The instant-lust/love didn't work for me in this one, but overall it was a cute book. Perfect for the fall vibes!

Short synopsis: Dina owns a bakery, but she cooks up more than just pastries, she infused magic into her recipes. But a hex gone wrong has been plaguing her and her one true love.

My thoughts: This book was a touch spicier than I was expecting! I should have known, the synopsis was very clear about it. But it was just too much for my personal preference.

The Instalove was so believable to me. Especially given the magical aspect of the book. I liked the whimsy in the magic, and the side characters were just so darn fun.

Read if you love:
- Bakeries
- Lots of spice
- Great friends
- Magic
- Instalove

thank you to netgalley for my e-arc. big no from me regarding the magical realism elements, the fact she has the name "kitchen witch". this was definitely a booktok book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

i need to preface this with there are some concerning behaviors in the characters (i.e. insta-love and also our mmc changing his emergency contact to our fmc like two or three weeks into dating what the actual fuck!!)

HOWEVER...i choose to ignore it because i simply needed a very horny, witchy, cozy magical book with not a lot of problems and a whole lot of sex. and this delivered it!

highly recommend this one if you're looking for:
⟢ cozy fantasy
⟢ forced proximity
⟢ insta-love/attraction
⟢ sweet sisterhood that feels like an episode of friends (not the humor, just the love)

cute and cozy with witchy vibes! has insta-love which I’m not really a huge fan of but if you’re looking for a quick cozy fall romance then I’d recommend!

3.5 stars. This is a cozy fall romance.

Dina is a witch that infuses charms into her baking. She also happens to be hexed. Anybody that falls in love with her will experience bad luck.

Scott finds himself in her bakery and can’t stop thinking about her. He doesn’t have to wait long to see her again though, since it turns out they’re about to be in the same wedding party as best man and maid of honor. The bride and groom keep trying to set Dina and Scott up, but Dina is afraid to fall because of the hex.

It’s third person, dual POV, and spicy.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my advanced digital copy!

This was a good palate cleansing book. It kept me interested enough to keep coming back as we went on the journey of self healing for our FMC.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this one. The premise sounded amazing however, the instalove was way too much for me. And more than the “love” part it was all lust and nothing else. So this was not something I could enjoy.

Cute and cozy. The sex was a little over the top for my taste-- way too perfect and nonstop. but the characters were likable. The magic was fun. The witchcraft was presented as both religion and lifestyle, feeling much more realistic than many witch novels. The friendships and family bonds were strong and healthy. There were cute pets and a friendly sentient house. So much food description. I loved the strong representation of both expat Moroccan culture and queerness, including being a queer child of an immigrant parent. The audio narrators were both terrific. And there was heavy foreshadowing for a second book featuring their friend Rosemary, to which I look forward.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Ballantine for an advance copy of #BestHexEver

Dina is a kitchen witch, who owns her own cafe in London. Only her close friends know about her magic… and about the hex that has sabotaged all of her romantic relationships. Whenever her partner falls love, a series of unfortunate events follows.

Scott is a curator at the British Museum. After traveling the world following a break-up, he is more determined than ever to be the best best man at his friend’s wedding.

After a chance meeting at Dina’s cafe, the two expect to never cross paths again. Little do they know, they are both in the same wedding. As the two are thrown together continuously during the events of the wedding weekend, their attraction continues to grow to undeniable levels. Will the hex keep them apart?

Read if you like:
- forced proximity
- witchy magic
- cozy fantasy

This was a great, cozy fall read. I loved the strong female friendships and the men that weren’t afraid to show emotion. Dina and Scott’s relationship developed a little bit too quickly for my liking, but in the end their chemistry and communication was unmatched. I loved the concept behind Dina’s magic and her connection with nature. If you’re looking for a book that has cozy vibes and is full of magic, look no further.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine / Dell for a free digital copy of this book. This is my honest review. Publication date: October 1, 2024.

This is was so cute! Foodie romances are my favorite and add a little bit of spicy witchcraft it will always be a good time.

Best Hex Ever is a fun and cozy style romance. The witchy aspects and the spice level were perfect for this fall season. I flew through this book and loved reading through it at any chance I could. I especially loved the kitchen witchcraft aspect and the connection between the two main characters!

Best. Hex. EVER!! (no, really and truly!!)
This cozy, magical, SPICY romance read follows Dina, who is a kitchen witch and Scott, a museum curator...who can't help but fall for one another. Scott, falls first and oooh if I don't just L O V E a "he falls first" trope SO MUCH! Dina and Scott were so much fun to get to know and their chemistry was literally unmatched from the very beginning. They go from 0 to 100 a lot whenever they seem to want to get it on, but again, their chemistry is fully there. I loved the dual POV and the instalove, despite how truly instant it was (yeah I know, makes no sense, L O L), so yeah.
The author portrayed so much and it was so well-written! Healthy female friendships, men who actually SHOW their emotions (yeah, surprisingly enough) and open conversations about not wanting children. I also loved all the time that was used to explore Dina's relationship with her parents, especially her relationship with her mom, as well as her Moroccan heritage/background.
Nadia El-Fassi proves that romance and magic are often intertwined and some connections are their own kind of magic. This one of a kind witchy debut is the perfect book and you need to add it to your TBR list immediately if you haven't already. you can thank me later ;)
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a copy of this ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

If you're looking for an easy romantic read with a lot of spice and plenty of fall coziness, then this is a book for you. Unfortunately, this one didn't really hit with me.

Long Story Short
Dina, a witch who owns a cafe meets Scott, an art curator, when he comes into her store. It's love at first sight but she believes that one of her exes put a hex on her which brings pain and suffering to anyone that she falls in love with. She thinks her mom might be able to break the hex, but it would involve telling her mom that she's bi and she's afraid to do that. Eventually Dina tells her the truth and her mom helps her realize that Dina hexed herself because she put up her own walls and doesn't love herself. The hex is broken and Dina and Scott live happily ever after.

The Good
Dina and her friends are likeable enough and Scott is fine. It was spicy, if you like that.

The Bad
I'm much more of a slow burn person when it comes to romance reads. The love at first sight thing didn't give me the journey I want when I read these types of books. My biggest issue though, was that Dina wasn't fleshed out enough to make this story ring true with me (yes, I know it's about a witch, but just go with me here). Dina was hexing herself because she felt unworthy of love...why? Did something happen in her childhood that made her this way? And why was she so against telling her mother? Did her mother allude to her that she disapproved of Dina being anything other than straight?

Overall Takeaway
This book wasn't bad by any means, but it just wasn't great for me. A solid C+/3 stars from me.

Scott travels all over the world for his job but he's ready to settle down. And there's something about coffee shop owned by Dina that is helping to stir his longing for the home fires. While he is very interested, she is a little more hesitant.
Dina is a witch. And when she was younger, she put a spell on someone she was in love with and it has reverberated through her love life since. She is not anxious to start something with this man who is so attractive. But he just keeps showing up in her life. Even at her friend's wedding where (darn those matchmakers!) they've been put in the same cabin. So, Dina decides not to fight fate. But will Scott survive?

Three stars
This book comes out October 1, 2024
ARC kindly provided by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Thank you NetGalley and Dell for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Romance and I have a tricky relationship, and I can barely predict what will and won’t work for me. I went into this hopeful, because oftentimes a fantasy element will help me ease into a romance novel and honestly I just thought the concept was fun. I was right—the magic aspect was neat and I thought the set up was good—but I was taken a little by surprise by the insta love.

Best Hex Ever is cozy and I really loved the relationships Dina had with her family and friends, and Scott’s relationship with his best friend. I don’t really think Dina and Scott’s relationship is unrealistic, but it moved quite fast for me. While I might not have bought into the speed at which their relationship developed, I saw the potential between them and El-Fassi’s smut was good. The overall vibe was lovely and it was a sweet world. There’s a couple of things I just could not buy into, and one of those things was the insta love/lust/whatever was going on. I would have preferred a slower buildup, even though Dina’s perspective does provide some insight to how she operates in relationships more generally (which… was a lot for me, actually…). Still, I don’t regret reading it and thought it was a good debut.

I enjoyed this quite a bit! I’d categorize it as more of a comfort read, with a predictable
plot and heavy on the romance novel clichés. I do think it was done well, and I appreciated the world building and attention to detail, though I can’t say it expanded my literary world view in any real way. Which, for me, is a major reason I love to read.

What did surprise me was the level of spice in this book, so I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone who didn’t enjoy a high amount of explicit sexual content. I don’t mind it so much myself, but I felt like the book revolved around the sex while claiming to be all about the love- so a bit incongruous for me tone wise. Sort of like 50 Shades of Grey superimposed on a light hearted romance.

Bonus points for having a bi-sexual protagonist, but with a healthy dose of self loathing that made it a bit less impactful for
me.

The highlight for me overall was how easy it was to read, it required very little energy wise and felt akin to driving cruise control down a country lane. I’d recommend for those who love romance novels, and who are in the market for a no- brainer, easy reading experience.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity.

Sweet and adorable characters. I loved the fall vibes.

This was a cute read.

I liked Dina and Scott together. Their connection was strong and believable. The storyline was well written, but I think the part about the hex should have been in more of the story. Dina made a big deal about the hex but other than a few events we didn’t really see the hex in action.

Overall, this was an enjoyable and cute read.

I read this book close to Halloween and it was perfect for this time of year!

I loved meeting Dina and Scott, and seeing their relationship evolve. It was fun to have this magical element be part of their relationship.

I also really loved the London location, what a fun place for a book about a witch.

Add in the desire to break the hex, and all that entails, and you have a really fun fall read.

If you like magical realism style books, check this one out!