Kimberly Frost – Would-be Witch

The first book in the Southern Witch series, published January 17, 2009
Genre: urban fantasy
Cover: my signed book has the little cover, which I really prefer over the old one.



The family magic seems to have skipped over Tammy Jo Trask. All she gets are a few untimely visits from long-dead, smart-mouthed family ghost Edie. But when her locket - an heirloom that happens to hold Edie's soul - is stolen in the midst of a town-wide crime spree, it's time for Tammy to find her inner witch.
After a few experiences with her dysfunctional magic, Tammy turns to the only person in small-town Duval, Texas, who can help: the very rich and highly magical Bryn Lyons. He might have all the answers - and a 007 savoir faire to boot - but the locket isn't the only heirloom passed down in Tammy's family. She also inherited a warning: stay away from Lyons.


Tammy Jo is in trouble. Her mother and aunt have left for destiny’s unknown, only occasionally contacting her. Tammy Jo comes from a long line of witches, but so far, the magic has not awakened inside her, so she has given up of ever being a witch herself. Tammy Jo is now in the sole charge of taking care of the family home, and the family ghost. When her locket is being stolen in a robbery at the costume party her best friend is throwing, she needs to get it back, asap! If her ghost, Edie, tries to come out of the locket and it is not being worn by one of the Trask family witches, she will die horribly. Tammy Jo really likes the flamboyant Edie, with her penchant for hot men and martini’s and she does not want that to happen.

One of the reason Tammy Jo and her ex-husband Zach, a sheriff’s deputy, divorced, was Edie. Zach does not believe in witches or ghosts, and he sent Tammy Jo off to therapy. So now that the locket holding Edie is stolen, he says: good riddance! Tammy Jo is hurt very much by that careless remark. Surely he knows how much the family heirloom means to her? Zach is unable to accept their divorce, still acting as like they are still married, and often spending the night at her place. And although Tammy Jo likes parts of that, she does not want to be married to Zach again. If only he had given her as much attention back then, as he does know. Especially when she needs to get in touch with the only other witch she knows in town: Bryn Lyons. She knows she is not supposed to interact with him, his name is one of 10 on a list of people who are enemies of her family, but she needs her locket back.

Bryn Lyons is very much interested in Tammy Jo, but not so much in helping her with her problems. Instead he uses her for his own good, getting her into even more danger from a bunch of werewolves. Sure he is very handsome and very rich, and he knows all about the rules and the witches council, while she knows nothing at all. But Bryn does give her her beloved cat Mercutio, who acts as her familiar.

Matters keep getting worse, with Tammy Jo trying to work some magic spells on her own, and she gets only deeper into trouble. Still, the magic does work...


I think this is the second time I tried this book, as a lot was familiar while reading. But I don’t think I finished the book the first time, as I don’t have a review of it. This time I did keep on reading, and I enjoyed the story a lot. I liked Tammy Jo, she tries to do her best, without much help from anyone else. She does have a lot of power, and Bryn takes advantage of that. And of course this makes me dislike him a lot, right from the start. He and Zach sure are jealous of each other, but when they fight over her, Tammy Jo just leaves them both behind, which was very much fun to read about. Bryn’s father is another character I don’t like very much. Tammy Jo is the kind of woman that would have helped if she had any idea how, if only she was asked, instead of being threatened and pushed around.

I liked discovering this world alongside Tammy Jo, and look forward reading more of these books. I adore the Southern setting and language. I have read some reviews of the latest book lately, and I know I am in for some goodness here. It is not all fluffy, some scenes were a bit gory, those with the werewolf killings and all. But the captured merman is certainly intriguing as well. I wonder if his kind will make another appearance in this series.

7 stars.

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian