This charming gem of a novel creates such a magical world, that I want to just curl up and enjoy it with some matcha tea and some macarons (both are featured delightfully in this story!). In this world, there are magic users and magically aware friends and family, but the magic is unique. It's little magic as opposed to world changing, people saving big magic. Got a flat tire? There's a magical patch that will fix the tire for up to a week. Dropped your phone and have a cracked screen? There's a little packet of magic to fix it. Feeling a little uneasy and anxious about a class presentation? No worries - eat a magically infused confidence cookie or drink a confidence laced beverage. The magic was little, but beautifully creative throughout the entire novel.

Main Premise: Ellie needs a change. In order to get out of her routine and shell - she creates an Anti-Wallflower bucket list for the summer which she hopes to fulfill with her bestie Lia at her side. But things aren't going as planned on her list and she has a few set backs. When her revenge on Jack goes completely awry, Ellie is forced to atone for her mistakes and road trip with Jack to the magical convention and not Lia. Will Ellie be able to complete her list without her bestie at her side? Will she be able to survive a road trip with her ex-best friend turned into a aloof stranger? Read on to find out!

What I loved most:
All the little ways magic is presented and used in this novel - it's super creative and whimsical
All the teas and magical baked goods - they sound amazing!
The escape room!!! If this could ever be a thing - it would rock. Such an amazing idea!!!
The magical cottage - I want one or I want to live in one...
The writing style is cutesy without being obnoxious

This was a sweet, magical YA romance book.

Ellie and Jack are former childhood best friends who are now enemies. Ellie is preparing for her summer and makes a list of items that she wants to accomplish so she is no longer a wallflower. As Ellie and Jack have to take a roadtrip to deliver items for their parents’ business, the two reconnect and bond.

I listened to this as an audiobook and it was a nice listen- was cosy and comforting with likeable characters. I did think that the main characters were somewhat frustrating as it took a long time for the reasons for their ruined friendship to become clear, but I thought that in keeping with the characters personalities.

Overall, a good book and worth a read/listen for fans of contemporary romance or fans of books about charms/magic.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance audiobook of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I think this was the very first audiobook I ever chose based on the narrator—I recently listened to a book by Natalie Naudus for the first time, and it really made an impression. I shall definitely be keeping an eye (or ear) out for more!

The Charmed List is the story of Ellie Kobata, a “magic aware” teenager—going in to senior year, she decides it’s time for her to come out of her shell, and she comes up with an Anti-Wallflower List, 13 items that she plans to start working on during a road trip with her best friend Lia. Unfortunately, while playing a prank on her childhood best friend turned nemesis, her neighbor Jack, she inadvertently breaks one of the biggest rules of her life—she allows a non-magical person to witness magic.

What follows nearly destroys her friendship with Lia, and forces her together with Jack for punishment, as he replaces Lia on their long-anticipated road trip. Jack is also “magic aware”—Lia was not. Will Ellie still be able to complete her list? Will her childhood relationship with Jack be renewed—or turn into something else? Will Lia ever speak to her again?

It took me a little while to get into the story—the magic is very different from magic in other recent magical stories—but as I got to know the characters, I got hooked!

And did I mention the fabulous narrator?

This is a great book. I like how the characters overcome their challenges and learn to work together to make great things happen. You learn not all things are as they seem. This is a must read book!!!

Well, this book was adorable! It was such a sweet family romance but it was the magic that just added that sparkling touch. I feel like I need more books in this world. I also really enjoyed the audiobook narrator.

I think that people who like contemporary romance books will probably like this. I often read fantasy romance books and sometimes read contemporary romance books, and while this book is a contemporary romance and an urban fantasy romance story at the same time, I felt that it focused a lot more on the contemporary romance elements and hardly had any fantasy elements. And it felt a lot more like a contemporary romance with some added light paranormal elements than an urban fantasy romance.

Also, I think that people who like A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses # 2) might like this. There was a long part of this book that, at least to me, had a similar feeling to part 2 of ACOMAF. That might be a bit of a stretch though, because ACOMAF is a high fantasy romance novel.

What I liked:

- the characters
- some of the romance parts
- some of the friendship parts
- the magic charms
- the charmed items
- the places with magic
- the main character’s anti-wallflower list
- the great narration

What I didn’t like:

- the misunderstandings between the main character and the love interest that went on way longer than I would’ve liked
- I found most of the book boring, not because of the book being bad, but because it just wasn’t exactly my cup of tea

A light hearted romance complete with magical charm! This was definitely an extreme slow burn enemies to lovers second chance story that can be read by a younger audience. Chemistry level is almost nil so if you’re looking for steam factor, this isn’t it for you. But if you’re wanting a fun story on young love, pick this up.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio version of this book. I enjoyed this fun playful clean romance book! It was nice to read a book that had magic sprinked in it! The author did an amazing job at incorporating the non magic world into the magic world. How the best friend finds out her best freind is actually a magic person.. then the one falls in love with her childhood friend. this was a fun read.

This was a really cute book. I predict it will be a big hit with YA readers. The magic, the adventure. What a fun book!
The narrator was incredible. She seamlessly went from character to character and you'd never notice.

A YA version of the Ex Hex!! I saw reviews that compare this to Sabrina the Teenage Witch and I truly love that comparison! This book was so fun and light hearted, it added in a magical element without being confusing or overwhelming and the magic never took away from the plot. This was such an easy listen for me and as someone who prefers clean romance I loved that it was written with a YA audience in mind. The two main characters were so fun and had the perfect amount of angst towards each other. Overall a lighthearted cute YA read that I wish I saved for October.

This review was posted to my goodreads, Barnes & Noble, and will be shared to my instagram (@busywithmybooks_) within the week. Thank you for letting me listen to this great book! :)

I loved this book, it was a fun entertaining YA book and it may be labeled as fantasy and I am terrible with labeling things so i may be wrong but it read almost like magical realism to me and I love that. It did have a bit of shock factor with the way the parental death was mentioned, it was quite horrific and was like an oh oh my lord that was intense, so heads up on that one.

I really, really enjoy the way that the magic system connected with the real world/how it drew similarities from real life... Don't get me wrong there is a bunch of fun playing around with magic and fun things of that nature but how it is worked into the story made it feel like maybe it could be 'real'; think like wizards of waverly place vibes almost, where it could just be a fun show without the magic but because it is laced into everything a little bit it gets that much more interesting and you have the 'needing to hide it from non magic aware' bit too....now that i am writing this I realize it has strong wizards of waverly place vibes and that is probably why I love this so much. A good example of how the magic system drew similarities with reality was 'mag-azon' - Amazon for magic, it made the magical world in this book feel more like it is actually just a normal ya contemporary romance and oh yeah magic exists.

I liked the characters, don't get me wrong they annoyed me at times but this is a ya book so i don't expect them to be making all the best most logical choices... The friendship between her and her best friend was very well done in my opinion because the situation would be quite complicated and I feel like it was pretty realistically handled. Ultimately this was super fun and especially after writing this review and realizing how much nostalgia this gave me I can 100% see myself re-listening to this from time to time for a cozy comfort read.

also as per usual Natalie Naudus did an amazing job and brought this book to life fantastically, I love what Natalie adds to the story with voices, inflection and little added effects with her voice. no complaints as per usual

Friends to enemies evolves into enemies to lovers, with a road trip and magic?
Yup, I'm in!
I really enjoyed this one.
There is a lot of funny bits, and some wonderful magical stops on this road trip.
The characters are well developed and the slow(ish) reveal on the past they are avoiding is lovely.
Much love to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for my DRC.

This was fun and cute. A lighthearted enemies to lovers, road trip, magical romance. Exactly what I was looking for! I want to visit a magical house now

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?

**I was able to also listen to the audio of this book and it was just as cute second time around!

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

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 Macmillan Audio for this charming novel for review!

I rate this 3.5 stars out of 5.
This was such a nice and quick in between books. I needed something refreshing that just made me feel good.
The story revolves around Ellie and Jack. They used to be best friends growing up until high school, then they went their separate ways and thanks to a involuntary road trip they ended up having to spend time together again.
It was a very soft and meaningful story to follow, it touches deep issues in a easy to read way.

I do love a good YA romance and this cover definitely peaked my interest! This book was so cute and Charming!

What if there was a magical community that existed that no one knew about ....well Ellie is part of that community and she has to keep it a secret even from her best friend Lia. Ellie is ready for change and wants to go from a wallflower someone that is more out there, so she develops an Anti-Wallflower list. She had a list of 13 things to check off that list, but when something goes awry, it happens while roadtripping with Jack, a childhood friend that had snubbed her. This YA novel is charming with messages about family, love and friendship intermixed with a magical theme.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners for allowing me to listen to the audiobook ARC

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.

The Charmed List by Julie Abe
4/5 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

•••Spoiler free review below•••

I absolutely loved this magical ya romance read filled with second chances, witty banter, and a list of items our main character is determined to finish by the end of her summer.

We follow Jack and Ellie, former best friends who are forced onto a summer road trip by their parents. The two used to be inseparable but now, the worst thing Ellie can imagine is being stuck in her car with Jack. Not wanting Jack's presence to ruin her summer plans and her checklist of thirteen items she wants to accomplish, she does her best to complete the list by herself. But...it's not her fault if Jack insists on helping...

The Charmed List was released July 5th, and if it's not already on your tbr, it should be!
.
.
.
Special thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for sharing an arc with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was a fun, refreshing read that I didn't know I needed. I found the characters very likable and relatable.

A sweet redemption/coming of age story between old friends but with a magical elements. These are subtle magical elements, not wizardry or sorcery.

A feel good, happy ending story that will entertain you and make you smile.