I’m not sure where I got Witches For Hire, by Sam Argent. It’s been resting in my Caliber file since 2017 though. So, I suspect I picked it up during one of DSP’ events. But I wouldn’t swear to that, only that I came by it legitimately.

All recovering drug addict and witch Jeremy Ragsdale wants is to shamble on to the next job without any disasters. Instead, the temp agency saddles him with a fellow witch who hates him, an Amazon one violent outburst away from deportation, and a knight from another world as his boss. Even worse, their jack-of-all-trades magic business stumbles upon a conspiracy to kill Desmond the Great, Atlanta’s sexy star magician. Jeremy must prevent it without letting his colleagues know that he not only has ties to the energy vampires behind the plot, but that his past misdeeds might have instigated the attacks.

Despite Jeremy sporting a suit and tie like a good witch, his lies snowball to bite him in the ass. The lack of trust brewing between him and his teammates could cost Desmond his life and Jeremy his progress on the straight and narrow path if his secrets are revealed. Because no matter how much Jeremy has reformed, there’s still enough bad witch in him to kill anyone who messes with him or the people he cares about.

I had a truly odd experience reading Witches For Hire. The book has an awesome cover and blurb (though much of the blurb, while accurate, is irrelevant to the story). I liked the characters. I enjoyed the humor. I liked the voice or tone of the storytelling. The writing was mechanically competent and I don’t remember any big editing mishaps. By all accounts I should have adored this book.

But…and it’s a big but…the book would do well as a second or third book in a series. It does not, however, do well as a first. There was so much missing backstory that was hinted at throughout, and world-building that was left hazy, at best, that I spent most of the book asking “what is happening” and considering DNFing it.

I can’t count how many times I went online to check if there was a prequel or if this was a spin-off from another series. As far as I can tell there isn’t and it isn’t. It really is a first in a series, all on it’s own. And as much as I wanted to love it, the stingy was information was doled out, one frustrating crumb at a time, was a style that didn’t work for me.

The thing is though, there was so much I did like (even if not enough to rescue this book) that I’d be willing to give an Argent book another chance. Like I said, odd.