Betwixt

Betwixt is the first book in a series by Darynda Jones. I also read books 2 and 3 (Bewitched and Beguiled). Book 4 is out (Moonlight & Magic), and while it continues the story started in the first three, it changes protagonists so I’ll wait for the next two before I read them. I’m quirky about things like that.

Now I fell in love with Jones’ writing in her Charley Davidson series. It’s super conversational, relatable, and downright laugh-out-loud funny with a whole bucketful of sass and a whole lot of sexy. So I joyfully hunted up this book (and the other two) and dove in. I finished all of them in a matter of a week.

If you like quirky friendships; kilted, tattooed protectors; houses that are more than your everyday house; and witches. These books are for you. These are definitely fantasy and heavy on the romance which makes them fun and easy to devour if you go for the blend.

Jones writes with an irreverent joy that never fails to entertain and she always has an interesting take on well-trod ground. It’s fresh and new. And Defiance definitely fits her name.

The only thing I find odd, is that in the summary, they make it clear she’s called Dephne, and yet in all three books she’s called Defiance or Def more than they ever use that weird and awkward nickname.

Book summary (per Goodreads):

Divorced, desperate, and destitute, former restaurateur Defiance “Dephne” Dayne finds out she has been bequeathed a house by a complete stranger. She is surprised, to say the least, and her curiosity gets the better of her. She leaves her beloved Phoenix and heads to one of the most infamous towns in America: Salem, Massachusetts.

She’s only there to find out why a woman she’s never met would leave her a house. A veritable castle that has seen better days. She couldn’t possibly accept it, but the lawyer assigned to the case practically begs her to take it off her hands, mostly because she’s scared of it. The house. The inanimate structure that, as far as Dephne can tell, has never hurt a fly.

Though it does come with some baggage. A pesky neighbor who wants her gone. A scruffy cat who’s a bit of a jerk. And a handyman bathed in ink who could moonlight as a supermodel for GQ.

She decides to give it three days, and not because of the model. She feels at home in Salem. Safe. But even that comes to a screeching halt when people begin knocking on her door day and night, begging for her help to locate their lost objects.

Come to find out, they think she’s a witch. And after a few mysterious mishaps, Dephne is beginning to wonder if they’re right. 

*I’m not including summaries for the other two books because of spoilers.