Don't Hex with Texas

 

Don't Hex With Texas (Enchanted, Inc. #4)
By  Shanna Swendson

ISBN: 9780345492937
292 Pages
Available in Paperback, Audiobook, and on Kindle

Synopsis:

Everything’s bigger in Texas—including romance, magic, and danger!

Katie Chandler has fled fast-paced Manhattan and returned home to a simpler life, working at her family’s feed-and-seed store in Cobb, Texas. In a painfully selfless gesture, Katie had left the sexy wizard Owen Palmer to battle his demons in the magical realm–after all, Katie just seemed to attract evil, which only made Owen’s job a lot harder. But now it seems that trouble has followed her home: Despite the fact that Merlin, Katie’s old boss at Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc., has assured her that Cobb is free of enchantment, (magically speaking), Katie begins to notice curious phenomena.

Cobb is being plagued by a series of inexplicable petty crimes and other devilish mischief, and after her experiences in Manhattan, Katie knows “unauthorized magic” when she sees it. As this new darkness strikes deep in the heart of Texas, Owen appears (literally) to investigate. Now Katie’s friends and family must show the bad guys why it’s bad luck to hex with Texas, while Katie and Owen combine their strengths like never before to uncover a sinister plot before evil takes root in the Lone Star State.

My Thoughts:

Book four of the Enchanted, Inc. series opens on Katie back with family in her hometown of Cobb, Texas, where she fled to at the end of Damsel Under Stress. Which was super cruel, after we spent 2 books waiting for Katie and Owen to finally get together.

If I'm being totally honest, I was really nervous going into this volume from the Enchanted, Inc. series. I have lived in Texas almost all of my life and I tend to find that when it is mentioned in books - especially as a focal point - that stereotypes abound. Which gets old pretty fast. So I approached Don't Hex With Texas with a fair degree of trepidation. There are definitely a few stereotypes, but it does not fall victim to a lot of the tropes that plague books written by authors who "did research" and do not live in the area.

The change of scene gave an opportunity for fresh story with new faces. But it also meant that we did not get to see faces that we have all come to love, like Rod, Sam, and Merlin. Most interestingly, it gave us the opportunity to meet the rest of Katie's family (having already met mom and dad in Once Upon Stilettos), all of which were unique and likeable - with the possible exception of one sister in law. Isn't that always the case? 😅 The best character out of this bunch had to be Katie's grandmother, who believed in "the old ways" and was thought to be a total lunatic by most of the family. Knowing what we, the reader, know about their world? The joke's on them.

The plot centralizes around magic starting to appear in their very nonmagical town and Katie, as the only local who should know about magic, being forced to investigate. When she discovers the root of the problem, a particular shady wizard who I didn't really expect to pop up in this volume and reports back to NYC, the decision is made to bring in the big guns and Owen shows up on her doorstep.

The story in Don't Hex With Texas seems to move slow, even when compared to other volumes in this series. Despite this, the plot is not lacking. There are plenty of twists and turns and keeps you interested. There are also some really funny parts, like Owen running around in a borrowed LARP costume cloak and literally every interaction with Katie's grandmother. There are some pretty predictable moments like when it is revealed that Katie's older brother is the wizard causing chaos all over town. Also plenty of surprising moments like the fact that his wife was not involved and put him in his place for it. Also, that one of the other brothers is immune too and knew something was going on and just never bothered to say anything.

Don't Hex With Texas wasn't my favorite book in the series, but it still ranked slightly above Damsel Under Stress. It was funny and interesting, but I missed the fast paced NYC scene and this one was just too slow paced for me. Not enough to deter me from continuing with the series though.

Parent's Guide:

As with the other books in the Enchanted, Inc. series, Don't Hex with Texas is relatively safe in themes, with little more than some fantasy violence. This book does contain a few criminal acts (thefts) but the error of ways is seen and attempts at reparation are made. The themes may be too much for the youngest readers, but in general this book is teen friendly and entertaining.

The Oz Counter:

NONE! And again I have to say that I was shocked. This series is so centralized to magic. And this time they were in the South, closer to Kansas. Home of scarecrows and farms. I mean come on, she went home. There totally could have been a "no place like home" joke! But nope. I fully expected at least one reference. I was failed.

(The Oz Counter is explained in the "Anatomy of a PBG Review" link at the top of the page.)