Magic? Enemies-to-lovers? Those are about the only two things it takes to get me excited about a book. I loved the relationship between the characters, even when they thought they hated each other. Read this for witty banter and a happy ever after.

More magic was needed compared to contemporary.
Seeing this world and adventure begin was sweet and simple, but I've read too many books with almost the same flow that I was unfortunately not involved with this book. So, I probably wasn't in the mood to read this, no matter how long I switched between coming back to this.

I will say I love the drink and food with charms and good vibes. It makes me think of the Alice SYFY mini-series, and I adored that!

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books and Netgalleyfor an arc of The Charmed List by Julie Abe
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This novel was such a breath of fresh air and I think so many people would enjoy it. There is a magical realism aspect to this book that I loved and the world building and development was done so well throughout the book. I loved Ellie and Jack and was immediately invested in their friendship and relationship. I also loved the secondary characters! There is also wonderful descriptions of food throughout the novel.
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Pick this book up if you are looking for:
-best friends turned enemies
-second chance friendship/romance
-magical realism - I loved how magic was included in the storyline
-mutual pining
-a road trip - it was great!

Despite the superficial similarities between this and "Once upon a K-Prom": shy, female protagonist, two long time friends separated in their early years because of something outside their control, who are now thrown together repeatedly and have to see each other as they now and come to care for each other.

This book charmed me ( you see what I did?) far more than “K-Prom”; with its wonderful main character Ellie full of a desire to make new and exciting choices. Her long and deep friendship with her best friend Lia is tested by a revelation about Ellie and her family, and Ellie must spend an intense couple of days with her former friend now enemy Jack where she and Jack must reevaluate much about themselves and their relationship.

Her mixed and hurt feelings for her former best friend and developing crush are believable. I do think the author made it a little too easy for Jack to get back into Ellie's good graces, but I’ll forgive it as Julie Abe has crafted a sweet, happy story of deep friendship and new love.

Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Fun, silly and with a touch of magic, The Charmed List by Julie Abe is the perfect YA novel following an enemies to lovers trope. The supernatural aspect made this story just so special and kept me reading and putting all my other duties on hold.

Perfect romance book for a younger audience.

This was such a fun road trip/friends to enemies to lovers book. I feel like this kind of book is really going to appeal to the age range that it is targeted to being YA.
I enjoyed our main characters Ellie and Jack. I felt that the banter and the learning of what happened in their friendship to be compelling. I think that for me personally the characters were a little annoying but as teenagers I think that they handled the situations they were put in like a teenager would.
I think that the magic in this book was an interesting addition but I feel like we didn't really get a whole lot about the magic and that was disappointing for me.
I though that the writing was compelling and easy to read. I found that the plot of the story was easy to follow and moved at a pace that let things feel like they were happening at a slower pace than the actual time that Ellie and Jack spent on the road.
I thought that this was a fun read and would be interested to see what Julie Abe writes next.

I want to say thank you to the publisher and netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read a review this book.

I ended up not being a huge fan of this one. It was an okay read with adorable, supremely likeable characters but it wasn't the fun read I thought it would be. I was looking for the tension, sass and wit that comes with an emenies to lovers trope. Instead we ended up with one character in the enemy position and the other not so much. When was a big let down for me. I'm also not a big fan of the forced proximity trope and the miss communication aspect of all tropes drives me nuts. So this one is a good book but not a good fit for me at all.

🍵 Book Review 🍵

#thecharmedlist
#julieabe
#NetGalley published 7/5/2022
#wednesdaybooks
#YAromance

🍵🍵🍵🍵🍵/5

A couple of months ago read a book with the same trope as this. I liked that one. I really liked this one. The romance progression was perfect. There was actually an explanation of why they became "enemies". Very cute story about magic that was very subtle. Magic in this world only worked by charms that were charged by magic dust.

Ellie is a wall flower. She made an anti wall flower list that her enemy, Jack, saw, memorized and keeps mentioning. Her family's shop makes the best match in town. His family owns the stationary store that can be found everywhere. Nothing special. She got stuck having this roadtrip with Jack to the convention instead of her best friend that she had a falling out with. Is this going to be a disaster?

Super fun book. I will definitely read more books by this author! Super appropriate for kids of all ages.

#childhoodfriendstoenemiestolovers
#stmartinspress
#teens
#ya
#bookstagram #booknerdsbookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreview

Friends to (somewhat) enemies with some bonus forced proximity makes for a perfect YA rom-com book. Ellie's perspective was a breath of fresh air - I love fleshed out strong characters. I found myself glossing over Jack, eager to return to Ellie. I wasn't too sure how I would feel about the magic element but it draws you in. Overall a great lighthearted book!

This is perfect in every sense of the word. My heart is whole and warm and soft, and I feel useless in the best possible way. I’m convinced Julie Abe is literal magic.

The friendship conflict Ellie has, both with Lia and Jack, is so realistic. The magic system was simple and easy to follow, and written with such whimsy and wonder. The descriptions of food, the atmosphere of summer, the road trip plot, every bit of it just *worked.* The romance was beautiful, believable, and read like the stuff of all my comfort movies. I ADORED every single word of this.

This YA road trip take on friends to enemies to lovers was a charming and fast read. I loved the little dashes of magic in a setting I'm all too familiar with. It's so fun to know first hand the places the characters visit.
Ellie and Jack were best friends... until they weren't. Now they can't seem to be in the same space without major attitude and side-eye. Unfortunately for both, they are tasked with driving down the California coast to a magic convention after things go awry.
From the title and cover to the last sentence, I thought this book was so sweet. I easily would recommend this to fans of A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow or 10 Blind Dates.
Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

The Charmed List

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Charmed List is a sweet YA romance that follows Ellie, a magical teenager, and her former best-friend now enemy, Jack. What Ellie initially plans to be an epic summer turns into something completely different when she is stuck with Jack on a road trip. But these two former friends find time to bicker, banter, and work on her “Anti-Wallflower List”.

While not quite an enemies-to-lovers or a friends-to-lovers story, I enjoyed the history and growth between the two main characters. The secondary characters were also rich and added to the story, especially the friendship and struggle between Ellie and her best friend. The story was sweet, had a fun magical element to it, and had a lovely HEA.

It took a while for me to get invested in the plot and characters, but once I got there I sped through the rest of the book. I tend to like YA better at this point in my life when I listen to them on audiobook, because otherwise they tend to read a little too young for me.

This is a cute summer romance, featuring a shy girl who's ready to branch out and reinvent herself while dealing with her former friend-turned-nemesis. I also loved the way magic was incorporated into everyday life, with cleaning tricks and magically fixing tires. Can I have some of those for my house please?

I understood where Ellie was coming from in being upset with Jack. He blew her off and pretended like they were never friends and that would hurt. However, it was clear Jack was trying and her refusal to even listen to what he had to say or being stubborn to the point of endangering herself was frustrating. Ellie was kind of immature, but she's also sixteen so I guess maybe she's a typical teen?

I definitely had fun reading this and Cam and Remy are adorable. Maybe a follow up about them in a few years?

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the copy

This super adorable YA romance was the perfect palate cleanser after a string of more serious/darker themed books. I couldn't help smiling while reading it. I could definitely relate with Ellie and was rooting for her and Jack throughout.

I enjoyed the addition of the magic element and thought the book did a good job with the world development and whole magic system. It definitely added a little something extra to the book and made it more than just your typical romcom.

Also, this book had so many yummy treats throughout that definitely had my mouth watering!

A whimsical and unique YA adventure filled with a hint of magic and a pinch of angst. This one really grew on me with each chapter, taking the reader on a journey of reclaimed friendship and young love. A cutesy romance that puts a different spin on magic use, where Ellie and Jack make powders and charms infused with emotions as they go on a trip to a magical convention. This was a fun reading experience filled with all the ups and downs that come with teenage life.

Ellie and Jack used to be close, but after the death of Jack’s mom things slowly started to unravel. So when Ellie accidentally outs her magical powers to her best friend, Ellie is forced to go on a road trip with her former friend Jack and sell a few magical items along the way.

This is a sweet high school romance that’s age appropriate for younger teenagers. There’s an emphasis on friendship and family with glimpses of a magical world only Ellie and the “magic aware“ can see. An enchanting and innocent best friends to lovers story that will suck you in with its soft brushes with magic and its enchanting world of spells and charms.

Wonderfully sweet and heartfelt. Julie Abe has such a gift for evoking the tastes and smells of delicious foods, I was seriously hungry the entire time I read this book, I want to try everything from Ellie’s family’s bakery! Also touching was how friendship and trust was at the heart of this story, Ellie is such a sweet protagonist and the way she cares about her friends and her family is so heartwarming. This was a delightful read and a wonderful contemporary fantasy to lose myself in, and as always, I love to see other Japanese Americans in books!

4.5 stars, rounded up.
The Charmed List is an absolutely delightful YA with a magical twist. I felt like this was spot on for the age range and I adored it. A little bit of enemies, a road trip, lots of emotion, and some seriously neat magic woven throughout make this such a cute, fun story! I especially loved the themes of friendship, self acceptance, and forgiveness that Ellie, Jack, and Lia all work through to get to a happily ever after.

*some language; no f-words

Thank you to NetGalley for my e-arc of this book. All opinions here are my own.

This was such a quick & fun contemporary topped off with the whimsy of magic and young love. The romance was super cute and the relationships between the characters was really enjoyable to read about and experience.

I loved this little friends to enemies to friends to enemies to lovers clean romance. It was sweet, and had a hint of magick, which I love.

Plus, I want to stay in a magical cottage, so damn bad. This was wonderful.

adorable and heartwarming! loved the character development and how the two grew closer as the book went on.