Hex Appeal was a fun, whimsically witchy and entertaining read that serves up cosy, autumnal Encanto meets Hocus Pocus vibes that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Essie Winterscale lives in a huge, ever changing magic house in the village of Good Winter. A house who’s inhabitants are as magical and eccentric as their constantly shifting home.

Every year it’s Essie’s job to bring in the winter, so that the village can have a white Christmas. And though she may not be the strongest of witches, snow is where she thrives. Unfortunately her love life isn’t nearly as uncomplicated—with the house caught up in a perception spell all of Essie boyfriends’s (and everyone in the village) tends to forget Beldam House and it’s inhabitants exist, that is until Josh (the new landlord) moves to town…

After things didn’t work out in his native Seattle, Josh Henderson had relocated to Essex after inheriting a home from his extremely wealthy late father. But things definitely aren’t going to plan. Despite finding out her owns half the village, most of his properties are caught up in tenancy contracts that leave Josh with no income. The only real property of value is Beldam House who owe thousands in back rent. The only problem is no one seems to have heard of it, nor can he find it—until he stumbles into Essie, that is…

This was such an enjoyably quirky read that really brought the cosy & chaotic, Autumn/ spooky season vibes that definitely lived up to my witchy rom-com loving expectations.

I really loved the expansive cast of witchy characters and all the magical mishaps that unfold in the magic mood controlled house they all call home. I really liked resident ghost and former witch Prudence whose random appearances at the most inconvenient times were genuinely entertaining. Blessing and Avery were super fun and I’d love to see more of them both in a sequel.

I loved that the setting was a rural British village and definitely served as a bit of a palate cleanser to all the small town, US based witchy books I’ve been reading lately. The history aspect was really interesting and, given the house’s magic (and Essie’s mum, Lilith’s abilities) I do hope Johnson utilises both in future books.

I absolutely loved the romance between Essie and Josh-their flirty banter was top tier and I loved every scene they shared.

I can’t say much else without spoiling any of the plot but I have to say it was definitely a wildly entertaining experience.

Overall, a witty, magical and utterly compelling rom-com that fans of The Ex Hex or Payback’s A Witch should definitely check out.

And a huge thank you to HarperCollins/One More Chapter and Netgalley for the arc.

This time of year I start to crave a witchy book. This one had it all - time travel, magic spells, quirky witches, a creepy yet cool witch house that no one can remember visiting, and even some romance!

Josh leaves his life in the USA where he has been working his life away as an attorney after he finds he has inherited a house in Good Winter, an odd English village. He begins going over the books and realizes he owns a few houses and rent should have been paid on them, but some it hasn't. There's on house that hasn't appeared to have paid rent for years. Hundreds of years?! This stumps him and he decides to go investigate. After several attempts trying unsuccessfully to find the house, he quite by accident ends up at Bedlam House where he encounters a very quirky, ever changing house filled with magic and some interesting witchy women!

Beldam House is hidden from those who don't seek or need it, and it's inhabitants are an interesting bunch! We meet Essie, who can summon winter and freeze someone with her touch; Maude, who can knit the future; Avery, who is gender fluid and can glamour; and Blessing, the local midwife. And later Lileth, Essies mother who is definitely not a happy witch!

Josh's sister arrives, very pregnant (to his surprise) and she was another interesting character and I loved their relationship.

From the moment Josh and Essie meet, you feel the sparks. But we know their magical path to romance is going to have some bumps. As well as some time travel, meddling mothers, devils, spells, and the birth of a baby!

This book was fun and magical and is the perfect book to grab your favorite hot beverage and curl up under a blanket on a cool fall day to read!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK/One More Chapter for my advance ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Hocus Pocus meets Practical Magic.

Are you ready for fall? For Halloween? For all things witches and brews and monsters? This book was a ton of fun. I couldn’t put it down. Beldam House with it’s glass parrots flying amok, plants seductively flirting and staircases appearing when needed was the icing on top.

Josh Henderson recently inherited a home in Essex when his wealthy father passed away. Life hasn’t gone as planned in Seattle, WA so why not pick up and relocate? What he actually inherited however was half the town of Good Winter and seemed to be owed *a lot* of back rent. Especially from a “Beldam House” which no one in the town seems to know anything about.

Essie Winterscale brings the winter, every year, so that the town of Good Winter can have a white Christmas. She’s not a particularly strong witch but she can sure bring that snow! And aside from Blessing, Avery, Maude and Prudence everyone sort of forgets her in the town, because of the excellent perception spell. Except when Josh Henderson starts digging around …

This book is a delight. Josh and Essie fight, flirt and, frolic (man I’m getting good at these). But to say I was blind sighted a little by the plot is an understatement. In the best way! No spoilers here, but Josh and Essie sort of need to save the world.

The Hex Appeal by Kate Johnson

Thank you, @netgalley , for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Essie Winterscale lives in a big, magical house in Good Winter. She lives amongst many witches of different ages and different powers. She has always yearned for a normal life, but also hasn’t been able to completely walk away from being a witch. Then, her landlord, Josh, comes along, and discovers she hasn’t paid rent on the house since the 1700’s.

This book made me laugh, and was very quirky. I loved all of the witches and their silly powers, and felt it was a good read to kick off Fall! I did feel that the book moved a little slow, but I enjoyed it over all!

This book was cute for spooky season but overall it was a bit cheesey for my liking. If you like reading books for the season I’d recommend this one.

Part mystery, part paranormal romance, all fun.

Essie Winterscale is part of a quirky household full of witches all living in an ever-changing house in Essex. Josh, the new landlord of Beldam House, discovers they haven't paid rent since the 1700s. When he goes to talk to them, he ends up drawn into all the chaos and a spell that's spanned generations...

This book definitely had the witchy vibes I was hoping for. Essie and her friends/family all have special talents and a deep shared history that results in them treating very not normal things as being normal (I guess they are for them). Their emotions also lead to some funny issues that arise. They're very much there for each though, which I really appreciated reading about. Josh just kind of gets pulled into the mayhem and has to figure it out as he goes. The mystery they all have to deal with definitely added another dimension to this book and made it hard to put down.

Overall, I would recommend this book if you enjoy fun, quirky, witchy romances. It falls in the same vein as some of the other stories that have come out over the last few years, which is great because they're fun to read, but also makes it hard for this particular book to stick out for me as much as it might have otherwise. It fit right into my fall reads this year though! I would love to see the other members of the Beldham House family get their own stories.

Trigger warnings: reference to rape, loss of a loved one

I enjoyed this paranormal romance mystery. There is ac5tion, mystery, action, distrust, memory loss, and more. Beldam House is rented out by Josh and it seems no rent has been paid fopr a very long time. The house and story reminded me of a cross between Harry Potters Hogwarts and Rincewinds luggage as both have minds of their own. The witches have a strong feel of Terry Pratchetts Granny Weatherwax and I was delighted by the whole feel of this book.

This book was British autumn vibes (it rained a lot) meets strangers to friends to lovers

I really liked this book, the plot was good and I liked how throughout there were a couple of twists and turns which I didn’t see coming and the characters were loveable, especially Josh and Essie

Plus the conservatory scene was a nice surprise

However, to begin with it felt quite confusing because there were quite a lot of different characters to remember the names of and there was also a few different setting to try and imagine, and I think because we were introduced to it all it quick success I found it hard to keep up with what everything looked like and who everyone was - it did get better as i read, it just took some time

Also I feel like we should have been introduced to Essie’s job of sitting with people when they are dying earlier on, because at the beginning they said she only had something to do on one day of the year (bringing in winter) and then at about 1/3 of the way in are suddenly introduced to her sitting with people on their last days

I had really hoped to love this book more than I did. The book feels like it is actually a few stories that are stitched together carelessly. I was lost throughout the entire novel. There were parts that I think were supposed to be funny but they were forced and ill-timed. The POV was not a good fit and the characters felt overdone.

I'd suggest looking elsewhere for the spooky season romance this year.

The best description of this book would be “every witch trope you ever liked from every movie, book and TV show ever made, all mixed into one story.” Now this has its good and bad points. I really liked the cozy to chaotic feel. We love a spooky/witchy romance because these tropes are fun. Kookie characters, anthropomorphized houses, spells gone awry...all this is a fall read home run. However, the chaotic aspect quickly overtakes the narrative. I just didn't feel connected to any of the characters and so much emphasis was placed on hitting every high point of peak witchiness that sometimes the plot and romance got lost in the weeds. As a result, the chemistry was low, and many plot points felt convenient instead of clever. Now, for a fun fall read it was a nice way to spend an afternoon, but the book runs pretty close to that line between “quirky” and “exasperating” so reader beware.

The cute cover and the promise of Encanto meets Hocus Pocus, along with the synopsis drew me in and I couldn't wait to immediately start reading this.

But it fell flat for me unfortunately. I just didn't really engage with it. I did like the quirky characters and the house which gives people what they need but i didn't really feel the chemistry between the characters, romantic or otherwise.

I enjoyed reading about the family histories though and how they connected and became part of the present day.

3/5⭐

Thank you to Netgalley, One More Chapter and the author for the review copy, provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

First and foremost, thank you to NetGalley, the Publisher, and the Author for the opportunity to read early in exchange for an honest review.

The promise of Encanto meets Hocus Pocus had requesting this title immediately! And I do believe that Hex Appeal had a flavor of both. First what I liked!
-Cast of characters. Very lovable and quirky side characters and creatures!
-Setting. I think Europe just seems better and a small British Village with deep history and Witchcraft is amazing.
-Essie! The FMC is a badass, take no BS, knows herself woman which is absolutely refreshing.

What I didn’t like:
-Pacing. The book did not flow well for me, I had a hard time staying engaged.
-Romance. This is why the book lost a few stars for me, it’s a romance novel, and I never got any butterflies, which is my indication that I’m emotionally involved in the story, and for whatever reason, this novel did not have me falling in love.

Overall I enjoyed Hex Appeal, it’s a fun quick read with some magic, time travel, and romance (maybe you’ll feel differently).

Such a cute, quirky, amusing, light hearted novel

I loved reading this one. It made me laugh out loud a points. I loved the storyline, the magic, and the romance.

It is just a fun read! Recommend

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me a copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

3.5 Stars
Hex Appeal by Kate Johnson was the perfect witchy romantic comedy as we approach October.
For the people who hate horror and thrillers but still get excited at the thought of witches and monsters then this is perfection.
Essie lives in Bedam House, an ever-changing home that supports the witches, ghosts and animals. Her speciality is ice and it becomes obvious that Essie's skills are only needed once a year for a winter ritual to bring about the cold weather.
Josh Henderson moves into his great-aunt's home after she passes due to quickly leaving Seattle after a trauma back home.
Essie mistakes Josh for the window fixer and a hilarious tour through the supernatural house confuses him to the highest extent but as readers, we soon learn that finding Bedam House is extremely difficult and as soon as a guest leaves, their memory of the house fades.
Avery, Prudence, Blessing and Siena make fantastic side characters. I love that Avery's gender identity shifted with their magic and the author discussed this fantastically.
It's stated that Josh's ancestors were witchfinders but this is discussed but not explored entirely. I think the trope of forbidden romance or opposites attract would have heightened their chemistry but it appears Josh had some magic. I think a bigger difference between Essie and Josh would have made the romance even more enjoyable.
I think the description sums up the book perfectly: Hocus Pocus meets Encanto which makes an entirely enjoyable rom-com perfect for the lead-up to Halloween.

I made it halfway through the book before deciding it just wasn’t for me. While the general idea of the story sounded good, the writing was disjointed and disappointing. I felt like we got a lot of descriptions on some things while others were totally skipped over, and weird ill-timed romantic comments that just didn’t work for me. I’m sure others will enjoy this book though because it does have some good witchy vibes, perfect for the upcoming holidays.

I tried, I really did. I struggled to connect to these characters. Josh and Essie had some good flirty banter, enemies to lovers style but I never felt a true connection to them or the quirky side characters even though they were hilarious. Part of that could be because it’s written in third person. I finished the book and while it wasn’t one that griped me from the start it did have quite the magical world built in. It may not be one I grab for a reread any time soon it was a fun break from reality for a few.
This was a complimentary advanced reader ecopy provided by the author/publisher in exchange for a honest review via Netgalley.

Josh has ancestors were witch hunters.Essie is a witch, living with a coven in a house invisible to the outside world. They shouldn’t really have met at all, let alone felt that spark between them. There a million different obstacles in their way, including amnesia and family secrets. Can they overcome their shared history?

I have read a stack of witchy reads recently and I was looking forward to starting Hex Appeal. It started off well enough and I enjoyed the quirky house Essie lived in, but where it was supposed to be funny, it just felt a bit silly - case in point that greenhouse that makes you horny. Though I did laugh at the mimicking parrots who sqwark “f*^%%king men!”. I did skip ahead and I didn’t feel like I had missed a great deal. I did think the chapter at the end explaining that point in history was a good addition.
I can’t say I would recommend it because there are other, much better books for you to read in spooky season.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

The synopsis to Hex Appeal sounded like a fun, wholesome, witchy read for this time of the year, so I eagerly signed up to read it.

However, the author's attempts at writing something whimsy and delightfully nonsensical fell over the border into pretentiously ridiculous, and I found myself skimming from an early stage in the book as it wasn't enjoyable at all. I would have DNF'd this if it wasn't an eARC copy.

The characters and the happenings within this book were chaotic at best, and whilst I attempted to see the charms and whimsy flair of Beldam House, I simply found myself exasperated by how nonsensical and implausible it felt to read. Many of the conflicts in this book rose from miscommunication or hasty assumptions and were often resolved with far too much convenience - such as how Essie's gift hurt others in the past and how Josh conveniently had the ability to counteract it. It didn't make me want to root for the characters or follow deeply along with their journey.

A shame, as I really was looking forward to this book.

American Josh travels to Good Winter, Essex to take care of a house left to him after his father and grandmother passed away. What he finds there is a witch- Essie- who is living in a house, which he owns, that hasn’t been paid for in hundreds of years and has an enchantment to make people forget it once they leave. Essie is a winter witch whose job is to welcome winter ever year. When Josh doesn’t seem to fully forget Essie or Bedlam house after he leaves and premonitions start foretelling disaster, Essie has to figure out what is going on and realizes the secrets that have been kept from her for her entire life.

Wow wow wow!!! this book had everything a fan of spooky season and/or witchy reads could possibly want. There is a love story, awesome magic, real calamity that lasts hundreds of years, time travel, a baby, home renovation, ghosts, Witchfinders, houses owing billions of dollars in back rent, LGBTQIA+ representation, etc. Truly, it is amazing. One would think with all of these aspects some would be done better than others- let me tell you, that is not the case. This book was expertly written. I cannot imagine how long it took to plan, write, and edit such a complete, comprehensive, and cohesive witchy rom-com. I am so glad this book comes out soon because I cannot wait for others to read it. I think it is everything one could want and the perfect spooky season read for all- from people who like cozy familiar witchy reads to people who are in it for the dark vibes. Seriously, I am so pleased with this story. I want more. I want a show/movie so I can see Bedlam house. I want to learn about the other characters. I completely lost myself in the story and did not want to find my way out.

Thank you to @netgalley and One More Chapter for the advance copy of this book. As soon as I read the description “Encanto meets Hocus Pocus” I knew this was a novel I had to check out.

Essie is a winter witch who lives with her found family (coven) of other witches in a rambling magical house full of surprises because it is constantly changing. Her usual winter ritual is thrown off course when newcomer Josh and his sister come to town.

I loved this fresh and festive book! The characters are well developed and feel like real people, and the plot is fun and fast paced. At times it got a bit convoluted, but every time I thought it would go off course, Johnson was able to draw me back in. I absolutely recommend this to anyone looking for a great October read around Halloween. I would love for this to become a movie one day!