4.5 stars

Best Hex Ever by Nadia El-Fassi is a superlative witchy romance perfect for a cozy autumn day while sipping on a warm beverage and munching on a pastry.

Dina Whitlock is a bisexual kitchen witch who runs the Serendipity Cafe - a cafe that I wish I could be a regular at with all its delicious offerings— I was getting so hungry while I was reading, so make sure to have a snack nearby, don’t read this on an empty stomach. Dina’s is the maid of honor in one of her best friend’s weddings - she also is doing the hand fasting and making delicious baked goods for the event in lieu of a traditional cake. When Dina was younger she was hexed by an ex-lover and ever since anyone who has gotten close to her has suffered.

One day, a handsome stranger walks into her cafe and her evil eye charm falls off the entrance. Uh oh, the two are immediately captivated with one another…. As fate would have it, this handsome stranger happens to be the best man at the aforementioned wedding. The two try to play it cool, but the bride and groom have matchmaking on the mind and set these two up in a cozy cottage during the wedding weekend. Sparks LITERALLY fly, and we get some delicious spicy spice thrown into this fun adventure!

This book had a lot of fun characters and really was fast paced - it was so hard to put down one thing after another was happening and I never felt bored or disinterested. I loved the magic & the mother-daughter relationship between Dina and her mother Nour. There’s also a fantastic familiar in the form of a cat named Heebie!

I highly recommend this book to paranormal witchy fantasy romance lovers looking for a quick read to get obsessed with! Grab your copy on October 1, 2024!

Thanks to NetGalley & Random House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I loved this book & look forward to devouring more of Nadia El-Fassi!

Starting off I really loved this book. A cute cozy witchy story that takes place in London. Magical pastries, a cat named Heebie Jeebie. It was perfect. However it started to lose me with the romance. It was very predictable and lost its cozy magic feeling. I don’t mind a spicy story, but when it comes to stories like this, where the majority of it is sweet and playful, and then all of a sudden the character drop vulgar words describing their feelings towards their romantic interest, it kinda throws me out of that cozy state of mind. The characters didn’t give off the vibe that they would talk like this so it kinda just makes me feel weird. But I’ve seen that happen to a lot of books like this so maybe it’s just me. I’m sure others enjoy it plenty which is totally fine! This is just my honest review. Even tho it was predictable for me, I did like the little twist with the hex reveal at the end and was happy to see a cute ending. Overall I would recommend this book, and it could be a good fall read, I just wish it gave me that cozy whimsical magic feeling through out the entire book and not just the first 10 chapters. Thank you NetGalley and Radom House Publishing Group - Ballantine / Dell for access to this ARC.

Dina is a witch - the Hollywood kind, who can light candles with a wave of her hand, infuse recipes with magic, and levitate items across the room. She is also cursed - any person who falls in love with her is cursed to hurt themselves. Dina has been avoiding committed relationships to protect others from her love - until she meets Scott - museum curator and the best man in her best friend's wedding. Sparks fly with all the romance tropes you could wish for - forced proximity, matchmaking friends, chance encounters, insta-love...

This book will appeal to those who like a lot of spice - sex scenes are frequent and graphic with a little bit of kink. If this isn't your thing, take a pass. The book abounds with cinnamon rolls, tea, spooky woods and mazes, and all the October vibes. It's a fun, quick read. The end kind of sprints to a finish, could have used more time processing the big realization, but overall it's a fun sexy book for fall - just don't take it or yourself too seriously.

This book had a really cute premise, perfect for Halloween! I love the witchy vibes and Scott is a swoonworthy male lead. There were times where I was hoping the timeline slowed down a little bit during Dina and Scott's lovestory but it was a fun, fast read that's perfect for fall. Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine/Dell for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

Feel good read for Fall. A cute love-hexed witch runs into a cute curator that has just come back from a heartbreak healing journey. Insta-connection but can it work when she's destined to hurt him? 3.75 rounded up because it was fun and cute.

Dina is a bi witch who owns a magical bakery. Scott is a curator of magical items who has always hoped that one would find be real, but has never found it. Until now. Their story was super fun to read, a great group of friends come together for their friend's wedding where these two bump into each other again. Fate has some plans, but Dina has a long history of hexed relationships haunting her. So when things start to go awry, she knows she has to walk away.

Do read if you're looking for a light-hearted, spicy, quick HEA without a lot of heartache. Don't read if you prefer a complex, deep, slow burn with lots of twists.

First off, thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for granting me access to this book in exchange for a review.

I approached this book with the hope of connecting with the story and themes, but unfortunately, it wasn't the right fit for me. While I appreciate the author's efforts to represent diverse perspectives, I found that the themes and characters didn't resonate with my personal beliefs. I understand that others might find value in this novel, but it didn't align with what I typically seek in a book.

Another significant concern was the reliance on telling rather than showing. The book often resorted to exposition instead of allowing the story to unfold through actions and dialogue. This approach made the narrative feel flat and less immersive, which hindered my ability to connect with the characters.

Lastly, the use of miscommunication trope felt particularly frustrating. While this trope can be effective when used sparingly, it was overused here, leading to contrived conflicts that felt unnecessary and repetitive.

I recognize that every reader has their own preferences, shaped by personal beliefs and experiences. For me this novel contained too many elements that I typically avoid, making it a disappointing read. However, I respect that others might enjoy it and find meaning where I did not. ⭐️⭐️

How to best sum up Best Hex Ever? It was OK. The main characters were OK. The tension was OK. The romance was OK (I was beginning to think Scott’s favorite phrase was “good girl”. It had potential, but that potential was never realized.

The best thing about this book was the relationships of the female characters.

I loved this book! It is the perfect kind of paranormal with magic but also regular folks.
Dina is a witch whose magic manifests mostly around food & tea. She also has other skills but they aren’t as strong. Her mother’s magic is different. Her mother is Moroccan and her father is welsh. They are delightful.
Scott is a museum curator whose focus is artifacts of protection that he would like to see returned to the countries they were stolen from.
This book was such an easy read. Lovely friends, a solid attraction with spice, and a resolution that didn’t feel unnecessary.

This was cute and cozy! Perfect for fall! I really enjoyed the romance and the characters were very likeable. A bit slow to start but after awhile I got invested in the romance mostly! Will be adding to our library and recommending.

3.5 stars

This was a really cute and cozy paranormal witchy romance! The FMC is a witch who owns a bakery/cafe and incorporates harmless magic into her bakes/coffees to improve everyone's day (think Simply Irresistible). I love the cultural references throughout this book and found the FMC's relationship with her parents, friends, and cat to be so sweet and lovely. This book is an instalove and I think that's where it fell a little bit flat for me. Generally, I'm not the biggest fan of instalove but I'll still read instalove books because sometimes it just works SO well and sucks you in. I think the instalove felt a bit forced for me here. There was a lot of telling rather than showing, so it wasn't as believable for me. Regardless of that, I still really enjoyed the other elements of this book and am glad that I read it!

I received this book as an arc!

Fun and spicy yet cozy romance that felt like a brisk autumn morning and curling up with a hot drink, a cat, and a book. The mix of a magical cafe in the city and a sprawling country manor that might be haunted just added to the ambiance of the story. Dina and Scott had great chemistry, and Scott was so supportive and wholesome.

Best Hex Ever was a cute book! I loved that Dina was a kitchen witch and Scott was a museum curator - so cozy! The chemistry between them was really great as well. I adore Dina’s family house. Where can I find a magical house? One thing that wasn’t my favorite was the PC stuff really being force fed. I’m here to suspend reality; when authors oh-so-casually drop stuff like that in their books, it feels more like pushing an agenda dressed up in fiction to me.

I received an ARC of Best Hex Ever from NetGalley. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

True score 3.75, rounding up to 4

What to expect:
🍂Cozy fall vibes
🍂Bi rep
🍂Moroccan witch
🍂forced proximity
🍂baking with spells
🍂reverse Indiana Jones MC
🍂magical house with personality
🍂SPICY
🍂insta love

🫶🏽What I enjoyed
The fall atmospheric vibes were SO good! This had an incredibly cozy start and the imagery described was so clear I could easily see it in my head. I was very much intrigued by the premise, enjoyed Dina’s relationship with her best friends, and appreciated a few of the tender moments she had with Scott. I also loved the close relationship each MC had with their parents, even though Dina was afraid of coming out to her mom.

What didn’t work for me
I wish this book had gradually eased in to the spice. The start was so sweet and cozy and I feel like the jump to graphic language came out of no where and was a bit extreme. I would have liked to have seen Dina and Scott develop more of an emotional relationship first, and for them to have dug deeper during the maze scene. I was also hoping to learn more about Rosemary seeing dead people, as that was glossed over. And about 1|4 of the book was mostly back-to-back smut. Thankfully it did get better after the cringy 3rd act break up.

All that said though, I think there were a lot of strong strengths here for a debut, and I look forward to reading more from this author! Plus she gave a pspspsps shoutout to her cat in the acknowledgments, so she’s won me over

A review will be posted on my Instagram account the week of September 23rd.

This book was amazing! No notes! It was cozy and spicy and literally made me forget it’s still summer outside! I cannot wait to follow Nadia’s career!

Best Hex Ever is a romantic cozy about a kitchen witch who has been hexed; anyone who loves her romantically will get hurt. I specify romantic love because Dina is loved. She has good friends that accept her as she is. Her parents are kind and supportive. She owns a thriving business with happy repeat customers. She can pay her bills. There isn’t anyone in her life that is manipulative, or mean, or sarcastic, or out to destroy her. Yes, she is lonely, but otherwise her life is good.

It is so nice to start a novel with a hug instead a long list of problems to fix.

And once Scott shows up, her life just gets better. He is fascinated with her magic, but not in an exploitive way. He likes her cat. Their chemistry is great. They genuinely like and respect each other, tell each other the truth and are vulnerable. He is emotionally mature enough to apologize, helps out when firewood needs to be chopped.

The sex scenes are spicy and welcome, don’t get me wrong, but I think the author has tapped into a much sweeter sort of fantasy than she anticipated.

I really wanted to like this book because Dina is a witch who owns a magical cafe where the hot chocolate and pastries are always delicious. Cute, right? However, the pacing was so slow in the beginning that it was hard for me to get into it. There were several pages of dialogue and interiority just talking about pastries and how amazing Dina is at baking. I feel like all of that could've been condensed to one paragraph. Since she's also a witch, it was odd that she was taking so much credit for it. Which is it? Is it your amazing baking skills or is it magic?

The love story was cute but there was some kink stuff that just isn't my personal taste. I also thought that the stakes were high but I had a hard time believing it for some reason. I don't know if I just wasn't invested enough in the characters or if it was a case of telling versus showing. Either way I was okay with the third act breakup trope.

Overall though it's a cute, autumn read. I think if you just take it at face value and go into it with low expectations, you'll enjoy it.

Thank you, Random House and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 In a world that can be so overwhelming and cruel, it cannot hurt to believe in a little bit of magic….Whether you think magic is real or not, the universe sure did have a plan to bring Dina and Scott together over the course of their best friends’ wedding weekend. A little bit of witchcraft mixed with forced proximity is just the right recipe to bring these two together in this absolutely wonderful read! And sometimes it takes finding someone who helps balance us to break old hexes and find freedom to move forward toward a better future. I might have been under a spell the whole time reading this book (and am totally amenable to that) because I was 💯 enthralled by the characters and captivated by this wonderfully witchy romance.

Review is on Goodreads and will be posted on instagram closer to publication date and on Amazon when published!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

2.5 stars. This pulled me in with the cute title and a magical cafe. A magical cafe! How wonderful. Sadly, I did not feel connected with the characters and I wasn't really invested in their relationship. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

Looking for a cozy, magical romance perfect for spooky season? Look no further than Nadia El-Fassi’s debut novel, Best Hex Ever.

Dina is a witch who weaves and magic and spells into the food and drinks she prepares. Life is great owning and running her own cafe, Dina has amazing friends and family, but there’s just one thing: there’s a hex on her plaguing her love life. Scott is a museum curator (yep, queue up the hot professor vibe), who has recently healed from a heartbreak. Dina and Scott find themselves on a collision course as they are thrown together as maid of honor and best man for their friends’ wedding. Can the two deny their chemistry? Can Dina undo the hex before it’s too late?

Huge thanks to delrey Uk for sending me this absolutely lovely and charming arc.

What’s your favorite spooky season read?

I struggled a bit with this book -- I loved the concept and the writing, but the plot felt too fast. Additionally, I somehow found the stakes to be too low. I enjoyed the twist of her cursing herself, and even more enjoyed a MMC who was supportive right off the bat of learning about Dina's abilities. Overall, a quick read that I didn't need to take too seriously to enjoy.