Words, Pages, and Books

Betwixt starts off with a young girl, Nicole, who gets into an accident one night after a fight with her boyfriend. As simple as that sounds, if you dive deeper there is much more to Nicole’s story. Addictive, endearing and an all around inspiring novel, Betwixt bewitched me from the very first page. I love how there was more to Nicole than what I got a glimpse of in the beginning. She does an immense amount of growing up and I enjoyed seeing her change. At the start of the novel, I saw Nicole as a party girl, selfish, and unconcerned about herself and others. She was a rebel like no other and she threw herself into partying, drinking, and sexual relations. While this was all a turn off, Nicole showed potential. Underneath her privileged life was a girl who was sad and lonely; hiding her real feelings and her real self. Deep down, masked by her pain and grief, Nicole was a good person stuck in a bad situation, surrounded by the wrong people and neglected and abandon by her busy parents. While in the brink of life and death, Nicole rights her wrongs, finds her way and becomes the person she always was: a sweet, kind and fun loving girl. I loved Nicole during her bad times, but even more so during her good. She was one marvelous character!
The romance between Nicole and Dale was so charming and sigh-worthy. I loved them together. The chemistry between them was enormous and their back and forth banter with each other was highly entertaining. What Melissa Pearl created here between Nicole and Dale was a true, real and well developed relationship. Nothing instant, but a connection and attraction that was familiar and new and gentle and caring. These two didn’t come to love each other within just a few days, but you can tell that later on in the long run, it could happen. Dale Finnegan was smart, silly and cute, I had no trouble falling for him. He was awkward and he was adorable all at once; just a lovely character all around. Even though he had a bad run in with Nicole, he forgave her and helped her when he didn’t have to. Dale was just a wonderful guy, who fought for Nicky, who saw and believed in the goodness inside of her when she didn’t see it in herself.There is something about Pearl’s writing that just gripped me from the beginning and had me so compelled. I couldn’t get away from the book; I was completely hooked. I had to keep reading chapter after chapter until I finished. Even then, I just wanted more. I enjoyed being kept in the dark throughout the book, finding things out as Nicole did because it made it so I never knew what truly happened and what was about to happen. Pearl did an astounding job of building up Nicole’s character and weaving in the ghosting aspect. Even though this novel is fiction, it was believable even with that small paranormal touch. Not only was I able to feel great sympathy towards Nicole, but I also felt all kinds of emotions running through me while reading along. Also, Pearl impressed and surprised me with all the elements she added into Betwixt that surrounded Nicole and shaped who she was then and now. I throughly loved what she did with Betwixt and for me, it really hit home! Overall, Betwixt was a story about forgiving yourself, opening your eyes to what’s happening in front of you, and going after what you really want once you figure out what it is. Enchanting, intricate, and suspenseful in its‘ own way, Betwixt is a book you need to read!
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