I really think this book would have worked out better if we got to focus more on Katie's family's background. We find out in this one that some of the people in Katie's family are immunes and some are able to use magic. I thought that was exciting. But once again it turns into a boring magical fight with Katie not staying out of the way that could have caused everyone to lose again. At this point if Katie doesn't learn some martial arts or something, I want her to say far and far away from fights.

And this is a criticism of the series as a whole. For short books (and they are short) the author needs to be more focused. This book had like 5 plots going on. A plot was Katie realizing that someone in her hometown was using magic to steal. Well she calls Sam at MSI, Inc. and the next thing you know Owen arrives. Of course there is angst. But then we have another plot of Katie's brother being an ass to Owen, Katie's family wanting her to be with Owen, Katie being scared to go back to New York since she knows that Owen cares about her and she's a liability, and oh there's someone providing classes to magical users, and there are bad wizards afoot trying to take out Owen. I don't know there was a lot going on that didn't make a lot of sense.

In this one we finally get bad guy #1 taken care of, but of course there's a bigger bad guy out there that we deal with in the next book. ( )

At least there was an epic magical battle. Better than the last book, which almost made me give up in the series. Glad I gave this one a try.

Would it kill Owen though to show a little more passion? You know what, the way he was raised and what he is, probably yes. ( )

Something odd is going on in Katie's home town Cobb since the disguised ad for the correspondence course in wizardry showed up in magazines.

While out at the courthouse, Katie's mom sees someone in Jedi robes waving their arms around, not so bad in and of itself, but the statues are also waving their arms.

Katie's Grandmother ,who every one thinks is dotty, happens to be magically inclined......

Then there are a series of burglaries and some of the jewelery is showing up on the person of her less than sweet sister-in-law.

Owen & Sam come to town after Phelan Idris is sighted at the local motel and things heat up from there.

( )

Katie Chandler has left New York and returned to her family in Texas, said to be devoid of all things magical. However, when strange things start happening in her home town, Katie starts to suspect the forces of evil are up to something. This is the fourth book in the Enchanted Inc. series, and I hope it won't be the last.

One of the great things about this series is the relationship between Katie and Owen. There's a continued tension of will it/won't it that stems directly from the characters themselves, rather than some artificial outside influence or being dependent on any overly orchestrated love triangle. There's a sweetness to their friendship and a genuine affection that is built on more than lust or sex appeal.

I've thoroughly enjoyed this fun chick-lit series, unfortunately, sales on the third and fourth book were not high enough for the publishers to pursue publishing the next books in the series. Very disappointing, because I would love to see more of this storyline and see what happens as Katie and Owen's relationship begins to grow, not to mention all the rest of the assortment of lovable and bizarre characters throughout this world. ( )

Don't Hex with Texas probably would have gotten a 5 except the first three or four chapters felt forced to me. I don't know if the writing could have taken some revision or if that part of the story just didn't work well. The interest was there, it just seemed too odd somehow to fit with the rest of the book.

The first few pages of Don't Hex with Texas hooked my interest so I couldn't put the book down, despite the awkward feeling of the story I had in those pages and a couple chapters beyond. I was just too swept up in Katie Chandler's adventure to care much about that awkwardness; maybe I wouldn't have had that feeling If I had read the first three books in the series ahead of this.

Coming into the series in the 4th book could put the reader at a disadvantage, but I thought Don't Hex With Texas stands alone well. The characters are well developed, there's enough fantasy to the story to keep it interesting for me, and some romance is thrown in to the mix. In all, Don't Hex With Texas is a blend of madcap comedy and all-around fun that I can recommend to anyone 12 and up. ( )