I read that the author described this book as "Hocus Pocus but they have sex." and that sounded fun. Magic & witch craft make for an enjoyable story. l enjoyed this book-my first time reading Erin SterIing. I liked her writing style enough that I'll read others by her.

This was a fun read for Halloween season, though quite a silly story. I liked the main character but found her romantic interest to be a bit shallowly written.

What a fun and magical read! I am loving the witchy-romance trend this fall! I'm always a fan of second chance romance, and this one had lots of fun tension. Erin Sterling really brought this town to life and brought me in as a reader new to witches and magic. I loved the romance, tension, and bit of intrigue in the Ex Hex!


Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two.

That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all.

Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.

A bit of fun easy reading. Some 'chick lit' for fans of the supernatural. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

This was VERY VERY fun and reminded me so much of all the cozy small town witchy books (the Sweep series by Cait Tiernan, anyone?????) I used to read in middle school and I liked it SO MUCH. Definitely recommend if you're looking for something to ease you into the spooky season vibes! Super excited for future books in this series.

I think the trick to The Ex-Hex is going in and just enjoying the cozy Halloween vibes. The romance is fine, but without the witch and Halloween plot lines I don’t think the romance could carry the story itself.

Some good parts of the story : The characters are fun and quirky and I love the small town vibe. Sort of a Hocus Pocus meets Stars Hollow feel to the town. I also love the strong family bonds between Vivi, her cousin and her aunt. There is some fun banter between Rhys and his brothers too, I’m wondering if maybe they’ll get their own books? I would definitely read another book if this becomes a series!

It had its high points but was mostly just kinda meh. There was so much potential for more!

I feel like too much of the story was focused on the lackluster (IMO) relationship between Vivi and Rhys, and a swirl of ~fall aesthetics~, semi-spooky and kinda boring hetero sex instead of an actual plot. Okay, that is uncharitable of me. The plot was there, just ignored until the last twenty minutes of the book, when everything was hastily solved with little issue and there were happy days for everyone and everything afterwards.

The banter was good, however. And I did like the aesthetic of the town. But I wanted just a smidge more substance and depth than what I got.

Amazing book! I would highly recommend this book to my customers and patrons. I would recommend other books by the same author as well.

This was a cute and satisfying contemporary romance. It's a perfect read for the fall season. I've seen it compared to a Hallmark movie which I think is accurate. It has a lot of heart, decent world-building, and compelling main characters. I felt that the central issue of the curse and the "bad magic" that results in the town was a bit underdeveloped. Although the stakes are clear, they don't ever really feel threatening. I wouldn't have minded a bit more suspense on that front, although I understand that we're getting our HEA of course. My one main quibble with the relationship is that Rhys doesn't seem to really change or grow much as a character over the course of the book. We see that Vivi goes outside of her comfort zone, finds her power as a witch, and learns to trust. Rhys doesn't seem to change as much and he doesn't really have to sacrifice anything. Even at the end he just easily gets a job working at the college his family owns, but he still gets to keep his travel business and there's no indication that he won't still be jetting off all over the world. So I would have liked a little more development there. The sex scenes were well written and I always like to see healthy boundaries and consent. Overall I would recommend it fans of contemporary romance.

I loved this book so so much. I started and finished it in one day it was that good. I first heard of this book on Netgalley. I received an ARC and I was so excited to say the least. Then I got a physical copy from my Book of the Month subscription and my group on Facebook decided to choose it as one of the buddy/group reads.

Vivienne a young witch gets her heart broken by a young boy who she has spent a summer with in college. While nursing her broken heart she and her cousin decided to pretend to curse the young boy with future bad sex and hair. Nine years later, Rhys Penhallow must return back to town to recharge the ley lines that his ancestors used to create the town and give a small speech at the fall festival. Neither hopes to run into the other. However, when Rhys luck runs out things go terribly wrong and the two must work together to save the town. Will they be able to put their past behind them? or will they find their hearts right back in the past?

I loved the idea of a nine-year-old curse. The poor boy didn't even know what hit him. I found myself falling so hard for Rhys. their relationship is just so full of chemistry. I LOVED the ghost I found it so intriguing. Erin Sterling or should I saw Rachel Hawkins did such an amazing job at mixing my love of rom-coms with a fantasy. It was so fun and light hearted. I gave this book 4-stars. I can't wait to see what else Sterling comes up with next.
* I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Avon publishing in return for my honest review.

#netgalley#botm#TheEx-Hex#erin sterling#rachel hawkins

The Ex Hex
By: Erin Sterling
(Rachel Hawkins)

Goodreads Rating:🌝🌝🌝🌛
3.69 Stars

My Rating:🌝🌝🌝🌛
3.5 Stars

I don't rate half stars often but for this book it felt necessary.

Let me start by saying I really enjoyed reading this book. It was lighthearted and definitely gave adult Halloweentown vibes.

I loved the magic aspect of this book. I was intrigued and wanted to know how they were going to solve their magical woes.

Where this book underwhelmed me was the romance. There is spice, however, and no pun intended, the emotion connection felt stiff.

Their connection was all physical and wish we could've gotten more background info on this second chance romance that made me understand some of the dialogue.

Overall this was a fun and easy read and do reccomend giving it a read!

super cute halloween rom com! AND some spice...... so good! I've never read a halloween themed romance before and this totally hit the spot

“You almost ran your ex-boyfriend over with a car, and then left him lying in the literal dirt on the side of the road. It is such a big deal, you absolute queen.”

Summary
Vivi and Rhys are modern day witches. Nine years ago they had a whirlwind summer romance, and it ended badly. Freshly dumped, Vivi and her cousin Gwen put a "fake hex" on Rhys thinking it was just done in jest. Now, Rhys is back in town and having the worst luck ever. Now, they need to find a way to save the entire town before it's too late.

Review
This was honestly the perfect cozy October rom com. I loved the small town witchy vibes for sure. The tone was overall really lighthearted, and I loved all of the magical shenanigans. It was fun to see Rhys and Vivi run around trying to figure out how to dig themselves out of the situation they found themselves in. The romance was really sweet, and I loved seeing these two former flames unite after their big falling out. If you're in the mood for a lighthearted, witchy fall romance, definitely pick this one up!

Super cute—a bit like Bewitched meets Hocus Pocus meets Ghostbusters! The steam is pretty mild and the romance is could have gone a bit further, but overall I am happy and satisfied! It’s quick, lighthearted, and humorous read. It would absolutely make an excellent Halloween themed romantic comedy adaptation!

NetGalley/ARC Copy

This book is basically Hocus Pocus/Halloweentown but with adult sexy times. Which is quite the combination. Despite being ridiculous I did enjoy the dialogue and the characters/town were cute.

I enjoyed Vivienne and Rhys's second chance at love so much. Rhys was a charmer, unrepentant jokster who didn't take much seriously until he met his first love again. Vivienne was a lovable young witch who had cursed Rhys when he broke her heart. I was preparing for drama when Rhys would find out but that never happened and I'm glad for it.

This was a cute, lighthearted, witchy story with lots of humor, perfect for the season. If you want a little magic in your life, a story with delightful characters, then don't hesitate.

i finished this a couple days ago and i thought it was the perfect light hearted read for fall. nine years ago, vivienne cursed a boy who broke her heart before he went back to wales. now rhys has come back to the small georgia town where she lives to make an appearance at the town’s fall festival - his ancestors founded the town. upon his return vivienne finds out that her hex actually did some damage, and now that rhys is back it’s actively affecting the town.

i felt like i could live in the town in this book - it was so atmospheric and fun. i did want a bit more from the ex hex in terms of depth, but it really was a perfect seasonal read and made me laugh out loud several times.

thank you to @williammorrowbooks and @netgalley for the ARC!!

1/3 magic, 1/3 romance, 1/3 family is the recipe for The Ex Hex, a story about Vivi Jones, a witch who tries to downplay this aspect of her life, using magic minimally. A spell she set 9 years ago with her cousin Gwyn, following a broken heart, resurfaces when Rhys Penhallow returns for the town’s Fall festival. Magic goes wrong, setting off a series of events, forcing Vivi to face her past with Rhys as the pair works together with Gwyn and Aunt Elaine to try to right all of these new mishaps.

This book has been everywhere lately, with good reason — It’s a solid pick for October reading. The story was very predictable, and light, though still cute.

This was the perfect spooky read for all my romance readers. I loved that this setting was a small town that had this secret magic that just made it special. I would love to come back to Graved Glen every October for a little bit of magic and witchy love.

This book was cozy, a little bit funny, and full of love with the perfect dose of spice. I loved the relationship between Viví, her aunt and cousin and would love to see if we get some more romance in this quaint little town.

I made it 193 pages before I gave in & just had to put it down for good. There were too many moments where it felt more like a YA book as well as a bad Halloween Hallmark movie. It seemed like there was no chemistry between Rhys & Vivi and I was honestly just bored, it was hard to keep my attention even with the short chapters. I had high hopes for this book and I wanted to love it but it just fell short for it. I just didn’t see what the hype was all about.