just how terrible these people are. But, I think some further demonstrations and peaks into their daily lives would have helped to reveal their cruelty further.

Overall, this was a good read. It didn't overwhelm, or underwhelm me as a reader. It read smoothly, and indeed had some interesting points. I'm just looking for more connection to the characters in future books of this series.

Vulgarity: Quite a bit.
Sexual content: A lot of the plot lighted on Hunter's many sexual exploits, but nothing was ever in detail.
Violence: Moderate, including human sacrifice.

3 stars.