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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh goodness that was enjoyable. Haha
I adored the mystery and for some reason this felt like the show charmed to me, but with only one witch
I adored the mystery and for some reason this felt like the show charmed to me, but with only one witch
lighthearted
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Defiance has lost all her career and money in a nasty divorce. She then inherits a huge mansion and learns that she is not as human as she thinks she is, and other people need her newly found talents.
I enjoy Darynda's writing because it is fantasy filled with witty dialogues, but this felt a little rushed. Not plot pace, but the way characters and back stories were written: people pop up and go away immediately, things happen to Defiance when she should know better and I wasn't expecting that from a 40-year old character. And then everything is solved in a blink of an eye. I expected more consistency.
I enjoy Darynda's writing because it is fantasy filled with witty dialogues, but this felt a little rushed. Not plot pace, but the way characters and back stories were written: people pop up and go away immediately, things happen to Defiance when she should know better and I wasn't expecting that from a 40-year old character. And then everything is solved in a blink of an eye. I expected more consistency.
Different and awesome.
I did not expect this book! So many turns were just super surprising to me. Defiance is a woman in her forties who inherits a house called Percy. That is not the only surprise, though. She also comes into her magickal inheritance. Together with her best friend, a cat called Ink and a gorgeous Journeyman she embarks on her new life. Is she up to it, though?
I did not expect this book! So many turns were just super surprising to me. Defiance is a woman in her forties who inherits a house called Percy. That is not the only surprise, though. She also comes into her magickal inheritance. Together with her best friend, a cat called Ink and a gorgeous Journeyman she embarks on her new life. Is she up to it, though?
One thing I love about Darynda Jones books is they are always fun. This one was a relatively quick read. The story was interesting, it took a bit before the plot really took off but once it did I enjoyed it immensely. Looking forward to seeing where this story goes in the next book!
Fun et léger, mais 1) tout cela se passe bien trop rapidement (révélations, facilité avec laquelle Defiance accepte tout...) 2) si je trouve très chouette que des persos de plus de 40 soient mis à l'honneur, l'héroïne et sa comparse agissent pour moi plus comme des ados écervelées qu'autre chose.
La fin rattrape en revanche bien le coup et en dévoile assez pour me donner envie de continuer l'aventure (et +1 pour Percy !).
La fin rattrape en revanche bien le coup et en dévoile assez pour me donner envie de continuer l'aventure (et +1 pour Percy !).
funny
lighthearted
It started fairly strong but then the story just... dissolved. The heroine is supposed to be over 40, and while she doesn't exactly act like a teenager, she is just too damn spacey (?) or perhaps immature for her age. It wouldn't be a problem if she were in her mid twenties, but as we are told her age several times through the book, I just couldn't believe it. She also never listens to people which was a major source of irritation for me.
The humor saved the book from getting a lower rating from me, but it does seem a bit all over the place as well.
As for the plot... well, there isn't any, not really. The book read as a prologue to the real story: we meet all the characters, get them in place, the heroine gets her powers (and her man), and... that's it. There is no tension, no stakes, no real problems. It wouldn't be a problem for me if we again weren't told throughout the book that the heroine is in a grave danger, that people are coming for her, etc., etc. And yet we see none of it.
So. I did enjoy it somewhat and while it's not the worst book in the Paranormal Women Fiction series, it is far from the best.
The humor saved the book from getting a lower rating from me, but it does seem a bit all over the place as well.
As for the plot... well, there isn't any, not really. The book read as a prologue to the real story: we meet all the characters, get them in place, the heroine gets her powers (and her man), and... that's it. There is no tension, no stakes, no real problems. It wouldn't be a problem for me if we again weren't told throughout the book that the heroine is in a grave danger, that people are coming for her, etc., etc. And yet we see none of it.
So. I did enjoy it somewhat and while it's not the worst book in the Paranormal Women Fiction series, it is far from the best.
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.)
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.)
Ms. Jones always brings the fun and the funny, and Betwixt is no exception. It's fun to read and a good start to a new series. I'll be looking for the next one.
I did have two annoying problems with this one. Defiance is the main character's name, but she has enough nicknames to fill a basket and all but a couple seem to make no sense. How do you get Dephne from Defiance? I wish the author would have chosen one, or maybe two, and stuck with them.
The other were the editing mistakes. None were too egregious or kept me from enjoying the story, but there seemed to be a lot of dropped words, homonyms, and misspellings. If you're particularly sensitive to that sort of thing, they may bug you.
Other than those two, what I consider minor, issues, I loved it. Like I said, I'll be waiting for the next one.
I did have two annoying problems with this one. Defiance is the main character's name, but she has enough nicknames to fill a basket and all but a couple seem to make no sense. How do you get Dephne from Defiance? I wish the author would have chosen one, or maybe two, and stuck with them.
The other were the editing mistakes. None were too egregious or kept me from enjoying the story, but there seemed to be a lot of dropped words, homonyms, and misspellings. If you're particularly sensitive to that sort of thing, they may bug you.
Other than those two, what I consider minor, issues, I loved it. Like I said, I'll be waiting for the next one.