A delightful, witchy gem just in time for fall and Halloween!

Max and Delia had such chemistry and the banter/dialogue was snappy, humorous, and fun. The side characters—all of Delia's family, her BFF Amy, Max's brother Luc, and Darling Nikki the "cat"—were the perfect secret ingredient to this magical book that weaved the best spell over me.

The dual narration was wonderful even if I'm not an expert on Texas accents. I highly recommend this if you're looking for a witchy rom-com to take you into the fall, spooky season.

Cozy, charming and full of fall witchy fun. While Delia Merrie rather believers her family is just eccentric, the truth is the grandmother and aunts are right. They are witches, or rather, they were witches until the magic was hexed out of them. And some people don't want that to change. Delightful characters...just loved Nikki, the imp, and Amy, Delia's best friend.

Hi Book Besties!💕🌻
I am so excited to share my review of Hot Hex Boyfriend by the lovely Carly Bloom 😍
A Giant thank you to @ReadForeverPub for the gifted ARC! This is a stand alone novel and it was Fantastic!
Delia’s family claims they’re witches that were hexed out of their magic and they tell everyone and anyone who will listen. Leaving Delia feeling embarrassed and an outsider from the rest of society. However no matter the whispers or looks Delia stands with her family funny traditions and all, she doesn’t believe her family has magic that type of thing doesn’t exist or does it?
This was such a cute little read with all the witchy vibes and heartfelt cutesy moments! I laughed a ton at all the family banter and the guys reaction to catching their parents……… lol. I loved how the story came together in the end with that cute HEA.

Hot Hex Boyfriend is a charming tale that's perfect for a cozy fall day. It's not spicy, but rather, it's reminiscent of a Hallmark movie with its heartwarming story. There were some parts that had me smirking at the humor and just when I thought I had it all figured out, the author threw in a couple of twists that caught me off guard. If you're looking for a light, fun read to brighten up a rainy fall day, this is definitely the book for you.

I am sheepishly NOT going to rail about how I hate this new romantasy/paranormal returning or is-it-new romance trend, but I hates it. And I freakin’ love Carly Bloom (even though I’ve also railed about how her contemporary romances never quite lived up to the GREATNESS of Big Bad Cowboy). Except I just did and I’m not sorry because there was Bloom’s wonderful humour and theme of love conquers and is all…and yet, the silliness of the witch stuff was a great big old nope. Here are the blurbish, farfetched deets of the thing:

As a child, Delia Merriweather believed with all her heart that she was a witch. Because all Merriweather women were witches. There was just one problem: they had no magic. As an adult, Delia no longer believes magic even exists. However, when she accidentally breaks a hex and restores her family’s powers, she’s forced to accept a new reality: she is a witch. And maybe that’s why the crushingly handsome guy next door has been looking at her like he’s expecting her to fly off on a broomstick, cackling into the night.

Just when Max thinks he’s done keeping an eye on the bumbling Merriweather women, now he must help his neighbors learn to control their magic before they out witches everywhere. But Delia can’t decide if Max is helping or hexing, and Max can’t tell whether his growing feelings for Delia are real, or if he’s come under the spell of the most powerful—and clueless—witch he’s ever known. And the last thing Max needs is to fall for the one witch who could rule the entire witching world by controlling the hearts of men.

A bitty detail of narrative logic the blurb neglects: Max is in town to sell his Uncle Hartwell’s house. Hartwell was Delia’s and her aspiring witchy aunts’ (who reminded me of the ragged ineptness of A Wrinkle In Time‘s Whatsit, Who, and Which, but way funnier) next door neighbour, who lived with his familiar, cat Nikki, who is a shifting cat-imp” (not quite human, more like Shakespeare’s Ariel). Delia is going to “stage” the house for Max, while Max keeps an eye on her not-acquiring her witchy legacy. It’s convoluted and not terribly interesting, but it does bring our protagonists together.

I enjoyed Bloom’s romance when her witchy world-building came with humour and fun cultural references like my childhood I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched watching, but world-building always comes with soooo much tedious telling (not fun). Delia has a Dolly-Parton-bosoms-sized loving heart and a Texas-drawled sense of humour. I loved her. Max is her straight-man in his “logos”-based character and witchy powers. He’s a typical romance stone-cold-heart hero, no romance, no emotions, though he’ll do love-less sex. But who can resist a curvaceous bombshell whose loyalty to friends, family, and small furry creatures, as well as shifiting imp-cat Nikki (Max’s recently deceased uncle’s familiar)? Max sure can’t. And, in the end, Bloom’s magic witchy portrayals are benign: the greatest magical power lies in giving and accepting love. Aw, you say. I did too, often, but not often enough because the magic details and convoluted witch world left me bored. There was skimming, folks. Skimming and delight, a strange contradictory response to a romance.

The verdict? If you love Bloom and are enjoying the new-ish-but-not-really paranormal romance trend, you’ll love Hot Hex Boyfriend. If, like me, you’d rather have a straight old contemporary, you’ll bide your time till the genre returns to its senses. That being said, Bloom can write humour and heart and that’s way more than I can say for the bleh-romantasy I’ve tried so far (though grateful to my buddy Willa for some good recs). To invoke Miss Austen, Hot Hex Boyfriend is “almost pretty,” Northanger Abbey.

Carly Bloom’s Hot Hex Boyfriend is published by Forever and released on Sept. 3rd. I received an advance e-galley from Forever, via Netgalley. The above is my honest, AI-free opinion.

Hot Hex Boyfriends reads like Halloweentown + Sabrina the Teenage Witch for 30 somethings. There's loving, bumbling aunts, a cat familiar named Nikki, a main character who has no idea she's a witch, and a dark plot by the head witch to take over all of the magic.
Plus there's Max, the cute witch sent by Morgaine - the dark witch- to make sure Delia and her family stays hexed and unaware they are witches. But Delia and Max are of course going to have cozy romantic feelings for each other.

This was a good read to get me in the fall/Halloween mood. It was cozy, cheesy, and a quick and easy read. I would pick this up again to set the fall mood next year, too.

I had a very good time with the cast of characters and central romance in this book. Not a ton of paranormal world building but what was there was interesting and there were enough twists in it to keep me going. I particularly liked the play on chosen one/non-believer that was going on with Delia as the central character--without her the book doesn't work at all. Would love to read a sequel some day with Luc as the hero, he was a delightful side character.

<i>Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.</i>

Hot Hex Boyfriend had so much charm - loveable characters, especially Delia and Max, a little magical mystery centered in a small Texas town, a full supporting cast of quirky friends and family, which I really enjoyed. I thought there were moments between Delia and Max that were so swoony and sweet and I loved seeing Max let down his guard little by little to start believing in love. However, the pacing of this book was honestly baffling - it was so slow to start and then the last 30% was nonstop action and tying things up. I think if you are looking for an easy cozy fall read and you are here more for the witchy vibes than anything else, this will be a hit for you!

This was such a quirky story.
The small town cozy vibes are everything that I needed as we come into spooky/fall season.
Delia and Max were just absolutely perfect and the way he encouraged Delia and her abilities.
I cant wait to go back and re-read this.

This was a cute story that was sorta quirky and fun. A great book to pick up if you want a story that is easy going and light with a bit of romance. I enjoyed it and think others should check it out. The story sort of seems like many others written in the genre so if quirky witches are your thing check this book out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

This book is charming and delightful and perfect for spooky season. I love a witchy romance, and this one exceeds my expectations to have someone who’s always believes her family is supposed to be magical, but they never had any magic and all of a sudden a hex is broken and they are now witches. I love the idea of the person who supposed to watch them to make sure that they don’t go crazy with their magic is the person that falls in love with her. The characters are delightful and the premise is engaging and entertaining. I highly recommend this book.

Hot Hex Boyfriend is a fun, fall read with grumpy-sunshine, some Practical Magic vibes (the movie, not the book), and a lovable group of side characters.
Delia’s family believes they are witches, well everyone except Delia and her mother; Delia lives with a quirky cast of aunts, who reminded me of a family I grew up with and immediately endeared them to me. They’re ridiculous, eccentric, and you can’t help but love them; they made me think of what practical magic would have been if the house had been full of more people. Delia is struggling a bit to find who she is while also juggling the expectations of others; I found her relatable and adored her best friend, I also loved how supportive the family is of everyone. Max is our grumpy/irritable MMC who has been sent to take care of his recently deceased (and former neighbor to the Merriweather women) uncle’e estate. Max is not pleased that he’s also basically been assigned babysitting duty to make sure the very real hex on the Merriweather’s is not broken. Unfortunately for Max, he can’t resist the Merriweather charm and he really just needs to learn to relax haha. The rest of the cast is rounded out with some petty, back stabbing, town witches (the drama is so dumb and so perfectly small town mean girl), a lovable familiar, Max’s uptight family, and a decently solid villain, there were some good twists thrown in, both big and small. I had fun with this read, enjoyed all the quirky, oddness had with the characters and how the drama unfolded.
If you’re looking for a New England fall vibe it’s not in this one as it’s set in Texas (you’re not getting sweaters and warm drinks here! Haha), but don’t pass on this just for that, it’s still full of magic and love. Thank you @netgalley for the ARC! 🧙🪄✨🐈‍⬛
#fallreads #witchyreads #netgalley #romance #romantasy

This is a novel about Delia, who comes from a cursed witch family, and a man who is meant to keep her from breaking the curse. The world-building in this book is a little slow, though interesting, and really ramps up in the last 25% of the book. It was bit of a slow read for me because part of the curse involves love, and the MC and her love interest are a classic bubbly girl-serious man pairing yet have very little chemistry. Delia is also not super bothered by Max’s original task (keeping her family hexed), and the last half of the book is almost a slam of information for both Delia and the reader that there is almost no room for development between her and Max.

Overall - 3/5 stars, nothing too exciting.

Thanks, #Netgalley, and #Forever, for this beautiful e-ARC. I liked this book, and the story was fun to read. I found the narrators to be very good and the story's pacing to be very well. I loved Delia and Max; their banter was so fun. Nikki and Luke were hilarious, and they softened Max up a lot. We need a book for all the women in Delia's family, as they were all so interesting. I highly recommend this book for a pre-spooky season delight and will patiently wait for book 2.

Cute cover! I liked the idea of "Hot Hex Boyfriend" and the characters were pretty good, but the writing didn't live up to it. The writing style is very basic - all written as telling, not showing. But it is still a sweet story with a little flirt and heat.

The world-building is clear and I appreciated the slight dive into different class and power dynamics, but even with this foundation, the story got weaker as it progressed. The ending was especially corny and unoriginal.

Not a bad story, but also not very memorable.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

This was such a fun witchy read. I loved all the quirky family members of the MC. I loved the witchiness. A perfect fall read to get you into the spirit of Halloween. Definitely check this out if you need some witchy vibes in your life.

Hot Hex Boyfriend by Carly Bloom
Paranormal witch romance.
The Merriweather women identify as witches. What they lack in magic, they make up in belief, support and family protectiveness. Rumor has it that they have been hexed so they can’t access their magic. Delia Merriweather doesn’t believe in magic or the hex. First, the so called magic book recipes have ridiculous ingredients. Second, if witches were real, wouldn’t their status be worthy of some benefits?
When Delia unwittingly breaks the hex the family has been under, everyone is surprised including the family. Max Halifax has been keeping an eye on the Merriweather’s since it was his family’s doing that they live without magic. He’s been ordered to rehex the Merriweather women but that would require a blood sacrifice which isn’t legal anymore. Nor is it fair to anyone and the community is taking notice. Change is coming.

🎧 I alternated between an ebook and an audiobook for this story. The audiobook is performed by Zion Jang and Laura Knignt Keating who do a marvelous job in alternating chapters. Each is able to perform multiple voices and convey nuanced emotions that keep the reader interested and attentive. The audio version adds a level of delight to the story.
I listened at my preferred rate of 1.5

I loved the lighthearted family vibe of the Merriweather women. Supporting, regardless of losses or wins, loving and happy. They delight in thinking to fake Magic traditional spells. The addition of the imp sifting between animal and human form with such a specific personality is delectable. Yes there are some darker elements here and some steam. In whole, it was entertaining a d recommended for anyone that likes a touch of magic.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and Hachette Audio

I really enjoyed this book. From the first page, I was hooked and wanted to know more. It was funny, steamy, sweet, and the perfect start to spooky/fall season. I loved Delia and Max who were enemies to lovers just because Max has the social skills of a toddler. But the spark between them was clear from the start. I loved Nikki, Luc, Amy, Delia's mom, grandmother, and aunts as well as Max and Luc's parents. Everything about this book had me laughing so hard a lot of times. While I did guess who the villain was, I was still surprise when everything was revealed. The mystery of the hex being broken kept me engaged as well (I figured out how two of the things that happened fulfilled the requirements to break the hex but not the third). I truly hope Amy, Luc, and Nikki get books and I get to visit Willow Root again!

I received a copy of Hot Hex Boyfriend from Netgalley, and I boy I'm glad I did. It was just the fun, witchy, romance I was looking for to kick off the fall season. I'm not normally a big romance fan so I appreciated that this book did not take itself too seriously. The Merriweather and Halifax family members were quirky and the drama was all fun and silliness.

If you are looking for a cozy fantasy romance in a small witchy town for your Fall season... I recommend grabbing this one. It was a little corny at the end, but honestly it went with the vibe. It was like a warm beverage on a brisk day. A fun romp for a girl that usually reads darker fantasy and scifi.

This was such a fun read! Witch books have been more miss than hit for me lately (it really feels like I’ve read them all), but Hot Hex Boyfriend was a hit. A little bit Sabrina the Teenage Witch meets Practical Magic - this definitely put me in mood for fall.

Delia’s family are the town oddballs - they all claim to be witches and that Delia is a rare Blue Witch. But Delia knows for certain that witches absolutely aren’t real. Right? Delia doesn’t know it, but the family is cursed and she only has a week to break the hex or she will lose her powers for good.

I loved how witchy this book was. Some witchy romances downplay the magical elements, but this one did not! We have a fully explained magic system, spells being cast, and an backstory regarding the hierarchy of witches. I loved all of the Merriweather women and were rooting for them to come into their magic before the end of the week. All of the secondary characters were interesting and added to the story. I especially loved Nikki and his character arc.

If you’re looking for something not too serious with the perfect vibes for fall definitely check out Hot Hex Boyfriend!