There was much to enjoy here, but I found I couldn't connect with it. I'd read more from this author in the future though.

This was a good witch book! It kept me intrigued and was also very quick to read. I loved the main character!

My Rating: 5 Stars!

I was pleasantly surprised by this novel! I was not expecting to be drawn into the world that Maggert has created, The main character, Carlie, a white white, was a short cook who packs a punch and I adored her! The supernatural elements were intriguing and one of my favorite aspects of the world building that Maggert did a great job with. I only wish it had been longer!

I recommend checking out this underrated series!

I've been super into witches lately, so it was inevitable that I'd pick this one up. I really enjoyed the protagonist and feel like this makes a great summer read. Some witch stories are intractably autumnal, best to be read when leaves are blowing down sidewalks and pumpkins peer at you from porches. Halfway Dead is more of a flexible witch story, though, which I appreciated, as sometimes you want something witchy in July. I loved the dynamic between the characters and I think it was that that really kept me going. Very fun read, especially for fans of supernatural YA.

The author did a wonderful job with the world building in this book, and the main character was well fleshed out. The secondaries, however, could have had a bit more development, in my opinion. I also feel that there were some inconsistencies in the story, and some plot holes that needed to be worked out. Overall, it was pretty entertaining, but it did have some issues.

As a fan of coffee, waffles and supernatural things (and having met Terry last spring), I was excited to jump into Halfway Dead upon approval from Netgalley.

Halfway Dead is a delightfully quick read. Life in the Adirondack Mountains seems eerily similar to life in rural Minnesota where I grew up; although, if we had witches living nearby they never revealed themselves to me. Maggert did an excellent job of setting the scene in the mountains. Halfway is real to me, I could smell the pine trees, and I certainly wanted to stop by and try Carlie’s waffles at the diner.

I also feel a kinship with Carlie McEwan. Living in a small town where you don’t quite feel like you fit in is tough. And while Carlie seems to have settled into small town life with her Maine Coon cat, Gus, and supportive grandmother, at times, especially later in the book, Carlie seems to want a bit more out of life.

The only downside for me in Halfway Dead is the pacing and forgettable secondary characters. The story is slow to jump into the action and when action does occur it happens in the blink of an eye then the story plods on again until Carlie runs into the next person or supernatural being to drive the story forward again. There’s at least one character, introduced early in the story, who gets lost in the middle of the rollercoaster ride and another one who is so unmemorable that I completely forgot who he was when he showed up in just a chapter or two after he is introduced.

This isn’t to say that Halfway Dead is a bad read. I finished the book. The major characters populating and visiting Halfway make up for some of the poor pacing and plotting. The setting was beautifully painted and has me dreaming of a trip in the Adirondack Mountains. I would definitely take another trip to Halfway if given the opportunity.

I have tried to get into this book for MONTHS, but after a couple of pages I forget what has happened, or sometimes I have to read the page a couple of times before I actually understand what is happening? And I just don't like readint like that. I give up, sorry.

Stars: 2.5 out of 5

Once in a while you come across a book that gets you really excited about reading it because it starts with a great character who has a distinct voice and who seems to be telling a compelling story… then either goes horribly wrong halfway through or simply veers into meh category.

Sadly, this is exactly what happened with Halfway Dead. This book had so much promise! We are introduced to Carlie in the middle of action, when she goes for a little clean up job and tackles a pair of wendigos who moved close to her beloved town of Halfway with clearly nefarious intentions. She is efficient and self-reliant during that encounter, never losing her cool. We get an excellent introduction to our protagonist and an "on the job" explanation of how her magic works. She has a distinctive voice and she has sass.

At that point, I was invested in the story and ready to follow Carlie wherever her adventures or misadventures lead her. Unfortunately, the story starts unravelling pretty much right after that initial introduction.
Some random dude by the name of Major Pickford approaches her to help him find a grove of ancient chestnut trees. I would be ok with that if this plot point was presented better than it was. First, this Major appears in one scene where he hires Carlie to find those trees then disappears and is NEVER SEEN AGAIN for the rest of the book. Second, the story he feeds Carlie about why he wants those trees is so fantabulous that you really have to be stupid to believe it. Yet, Carlie believes and accepts without doing too much research to verify if what Major says is true. Author, why? You just showed us that your protagonist is a smart cookie when she handled the wendigos, but this scene undid all that good work.

At this point I was still determined to see this story through, even if my investment in it had gone down a notch, but it only gets worse afterwards.

Carlie goes to the local library and does a little bit of research into that mysterious grove of trees and discovers that it has ties to her family… and a ghost speaks to her from an old photograph and asked her to come find him. As a motivation for our protagonist to venture forth, that's pretty good. Only it fails to confer any urgency to the situation. If you think about it, Carlie really has no stakes in this matter. Both the trees and the ghost had been there for three hundred years, so they will still be there whether she goes now or waits a few more decades.

The other problem is that when the next random stranger approaches her and tells her that Major basically fed her a load of lies, she still agreed to go into the mountains with this new stranger instead. Girl, where is your brain? Didn't the situation just prove to you that there is a lot more at stake than you think or know and that you shouldn't take anybody at face value? Sure, she calls the company this guy supposedly works for, but what proof those she have that she really talked to the CEO of that company? Also, how often do we call a multimillion dollar corporation and get to speak to the CEO directly as soon as we ask for it?

But my biggest frustration with this book are the dialogues. They don't make sense. People just don't speak and behave like that in real life. They all speak in riddles. They all go pages and pages of talk to say nothing that would advance the plot or explain the situation. And Carlie just accepts this avoidance and clear change of subject as a given. On more than one occasion, I wanted to reach into the page and slap some sense into both her and whomever she was talking to.

Add to that the sluggish pace at which the story is moving and the many interruptions to admire the scenery or get an excursion into the land's (and the character's) past, and you get a book that I ended up almost hate-reading until the end. And I did it only because I had a review to write and I don't review books I don't finish.

So to summarize, Halfway Dead is a book that had such great promise, but sort of unraveled halfway through like a badly knit sweater, leaving me with a lot of frustration at its unrealized potential and a conundrum as to how to rate it. I loved the first 1/4 of it. I was okay with the next 2/4. I would never have made it through the last 1/4 if I didn’t have a review to write.

PS. I received and advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fabulous! Great world building, loving the characters, will be looking for more by this author!

Carlie could kill two things in the world: magical creatures and cars. Then Carlie was walking in the creek and smelt roasting meat, when she got close enough Carlie saw a Wendigo then it was walking calmly toward her.Carlie had done a spell on a rock and threw it and it struck the chest of the Wendigo and the spell did it’s work and killed the Wendigo . Then a female Wendigo hit from behind Carlie but Carlie killed her also. Carlie cooks at the only diner in town called The Hawthorne Diner or just the Diner. Carlie’s familiar was a twenty five pound Maine Coon cat named Gus. Carlie was a witch. Carlie rarely found time to date. Carlie likes knowing Tammy she makes Carlie’s life interesting and easy. Tammy delivered packages and Carlie ordered things. Carlie lives in the town of Halfway. Carlie was a white witch and rid the world of sickness. Carlie can usually rebound from anything in minutes which was one of the reasons why her spells were rarely off. Her grandmother/Gran constantly urged Carlie to strengthen and purify her magic through embracing things on her charm bracelet as it was like a tiny arsenal of magical power.No witch in Carlie’s family went without a charm bracelet. Carlie’s family seemed to be the quietest practitioners of witchcraft in all of history. They behaved and paid their taxes. Carlie could not remember one instance when they been at the head or the tail end of any uprisings. Carlie’s family didn’t like drama. Carlie heard her name called and it turned out to be her new neighbor Major. Then Major told Carlie he was an investigator of sorts . he looked for a lot of things when they needed to be found. Major was looking for a group of American Chestnut trees as all other tree of this type had been destroyed but his grandmother had seen a picture of the trees they were suppose to be. Major was here to find the trees. He heard the trees were at Thendara. This trip was to be strictly a confirmer trip for Major. He wants to take some pictures maybe get a leaf or two and and put the destination into his GPS. He wanted Carlie to help him find the trees. After Major left Carlei rushed to her grandmother’s house. Carlie’s grandmother said there is something that killed at Thendara and it will kill again. Then another investigator -Jim- comes to Carlie and he asks for the same help but fills in a lot more questions . Jim used to be a cop. Jim and Carlie go into the forest to find the trees and there meet Wulfrie an ancient Viking vampire. Also a ghost had called to Carlie from those same woods.
I liked this book. For the most part it is a good read all though a little tough getting into but once it really caught my attention it had no problem keeping my attention. I love how Carlie adores her Gran . But where did Major go why even bring him into the story at all? But anyway this had a good plot and ending. I liked the characters a lot and all the ins and outs of the story and I recommend.

Did not finish. Got to 36%.

So here's the thing, you can't tell your readers that the main gal is a 'white witch' who knows almost no evil or conflict spells; and then put her up against an evil being and suddenly she has all sorts of combative magic. But don't worry, immediately after said fight the main gal reminds us she is a 'white witch' and therefore she doesn't kill and everything she just did is okay. And that's just the last so many flaws in this book before I gave up.

For a witch this girl is the worst judge of character ever. She's convinced everyone is good and, even while she is thinking she shouldn't trust someone, she walks up to them and agrees to go into the forest with them. Not only does she do this once but TWICE! Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice you're just an idiot!

And it just keeps going... there's too much telling and very little showing. The writing is a bit stilted and characters say or think things that are too formal all the time. Thereby giving no personality to anyone.
My biggest of all pet peeves is the use of magic and the word witch in this book. I think within about the first ten pages Terry Margert manages to subtly insult every single practicing Pagan in the world and maybe some atheists and other religions as well. Oh it's veiled, but the whole comparison of 'real' witches who must inherit their magic versus others who 'dress-up' the part is a bit too harsh. It's like saying I'm better than you because I was born into the royal family. Never mind the fact that the use of magic in this book is poorly written. We are given no rules, or understandings about how magic works except for some vague and stereotypical 'witchy' comments that are (ironically) poor renditions of Wiccan spells.

I have zero desire to read about a selfish, arrogant, magical main girl and her little town of perfectness. It's just not interesting and for me is off putting. I like my characters with flaws and challenges. Being bad at baking is not a character flaw!

All in all I recommend just passing and moving on. You might get through this book but I doubt it will be life changing, entertaining or even remotely interesting by the end.

As a girl who has always wished to be a witch (you know what they said, reading leads to witchcraft and witchcraft leads to lesbianis, and I have 2 out of three down) I have to say I chose to read this book for the cover, I’m a superficial gal like that, but check that beauty! It has a Palmistry hand and it’s cute not sketchy!.

So, back to the important thing, the content of the book: We meet Carlie she’s a witch and she has a great sense of humor, I related to her immediately because I too can’t drive, she’s also a great Waffle coock, I’ll call her a Waffler, or maybe a Wafflitch, portmanteau of Waffles and Witch because both things are cool and important to the story ok?

It’s a story full of witchcraft, ghosts, and other supernatural creatures that I found interesting, it doesn’t even have lesbian witches (The AUDACITY!!!) which if you ask me could be improved in the next books of the saga, I’ll let you know if it happens (i’ll try to read more) this isn’t even my prefered genre but it was a fun read and as I said, Carlie has a great sense of humor which makes this book a great company while I rode the bus from work.

I don’t know why I didn’t connect with the romantic plot though, at first I thought it was because I’m not interested in a man, and I became overprotective of little badass Wafflitch Carlie but then I noticed it was a bit bland and forced, maybe if it went slower and planted the seeds for this epic romance in the next installment we could have focused more in the universe building that a rushed romance.

arlie McEwan lives a good life in the town of Halway. She is the cook of all things fabulously waffle at the local diner and a practitioner of magic as a witch (a role she is supported in by her grandmother who is also a woman of strong powers).

Things seem to be moving along as usual when life is disrupted through the arrival of two strangers to town as well as an unusual death just outside the diner. It appears evil lies just outside the boundary of Halfway in the forest and it has become extremely restless.

In not time at all Carlie is packing her bags to assist one of the strangers, Jim Dietrich, to find a mythical place where giant American chestnut trees abound and darkness awaits. She travels not just to help him discover the secrets that lie deep within the forest but also to help a ghost, a young boy who is a distant relative, who has been waiting to be set free of the evil that binds him.

This book has some very cool moments and some really lovely language. Mr Maggert has quite the skill at times in showing rather than telling and you can really picture Carlie's world. There are plenty of supernatural characters from vampires to wisps and they all fit perfectly into the story. There were for me a couple of places where the story jumped slightly and I'm not sure I quite followed where we had got to but overall it was a very engaging book. The romantic element of the novel is gentle but effective and I think it will be well worth the time to read on to the next book to see where Carlie's life takes her.

This book was nothing that I thought it would be but I loved it just the same. Amazing plot that kept me on the edge of my seat. Can't wait to read this one again.

I like this series. It was just a tad slow getting started but once Carly and Jim started their quest it was all action. Set in the lake district of New York where magic is alive and well , Carly draws on her skills to help Jim locate a lost stand of American Chestnut trees. With the help of the wood sprites and a vampire in need of help, they enter the cursed area and prepare to battle the evil overseers. Just the perfect touch of magic and paranormal romance. First published in 2015, I'm going to be looking for the additional book in this series (Halfway Witchy) I've never read this author before but he appears to have a good number of books available.

Urban fantasy is my favorite genre to read, especially if it is strongly rooted in reality. I suppose technically this book would be "country fantasy" as it is set in the Adirondacks, but it definitely meets the requirements of a very realistic backdrop. While some readers might complain about the amount of description and the comparative lack of dialogue, I found that it allowed me to immerse myself in the world even more deeply. I definitely appreciated the fact that I did not have to be exposed to the world through cumbersome exposition dumps that are usually done in dialogue by less crafty writers.

The main character is very strongly drawn, the reader definitely recognizes the kind of person and the kind of witch that she is, while still having plenty of room for character growth. Her support system, Gran and Gus, are quirky and interesting, and so is the setting: the wild nature and the small cozy town. Where the novel fails, however, are the male characters who seem to be in endless supply and tend to pop up like jack-in-boxes. Forget the meet-cute, forget the imprinting, good luck trying to guess which one of the male parade is the designated love interest. You can also forget Major - it seems the author definitely did, as the character is never heard from or seen again after putting the plot in motion.

I think I would have enjoyed this story more if we stopped the parade at the rugged ex-cop, but the author introduces the requisite sexy immortal vampire. Setting aside the fact that I'm so over that particular trope, the introduction happens at about three quarters into the story, which is very late in the game for the apparent love interest. Whether the author intended it or not, I already imprinted on the rugged cop. What's wrong with a mere mortal for a change? Also, how can Wulfric be half Huron if he says that he was a boy ALREADY when his uncle came back from his trip to America, which is said to be the first time any Viking reached the continent?

As the sexy undead warns our witch and her companion that they're basically getting themselves into something that will most definitely kill them, I realize that the author completely failed to motivate the quest in question. Why is Carlie willing to die to find the mysterious grove? She didn't seem to have any particularly strong emotional reaction to the ghost of the dead boy. Is finding a skeleton really worth dying herself and killing her companion? If it's not the dead boy, then what is it? If I'm asking that question, then Carlie's motivation has been severely underwritten.

In the end, the book disappointed. More so, because I really loved the world and the main character in the beginning. Some will say I am nitpicking, but the endless male parade really irritated, and the inconsistencies in storytelling simply broke my immersion. In the end, it's not a book for me.

This book was a total page turner for me! The story is told from the main character's point of view and you immediately sympathise with her: she is brave, optimistic, and a witch! I loved that there wasn't any conflict in the character with being "normal", she likes who she is and uses her magic for good. Her relationship with her Gran was one of my favorite parts and wish we had seen more of it.

The plot was mysterious and entertaining. It has the perfect balance of suspense, action and romance. I felt like the pacing took a bit to pick up but then it was perfect!

DNF @ 11%
I don't like not finishing books once I start reading them, but I just couldn't continue with this book. I only got partway through chapter 2 and I had to stop. This wasn't an easy book for me to read. I think it had something to do with the way that it was written and that it didn't grab my interest. I might try reading it again in the future but I doubt it.