Betwixt by Melissa Pearl

 

Review by Nina Gomez

Rating:  4 1/2 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

Beautiful, wild-child Nicole Tepper is hit by a car and left for dead. But when she wakes the next morning, Nicole finds herself in bed without a scratch. Perhaps she was more intoxicated than usual, as her mother is giving her the silent treatment and her friends are ignoring her as well.

Things take a turn for the weird when Nicole soon discovers she is actually hovering between life and death. Her body is lying in the forest while her spirit is searching for anyone who can hear her. Unfortunately the only person who can is Dale Finnigan, the guy she publicly humiliated with a sharp-tongued insult that has left him branded.

Desperate, Nicole has no choice but to haunt Dale and convince the freaked-out senior to help her. Will he find her body before it's too late? Or will the guy who tried to kill her with his car, beat him there and finish her off before anyone finds out?

My Review:

Nicole and Dale are polar opposites. She is the popular high school beauty and he is the social outcast “juvie”. They have a shared attraction to each other, but she is just too cool to admit it. When Nicole finds herself hovering in limbo, Dale is the only one who can hear her. She needs him to find her body before it is too late!  In the process of searching for her, Dale and Nicole learn a lot about each other, their hopes and dreams and the past that has defined who they are in the present.  Saving Nicole from death will not come easy.  If and when Dale is able to recover Nicole’s body in time to save her, Nicole must make peace with her past and resolve to change her future.

I loved this book! It was fast paced, engaging and I absolutely got lost in the story. I think it was mainly because the narrative extended itself in bits and pieces during the overall premise of the book, which was the search for Nicole before her body succumbed to the elements in the forest.  Nicole’s spirit was able to travel and witness her family and friends’ reaction to her disappearance. She was able to watch her shallow life and superficial relationships unfold. She was able to see who Dale really was and how he cared about her for the right reasons. The symbolism brought about by Dale’s religious beliefs was also a very good tie in to Nicole’s lack of faith and credence in fate and redemption.  There is a reason why Dale was the only one who could hear her.  And as the story develops, we realize that they are not polar opposites at all. As Nicole’s walls slowly tumble down to reveal her pain and heartbreak, Dale is there to assure her that her life is worth a fighting chance.  

Have I mentioned how much I enjoyed this book?

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