User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Tried while inflicted with QuarantineBrain™, but nothing could redeem this for me.
Over-the top description, such as describing the purple the real estate agent is wearing as
"a shade so bright it made my eyes water. Not unlike pepper spray. Or napalm." Wrong on so. many. levels. For real. As in, didn't you know actual people were burned by it, Author? Literally all of the description was similarly exaggerated, which just hurt my brain.
The hottie is literally a guy who is wearing a kilt and going shirtless while doing plumbing, which is just... ew. Plus, ginger.
Jones tries to modernize this by giving the MC have two dads, one Latino, and some sort of adoption-who-is-my-real-mother-family plots. (Side note: I had to stop and take a
cultural check at her choice for making it a 'haha' situation that the kid called the non-Latino dad 'papi.' Haha, so funny).
I
hate adoption plots.
Abandoned, because I couldn't see any reason to continue.
Rating: really liked it
Betwixt by Darynda Jones
Paranormal women’s fiction. 1st book in the Betwixt and Between series. A witch in Salem.
Cliffhanger for the series.
Defiance Dayne inherits a home in Salem, Massachusetts. Once she signs the paperwork, she is introduced to her own grandmother and finds out her inheritance is more than just a house. Defiance learns she is a witch. Neighbors are knocking on her door morning and night asking Defiance to help them find lost items. Defiance also learns she’s in danger.
Irreverent, snarky, entertaining and amusing.
I loved this first book. Many laugh out loud moments as well as touching scenes with her adoptive Dads. A hint of romance and best friend antics added to the joy. Corny play on words were irresistibly funny - ie playing with the wieners. Dogs!
I can’t wait to read the rest. This did end unresolved and unfinished in a cliffhanger. I’d be mad, but it was just too much fun. Plus I already have books 2 and 3 (of 4) ready to go.
I listened to the audio version by Traci Odum. She did a phenomenal job on the narration. I also have a paperback and ebook copy to keep and share.
Rating: really liked it
YES!!!I absolutely, whole-heartedly, super loved this book!!!
The chapters, first off, had those
Charley Davidson memes and titles to head them... I adored this! However,
Betwixt was nothing like our lovely
Charley at all.
Defiance is older and is a Charmling and to find out what that is, you need to read the book!
Such a
Darynda book and by that I mean, fun to read with elements of 'unexpected' and somewhat mysterious added in.
This book is so easy to read, so addictive and fun. I highly recommend this... I was lucky enough to get this book on Amazon UK's Kindle Unlimited, the 2nd book is sitting on 'pre-order'. Can't wait to get my teeth into that one!
Rating: really liked it
I have so much feeling about this book.
First, have you watched Texas Chainsaw 3D? The one where there was this one attorney kept reminding our girl to read the letter her grandmother wrote her after she left her the creepy house? And our heroine never did read them until the end? Yeah, in this one, our girl procrastinated so much that it freaking annoyed me to high heaven. I was like, God help me. This woman is trying on my nerveee.
Second, our protagonist, Charley-whoopsie!-I mean Defiance Tiffany Dayne is a 44 year-old divorced lady with the behaviour and thinking of a teenager. Not that I'm saying an older woman cannot enjoy her life and blah blah, but she was thinking like a 18 year old gal who was excited for her prom day or something. I jumped into this book hoping I would meet a badass older heroine with some dry humour and badass personality. What I got was a copy of Charley Davidson, complete with her bestfriend sidekick, Annette-I mean Cookie.
Third, what's with the absurd introduction to this world? It was like so much of telling and no showing. The cheesy lines. The predictable twist. The cringey action (?) scenes.
My god, I can't believe I'm shitting on Darynda Jones book when I really REALLY love the Charley Davidson series. I'll just shut my mouth now.
One last thing though, I'll probably pick up the next book because this might be the fluke book for me since the Charley series also had their weak links (I'm looking at you Book 8.)
Rating: really liked it
Another winner by Darynda!!I sat down and read this book in one sitting. I'm a HUGE Darynda Jones fan and absolutely love her series with the badass Grim Reaper detective. This is nothing like that, with a new location, new interesting characters, and a story I can't wait to continue reading! This is an amazing author with a real talent for story telling. Highly recommend this book.
Rating: really liked it
This was a fun and easy read and played its role as a series-opening book. I liked the banter of the characters and the buildup of the story.
My favorite element is the communication to a relative that has passed, and I look forward to seeing how that develops in the future.
Overall, I will continue the series and look forward to seeing how the rest of it comes together. I love witty humor :)
4 Stars.
Rating: really liked it
3.5 starsThe characters seem to be very similar to her other series.. And while the magic aspect was refreshing the rest was more of the tried and trusted variety..
Rating: really liked it
I’ve been anxiously awaiting the release of A Bad Day for Sunshine (Darynda’s upcoming release following the end of her Charley Davidson series) so color me surprised when Amazon informs me that Darynda has
another new book and it’s available
now. And even though I make it a hobby to sign up for Kindle Unlimited and then promptly never use it, I downloaded Betwixt and started it. Same day.
Betwixt introduces us to forty-four-year-old Defiance Dayne who is still reeling from the recent brutal divorce that left her destitute. Drowning in uncertainty about her bleak future, she’s shocked to discover she’s been bestowed an old house in Salem, Massachusetts from an elderly lady she never met named Ruthie Goode. Deciding to take a chance and see this house for herself, she hops in her vintage mint green Volkswagen Beetle and leaves Arizona behind. She arrives to find not only has she been left a house that is named Percival but that the town seems to know more about Defiance than even she does, including the fact that she might just be magical.
You ever finish a story with a smile on your face, thinking about how great it was, how fun it was, when suddenly the critiques start invading your mind and you start realizing all the things that just didn’t work? I’ve often wondered if becoming a book reviewer lessens your enjoyment of a novel because of your natural inclination to analyze the details, sometimes overly so. But I feel that while overanalyzing can uncover the bad it can also help to highlight the good and this book did have both in almost equal measure.
What this book got right… It’s a charming and whimsical type of paranormal mystery with just a hint of a potentially steamy romance. Darynda’s writing style retains its standard ease making this entertaining story one you’ll fly through. It also happens to be overflowing with snark.
“This house is gorgeous, Nette. It’s ancient and dank and dusty, yet it has so much potential?”
“Like your vagina?”
“What’s strange is that, even though Mrs. Goode only passed away three days ago, it’s like no one has entered it in years.”
“Oh, then it’s exactly like your vagina.”What this book didn’t get right… While I love her Charley Davidson series, the overabundance of parallels between that series and Betwixt cannot be ignored. The snarky meme type chapter headers could be dismissed as a style choice by the author but the characters are literally carbon copies of one another. There’s the super special snowflake lead character, her equally funny side-kick best friend, and the overly protective alpha male love interest who she has a connection to from when they were younger and she saved him as a child. There’s also the fact that the forty-four-year-old sounds nothing like any forty-four-year-old I know, but maybe I’m not hanging with the right crowd. Would these critiques have been such an issue if I hadn’t read Charley Davidson? Maybe not. But if I had read Betwixt first and then picked up her Charley Davidson series then I still would’ve been disappointed by the similarities. While those similarities were quite distracting at times, the witchy plot was enough to retain my interest and I’m still intrigued by the possibilities for where the story could go, I just wish I could view Defiance Dayne as her own character rather than Charley 2.0.
Rating: really liked it
4.5
I really enjoyed this fun tale of magical mishaps and family secrets. The MC is a woman in her 40's who has found her foundation ripped away through divorce. She's broke, nearly homeless and desperate, then she gets a notice of an inheritance from someone she doesn't even know. It's a huge gothic house, a house that has more needs than she's ready for. Oh but this house is worth so much more wait till you see what the basement has to offer. :X
I found Defiance (MC) a bit irritating in bits, she just wouldn't listen or take things seriously enough for me. When I got over trying to make her into someone I wanted her to be I enjoyed her much more, even started loving her character. I am in total lust with the leather kilted hottie and want one of my very own !
Cliffhanger ending, can't wait for more in this promising series Oh this would make such a great movie/series
Rating: really liked it
5 Stars for Betwixt: Betwixt & Between Series, Book 1 (audiobook) by Darynda Jones read by Traci Odom.
I’m so happy that I found a new Darynda Jones Series. I can’t believe I missed it being released. Fortunately there is already a couple more books for me to binge on.
This book does a great job of setting up the story. The characters are great and the situation is interesting. I really wished some of the action had taken place in Phoenix but at least the city is being talked about.
I think Traci Odom is doing a wonderful job with the narration. Her character’s voices are great. She really adds a lot to the story. I’ll have to see what else she has narrated.
Rating: really liked it
Betwixt hooked me from the beginning, and once Jones introduced the mysterious handyman…I slipped away and devoured this in a single sitting.
I loved the backstory, the magical elements and the secondary characters. Some are of this world and others are not. Defiance’s best friend from Phoenix, and her Dads show up. Each added to to the mix from support to humor.
Mysteries, a little danger and plenty of paranormal woo-woo made this paranormal women’s fiction a delight. There is a smidgeon of romance.. but you must read to find out.
If you have ever read Darynda Jones novels, you know how her last chapters are. Things wrapped up well and in the last paragraph she dropped a bomb that has me eager for the next installment. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
Rating: really liked it
5 Stars for Betwixt: Betwixt & Between Series, Book 1 (audiobook) by Darynda Jones read by Traci Odom.
I’m so happy I found a new Darynda Jones series. I can’t believe I missed it being released. Fortunately there all ready a couple more books for me to binge on.
This book does a great job of setting up the story. The characters are great and the situation is interesting. I really wished some of the action had taken place in Phoenix but at least the city is being talked about.
I think Traci Odom is doing a wonderful job with the narration. Her character’s voices are great. She really adds a lot to the story. I’ll have to see what else she has narrated.
Rating: really liked it
This review was originally posted on Books of My HeartReview copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.3 HeartsBetwixt is the first book in a new Paranormal Women's Fiction series
Betwixt and Between by Darynda Jones. This newer genre follows grow women who are around forty-ish and close to midlife when they discover the paranormal world. It is refreshing to not always read something staring people in their mid-twenties and so I'm really glad this genre is picking up a little steam with some of my favorite authors.
Defiance has just hit rock bottom for the most part. She just went through a divorce, in which he ex got everything and now has no plan, no marriage, no prospects and almost no hope for her future. So when she learns that she has just been left a house in Salem MA and needs to be there in three days to claim it, she really didn't have anything holding her back.
Defiance, with the help of her trusty side chick BFF will discover the secrets of her family and a past she doesn't know anything about. There is magic afoot in Percival, the slightly haunted house she has inherited. There is also a hot handyman in a kilt, a surly cat and a secret tunnel just for good measure. The weirdest thing is that people keep showing up at the door expecting Defiance to be able to help them.
There are a few OTT moments that Darynda is kind of known for in her dialogue between friends. Some were funny but there was one joke that felt super flat and I rolled my eyes its two time appearance. I did get a little frustrated with Defiance in this as she was, for lack of a better term Defiant and I just wanted her to draw the stupid protection symbol already. She seemed so obstinate and I didn't think there was a great reason as to why. There are also a few little timeline things that didn't seem to add up to me like I thought someone was in the room but then they just seemed to disappear and not be there anymore. They were small an didn't detract too much from the story.
This has a decent set up for a new series. A few really likable characters and an interesting small town to play with. Defiance needs a little work but there is a cool friendship, an interesting history and love interest that has a lot of potential. This ended in a bit of a cliffhanger of sorts but not enough of one that if you didn't like the first book you'd feel compelled to continue on.
Narration: Traci Odom fits how I would expect Defiance to sound. She is a good pick for the series and performed the cast well. She really did a great job with the humor between the BFFs and how they bantered together. I was able to listen to this at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to the clip: HERE
Rating: really liked it
Betwixt and Between
By Darynda Jones
This is the start of a new series that has witches, magic, and shifters. It's light hearted and has plenty of humor. The characters are interesting but the plot very predictable. I plan to continue the series because this author usually has excellent books.
Rating: really liked it
Classic Darynda Jones' humor with biting humor, sarcastic witty one liners, a hot alpha male, a quirky almost ADHD female lead and an awesome best friend. Throw in some paranormal woo hoo and you have one fun series I need more of!
