Actual rating is 3.5 stars.
My Initial Reaction...
Would-Be Witch was really cute and fun - reminded me a bit of Molly Harper's PNR though it wasn't quite as funny.
The Narration...
Mandy Seigfried was a really fun narrator. She did a great job bringing out the humor and personalities in each character. Although she's completely different from Amanda Ronconi, she reminded me of her because of how well she brought to life all these small town personalities, particularly Tammy Jo (the main character). She's definitely added to my go-to narrators list.
The Characters...
OMG, I freaking loved Tammy Jo (Tamara). She was country through-and-through, complete with these ridiculous sayings that just made me LMAO. She reminded me of a friend I have who says the craziest things and you don't know what he means but you go with it anyway. For example, Tammy Jo says at one point "like fish in a bathtub" and my response was to laugh and go, "huh?" I used context clues to understand what she meant, and it was totally fun. Tammy Jo is a baker and witch with limited power (hence, the title, Would-Be Witch). She comes from a long line of witches but for some reason her powers really never came to her - until now. Of course, her mom and aunt are gallivanting around and MIA so Tammy Jo has to figure out how to cast spells on her own and that provided some great laughs.
If you were Facebook friends with Tammy Jo, I imagine her relationship status would say "It's Complicated." See, Tammy Jo is in an on-again off-again relationship with her childhood sweetheart and ex-husband, Zach Sutton. I loved their interaction and it was another source of humour, for the most part. He says some of the sweetest (despite being ridiculous) things to Tammy Jo and you can't help but like him. But I also can totally see while Tammy Jo isn't 100% committed to him. Zachary is sweet - but he doesn't believe in the supernatural - something that's a bit problematic when you're a witch who frequently has conversations with your dead ancestor. He also can be a bit bossy and over protective - comes from a good place, but annoying!
So it's not surprising that Tammy Jo has an attraction to Bryn Lyons. First of all, his family is on this list of 9 families that her mother told her she had to steer clear of. Best way to make me interested in someone? Tell me I have to stay away! Tammy Jo tries way harder than I would, but she's in trouble and Bryn's a witch & can help her. So what's a girl to do? Plus her chemistry with him is undeniable. I felt kinda shitty about her potential relationship with him, though, because Zach is such a sweet guy. I hope that Tammy Jo and Zach are able to get to a friends-only place that they're BOTH happy with if things progress any more between Tammy Jo and Bryn.
And I would be amiss if I didn't mention the cat, Merc. Bryn gives Tammy Jo Merc for her protection and since he turns out to be an Ocelot, it's no wonder that he's a good protector, kitten or not. I LOVED the way Tammy Jo would talk to Merc and discuss her plans with him. It was just too fun!
The Story...
The story isn't all that complex - this is humorous and fun, not suspenseful and mysterious. Basically, Tammy Jo's locket, which houses her dead Aunt Edie's soul, gets stolen and Tammy Jo has to get it back. This results in her getting into loads of trouble as she tries to use her witchy powers, especially since she doesn't actually know how to use them. What probably could have been simple gets more and more complicated because she's clueless, but since she never paid attention to what her mom and aunt did, it made sense.
There were some neat twists in the magic and creature mythology for Would-Be Witch that I enjoyed. And I loved the small-town setting (even if it did rest a bit on stereotypes - I though they were well used, not offensively) and the mystery even managed to surprise me a bit, so that was fun.
Concluding Sentiments...
Would-Be Witch was loads of fun, with a decent story and likeable characters. I'm looking forward to continuing the series!