Hex and the City was a delightful blend of paranormal romance, quirky humour, and action-packed adventures. I tore through it in two days and since I've been reading at a sloth's pace of late I was really surprised by that.

The story revolves around Poppy, a young witch with possibly maybe sentient hair. She's a little clutzy and clumsy and may or may not have gotten drunk right before the events of this book and cursed a necklace she planned to give to her ex. A pendant that may or may not have accidentally been sold to a customer at her day job in a magic oddities shop.

The male lead, Axl (Alex), is a stage illusionist who initially comes across as a bit of a plonker, no offence. He's a vainglorious showman who's ridiculously good looking and he knows it. He's also a player who sleeps with all his groupies and fellow performers. In the beginning, this made me worried for this book. He was so unappealing to me that I didn't know how I would get on. But as the story unfolds, we discover the layers of his character and the reasons behind his conceited persona.

The plot was a lot of fun. A madcap romp through London and even through time.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced, funny, sexy and just all-around fun. Very different than anything else I’ve read recently and the fact it was set in London and the writing and dialogue was very British was just an extra treat.

I gave Hex and the City a solid 4 stars. It's a perfect addition to your Autumn TBR when you're in the mood for something a little bit zany yet still substantial. Highly recommended for those seeking a humourous and entertaining read.


4 stars ★★★★

ARC received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

If you are looking for a silly witch romance I think you will enjoy this.
Good things about this:
- our main character Poppy is chaotic and so easy to love.
- sentient hair
- the tension between the MCs was great

Not so great things:
-the writing was clunky at times
- the pacing was odd.

Thank you to netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The perfect book for spooky season. I really enjoyed this book. It was such a fun read and had me laughing and smiling so much!

3.5 upped to 4
I had fun and enjoyed the story. It's well plotted, there's humour and I liked the characters.
Perfect if you want to relax and have fun
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

It’s becoming tradition for me to read Kate Johnson in October because they are such fun, witchy reads.

Poppy is new to magic, and when she accidentally curses a pendant and sells it to a celebrity magician, Axl Storm, havoc ensues. I flew through this wild adventure, enjoying the antics and vulnerabilities shown both by Poppy and Axl. You could easily feel their chemistry and while this was a fast moving book, considering the magic, it was easy to believe and root for.

Overall, Hex and the City was entertaining, charming and full of chaos around every corner. I enjoy Johnson’s ability to write cute, easy to follow worlds with a lot of drama and humour.

Thank you HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, for the copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

I didn’t know what to expect going into this book but I was blown away by how much I loved it!

perfect level of smut for me, adored all the cute moments. Plus it was so funny.

10/10 book.

thank you netgalley and co for this arc! Was so excited to read this in spooky season because it supposedly has all cemeteries witches and romance. Sadly it didn't feel like it was given much thought but it being done? The main character was kind of annoying, childish and to me unlikable. It was an easy read because i love witches and hexes but the name set me up i expected more! 2.5 stars.

Such a fun witchy tale - perfect for those who love a light romantasy!

This book follows the story of Poppy, a witchy Rapunzel with sentient hair and Alex, a Norse god of a man, who performs sexy Viking shows. The characters are fun and interesting with a little crazy mixed in there!

The story has some great twists and turns and delves deeper into the witch society, it still leaves plenty of mystery for any future additions to this series but gives you plenty of new snippets. This book does not have to be read in succession to Hex Appeal, however, if you have read it there are some fun nods to the first book.

Overall, this is another great addition to Kate Johnson's witchy romance novels and I look forward to any future books set in this world.

I received an ARC copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Poppy lived her entire life being an outcast and different and only discovered she was a witch and had magic when she left home for uni. She now lives in a house with her coven, works at a magical shop, and is just trying to keep the chaos that surround her under wraps. In a moment of weakness while drunk she accidentally curses a pendant, and then later sells it to celebrity illusionist, Axl Storm. What ensues is nothing short of chaos with outside forces pulling the strings, bur both Axl and Poppy find a way together to overcome anything thrown at them

A witchy rom-com is always a fun time. I really enjoyed Poppy as a main character, I love the found family dynamic of her coven, and her journey of discovery. What did not work for me was the romance or chemistry between Axl and Poppy. Also the plot and big bad were a little over the top but fun.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into Hex and the City, although I had seen mostly good things about Kate Johnson’s previous novel, Hex Appeal, so felt like I was probably in for a fun read and I feel like the book delivered just that.

I thought Poppy was a great character – I loved her AND her hair. The chaos that seems to follow her made for some really fun moments during the book. I also liked that we got some depth and introspection from her, and that she and her leading man, Axl, were both vulnerable during quieter moments throughout the story. I ended up liking Axl more than I expected – he was such a classic case of someone putting up an arrogant front but actually being kind of marshmallow-y inside.

The other main cast members, Poppy’s housemates/coven, were wonderful as side characters and I would actually love to get their back stories or more books in their universe. It kind of gave me vibes of Blue’s home in Maggie Steifvater’s The Raven Cycle and I’m so here for weird old homes filled with witchy ladies!

As alluded to above, there was a mix of frantic fun with quieter more thoughtful parts throughout the story and I thought the balance was pretty good. I enjoyed the plot, which was a bit wacky but in a way that felt just perfect for Poppy and her chaotic life, and there were some twists towards the end that I didn’t see coming.

I’d recommend this for anyone looking for a quick and mostly light romance read that combines a bit of magic with a bit more spice this spooky season.

Initially Poppy was so chaotic, which isn’t usually my thing, I can find clumsy characters quite irritating; I also found all the talk of calories on Alix’s point quite tiresome however it didn’t take long to get over both of those things. This was a very cute book, I loved the witchy storyline and the romantic connection was a joy to read. There were some parts of the story which were hilarious. It was a great read for this time of year.

This was sooooo much fun. And FINALLY some God-fearing parents who are supportive and not completely crazy or against their child. I loved this book.

A really fun inbetween read. I always love books like this. They're always just so fun to read! I liked the characters and the setting and it was just funny to read!

Quirky and fun. The writing is captivating and fast-paced with lots of humour. Easy to read with laugh-out-loud moments, this is the perfect withcy rom com for spooky season!

This was a delightful and “magical” read with such fun characters. I loved the humor and didn’t want it to end. This is a great series.
Many thanks to Harpercollins UK and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5 ( rounded up) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to Harpercollins UK and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.

This was a nice fun read. A witchy romance with a good plot and interesting magic.

Sometimes these light fantasy romances don’t have a solid world or magic system but I thought this did well in still just being a light read, and not a heavy fantasy book, but having an interesting and engaging magic system.

A fun witchy read for the fall. Unfortunately, it didn't really hold my attention as the book went on. So much happened so quickly, and it was one thing after another. I wanted more emotion between Alex and Poppy, and I wasn't getting it. And Poppy's hair was kind of creepy.

I loved this cozy witch fantasy romance!! Poppy was a sweet character and I’m OBSESSED with her sentient hair. And despite Axl’s name, I was picturing a young Tommy Lee the whole time. Hope to see these characters in the future with all the fun mayhem that surrounds them. Also, time travel is always a winner!

This book was not for me at all! I didn't really like the characters and the writing was so cringe it put me off. This book almost put me on a reading slump. The premise sounded interesting enough for me to have requested this book, but that was it.

Rom-coms are a hit or miss for me, there is typically no in-between. I can see other people liking this novel, but it just wasn't for me. The main character got on my nerves from the very beginning and the love interest was not very appealing to me.

I wanted to like this book so bad! It had such a cute title that I was sure it would be a fun, witchy book to read during Spooky Season, but it just wasn't hitting right. It was trying too hard to be funny and cute that it just felt sort of cringy. I marked this as a DNF at the 30% mark. I just couldn't finish it.