Thank you to Wednesday Books for my ARC and Macmillan Audio for my ALC of The Charmed List!

Pub date: 7/5/22
Genre: YA romance (forced proximity), magical realism
In one sentence: Ellie and Jack are friends turned enemies, but when friend Lia learns that they're part of a secret magical community, they'll be thrown together to try to make things right.

This cover is just swoonworthy, and the promise of magic drew me in! I loved getting to know Ellie and Jack - both have more to them than meets the eye - Ellie with her passion for art and Jack with the burden of family expectations. There was just the right about of magic in the book - they can do small charms that improve life, but those don't save them from your typical teenage angst.

I split my reading between text and audio, and I enjoyed both! Natalie Naudus did a great job bringing Ellie and Jack to life.

This is a closed-door romance, as are most YA romances, so there's not much steam, but it's a very sweet story. I think YA readers will enjoy this one - it's a fun, light summer read!

Adorable YA summer read!

From loss of old friends, new friends, and to new and rekindled relationships Ellie has experienced it all in the last few years.

One tiny prank goes wrong however and has Ellie dealing with all of this head on. With the one person she wants nothing to do with, Jack. With a touch of magic ✨, a bucket list 📜, the open road 🛣, and the best little sister (and Cam!) 🥹, will this summer be everything Ellie was hoping for?

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy for an honest review.

I haven't personally read a YA magical/contemporary romance in a little while, but The Charmed List was a wonderful reintroduction to the genre. This book is a friends to enemies to lovers romance between two magical teens whose parents have competing magical stores in California. They were best friends up until around the age of 12, until our hero drops the FMC like a bad habit with no explanation except public distain. Now, they must work together after breaking the most important magical code - don't let the non-magical know about the magic. Now they are on a forced road trip and are forced to discuss the last few years.

I thought this was a sweet, younger romance - I think the characters are 16 so we're not looking at spice or anything here. I didn't think the explanation and apology from the hero was really good enough for forgiveness but hey, I'm not the one who is forgiving him.

I think the magic world created was interesting but simple - there wasn't much background given into the magic system but this isn't really the type of book where that matters much. It was definitely more focused on the contemporary-ish romance than the fantasy nature. The magic was more just a fun twist than a hugely important part of the story.

Overall, really enjoyed for the sweet romance. There is also a lot of page time given to tea and it just constantly made me was to drink the tea they were talking about.

**Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review**

This was cute. I liked the magic system but honestly the book was just okay. I read it a few days ago and I’m already forgetting the details. I listened to the audio version and that helped me engage with the book, the narrator was excellent!

this book was a super cute fun read. it was a little, in my opinion, kid-ish. and i’m not grown or anything so that’s saying something, but still it was a cute little romance and i’ll eat up best friends to enemies to lovers any day.

i was surprised a little by the magical aspect of this book, but in a way it makes more sense, especially with the cover.

i read this book in halves: started in march and finished just a couple minutes ago. so my memory is quite hazy, but for the most part i thoroughly enjoyed reading this. there just something about a summer read with forced proximity that gets me excited.

the romance was enjoyable. there was so many tropes involved that i ate up, but that was it really. nothing like huge or special but it was still fun 2 read.

the characters themselves lacked in places for me mostly. i found myself not really taken with ellie’s character until half way through. but the development in the end for both the characters & the relationship made this a 3 stars read for me.

def a recommendation to all looking for a cute little summer read & enjoys magic, classic tropes, & enemies to lovers with a little former bestfriend twist.

3.5 stars :’)
☆☆☆/☆☆☆☆☆

thank u netgalley & st martin’s press, wednesday books for approving me of this arc in exchange for an honest review!!!

I never used to be one for contemporary romance books, YA or otherwise, but I'm discovering lately that I do really enjoy them, add a little magical realism and I'm hooked! I loved the whole concept behind The Charmed List: summer road trip, bucket/summer list, breaking out your shell to be more confident, summer romance, I loved all of it! Ellie is such a fun character to get to know, and I really connected with her, as I'm very much a wallflower myself! I wish I'd had her confidence when I was in high school, to make an 'Anti-Wallflower List' like that and commit to it! Her and Jack's reconnection was so cute to watch, they are both so adorable and I truly loved each of them! The whole book, I was dying to know why Jack had basically abandoned her when they were younger and, while I can understand the reasoning, (especially since they were both so young and he was grieving) I felt a little underwhelmed by it for some reason, I don't know. I'm very sure that will just be a me thing! I did really enjoy how magic works in this world! The secret little magic towns/communities sound amazing and I would love to visit one so bad!! Also, the magical cabins sound absolutely amazing!! If there was one thing out of this whole book I wish was real, it'd be those cabins! My mind started to plan a 'what-if' road trip for the purpose of hitting all the cabins and I was very sad to tell it 'no'. The Charmed List was such a cute and fun summer, second chance YA romance, I definitely recommend!

I enjoyed this one. I was approved for the audio before the print version I think I would have enjoyed it a little more in print for some reason but don’t get me wrong this one was a treat! I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers and loved the riff between Ellie and Jack and how they came together. I loved the themes of family, friends, and let’s not forget about the magic. Throw in the road trip and Anti Wallflower list this one was a fun read that I listened to within a day!

This book was a super cute romance! I loved the aspects of magic that were tied in, and how they lived in a realistic world but were surrounded by magic that only some of them knew existed. I always love realistic books with fantasy elements. I also really love the friends-enemies-lovers trope and I think this was a really good showcase of that. Overall it was super cute and I would definitely recommend it!

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Charmed List is a cute, sweet YA romance with a magical touch. It also covers topics like loss, grief, friendship, and second chances. I liked how Ellie grew throughout the book. I think Julie Abe did a good job showing how difficult it is to fit in during high school and trying to be the person you want to be, not the person everyone expects you to be.

I recommend The Charmed List to anyone looking for a cute, quick read.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

After Jack’s mom passed away, that’s when things flipped, and he became a different version of himself that Ellie no longer knew. Their childhood friendship ran its course, but it was now the summer before senior year, and Ellie decides that it’s time to break out of her shell of being a nobody to being a somebody by making a summer bucket list. When magic goes awry, Ellie is unfortunately stuck with Jack on a road trip to a magic convention for their family’s shops as a form of punishment. But, their forced proximity, the way they still know each other despite lost time make their road trip adventure one to remember.

This was absolutely charming and I was absolutely charmed! I got major Wizards of Waverly Place and Harry Potter vibes, which tbh, I wasn’t so sure about. But as I kept reading, I really enjoyed the whimsical details of the magic, the villages, enchantments. Jack and Ellie’s forced proximity was gold, but man was it a SLOW BURN. Spoiler alert: they didn’t officially own up feelings and kiss until like 95%. No lie. I didn’t mind it though. I was into all the small romantic gestures, stollen and interrupted moments that were both swoony and sweet. A fun summer YA romance, guys!

This is a sweet YA read that is light without being too superficial. It deals with heavy topics (friend betrayal, death of a parent) but in ways that feel age-appropriate for teens. The magical element is important to some plot points, but also feels ancillary to the plot at times. I greatly enjoyed the parts that focused on magic and liked the world-building the author did. I would recommend this book to those who don’t mind a YA book (including actual young adults, LOL) with some magical elements.

*I received an e-arc from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

The Charmed List is a cute contemporary romance with a touch of magic (literally). It was just the pick me up I needed!

Ellie Kobata has spent most of high school as the quiet girl. It’s the summer vacation before her senior year, and she’s determined to take some risks and shake things up a bit. She makes an Anti-Wallflower list of thirteen items that she plans to check off one by one. She’s looking forward to a road trip with her best friend Lia, riding a roller coaster, and maybe making her art Instagram public.

Item number 4 on her list is getting revenge on Jack Yasuda, her former best friend, and things go horribly wrong. Ellie is quite certain that her summer has gone from charmed to cursed. Instead of going on a road trip with her bestie, she finds herself heading to the magical convention with Jack. But as Ellie and Jack travel down the coast of California, Ellie begins to develop feelings for Jack.

Ellie and Jack are so adorable! This a story about former childhood friends that have grown apart, and it was great getting to hear their stories about the past. I also liked how they were getting to know each other again in the present.

A fun and enchanting story that I definitely recommend. Prepare to be swept into a magical world, that makes you want to drink all the tea and eat all the cupcakes!

I unfortunately did not vibe with this story even though it sounded so cute. I just found it boring to get through, Ellie not being a captivating voice did not urge me to continue reading it either. The writing felt info dumpy too. I'm sad to say this considering the Asian rep is wonderful and the magical aspect is so so fun.

This is a really cute YA novel about a girl in high school who loses touch with her bff after he loses his mom. Their lives stay intertwined but he seems to always be the cause of her worst days at school. When they're forced on a road trip together, they'll have to examine what happened between them. The world building was original with a magical society that is hidden from all non magic people. There were so many mentions of cute magic cottages, villages, cupcakes, that it makes you hungry. There's also a heavy Asian influence in the book as both characters are Asian and many of the other people as well. There was a lot of push and pull between the two main characters, Ellie and Jake, so be prepared for a lot of teenage angst but great chemistry. It was a nice story that can be read in one sitting.

This was a light and enjoyable romcom which was exactly what I needed. It had a lot of fun cute tropes that I enjoy such as friends to enemies to lovers, forced proximity and one bed trope. One issue I had was that the world building/ magical system could have been fleshed out a bit more but that is not a big deal since the focus is more on the romance plotline. This was a charming and light book which made it a quick easy read. I enjoyed the bucket list plot but just wish the story/plot was a bit more detailed. Overall a cute read.

*thank you to netgalley for my early e-copy of this book!**

Wow, when I first started reading the book, I thought I’d have a hard time enjoying it and not finding the magical elements hokey, but I wound up really enjoying this book and its magical elements!

The YA male/female best friends to strangers that hate each other plot that turn back into friends/a romance is not new, but I enjoyed the banter between Ellie and Jack as they fought throughout the story to understand where they lost each other and how they came back together. The forced proximity of the two of them together during the road trip was full of banter and memories from their childhood and it really developed their characters and families. I think my favorite scenes were when they went to the beautiful and whimsy magical village and stayed at that inn- how fun!

I enjoyed that even though this book was kind of a romance between Jack and Ellie, it also focused a lot on the element of friendships and how they can grow, change and even end from childhood to adulthood. I adored Ellie and Jack’s younger siblings and their friendship and shenanigans as well. Lastly on the topic of friendships is Lia and Ellie’s friendship, and how Lia found out at the beginning of the novel that Ellie and Jack’s families use magic and charms and there’s this whole magic world out there. She gets mad at Ellie for keeping this huge secret and most of the book is Ellie reflecting on their friendship. I’m glad they came back together at the end of the novel and communicated to talk about their feelings and how they could grow from it.

Very cute read over all, definitely recommend!

*I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC!*

This was such a fun, sweet and moving little book! I feel like it really packed in a bunch of different elements that all worked so well together. It is a contemporary romance, but also fantasy, as the main characters are “magic-aware.” It is an enemies to lovers romance, but also a road trip romance. It is about friendship, but also about finding your own independence.

I really loved the romantic leads. Ellie and Jack were such fun characters to get to know. They each had very evident flaws, but were both kind hearted and lovable at the same time. I loved seeing their relationship evolve over the course of the book, as well as getting to look back on their past relationship before the big “friendship breakup” happened.

Speaking of friendship breakups, the scenes between Ellie and Lia really killed me. Having a friend who you consider to be your best friend not want to talk to you is a special kind of hurt. This part hit very close to home for me.

I really loved the world building in this book. The idea that there are “magic-aware” people and people who are unaware was such a fun spin on the sorcery theme. I liked that the magic was limited and that there were parts of the world where it was more evident than others. It was such a fun way to show how much Jack and Ellie’s lives would change if their powers were taken away.

All in all, this was such a fun book! I loved the messaging about being brave and stepping out of your comfort zone. I also loved that it was also about loving yourself, even if you might be a bit of a wallflower.

My Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

I gave The Charmed List 4.5 Stars!

Julie Abe delivered a truly magical story of self discovery. Ellie, a self proclaimed wallflower, is determined to take some risk to make her summer before senior year of high school more magical. She creates an anti-wallflower list of 13 items, in hopes of new beginnings. But as soon as she begins to check things off of her list, it starts to seem more cursed than charmed. Forced alongside her ex-best friend Jack, she departs on a road trip where she soon realizes that her list might not be cursed, and she may still get to check some items off, including falling in love.

I absolutely adored this book, I was so CHARMED by the story, I couldn’t put it down. The world Julie created was so fun and magical, it made me want to jump inside the book. Lia, Remy, and Cam were perfect additions to Ellie’s story. I know if I were in her shoes, I wouldn’t want anyone else in my corner, cheering me on. The romance between Jack and Ellie held the perfect amount of tension. I waited with bated breath as I read, learning their sweet childhood stories and where it all went wrong.

I think I was blown away by the raw emotions that this book held. Julie Abe’s writing gave you the ability to truly sympathize with Ellie’s character. Whether she was reflecting on a past memory or living through a present one, you felt everything Ellie felt and more. That’s the true magic of books, allowing yourself to walk in someone else’s shoes, to live through their experiences, and Julie Abe delivered!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book is super cute. I loved the characters so much. I think Jack was such an interesting twist for his actions and choices in his actions. I'm sure many teens have had similar situations. I loved all the magic as well, and how smoothly it blended into the real world.

My only points of struggle were with Ellie, I felt a lot of her personal development was internal and that resulted in being an overload of telling and not showing, Other than that, I felt the resolution between the two of them was great, except there was never a discussion around his big public dismissal at school that completely ruined their friendship. it left such an emotional scar on Ellie, it felt like it needed a bigger apology.

Such a good book, well done. I highly enjoyed this young adult romance, loved how the author incorporated magic into the story. Not magic as you think it is, but more along the lines of charms. Charms for everyday things and items such as fixing a flat tire, cleaning a car/house, make-up, and even charms on clearing up a rash. I think anyone picking this up, should read it.
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC, for an unbiased, and honest review.