3.5 stars

I loved the witchy fall vibes! I was annoyed that the whole conflict of the book was just because the FMC refused to talk to her mother though.

3.25 - Best Hex Ever fits the witchy romance vibes of fall! Our FMC is spunky, feisty, and is living my dream of baking pastries and making tea all day! While I really enjoyed the setting of this book and the relationships Dina has with her friends and family, I didn’t love how insta-lovey it became. The physical scenes between the love interests were nice and steamy, but there was not a lot of character development that led me to believe that these two could have a relationship that wasn’t purely physical. I still had a lot of fun and would recommend it to anyone who is into fast-paced witchy romances with all the fall vibes!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH! I devoured this book in a day. Once I got to chapter 4, I was all in. I could not put it down. I loved the culture in this book. It was so refreshing to have such a different main female character. I loved the magic in this book and it was so well written, so believable. The things she uses in spells is so spot on (as a witch, I would know). I usually don’t go for the ‘love at first sight’ thing but it works so well in Dina and Scott’s story. This book is open door and the spice is unbelievable. Loved every minute of it. Excuse me while I fly back to London and find me a Scott. I really felt with Dina about the hex she accidentally put on herself. My love life has been terrible and I have bee joking this whole year that someone put a hex on me. Reading this made me wonder if I did the same thing as Dina and didn’t know it. This is the perfect book to get your fall fix and will be staying not only on my seasonal list, but my rereads in general.

A cute witchy read for spooky season! Dina meets the handsome Scott at her restaurant and there was an instant spark. Only thinking it was a one time meet-cute, both were surprised to run into each other again on the train to the countryside. Little did they know that their best friends are getting married to each other and they are the maid-of=honor and best man. With magic bringing them together, it also comes at a cost as Dina is hexed and anyone who falls in love with her gets hurt. Will the hex make or break the budding love between Scott and Dina?

This read has quite a bit of spice, but could be better written. I liked the incorporation of the relationship growth with Dina and her mother and how Dina's cat Heebie Jeebie would play matchmaker and continuously bring Scott and Dina back together. She reminded me of Salem from Sabrina the Teenage Witch! Thank you NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

WAY more spicy than I was anticipating but I ain't mad at it. Perfect fall read with the witchy and Halloween vibes. I would categorize this as solely Romance rather than Romantasy as the fantasy element is far outbalanced by the romance.

spice rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Overall, I thought this was a cute witchy romance read but I wished the characters and the romance had more development throughout the novel. Personally, this book relied a little to heavily on the insta-love troupe for my personal tastes. The main characters, Dina and Scott spend most of their time talking about how attractive they find each other but I was often left wondering what else drew them together. I also found Dina a bit unlikable and her actions often made me concerned about the ethics of casting magic on someone without their consent, something Dina did often and did not see much of a problem with. I wish we would have gotten a chance to see deeper aspects of Dina and Scott's relationship outside their physcial attraction for each other to get some insight into what drew them other.

Thank you to NetGalley, RandomHouse Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell, and Nadia El-Fassi for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review 🥰

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

This is such a cute fall read!

Dina is a wonderful (but guarded) witch and owner of a magical coffee shop (that I wish I could go to in real life) that lives in a layer of fear due to a hex she was cursed with. Swearing off dating and relationships all together… that is until curator Scott walks in.

I really enjoyed the journey of Dina and Scott. I could feel the magic and fates conspiring to connect these two. Their journey to get to where they’re going was fast but considerate in a way that didn’t give me whiplash or have me rolling my eyes at how unrealistic it could be. I was rooting for them from the beginning and although I wanted to scream and give Dina a shake sometimes, this was such a good, cutesy HEA that I couldn’t put down.

I can’t wait to get more of Dina and Scott and am so excited that Rosemary’s story is up next. Overall, I loved the story, the spice (ohhh the spice!!), the inclusivity woven in, and just mostly everything about this! Can’t wait to read the next in the series.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC and giving me the chance to give my honest review!

This was super cute and cozy!! (and spicy) 💌🍂
Best Hex Ever 🍂🧡
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Today I want to talk you about a book I read at the beginning of the week and that I loved so much. I’m talking about Best Hex Ever by Nadia El-Fassi coming out on October 1st!✨
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In a magical cafe in London, a kitchen witch fends off a love hex by guarding her heart from potential love interests and focusing on perfecting magical bakes for her clientele. Too bad her handsome new customer is a curator for the British Museum and most importantly, is the best man at her friend’s wedding and avoiding him is impossible as they’ll be stuck together for the entire weekend.
Dina and Scott are so cute together, I loved their relationship, the slow burn, forced proximity romance and the spicy scenes were chef’s kiss!!
Some scenes were so funny and irrelevant, others hot asf and others very deep and intimate. All this was perfectly balanced and allowed me to read the book very smoothly.
As you probably know I am a lover of the perfect cosy and witchy stories for the autumn season and this book was just heartwarming and like drinking a cup of pumpkin spice latte under the blankets on the porch while leaves fall from trees!
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Thanks to netgalley and randomhouse for providing me with this e-ARC! Best Hex Ever is out everywhere the first of October!
And I cannot wait to get the gorgeous @fairyloot edition 😍
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Btw... at the end of the book there was a little snippet of the author’s next book and I can’t wait to read it! If when it’s done y’all want to give it to me in advance I would be very happy 🫣✨ (age gap at his finest... I’m sold.)

I was sold on the cover and premise of Best Hex Ever. Dina, a kitchen witch, weaves magic into every part of her life, pouring her love into everything she bakes in her bakery—her biggest problem: she cursed, and she’s accepted that, until Scott Mason enters her bakery, and when it turns out he’s the best man in her best friend’s wedding where she’s the maid of honor, she realizes it might be time to break her curse. So I have some mixed feelings. I love a witchy romance, but this had just a lot going on. It’s a cozy fantasy with a lot of spice, and I think with that, it was tricky because there were moments the spice was kind of jolting. I don’t mind some steam, but I think with the cozy vibes the start of the book set up, it was hard to reconcile. It’s also very insta-love romance, and I just wanted more depth to these main characters. There was also just a lot of telling instead of showing, and I feel like the magic element got maybe a little heavy handed. The chemistry in the romance was 100% there though, and I absolutely adored the friendships and the character relationships. All of the side characters were just such a joy and so rich in voice. I also really appreciated the message of self love and acceptance. It’s a great pick for a spicy, cozy fall read.

3.5 rounded to 4 stars for this one! It’s a cozy fall vibes witchy book which I LOVED. However this was also a really horny book. I’m not against that at all lol but some of the spice was rushed. It went from no spice to all spice pretty quickly.

The characters were really sweet and the plot was pretty predictable with not a lot going on. Very much a cute spicy read that’s not heavily focused on an external plot line.

Overall I liked it! Sometimes you just need a quick read that doesn’t require a lot of thinking.

Cozy and witchy romcom that is perfect for the fall! This follows a bisexual witch who has been hexed so that everyone she falls in love with who also loves her is hurt. The kitchen witch vibes were so fun—I loved all of the descriptions of the food, and the idea of imbibing treats with a comforting memory is the sweetest implementation of magic I’ve read. I also loved the focus on ethical curation from the MMC and how passionate he was about repatriating artifacts to their countries of origin. He’s a very masculine man—tall, a tower, with a beard and thick hair—but he’s also willing to cry if he’s hurt or scared. I appreciated that both characters were sensitive about the MMC’s panic attacks.

This was a little spicier than is my personal taste, with the romance being very quick moving/essentially love at first sight. The spice also has some D/s dynamics. If that’s something you enjoy in a romance, this will be absolutely perfect for you!

E-ARC Review— Thank you so much NetGalley, Nadia, and Random House for allowing me to read and review this book!

5/5 star read. This book was the perfect mix of enchanting and spicy! It gave such strong Sabrina the Teenage Witch vibes and I was here for Every. Single. Second.

WITCHY VIBES:

This book had cozy baking magic, naked dancing in the woods, hexes and spells. What more do you need in a witchy book?!? The FMC was delightfully comfortable in her magic and her familiar cat Heebie was my absolute favorite character. She gave prissy queen vibes through the entire book and I ate it up.

FAMILY:

Part of the coziness of this book came from the love Dina gets from her family, both biological and found. She has the most supportive and hilarious horror loving friends that balance out the serious struggles she experiences during the book. She had the most supportive parents too, despite her fear of showing them her true self. They continue to love and support her until she is ready to share her full self with them.

SCOTT:

Scott was the perfect cinnamon roll MMC with a perfect dirty mouth. He was charming and understanding throughout the entire book and this made him my 3rd favorite character (sorry but Heebie and Immy have my heart)

Overall, this was a spectacular debut novel and I look forward to reading more from Nadia El-Fassi

I plan to post a review on tik-tok next week.

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!

nadia el-fassi’s debut felt like a warm hug — it was full of love and acceptance, and was really very spicy for such a cozy witchy romcom. typically, i am not the biggest fan of books that revolve around food, but everything dina made i wish i could eat from the descriptions alone.

Best cozy comfy read of ALL TIME. Best Hex Ever ignited my seasonal cozy reading mood! Now I’m exclusively reading cozy witchy romances set in the woods. I’m calling it, this is THE book to read this fall.

Everything about this book was perfection, from the magical cafe vibes to the hunky historian leading the British Museum’s artifact reparations initiative to return Middle Eastern ancient artifacts back to their original homeland. There is a cottage in the middle of the woods, a spooky wedding, *more than one* Jane Austen reference, and a cat that maybe talks named Heebie Jeebie?! Are you kidding me. This is pure gold. Truly the vibes are vibing and this book goes down like a warm drink on a cool rainy day.

Woven seamlessly into the cozy backdrop are references to Nadia El-Fassi’s Moroccan heritage. Dina and her mother draw their witchy magical powers from their homeland in Morocco. We get a glimpse into their culture through their magical house that turns into a traditional Riad on the inside, the Darija they speak, the magical properties of henna and other Middle Eastern plants and herbs. It is so beautiful to see that representation on the pages of a cozy (yet very steamy!!) witchy romance. I loved every minute of it.

This book explores some deeper themes of self-love and coming to terms with your identity. The FMC, Dina, grapples with her bisexuality and accepting her authentic self, especially in the face of her family. El-Fassi holds the reader’s hand on this journey of self-love and self-acceptance, showing that magic and power come from who you are on the inside.

Thank you so much to the folks at Dell Romance and NetGalley for providing me with this early review copy!

This book was a bit of a mixed bag for me! I love witchy romances and loved the vibes of this in the beginning - a kitchen witch is such a fun idea! I think the culture that was included added so much to the book and I would have loved to see even more of that and more explanation of the magic system.

The third act breakup was predictable as was the whole hex part and how to solve it. Honestly I think everything in the last 25% felt super rushed which I did not like. I'm also a huge spice lover but this felt like it went from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye - I think this would have benefitted from a bit more tension and build up as well as a conversation about kink/consent.

Overall I see the promise even if this book wasn't for me exactly. I rated it a 3.75 rounded up to 4.

How can a book be simultaneously so heartwarming and cozy yet insanely horny at the same time? I absolutely loved this. Just the idea of a coffee shop where the food and drink make you feel like getting kissed on the forehead (and many other spells inducing comfort and luck) had me hooked from the start.

4.5/5

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Ballantine for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. For more book content, follow me @romantic.ally_ on instagram

I enjoy reading anything to do with witches and paranormal vibes. This was a cute witchy romance by Nadia El-Fassi in her debut novel.

The 3rd act breakup was looming and was predictable. If you like spice this is the book for you cause most of the book was spicy and it came on pretty quickly. But if you like sweet, spice and a cozy romance you will enjoy this read. It was cute for a debut author.

4 stars

This was a cute and cozy fantasy romance. Dina and Scott were both really sweet characters who were definitely down bad for each other. The friends and family were also a lot of fun and a good addition to the story.
Not a lot happens in this book and there’s honestly not a whole lot of character development. You get a little bit of the hex story line which helps keep things moving but it’s mostly just vibes. I personally didn’t mind it but if you’re looking for a more plot heavy romance this might not be the one for you. It’s a great read for cozy fall day where you just want to get lost in a cute love story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC

I don't understand how a book can be quirky, comfy, and spicy all at once, but Best Hex Ever was just that. Dina and Scott were fun to get to know and I felt invested with side characters as well. The book was an instant hit for me, I don't know if it was the magic, Dina, or just the fall season feel of the book, but it was a quick and fun read for me. I cannot wait to buy a physical copy of this book and proudly display it on my bookshelf!

If I could hand the author an award right now I absolutely would. One of the best up and coming novels for Halloween/Spooky season. A modern love story between a hexed witch and a man who grew up as an orphaned boy that collected good luck charms and protection items in order to get adopted. She is also a maid of honor for a friend's wedding and he is the best man which is what ends up bringing the together in the middle of the book.

Love the constant build and intertwining of events and spice. The story is well written and realistic so a reader can relate. I like how there isn't a lot of fluff in the beginning and the author let's the characters have the courage to talk about their feelings freely and have healthy communication skills which only adds greatness to the story.

Also, there aren't any means girls in this story, rather women being girls girls and men not only being civil and nice to the other characters but to each other and all the characters having each others' backs. Further, I absolutely love how the author includes all types of people from all walks of life without going to the extreme this includes family and lifestyles of all types. Hats off to the author have kid free and kid families included and accepted in this story. To add, the cat name was absolutely genius in this book and I will be stealing it (Heebies, full name Heebie Jeebies).

In this book we also see both parties display a healthy relationship that respects the other's wishes and boundaries. For example, there were topics that each MC was uncomfortable talking about and one person would stop before hitting the topic, say "I support and respect ***".

Finally, the Hex turns out to be a big lesson and epiphany about self sabotage and accepting yourself as you are. I won't spoil who put the Hex on Dina and how, but through the book you see her really start to glow and realize how awesome her and her powers are.

Romance Scenes: The scenes were so good! You really knew what was going and who was doing what. Again, perks to the author for having defined/healthy/open discussions about consent, boundaries, and protection for romance scenes.

Spice 4.5/5

This novel is great for 18+
If it weren't for the spice, I would say for 12 and older. Great example of a healthy relationship which we do not see a lot of.