why was this book so boringgg, i’m so upset. the writing was so detaching, the characters have absolutely zero personality and were just bland, the plot the author has tried to flesh out was not logical and made no sense whatsoever.

around the 60% mark i was about to dnf, hadn’t it been for my own stubbornness. i was expecting a cute cozy romance, but josh and essie have no chemistry it’s almost jarring to read about.

thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

→ 2 stars

‘Move to England,’ he muttered. ‘It’ll be like Miss Marple before all the murders. They don’t tell you… about the damp, and the birds in the roof. .. This village was weird. All of England was weird.”

My thanks to HarperCollins U.K. One More Chapter for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Hex Appeal’ by Kate Johnson.

This witchy romance was a great deal of fun.

Josh Henderson moves to Britain from the USA after he inherits an estate in the picturesque Essex village of Good Winter. His inheritance includes a ramshackle house that will require a great deal of renovation and a number of tenanted properties that should provide him with rental income. The key word is ‘should’. Those that are habitable have peppercorn rents fixed in perpetuity. For one property, Beldam House, it appears that no rent has been paid since 1746! Josh is determined to take his landlord duties seriously and sort this out.

Essie Winterscale only ever wanted a normal life but she is unable to suppress her witchiness and is drawn back to the ever-changing Beldam House. She now lives there with a coven of other witches of various ages.

Then Josh turns up on their doorstep and while Essie is determined to keep him at broomstick’s length, things don’t go as planned. No further details to avoid spoilers.

I found this an engaging tale that balanced a lovely romance with fantasy, humour, and some chilling bits. Most of all it was clear that while there are fantastical elements in the tale, Kate Johnson had researched the history and practices of magic and witchcraft and more importantly is aware of how it actually works. Her Author’s Note on the burning of witches, poppets, and witch finders was very informative.

While I don’t mind silly witchy stories, I am always impressed when an author does understand the nature of the Craft and conveys it through their writing. It elevates the storytelling for me to have that foundation.

I definitely will be reading more of her writings following this positive experience.

Lord I wanted to love this witchy story but I was so bored out of my mind. The characters were super immature and I just couldn't connect with anyone at all. DNF 20%

Essie Winterscale is a witch living in an enchanted house that people find when they need it but they never remember it afterwards. Until Josh Henderson comes to town that is. He CAN remember the house and the witches that reside there - which throws a wrench in things being normal. When the winter ritual is done too early and a monster set loose Essie and Josh work together to find and bind it. But will the magic stop working and Josh forget everything, including his love he’s developed for Essie?

4.5

I enjoyed this one and it was cozy and sweet. The magic was interesting and seeing how Britain handled witchcraft in the olden days and contemporarily was cool!

This was a great October read. I love anything to do with magic and witchy characters. The characters were quirky and funny and I couldn't have enjoyed myself more during a story. I love the character building and the town that worked as the setting. The plot was fast paced and so easy to follow along

Thank you #netgalley for an early read of #hexappeal in exchange for an honest review

If I would describe this book in one word it would be meh. Everything was mostly ok and not that great, imo. It had potential but ultimately was not for me.

At first, I was enjoying it. I liked the descriptions of the Beldam House and how it constantly changed depending on the witches' moods and needs. It was Encanto vibes on crack and it was fun. I also enjoyed the witches and their different powers. But after the first quarter of the book, I didn't enjoyed it as much. There was so much going on that it felt confusing and unnecessary. Also, I still have so many questions about things that happened.

The romance was very insta-lovey where I was expecting more of an enemies-to-lovers, from what I understood of the blurb. The two characters had little chemistry and Josh constantly felt like he was more attracted to literally anyone else other than Essie. Just weird. I didn't vibe with it. Also, their conflicts were mostly because of miscommunication (which I hate) and assumptions which just felt dumb.

Several times throughout the book, Essie's body is described as possibly plus-sized but at times in a way that made me feel icky. "Essies was - he tried to think of a polite way to put it - a substantially built woman. And the stairs seemed to have no problem holding her weight." Immediately no.

Overall, I think this was just not for me and maybe if anyone else who enjoys witchy romance books with a little spice in them reads this, they might actually enjoy this.

This was cute! The characters were cute and interesting, their dynamic was adorable.
The magic didn't fully make the most sense? Maybe the rules just went over my head, but it seemed kind of willy nilly at times.
Not the most interesting at times, but ultimately a cute and fun witchy read!

Essie Winterscale and her coven haven't paid their rent for nearly 400 years, and they're perfectly fine with that. Their house happens to be owned by new-to-the-area Josh Henderson, who is eager to find it and get the money he's owed because the town of Good Winter isn't ripe with job opportunities for a down-and-out lawyer. A well-crafted spell usually keeps normal folk away from Beldham house and its inhabitants, but it doesn't seem to be working on Josh. He sees Essie and seems to like what he sees...

I enjoyed the characters and setting of this book, but had a few issues with its pace and cohesiveness. It definitely moved a little slowly for me in the beginning but picked up toward the end. I could see this becoming a series as we follow the inhabitants of Belham house.

This was a really fun read. The banter between Josh and Essie really did make me laugh and made it all more entertaining.

Such a fan of all of these new witch romances coming out, Hex Appeal is a fresh take on the subject! A perfect romcom that mixes Encanto and Hocus Pocus for a super cute, spooky romance. Loved this one by Kate Johnson!

A great fall read! Super heartwarming and heartbreaking with all of the ups/downs. There was so many unexpected twists and turns, my head was spinning. Must read for the spooky time of year!
Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review of content.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and One More Chapter for approving me for an ARC of this book, after reading and enjoying The ex Hex by Erin Sterling I was on the look out for another fun, witchy read to sink my teeth into.

This book screamed Hocus Pocus meets the Gilmore Girls! With it's close-knit coven, sarcasm and an enemies-to-lovers romance, there's plenty to keep us entertained. I loved the different witches in the coven and the powers they each possessed. From knitting the future to keeping the ice cream frozen, their powers seem to offer help with every day living but when the knitting predicts something bad it has them all on tenterhooks.

I was very interested in the history of Bedlam Hall and the witch hunter, I almost wish we'd had even more history, especially when we end up back in 1634. I could have easily stayed there a little longer and seen how Essie and Josh coped in that period. The unwinding of the family secret and its repercussions were well thought out and I liked the twists and turns along the way. Essie seems to have a very complicated history with her mother and once again I wanted to know more about the two of them, I feel there could be an entire second book on these two women!

My favourite parts were the magic, history and friendships between the women. I didn't warm to Essie and Josh as much as a couple but could appreciate the sentiment. For me, I felt that Essie was such a strong character and the added romance only complicated the story.

This was a cosy, easy read where the magic just sparkled off the pages. I'd love to see a sequel and find out what is next for Essie and the coven.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun and good October read. The book was very enjoyable.

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for a chance to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3/5 stars

The draw of an unknown prophecy has the American descendant of an ancient witch hunter uprooting his life to take care of inherited land in England. When he meets his tenants, a witch and her coven, odd events ensue while he suddenly is also left to help his pregnant sister prepare for the birth of her child (when she shows up out of nowhere). The group band together in the name of love to cast the witch hunter's spirit back to wherever he came.

I thought this story was cute, quirky and whimsical. The love story was adorable, relatable and the characters were diverse. However, I didn't like the third person pov, the slower pace at times that left you wondering where the story was going, and the weird turns. It fell flat a bit, in my opinion, which is why I gave it 3 stars. It seemed to lose its voice amongst a mountain of witchy-themed books that were released at the same time.

An enjoyable autumnal, spooky read but the twists and turns got a bit much at some points. Definitely would recommend though!

Hex Appeal is far more of a fantasy than what I typically like to read, but it is charming (pun intended), and I would definitely watch a film adaptation. The supporting characters and the overall quirkiness will be a hit with fans of the fantasy/rom-com genre.

Such a fun read!
I love the quirky atmosphere, the lovely cast of characters and the pretty detailed background for the main characters.
The house was a character in itself and it was probably my favourite One!
The romance was cute and fun.
If you liked ex hex this has the same vibe.

A lovely witchy romance with a sentient house, zany family of witches, two main characters with compelling stories/backgrounds, and time travel.
Not sure if I could ask for more.

When I chose this, I sounded up my ally.

Unfortunately this didn’t keep me interested that long, it was mediocre but just wasn’t amazing. I liked the characters, they just wasn’t my favourite

Hex Appeal was a pretty good book. I love reading about witches. So I’d say I’m a pretty good judge since I’ve read quite a few. I shared this book on my Instagram stories while I was reading it and people were asking if it connected to the Ex Hex and it is NOT! It’s just a similar but different story with the name Hex in the title.

The characters in the book were very likeable. By far the best character was the house! I’ve never really read a book that had such a charming house for an actual
Character!

All in all this a good book to read especially in October!

Posted on amazon and goodreads