What a crazy ride.

After loving Go Hex Yourself, I couldn’t wait to read What The Hex. I’ve read it and now I have a few mixed feeling about it.

I loved Penny and I loved Will but, the book felt like watching a YouTube video while scrolling the time bar. You see it happen but you don’t get the in depth experience. Or watching a movie in x5 speed. That’s the best way I can explain it.

And the problem was that the fast pace right at the stage where that start to develop feelings. It felt like one day they could barley stand each other and the next they were calling each other girlfriend and boyfriend. Which was really off putting.

Once they started dating things KINDA slowed down and they were incredibly cute together, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy them because I did! Penny is so chaotic and Will is stoic and relatively calm so they compliment each other so well. They’re chemistry and feelings for each other were so incredibly cute and wholesome.

But there’s just that part in the middle that messes everything up…

I’m a little bummed I didn’t enjoy as much as I could’ve but enjoyed it nonetheless.

3.5 stars

Penny Roundtree is a proud member of the Society of Familiars. She joined the moment she was old enough. Both of her parents are familiars, and she is even secretary of the society itself. There is no prouder member or someone as eager for work. The only problem is the slow familiar turn around rate. No one is hiring. That is- no one is hiring the legal way.

Penny’s friends come to her with an offer from warlock Willem Sauer. Willem has been banned from having a familiar due to some problems many years ago. If Penny takes the offer to apprentice under Willem she would be risking everything, but she just can’t let the chance pass her by. Too bad Penny & Willem mix like oil and water. Oh, and Willem has many enemies, and now they may be targeting Penny. Will the two be able to put their differences aside to discover who’s behind it before it’s too late?

This is the 2nd installment in this series, but it could definitely be read as a standalone. It’s also just as fun as the first book. I actually enjoyed it much more!

Our MC, Penny, is definitely quirky -which I love- but sometimes her “OMG’s” and “WTF’s” got to be a bit much. She’s also super sweet and endearing, and you just find yourself rooting for her!

With a good amount of spice, a cute pet squirrel and a fun dynamic between our two MC’s, you’re sure to enjoy this action filled grump/sunshine - enemies to lovers romance.

*Thank you to Berkley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

What the Hex is the charming and romantic second book in Jessica Clare’s Hex series. The story follows Penny and Willem, who were introduced in the first book. This pair has total grumpy-sunshine vibes, so when they end up living and working together, things don’t go smoothly.

Penny is a bubbly and happy ball of sunshine. From her clothes to her personality, she is optimistic and vibrant. A bit of an extrovert, she is the opposite of the moody, broody, and introverted Willem. Since Willem is banned from having a familiar and practicing magic, he and Penny work together secretly. And to keep up the guise that they are not doing anything magical, they pretend to be dating. A grumpy/sunshine, fake dating, romance with magic? Yes, please! lol

Penny and Willem have amazing chemistry and the best conversations. They are the perfect example of how opposites attract and work. I like how Penny and Willem become a team. Living and working together, they spend a lot of time together. They become friends, and they develop a trusting and real connection. Some of their chats are laugh-out-loud funny, especially since they are so different in age and personality. Other scenes and conversations are super romantic, especially when Willem starts to open up and become more vulnerable. His feelings for Penny are so swoon-worthy, and the fake dating aspect of their relationship ratchets up the sexual tension. Their sexy times are pretty steamy! I didn’t expect it, but I am definitely not complaining.

The story also has a unique magical world, danger and intrigue, and a bit of suspense as Penny becomes the target of an unknown antagonist. And when Willem is wrongly arrested and incarcerated, the stakes are even higher. Penny, of course, won’t stop until she clears Willem’s name. It makes for an interesting and suspenseful plot, which is balanced well with the lighter aspects of the story. The magic system is intriguing too, and Penny’s pet squirrel is adorable!

I thought this was a great read. It’s fun and funny, suspenseful and romantic, and the messages about love, friendship, and fighting for those you love are strong. Though it’s the second book in the series, you can totally read What the Hex without first reading Go Hex Yourself. That being said, I’m definitely going back to read it because the protagonists from the first book are in this book, and I need to read their love story!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Books for providing me with a copy of What the Hex. All thoughts are my own.

This was a quick, surprisingly spicy, witchy romance read. Second in series, but I read it first because ✨ARCs✨, and it can truly be read as a standalone, with the secondary characters in this story being fully explained. Penny is an aspiring witch's familiar, passing her time working in a spell fulfilment shop that is fronted by a CBD shop and being involved in the Society of Familiars meetings. With more familiars than witches available, the wait list for a position is decades, and familiars age at mortal rates until they fall under the protective bubble of their witch. Penny's friends Reggie and Ben approach her one day with a proposition to become a familiar under the table to "retired" warlock Willem Sauer. Willem, forbidden from taking on a familiar after a Y2K spell went wrong, needs the help of a familiar so he can cast spells again, particularly to protect himself against his former master who is out to get him. When they meet, Penny's sunny personality and colorful clothing offends the sensibilities of the surly, Germanic Willem. However, he soon realizes that she's a powerful familiar with a deep well of magic to tap into, and Penny discovers the thrill that casting causes her to feel, iykwim 😏 To be fair, the plot of Willem and his former master clashing took a bit of a back seat to the spicy parts in this story, but I knew going into it that this is what it was and accepted that at face value. I did not love the epilogue throwing in one of my least favorite tropes, because it is 💯 nightmare fuel. Overall this was a fun, playful read and I'll be going back to read the first in the series during Spooky Season for sure.

Thank you @berkleyromance for the advanced reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

What the Hex is book two in Jessica Clare’s Hex series was surprisingly spicy and definitely fun! Penny Roundtree, forever familiar in waiting, is impatient to match with a witch and learn how to cast spells as their apprentice. But she’s low on the list and may have to wait another 15 (or more!) years. Enter Willem Sauer: he’s a grump who is forbidden from having an apprentice for at least another decade…but what if Penny works with him on the sly? Their personalities definitely clash - but maybe they are just what the other needed. Add in a bit of mystery, a pet squirrel named Pipstachio, and some scorching scenes, and this book is sure to be on the top of my list of favorites this month. I really enjoyed this one; it was hard to put down!

Penny and Willem are just like any other familiar and witch duo- except Willem is forbidden from taking a familiar and they kind of hate each other. Will they learn to work together or is their partnership doomed from the start?

What I loved:
-the absolute cutest sunshine/grump romance
-super unique premise
-no third act breakup/miscommunication
-clear affection between the main characters
-side characters and their own relationships
-sense of found family
-spicy!

Ok I enjoyed this WAY more than I was expecting! This was so shockingly cute and heartfelt. The text speak vocabulary of the female main character (ex/ oh em gee) wasn’t necessarily my favourite thing but the rest of the book was so cute that I can overlook it.

This was such a pleasure to read and I enjoyed this book immensely! 4.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the advanced reading copy!

This was cute although not as unputdownable as the first book in this series. I liked the bad guy but the two main characters were less interesting.

Like the prior book, Go Hex Yourself, Jessica Clare has created a fun and romantic ride in What the Hex. The book starts with an interesting premise, a reasonable reason for both the main characters to interact and get to know one another. The clash between the two only creates a romantic tension that flavors the relationship and the intrigue of the novel. The language and differences between Penny and Willem makes for lively dialogue, romantic interludes, and an intriguing plot. 

Just like in Go Hex Yourself, there is more to the plot than just the romance and the pair have to figure out how to work together to resolve who is targeting Penny and why. What I loved the most is how much power and dynamic Penny has in figuring out the solution and how much the pair end up supporting each other. Willem doesn’t just swoop in and save Penny. They work together and that is the key to why this romance is so successful. Penny gets her own motivations and her own power. 

If you like dynamic female characters, romance with a ton of spice, and an intriguing plot, I suggest this light but powerfully written novel. It is fun and romantic, with touches of fluff and a whole lot of carnal exploration.

This is an outstanding paranormal, enemies to lovers, romance.
Penny is dying to be a familiar to a witch. Her parents are, and they learn witchcraft by being familiars. She’s has been a member of Society Of Familiars, but no luck finding her own witch so far.
One of her friends, Reggie, is the familiar for a witch named Ben. They come to Penny with an unusual proposition, be the familiar for a witch, but it has to be kept a secret. The witch, Wilhelm, is forbidden to have a familiar and if they’re caught they face serious repercussions. Wilhem is a witch with an intimidating and unlikable personality.
He also has an old master named Stroker, who is determined to destroy Wilhelm after he left as Stroker’s familiar.
In the meantime, Penny is finding out that Will isn’t as scary as he seems, and Will is developing feelings for his little familiar.
I loved this story and the characters, I was sad when the book ended.
5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

Willem is a warlock who has been banned from having a familiar and is stuck doing small spells while hiding out from a previous master. Penny, Secretary for the Society of Familiars, is facing a grim future of never being selected to work with a witch. When mutual friends put them together for some illegal, under-the-table magic, sparks fly.

What the Hex is the second book in the delightful Hex series. Having established her fascinating world of magic and introduced the characters in the first book, Ms. Clare is able to jump right into Penny and Willem’s story. The pair is like oil and water when they first meet. He’s been around the block and abused by a previous master. He likes his gray, orderly world. Penny is all sunshine and optimism, and the thought of being trapped as an unselected familiar scares her enough to break the rules. Both desperate to cast magic and a bit lonely, each is willing to bend a bit to fit with the other.

Due to the secret nature of their relationship, they pretend to date and be in love: FAKE RELATIONSHIP (my favorite trope). I love that the pair finds a kinship and trusts the other fairly quickly. This allows the pair to join forces against a common foe. Playing lovers while keeping a secret and growing into close friends, brings romantic feelings to the surface.

The story is filled with humor and cartoonish villains. It is campy and a lot of fun. But despite the silliness, both characters experience some hefty emotions and process previous turmoil. I enjoy the balance of the light and more serious moments.

Ms. Clare’s Hex series is a lot of fun, and I hope the author continues to pen romances set in the world.

My Rating: B+

The story started super cute! I loved the the banter, even the funny inner monologue. The man’s perspective sounded ancient. The plot os adorable. The situations didn’t seem contrived…that is till I was around 60% into tje book. I never thought I would say this but too spicy for me, folks. This book tested my limits on spicyness and...it won.

So Penny is waiting to become a familiar to a witch or a warlock because that’s the only way to become a witch or a warlock. Willem is prohibited from having a familiar or from casting. They do their witch thing under the guise of dating. The steam and shenanigans ensue!!

This was a nice, almost cozy spin on fake dating and hate-to-love. The fake dating to real dating has an actual build up in between, so it feels earned rather than shoehorned in. I like this world and characters, the cozy fantasy vibe (even though it's primarily romance). I really enjoyed it, it was fun! My only real criticism is it feels very immature at times, like it may be intended for a younger audience, even though I know it isn't. There's a lot of phrases used like "lady boner" and "lady bits" and that is a bit too much for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved
The first book and this one did not disappoint.
Fake dating trope is always a good set up and the chemistry was great.

I loved the first book so much and sold it left and right at my bookstore, therefore my expectations for this one were high!

It did not disappoint! I’ve already put in a larger order for this and I think that sums up how much I enjoy Jessica Clare’s writing/books. I can’t wait for more people to read this and fall in love with these characters too. I’m hoping we keep on getting more books from her that are this fun, entertaining, and laugh out loud joyous.

Can’t recommend enough.

I just finished reading WHAT THE HEX in one sitting and I really enjoyed it! This is the second book in the Hex series by Jessica Clare and can stand alone. I say this because I haven’t read the first book yet but I do plan to!

What the Hex is a paranormal romcom with a fake dating and grumpy/sunshine trope! This book not only had me laughing out loud but it has some really good spice too! I wasn’t expecting it to be so SEXY, but it most definitely was. Don’t go into this one thinking it’s a clean romance because it’s not! You’ve been warned!!

If you’re looking for a fun, HOT, hilarious romcom where sunshine MAKES the grump change his brutish ways then I highly recommend this one. I love how these two started off with so much disdain for one another but that changed because of how cute, quirky, and sweet our heroine is. You just can’t deny her! There’s also a little bit of a revenge plot within the story that I think many readers will love. It certainly has you rooting for the characters!

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗧: 🔥 🔥 🔥

Penny Roundtree comes from a family of familiars. It is all she has ever wanted to do, but when witches and warlocks live for centuries and get set in their ways, the opportunity to become a familiar is rare. Willem Sauer has been banned from taking on a familiar and his casting has been handicapped ever since. As his old master ramps up his efforts to make Will’s live miserable, he becomes more desperate than ever to get a familiar. Due to [redacted] from book one (Go Hex Yourself), Ben and Reggie approach Penny to become an under-the-table familiar for Will - an opportunity that she can’t pass up, even if it is breaking all the rules. As Penny and Will start casting together, they find themselves wanting more than the business arrangement they’ve made.

A sunshine-y and strong-willed apprentice and a grumpy, set in his ways warlock? Sign me up! These two could not be more different if they tried and yet the chemistry between them is amazing, even in the first meeting. It is clear from the start that they are going to continuously butt heads and that adds to the fun of the story.

Both Will and Penny take on bits and pieces of the other’s personality and that feels like what ultimate helps them reach the end. Though the stakes are high for the characters, I never felt like I needed to worry that they’d make it out okay. This pairing was a good reminder that your strength comes from yourself but having that extra little oomph from your partner never hurts.

It was fun to revisit these characters that we saw as side (important) side characters in the first book. The way they find themselves in their little found family, even begrudgingly at times, warms the heart and feeds the soul. And to be completely honest, Pipstachio is probably the stand out star for me. Do we get a lot of time with Pip? Not more than any other character. But did I immediately fall in love with him, thereby making me also fall in love with the book? Absolutely.

(P.S. That scene where they are hiding from intruders? Please and thank you.)

contemporary witch romances are having their day! I loved this one and how it drew me right back into the world Clare created with the first book. I wish there was a bit more magic involved but enjoyed watching this romance unfold and these two come together and protect each other

I love a grumpy hero and Willem takes the cake here. Penny is a familiar that feels like it will never happen for her and Willem is a warlock who has been cast out and is banned from having a familiar. When his friend Ben tells him that he thinks he knows someone that can help, Willem is not exactly sure what he is in for.
Penny shows up all vibrant colors and bubbly personality. Her pet squirrel is just another thing in the long list of things he will need to get used to if he's going to be able to use her. He is all dark and shadows and isn't ready for Penny and all her light.
What they are doing is on the down low, and both of them risk complete ruin if they are caught, but the more Willem is around Penny, he looks for ways to make her smile just to see her face light up and ways to make her happy and at ease. He doesn't recognize himself when he is around her and maybe, just maybe she will bring him out of his grumpy demeanor and let him show the world who he really is behind the dark exterior.
I am obsessed with grumpy/sunshine trope and these two were complete opposites to each extreme. Willem was so perfectly grumpy I wasn't sure if he was going to ever come out of his shell, but when he did, it just made my heart soar with how much he felt. Witches and warlocks are some of my favorite paranormal reads and I can't wait to continue this series. The spice level was higher than I expected as well, so if you are looking for that, you won't be let down, 4.5 Stars
Thank you to Berkley Jessica Clare and Netgalley for an early copy.

This was a really fun opposites attract book and surprisingly pretty steamy. Will and Penny are an odd pairing on paper but they had amazing chemistry. What starts as a secret business transaction ends up solving a century old mystery and imploding life as they know it. I am loving all these witchy books that are on trend right now and this hits all the right spots with banter, spells, and magical catastrophes

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️ (2.5 rounded up)

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
- Paranormal RomComs
- Grumpy x Sunshine
- Fake Dating
- Enemies to Lovers
- Witchy/Magical Vibes

What the Hex blew me away! I finished this book so fast and went out to grab the first in the series, Go Hex Yourself. Even though this is a sequel, it can easily be read stand-alone.

What the Hex is pure fun and an absolute delight. The grump is grumping hard and the sunshine forces him to change his ways with her pure delight and quirkiness. There is some time spent explaining how magic works in this universe but I never felt lost or bored at all.

The spice is very nice as well. 😏

If you didn't think enemies to lovers and grumpy x sunshine was enough, there is also a side plot of revenge which kept me very interested but best of all... no third act break-up! Instead of a third act break-up, you get our hero and heroine teaming up to take down the villains!

I will for sure be picking up a physical copy of this as soon as I can because it will be the perfect fall read. Thank you to Berkley Romance for the free ARC!