Cute and fluffy, but I wouldn’t say this feels like anything new in a fairly heavily saturated market of witchy romcoms at the moment.
I found the writing a little immature but might be fun for a ‘switch-off’ read, and I didn’t particularly warm to the ‘chaotic’ main character.
All-in-all, not quite what I hoped for but I’m sure it will be great escapism for some!

4 -⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Plan? I don't know, what's your usual plan for dealing with ancient ghosts who've stolen you magic amulet?"
"Sarcasm?"

Hex and The City is a witchy Adult Paranormal Romance standalone that follow Poppy and Alex. Poppy is a witch with hair with a mind of its own and a tendency to fall into chaos while Alex is a human illusionist. When all hell breaks loose thanks to series of unfortunate incidents caused by a cursed pendent, Alex and Poppy are forced to work together to bring some resemblance of order back to the world...but will the secrets and truths that come out during their (mis)adventures drive them further apart or closer than they ever imagined?

This was such a fun read that I absolute adored! Poppy is this fun and chaotic character who is adorable and resilient throughout. I love the little quirks to her like her hair and her little quips. I felt she helped guide the story so well. She has a lot of self doubt about herself because of her family but the confidence she gains by the end is so sweet. Axl/Alex has the fun contrast of being both confident as well as insecure in regards to his past. Watching him go with the flow with Poppy and all the craziness was hilarious and I adored how well he handled things. I will say he starts off as a bit of a player and I enjoyed the change and growth he gains by the end.

There is an excellent cast of side characters that I think also helped build this story from Iris, Yelena, Elspeth, Sylvia, Fiona, and more. They provide amazing banter and support to the characters through all their struggles.

In terms of spice, I would place this around around 2.5 spicy peppers out of 5 spicy pepper. There is an immediate attraction between the characters at the beginning and some fun steamy moments but watching them fight evil together and support each other through revelations and awkward family circumstances. The spice fully hits around the 60-70% and it was well written and fit the story and the characters so well.

"You could call it magic if you like...but I call it a gym membership."

The story takes place in London and relies heavily of people having a general understanding of the city. I felt the name dropping of locations helped cement a sense of place. The story itself was a wonderfully chaotic adventure that had me smiling and giggling the entire time as they characters are hit with magic misadventure again and again with increasing absurdity and hilarity. I felt it had a powerful start and took readers through a good pace, though it did go a little too much off the rails with no sense of direction at the midway point before coming back to focus with a clearer story. It has all the features of a rom-com that we love with awkward and sweet moments, family drama, relationship challenges, and more. Yet it also these interesting twists because of the witchy theme that helped set it apart for me. I felt the ending worked well to bring everything together and it had all the cheese I like.

Overall, this novel was an absolute pleasure I did not expect. This is a perfect fall read filled with chaos, romance, and adventure that these characters fall into and their reactions and actions are perfect. I cannot wait to see what more Kate Johnson does next.

Thank you One More Chapter, Harper Collins, and Netgalley for the e-ARC.

Just like Poppy, this book is chaos but in the best way!
A fun, chaotic and easy read to get you in a witchy mood for Halloween

Thankyou for the ARC

Kate Johnson has done it once again!

Hex and the City is my second book by Kate Johnson, and I enjoyed this hilarious and entertaining read. Hex Appeal and Hex and the City qualify as standalone series, but I recommend reading the books in order to get better acquainted with the stellar and delightful characters. Poppy is a lovely character who exudes chaos, grace and strength throughout the book. The reference to Rapunzel was a cherry on top, and I was cheering for her throughout the book. Axl Storm, a talented illusionist, grew on me, and his and Poppy's interactions were nothing short of endearing, flirty and fun! After some heavy reads this month, this was a welcomed reprieve. Please leave it to Kate Johnson to deliver a fast-paced plot, sizzling chemistry and the power of a cover! If you're looking for something light to read next month, do not skip this read.

Thank you to NetGalley & HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, for the invitation to review this e-ARC. This honest review is left voluntarily.

Okay, Kate Johnson, I see you. @k8johnsonauthor This was delightful! 😂 I didn’t know what to think of this one as I had never heard of this author before. Thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollinsuk for my digital ARC.

Poppy is probably one of my favorite characters. She was quirky and so totally out there. Not only is she a witch, but she also has magical hair, a la Rapunzel. I loved how she approached situations and just babbled on and on. The actual plot was absolute chaos in the middle of the book and some parts read more YA. Overall, a fun read!

This would be the perfect book to read around Halloween if you wanted a fun, light-hearted romcom.

Read this if you like:
🔮 Magical hair
🔮 Hunky Vikings
🔮 Time travel
🔮 Laughing out loud & witty banter
🔮 London landmarks

Author Kate Johnson knows how to write a funny loveable chaotic character and her name is Poppy.
Poppy is a witch and works in a Magic Shop and is just a chaotic person.
So when a man comes into the shop and she accidentally sells him a pendant she shouldn’t have all kinds of trouble happens can she fix it.?
Hex and the City is a funny Rom Com that is an enjoyable read.
The Hex Appeal series by Kate Johnson are just delightful reads.
Thank You netgalley and Harper Collins

A magical, twisty, witchy romance. Poppy is a very likable character and I loved how her hair basically had a mind of its own. There was a great twist towards the end that I really didn’t see coming. Overall a good romance to read to get into the fall/spooky season!
Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC!

What a delightful and fun paranormal romance! Think Rapunzel meets Practical Magic meets Sex and the City!

This novel was quirky, chaotic, and had me laughing through the pages! Hilarity ensues when our FMC accidentally sells a cursed pendant to the MMC, a well known heartthrob - and her and her friends stop at nothing to get it back and recover the insanity it’s let loose!

This book is the perfect addition to your fall TBR - it’s funny, witty and charming - a perfect addition to your witchy fall TBR!

This was a cutesy little romance.

Poppy is a witch. Alex is an illusionist. They meet after he buys an accidentally hexed necklace from her magic shop. It follows them going around the city and trying to find the necklace through all the chaos. It was funny, in parts. Overall, cute read!

I thought I was going to enjoy this book more than I did but I didn't. To me the book was sort of boring. I'm sorry but there it is.

⭐⭐⭐.5/5 -- Another cute, witchy fall read! The best part of Hex and the city is the different kinds of witches. All while reading, I had to think to myself, 'What kind of witch would I be?' (Anyone who knows me in real life would say - One with a talent for medicinal/healing arts, obviously! 😂)

So many fun elements in Hex and The City, from time travel to a head of magical hair with a mind of its own. You'll never be bored!

**Parts of this story were a little more dense for a quick, lighthearted fall read - so I would consider this one that you actually have to read either in its physical or digital form. (An audiobook might get confusing!)

**Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, & NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

Fun, flirty and magical.
Hex and the city is a great spooky season read for anyone wanting a laugh and some romance

Thank you to One More Chapter & NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this witchy rom com read, and think it would make a great movie! I feel like so often the themes of these witch stories, are all same bits of recycled material; but not this one! The plot was exciting and surprising, and even has a bit of time travel thrown in!

Poppy is just a regular witch, trying to live her regular life, but her magic is pure chaos. Everywhere she goes, disaster follows. And it’s no surprise when she attends a local Magic show, to get a pendant back that she cursed on accident, that the whole place goes up in flames. She uses this opportunity to chat up the Magic show star Axl, and get the pendant back. Only it isn’t that simple, and before they know it her and Axl are being dragged around town, and even back in time to put out literal and figurative fires that Poppy’s magic is causing. Will they be able to get to the bottom of why Poppy’s magic is causing so much chaos? And will Axl be able to stick by her side through this journey?

I loved both main characters, and thoroughly enjoyed their happily ever after. If you’re looking for a spooky and witchy Halloween time read, look no further!

A fun witchy romance that comes out just in time for Halloween! A magician who’s a great performer and an actual witch? I really enjoyed these characters and the way the romance grew between them.

This was super fun and silly!
Big fan of witches, humor and romance. Lots of fun and a good witchy read for the upcoming spooky season

Oh my heart this book was so good. First, I think we all need a landlady like Iris because she is the best. The wise but fun woman who will put you in your place but also teach you everything you need to know if you will just listen. The romance was so much fun as well. I love a good he's suppose to be famous but the FMC has no idea who he is trope.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK - One More Chapter for an ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

Poppy the Chaos Witch has a very chaotic book! The chapters are very LONG and have an overwhelming amount of information in them. At times I felt like I lost the plot a little bit but around 45% the book picks up and I started to enjoy it.

My other complaint is that this is a “love at first sight/instant love” trope type and yet Axel/Alex is a womanizer. It was hard to believe that all of a sudden he “fell” in love with Poppy when there wasn’t a lot of time spent on convincing the reader they had a true love connection.
Did they have chemistry? FOR SURE, but other than some spicy intimate scenes not a lot is said about their emotional connection so you kind of lost me on that.

Besides that I loved Poppy as a character and “the Coven”. They were so much fun and if the wither had removed the romance factor and made this book about Poppy discovering what kind of witch she is I think the book would’ve been a lot better.

I’m going to give this one a “read at your own risk” rating. There were times reading this book felt like a chore and there were other times I really enjoyed what I read.

2.5 stars…

Thanks to One More Chapter, Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book. I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily.

I absolutely loved this funny, madcap supernatural romance featuring a young witch with sentient hair and an illusionist with a chequered past.

The banter and chemistry between Alex and Poppy was sizzling and the other characters, especially Iris, were so much fun to get to know. There's plenty of action going on and twists and turns to keep the reader's attention.

I'll certainly be looking out for this author in the future.

I requested this book on whim as it’s not my usual genre of choice. However I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a fun quirky read with a main character, Poppy, who you can’t help but adore. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK One More Chapter and the author for the chance to review.

One of my favorite reads of 2023! Having read and absolutely loved Hex Appeal (a 2022 favorite) by Kate Johnson I requested this book without even looking at the synopsis. So all the fun things like the sentient hair came as a complete surprise and I loved every single page!! I did not want to put it down and flew through it in just a few hours!!
I loved Poppy and all her chaotic energy! Both her and her hair were so much fun and had me laughing out loud, and I loved how Alex was drawn to her like a magnet. The chemistry between them was fire, and I really loved how they were when they were together. The sexual tension and the playful sarcastic banter made my heart go all gooey and left me with a smile on my face.

I hope we get more books set in this world!!