I'll give this one 3.5 stars. This book was cute and cozy, and I loved the characters. I found the plot to be an adorable premise and I loved the little side romances. There was just something off with the spice as you get into the story. Maybe it read a little forced?

This book had great potential, but I feel like it fell a little short. I didn't enjoy the writing style very much, and the plot was extremely predictable. I read a lot of romance, and I'm used to a usual formula being used. Unfortunately, this one didn't add anything unique or exciting to the formula. The relationship between the characters was insta-lust/insta-love, and very unrealistic. Love at first sight, but not in a way I could really beleive.

The magic was fun, and I think the descriptions of the setting and magic use was my favorite part. I didn't fall in love with the characters or feel any connection or chemistry between them, but the idea of a kitchen witch baking food that can guarantee you a job if eaten before an interview was super fun!

I think this story had a lot going for it, but just didn't execute it as well as I would have liked.

First off, the title of this book alone had me NEEDING to read it! I loved the cozy kitchen witch vibes which made it a perfect read for spooky season. However I did feel like there was no real relationship building - it was just lust and physical connection which made it entirely unbelievable as good relationships require that "getting to know you" stuff.

There were things about this book I liked, and things I had trouble with. I really like the cozy setting Nadia El-Fassi created within this book. The cafe seems like a dream to be able to visit, and the way she wrote Dina's magic to fit into a modern world was fantastic. The secondary characters, from Dina's family to her best friends, really helped build that cozy feeling. The relationship Dina had with her parents was really heartwarming.

However, the pacing of this book felt a little fast. Dina and Scott fell into bed almost immediately with each other. I felt like there was very little time for their relationship to develop. There was a lot of telling the reader they were in love, but not a lot of showing. This made it difficult to connect to them as a couple and really be sold on them. Even the plot of the book seemed to focus on the two of them having sex, rather than solving Dina being hexed. I expected more tension between them and the issue of Dina's hex but all of it got solve pretty quickly and almost out of nowhere.

While maybe this book was not 100% for me, I do think Best Hex Ever shows promise and I look forward to what Nadia El-Fassi writes next!

When I read this description of this book, I was like this is everything I'm looking for. It's a cozy hug from a Moroccan kitchen witch, which would fit great for spooky season. However, some of the execution makes it a little rough to fully enjoy.

Dina is a (Moroccan!!!) witch, who owns a bakery, where she infuses her pastries/drinks with spells to help those who come in. There is a meet cute with her and Scott, a museum curator, where he knocks down an evil eve.

What I will say is that this book is extreme insta-love, and I would suggest that you're in the mood for that. There's a loose plot in terms of finding love and breaking a hex, as well as dealing with love after loss and accepting who you are. This book is really over a short period of time. It ends with a HEA, and no extended epilogue.

What I love:
- Cozy/Kitchen witch
- Moroccan witch!! this was so cool to read about
- Witch x curator
- Bi rep
- Found and foster family
- Heeble, her cat!

What I am currently struggling with:

- extreme insta-lust
- showing vs telling
- relationship develops over a couple days, which doesn't feel authentic


TW: mentions of cheated on (off-screen), mentions of child abandonment/foster families (off-screen)

Overall, I would rate this a 3.5/5, but look forward to see if there are changes prior to final release as this is really something that could be a great book.

Thanks to Ballantine/Del Rey for an ARC.

FIVE STARS OMG!
I am crazy in love with this book and Dina! This was such a cozy read and ever so steamy! I cannot wait for this to come out because it was so perfect and there's a scene with Dina and her mother Nour at the end of the book that made me cry. I'm so happy to exist in a world where Best Hex Ever exists. Such a sweet fantastic read.

Fun, magical, steamy, great fall read. Scott and Dina meet at her coffee shop. He’s a handsome customer, she a cute owner, who is also a witch. Specifically she is a bisexual kitchen witch. Her heart was broken by her first love. And also that ex, cursed Dina. Anyone she loves will be hurt. So obviously Dina takes a pass on the handsome stranger. But when it ends out they are in the same wedding and their friends are pushing them together. Well, it is a romance novel. The writing is great. And navigates having a curator for the British Museum, who acknowledges its problematic history. Honestly, it is the perfect book, for a cup of hot chocolate on a rainy day.

Hexed kitchen witch Dina falls for museum curator Scott during a weekend getaway in the English country side for their friends’ wedding.

This was cute and I loved the witchy baking and Dina’s Moroccan heritage. I really liked Dina’s friendship with Immy and Rosemary. The spice was good too but I didn’t like the insta lust. For me it was way too strong and too fast. There wasn’t enough getting to know each other first. For a big chunk of the book it’s only physical attraction and lust.

I do plan to check out Nadia El-Fassi’s next book in this interconnected series though.
Thank you Netgalley and Dell for this eARC

Thank you netgalley for letting me read and review this book. This follows Dina the kitchen witch who quite literally has a cursed love life. Living in London and running her cafe/bakery she unexpectedly meets Scott who ends up intertwined in her life. For the first time in years she really wishes she wasn’t cursed so they could attempt to be together.

I thought this book was a cozy fall read, but didn’t love it. I enjoyed it although found parts incredibly slow or fast that made the pacing feel off. I really enjoyed Scott and Dina as characters but their insta love and rushed relationship was hard to follow.

I really enjoyed following the kitchen magic and the rich heritage of magic passed down through her family. The book gave off a cozy vibe as I read through it and would be wonderful to read in the fall. I wished that there had been more involvement of Scott’s work around his symbols and protection exhibit in figuring out Dina’s curse.

Overall really enjoyable and would recommend.

Cozy and cute romance. I didn’t feel as connected to the characters as I would have liked - at points it almost felt like I was reading a screen play. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc.

This book was fuzzy socks by the fire on a chilly fall night. It was the smell of an apple crisp baking in an oven. It was an oversized cardigan worn while enjoying chamomile tea. It was just so cozy and will be perfect for spooky season. I totally adored the magical elements of this book and it was so unique and cute. While the setting of the cafe was innocent enough, the spice was not. Honestly, the spice took me a bit by surprise. I did feel that at a certain point the book became all about spice and the resolution at the end of the book felt a little rushed, which is why I docked a star. Speaking of stars, Heebie was the star of the show! Overall, a quick cutesy fantasy romance that feels like a warm hug.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dina is a kitchen witch ho was a troubled love life because of a hex that hurts anyone who falls in love with her. She finds herself drawn to Scott, a curator at the British Museum. As they strengthen their connection, the hex grows stronger. Can Dina break the hex before Scott gets hurt?

this book was super easy to read and follow along with which made it super bingeable, It had that heartwarming, cozy feeling intertwined with witchy goodness. Baking magic is such a fun play on a magic system and I haven't read anything like it before. The main characters were strong independently but also better together. Scott's professional background in cultural symbols of luck and Dina's magic really blended well together. They had chemistry right from the start and while there is definite spice in this book, it was so well done and well balanced with the story and the romantic build up!

This was a strong debut paranormal romance story that had a unique magic system and intertwined some really interesting elements of heritage. This will be a perfect bingeable story to read during spooky season.

Dina tiene una cafetería, utiliza su magia para darles un toque especial y tiene una maldición en la que a la persona que ame, resultará herida.
Scott trabaja es un curador y trabaja en el museo Británico

Dina se ganó la maldición, pero no era justo que otros pagaran por sus errores, aunque cuando se reveló de que iba tuvo sentido que sus parejas fueran quienes sufrieran.

Fueron muchas escenas sexuales y me aburrieron, ojalá hubiera más cosas mágicas.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute and enjoyable read

Dina, a kitchen witch, becomes hexed and anyone who loves her gets hurt.
Attraction at first sight- she keeps seeing one guy, Scott. He comes to her magical coffee shop, they are on the same train together and crazy enough they are both best man and maid of honor at the same wedding.

I really enjoyed the dialogue between Dina and her friends, the magic and her chemistry with Scott.

Scott is golden retriever energy but also a man who knows what he wants and how to go after it. The tension between them was palpable and all you wanted was for them to finally get their moment.

The spice is terrific.

I would easily recommend this to anyone who loves a witchy romance. You easily slip into the story, you feel apart of the magic and most definitely want to devour all of Dina’s teas and pastries she whips up.

It is the perfect book to curl up with this spooky season (but also spooky season is year round so honestly just pick this book up when it’s available)

Thank you Netgalley and Nadia for an advanced copy!! I cannot wait to read Rosemary’s story next!

Not gonna lie - this was super, super disappointing. The characters are poorly developed, the dialogue doesn't have any charm or humour, and the writing is all tell and virtually no show. Most disappointing of all: the instalove. I don't like instalove in any novel, but instalove in a romance especially is just so much worse. You have the whole novel to slowly develop a relationship between characters, and instead you just opt to make them *immediately* and *instantly* not just interested in each other, but obsessed with each other. I did not buy it. at all.

thank you to Ballantine for the review copy!

I read 90% off BEST HEX EVER in one sitting last night and just finished the final few pages during lunch. I’m completely spellbound!!

This is exactly the spicy, delicious, cozy, magical romance I’ve been dreaming of! I love everything about the read – the characters, the chemistry, the magic, the hex, Heebie (the cat/familiar), the sex scenes, the pacing. It was fast and so. much. fun. to read. Scott is an A++ book boyfriend, and Dina a delightful heroine.

This book was alright, I think it would be a nice cozy read in the fall. It jumped around a lot, and it seemed like the author was trying to touch on bigger topics than what this book was meant to do.

Thank you NetGalley and Dell Publishing for my E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
A fun and lighthearted (cozy?) witchy read. Good fall vibes, I probably shouldn’t waited till fall to read! It read quickly and was entertaining. Simple and all you need!

This was a really cute little read. I enjoyed the pacing and character building. It didn't feel like the story was forced in anyways either. I'm rereading during spooky season