Today Sophia Rose returns to bring us Moonlight and Magic #4 in Darynda Jones' Betwixt and Between women's paranormal fiction series.
Enjoy!
#4 Betwixt and Between
Paranormal Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Tantor
Published: 10.25.22
Time: 5 hours 22
minutes
Rating: 3.5 stars
Narration: 3.5 stars
Format: MP3
Source: Tantor Audio
Sellers: Amazon
GoodReads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59970781-moonlight-and-magic
GoodReads Blurb:
Forty-something Annette Osmund always knew she was psychic.
She’s not, but that didn’t stop her from giving those non-existent abilities
her all. What she is, however, is a very powerful witch who has just inherited
magics she never dreamed possible.
Starting over in a new town with her BFF has been an adventure. Defiance’s
status as a powerful type of witch called a charmling has kept Annette busy.
But while Deph, a seeker, is still learning to use her magics, to control the
power at her fingertips, Annette is overcome with powers of her own. Turns out,
her being besties with Deph was not an accident. They were drawn to each other
even before their powers emerged, and Annette learns she is also a charmling, a
healer, and an alchemist. But what does that even mean?
Fortunately, there’s one way to find out. She consults the house they’re living
in. Or, more to the point, the delicious entity haunting the house. Because,
like her, he was once an alchemist. Maybe he will have the answers she so
desperately seeks before she kills someone. The fact that he was once a
stunning specimen of masculinity has nothing whatsoever to do with her desire
to learn from a man who may or may not have been a powerful warlock.
Sophia Rose's Review:
The Betwixt and Between series introduced readers to a
bewitching world of magic, witches, shifters and a sentient house along with a
charming cast of characters, and an exciting, twisting series plot. I was surprised, but a little eager, too,
when I learned this book would switch narratives to give Annette the lead role
and point of view.
Moonlight and Magic is the fourth of the paranormal women’s
fiction (feels like urban fantasy) series that will read/listen best in order.
So, yes, Annette got some stunning shocks in the last
book. Defiance, her best bud,
accidentally turned her into a crow and she kept the shifting ability, but she
also unlocked Annette’s separate charmling witch powers as the second of three
most powerful witches that every evil warlord worth his sand wants to
acquire. Along with Defiance, Annette
needs to get up to speed on controlling her magic pronto and that includes
getting the down low on her true family history aka running back to Arizona and
grilling her mom about the truth of her birth.
Annette’s family reunion isn’t shaping up to be all hearts
and unicorns when she comes across the ghost of a cute girl who obviously
didn’t die naturally, her mom is with a new sketchy guy, and her evil cousin (and
mom’s favorite) is in residence. Oh, and
there is a shadowy, sexy warlock playing phantom wherever Annette goes.
Moonlight and Magic was something of a mixed bag for
me. I was excited to get Annette’s story
and this side excursion into her past, but there were aspects of the story that
didn’t do it for me. For instance, I
have no idea why it took Annette and the gang the length of the book to work
out who, why, and how about the warlock when it seemed obvious to me and
especially with all the hints along the way.
And, another big distraction was the audio narration. I love Traci Odom for this series and enjoy
her work, but I didn’t get a distinct difference in voice that this was
Annette. It was jarring getting
Annette’s story and situation with that soft-spoken wryness that was what I
thought of, up until now, as Defiance’s voice and story.
The romance was not unexpected after events in the previous
book. However, when it came down to it,
it felt mildly weird with his original wife (who has moved on), granddaughter
(who only heard of him recently), and granddaughter’s bestie all living
together in the sentient house while Annette and her sexy warlock started a
relationship.
This story felt like a side jaunt in some ways because the
conflict was a separate line from the existing series arc, but it also wasn’t
because it was allowing for Annette to get up to speed in a similar way that
Defiance had through the earlier books.
I enjoyed mostly seeing Annette getting to make peace with her past and
engage in current day interactions with her mom and, later, her dad.
So, I’ll be curious to see where things go next. I have a good time with this series and
though this one wasn’t a complete win, it was still fun. Those who enjoy humorous urban fantasy and
paranormal women’s fiction should definitely get this series on the list.
Author Bio:
NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones has
won numerous awards for her work, including a prestigious RITA, a Golden Heart,
and a Daphne du Maurier, and her books have been translated into 17 languages.
As a born storyteller, Darynda grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and
heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, certain they went
away the better for it. She penned the international bestselling Charley
Davidson series and is currently working on several beloved projects, most
notably the Sunshine Vicram Mystery Series with St. Martin's Press and the
Betwixt and Between Series of paranormal women's fiction. She lives in the Land
of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband and two beautiful
sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys.
Click here to read one of the more popular short stories by Darynda called The
Monster:
https://theneverneath.com/2018/02/02/...
She can be found at http://www.daryndajones.com
Sophia’s Bio:
Sophia
is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing,
piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments,
restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible
man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes
Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and
Chocolate.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that
Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a
prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many
wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading
tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and
romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sophia.rose.7587
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiarose1816
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose
I may give this one a read.
ReplyDeletewww.rsrue.blogspot.com
Glad to put it on your radar. :)
DeleteSorry this wasn't on your best list but the series sounds interesting and I'm listening to a novel in her Sunshine Vicram series right now so I may look into #1. Thanks
ReplyDeleteIt won't be my favorite of the series, but it was definitely a fun installment. Yay, I know you'll get a kick out of this series, Debbie.
DeleteI have been looking forward to this one.
ReplyDeleteI was bummed that we couldn't do it as a buddy read. Maybe for the next book. :)
DeleteI loved it and cannot wait for the next one.
ReplyDeleteThings are definitely in an interesting place. :)
DeleteThis series is on my wishlist. I hope to tackle the Charley Davidson series next year and then maybe this series soon after. Great review!
ReplyDeleteStellar reading plan. I love them both.
DeleteYep! We already talked about most of these issues that we both had. But I also completely agree with your comment "This story felt like a side jaunt in some ways because the conflict was a separate line from the existing series arc" I skipped putting that into my review b/c I felt I'd already hit the more important issues I had with this one. I hope the next book brings us back inline with the overall story arc.
ReplyDeleteI didn't want to list everything that caught my notice either, but I do feel better that you had similar reactions and questions, Jen. :)
Delete