The Charmed List is an adorably sweet, touching young adult story about two teenagers and their families who were best friends for years until they were not. Although neither has forgotten the other the awkwardness they feel has made it difficult for them to connect again, let alone speak to each other. Oh, and to make the story more interestingly fun the families live in a secret area of town and use magic which mortals are forbidden to know about.

Ellie Kobata is awkward, with no self-confidence who believes she is non-existent to the other students where she is a soon to be senior in high school. She has one friend, a best friend named Lia who she could not live without. Lia unfortunately is mortal and knows nothing of Ellie’s secret magical life. Her best friend for years, Jack Yasuda from the magic community, suddenly ditched her for reasons she still does not quite understand, but as angry as she is at him, she still finds herself thinking about him constantly.

As their junior year comes to a close and Ellie and Lia are about to begin an exciting road trip to deliver merchandise to some of the magical shops her parent’s store services, (Lia thinks it’s just a fun road trip), Ellie has decided that she would prepare a list of items she would like to accomplish this summer to hopefully bring her out of her shell so she can have a fabulous senior year! She has made a list of 13 accomplishments she would like to succeed at even though they scare her to death. It is called The Charmed List.

But days before their adventure is to begin, thanks to Jack Yasuda, not only will Lia not be allowed to go, but she may have lost her only friend and she thinks it might be forever. To make matters worse, as punishment for what happened Ellie and Jack’s families decide that they will have to make the delivery trip together. Now she must spend time with someone she dislikes, does not want to talk to but deep down can’t seem to forget.

And just when she thinks it cannot get any worse, Jack finds her list! He offers to help, but she is mortified that he has seen some of the “activities” and makes him promise not to mention it ever again!

But as they begin the journey, they both start to see who they really are and what they have lost over their years of not speaking. They begin to understand how misunderstandings can happen and although they know they can never go backwards to what they had, you can truly move forward into a different relationship with better communicating and well, maybe a little bit of magic. Oh, and that list? Well, you’ll just have to read this “charming” book to see how it ends…

Thank you #NetGalley #WednesdayBooks #JulieAbe #TheCharmedList for the advanced copy.

This is a really cute YA romance. I enjoyed the magical world that we are introduced to in this one. I loved that the world consists of lots of small charms in every day items that just generally make people happier. I also really enjoyed seeing the history between Ellie and Jack. It really helped show how much they meant to one another and how much they both cared.

I did feel like a lot of information was repeated over and over throughout the story. Sometimes the internal dialogue of the main character just got to be too much.

Overall I would recommend this one for teens especially if they are looking for a cute summer romance story.

Ellie and Jack were best friends, but that was a long time ago. After Jack’s mother passed away he dropped Ellie and never looked back. That is okay though because Ellie has a new friend Lia and they are going to have the most amazing summer yet. Ellie is going to finally stop being a wallflower and challenge herself to do all the things that she has been so afraid of. With her list of 13 challenges in hand and an epic road trip with Lia coming up what could go wrong?
This is a lovely story of Ellie coming into who she wants to be sprinkled with a bit of magic, and of course being faced with fixing a supposedly lost friendship. Both Ellie and Jack are just such lovely characters and easy to feel like you are apart of their story. This is a super quick read and one that will just leave you with such a happy feeling when done. A perfect summer beach read.
Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

The following review was posted on my blog today, Sunday, July 3rd, 2 days before publication. It will be shared on Twitter and Instagram between today and the publication date, as well. The blog post includes links to order the books and to its Goodreads page, so readers can add it to their to-be-read books.



“This summer’s going to be perfect. This is going to be the summer when my Anti-Wallflower List becomes a reality.”

Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 0 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Mentions cancer, deadly car crashes, and death of parents, and deals with bullying and shame.

“The Charmed List” follows Ellie Kobata and Jack Yasuda, two ex-best friends from magic-aware families in the summer before their Senior year of high school. How they went from best friends to strangers, we’re not so sure, but what we’re sure about is that when Ellie thought about the perfect summer roadtrip it never included Jack—but that’s how things turned out. Driving through California on the way to a magic convention, will Jack and Ellie be reunited, get honest with each other and finally talk about what drew them apart? Or will this be the awkwardest summer ever?

This book has it all—from a summer bucketlist, to a roadtrip, to a friends-to-enemies-to-friends-again-to-lovers dynamic, and a close proximity trope for sure. And of course, it had magic. I loved how this book made it feel like you were in on a secret, like small magic was a simple, everyday thing that few were lucky to experience consciously but many did see it in their lives—describing it as luck or love or happiness.

Some of my favorite things about Julie Abe’s writing was how flow-y it was, the story was well-constructed and used some flashbacks here and there that really made the narrative stand out and be unique amongst so many other magic YA books that I’ve read.

I would recommend “The Charmed List” to anyone looking for a funny, YA romance that centers around lost friendships and magic, and that’ll give you all the summer vibes. It isn’t an explicit romance by any means, all we get is a simple kiss at the very end (they’re kids, that’s fair), so I would highly recommend this book to be given as a gift to young readers. It truly is a lovely, magical book.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: July 05, 2022

“And, I’ve realized, I don’t have to be all one thing or the other. And just because someone else has slapped a label on me, it doesn’t mean that I have to accept their definition of who I should be. My list was never about standing out and getting attention, but to make myself someone I admire. And I don’t need a bottle of luck or a charm to change my life.”

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this S-ARC in exchange for a honest review!

This is a cute contemporary romance mixed with magic with the best friend to enemies to lovers trope.

Jack and Ellie were best friends for a long time, until Jack and Ellie stop talking to each other. Ellie never knew the reason as to why Jack all of a sudden stopped talking to her.

Jack and Ellie end up having to go on a road trip, and during that road trip they end up finding their way back into their old relationship.

For the most part, I enjoyed reading this book. There were certain parts of the book that fell flat to me. I feel like the timing was not right when it came to the main characters and their romance. The romance literally didn’t happen until the last 5% of the book. This book is great for anyone who is looking into getting into reading young adult contemporaries.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Charmed List by Julie Abe in exchange for an honest review.

Before I start, I want to point out that this book is about magic, charms, and spells. When I originally read the synopsis, I somehow missed this. I thought the words used were a play on words, but nope it's really about a realistic, magical world. If I had known that, I probably wouldn't have requested it, however, I'm glad I got the chance to read it. It was cute, funny, and interesting.

I want to just completely commend Abe on her ability to create a world. She thought of every little thing. While reading, I always understood the ways magic worked in the book, what the limits were, and all the little phrases. Like Magizon, which is Amazon for the magic aware. There were little charmed touches all throughout, I completely felt immersed.

The characters were also great. They had great depth, and reason for the way they acted. I loved Ellie. I completely understood why she made the choices she made. She was a sweet, wallflower who wanted to push the borders of her comfort zone. She also has to deal with the pain of an old friendship loss, as well as a new one. She grows so much on her trip, I loved it. There was one thing I didn't like though. I don't like when books set out with the main character wanting to no longer be a wallflower, and never talk about how it is totally okay to be a wallflower. They always point to needing to change, and how it is better that way. When in reality, her "wallflowerness" in the beginning is what made me like her. Jack was also a great character, very mysterious at first. As you read you get to unravel more and more of what makes him Jack.

I decided to give it only 3 stars(more like 3.5) because while the magic system was great, and the characters were fun I do have to admit that it took a little bit to get through. There were a few times when I cringed of second hand embarrassment, when things just felt kitschy and juvenile, and moments when the story dragged on. I'm all for the slow burn, but I can only take so many interrupted almost kisses(there had to have been over four times when they almost kissed or said something when I phone rang or someone walked in).

At the end of it all, I like how it ended. Definitively felt resolved, and content. I would recommend this to those who love books with realistic, modern magic.

Charming!

Ellie Kobata is part of a magical community that no knows exists. She must keep that part of herself secret, even from her best friend, Lia. The only person that she relates to is Jack Yasuda, her former childhood friend who snubbed her years ago.

Ellie is ready to make some changes. She no longer wants to be a wallflower; she wants some excitement in her life and develops her Anti-Wallflower List. The list contains 13 things she wants to check off. But when something goes wrong it is not her friend, Lia that she is on a road trip with. Nope, now she is in a car taking a road trip with none other than Jack himself.

This is a YA romance that is charming and has a nice message about friendship, family, and love. It also has a magical theme which makes it unique and dare I say it again, charming!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This friends-to-enemies-to-lovers theme YA book was cute and flowed well. I must say, it was a little young for me but super cute for someone in the YA age range. The introverted MC Ellie is tired of being in the background so tries to be seen by working on her Anti-wallflower list. During her escapades, she runs into Jack, her former friend who snubbed her in middle school. As the two are forced into a trip together, the romance starts to sizzle.

This was a cute read and again, more appropriate for a YA audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

The Charmed List follows Ellie as she embarks on a road trip with her former best friend now kind of enemy, Jack. Magic is in the world, but not everyone is aware of it. Those like Ellie and Jack are meant to keep it a secret, but when Ellie messes up, she end up stuck in a car not with her best friend but the last person she ever wanted to travel with.

So Julie Abe is a MG author, which makes sense because this felt a little too juvenile for YA. It's full of cute things, and Ellie is unbearably naive at times, which makes her come across much younger than she's supposed to. I think I understand the author's choice for her main character. Ellie is supposed to be a shy girl, a wallflower, but she's dying to come out of her shell. This has a lot of popular tropes. Enemies to lovers, the one bed. I'm sure there are people who would enjoy the way they're portrayed here, but I couldn't help but roll my eyes...a lot. And maybe this book will speak to shy girls, but it wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

While I love YA, this may have been a little too young for me. It had a super cute premise with extremely lovable characters.

It follows former best friends Ellie and Jack on a summer road trip to deliver some magical goods for a convention. While Ellis is wrestling with being a wallflower and how to change that, Jack is dealing with his own inner turmoil. The forced proximity works really well for this book.

I will add that both MCs are in high school. So, my younger self would have LOVED this book. All the butterflies of your first crush and the weirdness. But as an adult, it was just okay.

I’m giving it 3.5 stars because it was cute and is a great story for the middle grade to freshman girl.

The Charmed List was very...charming. If you are looking for a breezy, cute YA romance with a dash of magic then you will enjoy this.

I feel like I should include a disclaimer in this review that I am very far removed from high school and may very much not be the target audience for this book, the characters of which are juniors in high school.

The conceit of this book is very cute and also really cool in that there is a magic system here, but not one I've seen before. Magic is something on the periphery of the book and I would have loved more information on how it all works. That being said, it's a cool background for the book and in some ways the list in question in this book is literally charmed (or maybe even cursed).

The title Charmed List is written because the main character is sick of being what she calls a wallflower. I'm not sure I totally bought that was something the character was and honestly the list is less integral to the plot than the title makes it seem. I found the mc a little immature at times (which totally makes sense, this is YA), but I felt that she made a lot of excuses for her actions even at the end and while the book wrapped up nicely I think that she could learn to take a little more ownership over her actions and the consequences.

There is a secondary plot involving keeping the magic a secret from her best friend and I thought that was more interesting than the romance or the wallflower plot. I wished we had gotten more of that because overall the book lacked a depth for me that I wish it had.

Overall I think there are a lot of readers that will find this book very fun and a charming summer read.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
The Charmed List by Julie Abe is a sweet and magical enemy-to-lovers romantic comedy for the young adult reader (and those of us who are still young at heart).

Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
The cover is cartoony and screams young love and romantic comedy. The blurb confirms this impression and adds the promise of magic, which initially attracted me to this book. I love magic, and it always intrigues me when it's mixed with genres other than fantasy.

Actual Reading Experience:
This is a charming enemy-to-lovers story perfect for even the youngest YA reader and possibly older MG readers. It's very innocent, and I loved that about it. The main characters – Ellie and Jack – are both relatable and will worm their way into your heart from the get-go. It is told in first-person narration through Ellie, so the reader gets to know Jack and the support characters through her eyes, giving them the added dimension of her feelings and the reasons for them. It also enables the story to go relatively fast and the flow to happen naturally. The magic system is simple charm magic but comes with magical conventions, magical resting houses, and even magical villages. I enjoyed the magic, found it fun to imagine, and loved its simplicity. The charmed list (of the title) is a bucket list of sorts for Ellie, who feels like a wallflower and wants to change that by taking on different challenges - like conquering the roller coaster that traumatized her as a kid. This list brings her so much more than she ever expected, some of it good and some not so good, but all of it helps her grow into the young adult she is to become.

To Read or Not to Read:
If you love a magical story of friendship and romance, The Charmed List will surely bring on all the heartwarming inspiration you could ever hope for.

This book was a tough read. I liked the premise, the cover was cute, but the writing and the storyline were messy.

The beginning has a lot going on, then like nothing happens in the middle, and then the story wraps up with a quick ending.

The magical element was fine, and brings a whimsical aspect to the story. It’s just, I don’t know the writing was not strong enough to carry everything that was going on. Everything was so on the surface. The descriptions were repetitive (callused hands, red cheeks), there was no REAL concern about Ellie’s friend finding out about her magic even though this is supposed to be really bad and have serious consequences.

Like it was supposed to be this whole thing, and then the punishment was…Ellie still going on the road trip but with Jack instead of her best friend? And then nothing happens on the road-trip, there’s no real growth between Ellie and Jack. Ellie continuously talks about being a wallflower, Jack is just there, there’s a list that keeps randomly popping in and out.

And then the story just ends. I know this is YA and I’m not the target audience, but I have read some amazing YA over the past few years, and this could have been great with some better editing.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be what someone else loves!

The Charmed List
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance /Rom-Com
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 7/5/22
Author: Julie Abe
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Pages: 297
Goodreads Rating: 3.95

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Wednesday Books and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: After spending most of high school as the quiet girl, Ellie Kobata is ready to have a life-changing summer, starting with her Anti-Wallflower List—thirteen items she’s going to check off one by one. When number four on Ellie’s list goes horribly wrong—revenge on Jack Yasuda—she’s certain her summer has gone from charmed to cursed. Instead of a road trip with Lia, Ellie finds herself stuck in a car with Jack driving to a magical convention. But as Ellie and Jack travel down the coast of California, number thirteen on her list—fall in love—may be happening without her realizing it.

My Thoughts: This was such a cute perfect beach read. The story is in the POV of Ellie, from her perspective. The characters have depth, there is witty banter, there is chemistry between the two MCs, the supporting characters really take the story to the next level, and they were creative. The story had a magical side to it and I really loved that. Ellie really comes out of her shell throughout the story and her growth is just amazing, as well as the growth that we see Jack experience. The author’s writing style was complex, very creative, inventive, and kept me engaged the entire book. The author was brilliant in describing the California coast, you felt like you were right on the roadtrip with the characters, and felt the emotions they felt. This is a first time author for me, but not a last. I highly recommend that you preorder right now for the release on Tuesday!!!

The Charmed List by Julie Abe

Published: July 5, 2022
Wednesday Books
Pages: 297
Genre: YA Romantic Comedy
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Julie Abe is the author of the EVA EVERGREEN, SEMI-MAGICAL WITCH middle-grade fantasy series. She has lived in Silicon Valley, spent many humid summers in Japan, and currently basks in the sunshine of Southern California with never enough books or tea.

“Still, annoyances aside, I love this cozy plaza, where sorcery meets reality. It’s home.”

Ellie has just finished her junior year and is excited about her summer break. The last thing she expected was for her best friend to discover her biggest secret or being stuck with her neighbor and old best friend. Now, the summer is going to be anything but magical.

This was such a cute story. I loved the infusion of magic and culture. Ellie was a charming character. I loved her storyline.

I liked how charms were incorporated throughout and how magic was presented. It was fantasy, without being too much.

This adorable coming-of-age story is about forgiveness, acceptance, and moving forward. I enjoyed this book a lot.

I am so glad I was able to read this in advance. Thank you to the publishers St. Martin's Publishing Group and Netgalley.

The Charmed List is a cutesy, contemporary romance brimming with hidden magic and spells. It’s a best-friends-to-enemies-to-lovers plus a road trip and some forced proximity, and some very sweet foods. Ellie’s ambitions and feelings drives the plot of the story. The plot was fun, nothing too complicated, nothing too basic! the magic definitely added some intrigue to it

Ellie and Jack Yasuda once were friends but after his mom died so did their friendship. Since then Ellie has found a new best friend... Lia. Ellie and Jack are now enemies. Ellie, being a shy, quiet girl, has made it her goal over the summer to grow out of being a wallflower. To achieve this, she makes a list of thirteen things she wants to do on a summer road trip with her best friend, Lia. So, when the revenge on Jack Yasuda goes wrong, thanks to a failed magical prank, Ellie finds herself punished by having to go on the road trip not with Lia, but with…Jack. You can probably guess what happens next but the adventure is worth the read.

This was a sweet YA book with magical realism and the typical coming-of-age story. The two protagonists are the children of rival stores who are forced to drive together to a magic wares convention.

These two were friends but became enemies several years ago. This a delightful story for anyone who likes friends-to-enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity tropes. It’s a great “beach” read if your looking for a light but heartfelt book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Ms. Abe for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

For some reason I thought this was an adult book. And frankly, it could have been, with a couple tweaks. For one thing, the main male character, Jack Yasuda, is a high school student but somehow managing (A) good grades (B) tutoring (C) working for his father's store Charmworks (D) developing and marketing new product lines (E) connecting the business with social media influencers (E) internships (F) captaining the HS tennis team. I... don't know about all this. But I digress.

Ellie Kobata, daughter of the neighboring store's owners, and Jack used to be childhood besties until Jack's mother died. Now, they're enemies. Jack is cutting and occasionally cruel to Ellie and Ellie is juvenile and hostile towards Jack. A prank goes awry and suddenly Jack and Ellie are forced to go on a two day road trip (including an OVERNIGHT STOP) through California together. I guess this is where parents are now? I guess most parents trust their children to make a two-day drive, with numerous business-related stops along the way, and an overnight stop? This sounded very dubious to me.

If you can overcome certain elements of doubt regarding the overall plot, as well as the obvious miscommunications and stupid rationale (because, teenagers) behind Jack and Ellie's disagreements, then you may enjoy the delicious descriptions of Japanese, and other, delicacies. That was my favorite part of the book. I wish I could eat like Ellie does: cupcakes for every snack, boba tea at each stop. Yum.

Overall this book was so cute and sweet my teeth hurt a little. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had been adults but maybe that's the old person in me talking.

I overall really enjoyed the concept, however the writing itself fell a bit flat to me. I can’t really explain it, but the entire book felt as if I was someone was sitting next to me, explaining everything that happened, rather than me being able to immerse myself in the world and experience it for myself ? I don’t know if this even makes sense as an explanation, but it just wasn’t vibing with me.

But all in all this was a cute YA romance with magical elements.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of "The Charmed List" by Julie Abe, scheduled to release on July 5th, 2022!

So I will start out by admitting that most of these books I choose based on their cover (I know, I'm not supposed to be judging them by their covers, but...here were are)

This novel was a sweet YA novel with a dash of fantasy/magic thrown in - and because of this, I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the book so much.

Jack & Ellie used to be childhood best friends, but have grown apart over the years. His brother Cam and her sister Remy also are very close with one another as well. When Ellie plays a prank on Jack that does more harm than good, her summer road trip plans with her best friend Lia get vetoed by her parents, and they send her & Jack to run errands for an upcoming "making magic" type of convention.

There was only one thing about the book that I truly didn't understand - why was Jack's father so upset about the relationship that he had with Ellie while still seemingly fine with the relationship between Remy and Cam? Someone, please enlighten me?