So… somehow I missed that this book had magic in it? I went back and read the cover copy, and it does talk about there being charms and a “secret magical world”, but I guess I assumed that was metaphorical? Whoops on my part.

It isn’t a bad thing for THE CHARMED LIST to have magic. I just wasn’t expecting that when I started reading, so I felt thrown for a chapter or two. Once I understood the magic system and how it worked, I connected with the story more.

I enjoyed the fact that their families have sort of rival businesses or roles in the community. And the setup of Ellie and Jack being forced to go on the road trip together was great. I loved that.

One of the things that kind of bugged me was the history between Ellie and Jack and even her feelings about him. It felt like she made some pretty harsh judgments about him at a time when he was deeply grieving. I kind of wished they talked more specifically about that and that Ellie had more opportunity to own that perhaps she made some mistakes, too. There’s a little bit of that.

The whole premise is that she and Jack had a big falling out that she’s still nursing hurt feelings over, and I could understand her feeling hurt over what happened. What was hard to understand was that she never considered that he’d just lost his mom, whom they were both close to. I guess I felt like Ellie sometimes came across as shallow and selfish.

That aside, I enjoyed the story’s awkward flirty moments, secret magical towns, and lots of the side characters in the book. Ellie’s sister and Jack’s brother are probably my favorites, but I really liked Ellie’s best friend, too.

All in all, this was a fun summertime read with a little magic sprinkled in. I think readers who enjoy books by Sandhya Menon will enjoy THE CHARMED LIST.

Falling in love is magical. This is a classic case of a young woman trying to find herself. It doesn't help that Jack turned her back on her. He's the only one that can understand her, right?

But forced proximity will force Ellie and Jack to face it all. And that is the part that is magical! I love this troupe and I loved watching Ellie grow!

Loved this quick and easy to read magical friendship to romance story. I enjoyed the author's use of charms to save and use magic as well as the "hate to care about you" banter between Ellie and Jack. There were so many dynamics to this story. I enjoyed every one.

This was a cute read. It was definitely giving Disney channel movie vibes. If you want a light, easy read this one is for you.

A story about friends to enemies to friends to lovers who also get a second chance. A prank gone wrong make it’s so a dream road trip between friends turns into a nightmare road trip with an enemy. But are they really enemies, only time will tell. I found this to be a fun quick read.

I love the idea of magic and love books that talk about magic. I normally really enjoy YA books but this one felt a tad too young for me. I tried to love it but I felt like it was a miss for me.

A lot of my issues with this one is that it felt a bit one-sided. Sometimes, that can work to a book's advantage, but in this ones case, it did not because it felt more like teenage angst to an extra degree than anything. That being said, it does offer the why behind the bitterness in a way that keeps you wanting more.

The Charmed List by Julie Abe is a sweet YA friends-to-enemies-to-maybe-more road trip book with a little magic mixed in.

Ellie is determined this will be the summer she stops being a wallflower (her words, not mine). She has a list of items she’s sure will change things including falling in love and a first kiss, not necessarily in that order, and she’s excited about a planned road trip with her best friend, Lia, to a convention to showcase her family’s tea. Lia doesn’t know that Ellie and her family are part of a magical world, and Ellie isn’t allowed to tell her. Before they leave, they tackle an item on Ellie’s list. Get back at Jack, her ex-best friend, neighbor, and fellow purveyor of magic who stopped talking to her years ago for reasons Ellie still doesn’t understand. Unfortunately the prank goes awry when Jack uses magic to stop it, and Lia sees. She’s furious Ellie kept that world from her, and now Ellie and Jack are in danger of losing their own magic because of the breech. Part of Ellie and Jack’s punishment is that Jack will replace Lia on the road trip. One guess what happens next.

I enjoyed this book. I always like a road trip book, the magic was fun, and I zipped through it pretty quickly once I started. Ellie was not my all-time favorite main character. I found her confusion over what happened between her and Jack to be a little dense and some of her motivations for things didn’t make any sense to me. I say that knowing she’s a teen and the book was written for a YA audience, so maybe that won’t be a problem for other readers, but for a character who was written as pretty likeable and considerate, she seemed strangely clueless and unempathetic about a lot of things. Still, I was happy when the characters got their happy ending and I’m glad I read it.

If you’re looking for a light, fun YA romance with magical elements this is a great pick. Thank you so much to @WednesdayBooks and @netgalley for a copy of this one.

If you could have a magic potion to give you more of an attribute—confidence, strength, space (they use one in the book to fit more in the car)—what would you want?

The magical elements of this story were initially unclear to me. It took quite a while for me to become (mostly?) sure that the novel takes place in a world where a portion of the population is "magic aware". Unfortunately, I must also add that the writing did not strike me as exceptional, although I did love the depiction of the younger siblings of the main pair of characters. Story did not grab me enough to finish, but I imagine there will definitely be an audience to recommend it to, as there are always readers out there for a good friends-to enemies-to lovers arc.

I absolutely loved this young adult contemporary romance! Even though the main characters are in high school, I really enjoyed the romance. It's so sweet! And, the family rivalry is absolutely bewitching. I can't wait to read another novel by Julie Abe. Julie's writing is so good!

On a roadtrip to save Lia, a non-magical friend, frenemies are forced to work together and in turn the they work on the anti-wallflower list sort of together.

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this charming novel for review!

The premise of this book is good, but it didn't feel complete. The relationship between Ellie and Jack felt better developed in the backstory than in the present. Also, the book is advertised as a road trip romance the road trip felt like an afterthought. I did enjoy the book, but I would have liked another fifty pages of development.

Julie Abe's The Charmed List is a cute, frothy YA rom-com for the first 75% (which I enjoyed) but what was really great about it was the last 25%. Her emotional prose concerning the grief and trauma of the hero/LI, Jack, and the blooming of deeply insecure Ellie is quite touching. I wish there was a little less repetition in Ellie's inner dialogue sets throughout the book, but overall this was a cute read and if the reader can hang in there the end is quite lovely. There incorporation of charms and spells is quite cute as well.
Thank you Wednesday Books & Netgalley for the sweet read!

This was a really cute read. I loved the magic in it. I especially loved that the main character had a bucket list of things she wanted to do so she can come out of her comfort zone. How many of us would love to do something like that. Add in an enemies to lovers trope and what we have here is a fantastic summer read! Bucket list - check. Shy main character - check. Magic - Check. Enemies to lovers - check. road trip - check. Great read especially for summer time!

This was a really sweet, best-friends-to-enemies-to-lovers book with magical realism included. Im a sucker for this type of book (cupcakes that give you courage?!, yes please)
This also includes one of my fav tropes--forced proximity.
All in all, a really sweet first love story that Id recommend to anyone 14+

An adorable friends to lovers rom-com brimming with paranormal elements. Fans of the forced proximity trope will love it. It reminds me of a YA version of the Fix-It Witches series. If you are looking for a quick-paced, YA, paranormal rom-com, this is for you!

Thanks to the Author, Publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC.

This was a cute story for young adults. There is a magic component but it's kind of a small part of the story. Honestly, I think this would be better without the magic or if the magic was a bigger part of the atmosphere and overall feeling of the novel. I liked the Japanese American references and always love a mixed-race character, but the magic didn't add much to the story and actually took away from my enjoyment of this book.

3.5

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for providing me with a digital arc of this book.

The Charmed List is a cute, YA romance whereby we follow Ellie who, along with others, is able to see a secret magical world that operates alongside the non-magic world. When [redacted] happens, Ellie finds herself on a road trip with her nemesis, and ex-childhood best friend Jack, rather than her now-best friend Lia. To spice things up, Ellie (a social wallflower) created her anti-wallflower list to complete with Lia during their trip.

Jack and Ellie need to survive a road trip down the Californian coast to get to a Magical Convention and meet their parents. Along the way they'll make deliveries for their parents, find magical cottages, and Ellie will question everything she thinks she knows about Jack.

Objectively, I liked this book. I devoured it in 2 hours, and it had me smiling at my Kindle multiple times. However, it wasn't anything I would personally write home about. The magic system was extremely interesting, and I loved seeing how it integrated with the non-magic world. I liked Ellie and Jack, the conflict between Ellie and Lia didn't really hit home for me, but I appreciated that the book explored familial loss, grief, and moving on. There were definitely hidden meanings about miscommunication, the meaning of family, and being there for your loved ones. The miscommunication grated on me a little, but I reminded myself that the characters were Juniors (16/17?? my non-American arse is playing mathematical gymnastics right now, but you get the gist) so I was able to move past it.

If you enjoy middle level YA romances, I would definitely recommend this book. It was light and fluffy and the exact distraction I needed. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in YA romance or magical realism.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

A YA book where there is magic, but it is subtle real-world magic, it all takes place in places I know and grew up in, and there is a ton of diversity in characters? Yes, thank you, I will read this book now! This book is a great summer friends to enemies to lovers read, it is not overly long/drawn out, and incredibly realistic for a book that has fantastical elements. Or are they really so fantastical? I will happily read this book again when I need something on the lighter side but still want to be drawn in to a complex story. I will note, that there is quite a bit of discussion related to parental death, and so if that is something that can upset you, be aware of that. It is important to the plot, but I think it was handled in a really great way. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading other things Julie Abe writes!

This was a cute and quick read but still blended in some nice themes along the way. I appreciated the growth shown by the characters through the book and thought the magical pieces were sprinkled in perfectly. Thank you to Julie Abe and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was really excited to pick up The Charmed List, but this book ended up not really hooking me like I hoped. I felt like the characters were a bit flat and one note. The writing seemed aimed for a younger audience that typical YA, so I think middle grade readers might enjoy this more.