...Bookfanatic

I was really excited to say the least when I stumbled across this story the blurb sounded awesome and the cover...I mean seriously? Who doesn't want to read this book once they've read the blurb and seen that cover so on a promotional level this book nailed it because really that's what the blurb and the cover are...they're promotional materials meant to draw the reader in and gain their interest in the book and if I was giving stars for that this book would probably get at least 4 out of 5. But that's not what I'm giving stars for...nope, those two stars are for what comes after the cover and the blurb.

Sadly what came after the blurb for me was a bit confusing. 'Witches for Hire' is the first book in Sam Argent's series 'Odd Jobs' unfortunately for most of this book I felt like I'd been plunked into the middle of a series without the background info that often helps things make sense. As the story progressed I was given a fair bit of background that did help sort out much of my confusion but I would have really liked some of this info to have come sooner than it did. 

'Witches for Hire' was a bit of a mixed bag for me because while there were things that I liked about it, there were also things that just didn't work for me and as much as I would like to go into more detail about what I didn't like, I don't feel that I can do this without divulging some pretty pertinent information in regards to the story's plot. So, I'm going to focus a little more on some of what worked for me.

One of the things that worked the best for me were the characters. I liked Jeremy. He was interesting and far more complex than he initially seemed. Many of the secondary characters were also rather interesting and what we were given of their background hinted at strong potential for their own stories...Simone, Witches for Hire's receptionist, a witch who is married to a werewolf and has no coven and also seems to be far more powerful than she lets on, Clive a knight from another realm who is the new owner of 'Witches for Hire' who is extremely powerful running out of realms he can go to. Clive's friends Mia and her husband, Raj, who run their own magical detective agency, also knights and seem to show up when they're least expected. The Amazon, Edarra, who works at 'Witches for Hire' and has some heroic deeds she needs to accomplish. Senator Ragsdale, Jeremy's father. Desmond the Great, Atlanta's star magician and someone with much stronger ties to Jeremy than most realize, council member Salvatore someone who wants much stronger ties to Jeremy. 

It all sounds so intriguing and has the potential be one hella' good read but somewhere along the line the waters got muddied and things were oftentimes confusing with POVs jumped around and scene changes happening in such a way that I was left wondering if I was missing pages or paragraphs, at least, because I'd find myself going back and re-reading to try and figure out when and how I suddenly went from point 'A' to point 'E' and what happened to the stuff in between.

So in summary this wasn't so much a bad story as one that simply didn't work for me. There was strong potential and I did find the last 20 to 30% far more cohesive and interesting. Most of all I really wish that this had felt more like the first novel in a series with stronger background and world building rather than leaving me feeling like I was reading the third or fourth book in a series that needed to be read in order.

The result for me was that rather than enjoying what should have been a fun and interesting story, I was often left frustrated and disappointed. However, in spite of the potential for future stories I'm not really sure whether or not I'll continue, I definitely need to give that a lot of thought...but in truth...I doubt it, the again one never knows... never say never, right?

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An ARC of 'Witches for Hire' was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.