vibes: "are we friends or have we always wanted to bone (the second one)", TIME TRAVEL!!!, sexy hilarity punctuated with emotional gutpunches, and Lite Christmas (Yule)

Heat Index: 6.5/10.

The Basics:

Powerful but reclusive witch Bowen Penhallow hires the chaotic human Tamsyn Bligh to be his personal magical-item-finder... for reasons that may have a lot to do with redemption. After months of a slowly-building working relationship that becomes genuine friendship (albeit with a lot of sexual tension) the two accidentally end up at the same wedding. Tamsyn is out to steal a million-dollar find for a mystery item. Bowen... is coming face to face with the darkest part of his past. But when a witch accidentally sends the two of them back to the 1950s, they're stuck trying to right what went wrong long ago--otherwise, they just might be trapped there (or worse) forever.

The Review:

I've really enjoyed Sterling's previous books about, you know, witches, kissing, a good bit of romcom-ery. But as soon as I learned that there was a Penhallow brother who looked like a craggy werewolf, I was like "THAT ONE". And God, his book did not disappoint. Easily my favorite of the series, The Wedding Witch takes us to a different place both physically and emotionally, while at the same time maintaining the things I loved about the previous books--a lot of humor, a lot of chemistry, and the friction two people who really wanna fuck but don't want to confront their feelings.

And the magic is kicked up a good bit, too. The series has always been pretty paranormal. Like, this isn't Immortals After Dark, but it's also far from Bewitched. You have ghosts, curses, some actual factual spookiness. Here, we go to another level with a grief-stricken witch throwing Bowen and Tamsyn to a different decade... and I fucking loved the way the time travel was done.

Like, instead of getting up its own ass about How Time Travel Works, this novel goes full camp in the best way. Oh my gosh, that's that old lady we saw at wedding, but she's a YOUNG LADY now. That's the crazy father of the bride as a little, crazy boy! Those are my grandparents? Young and hot and bickering at each other?

Which is really one of my favorite things about the novel. Bowen and Tamsyn are actually thrown back to shortly before his grandparents' wedding... and they've just broken up. So it's a PARENT TRAP SITUATION. Or rather, a GRANDPARENT TRAP SITUATION. Bowen and Tamsyn (apparently) need to get his grandparents back together before the solstice! Aaaaah!!!!

Like, it gives hard Christmas movie in a lot of ways, even though the holiday is less Christmas and more Yule. For the record, though--I can be a little iffy on consuming Christmas content this far ahead of the holiday, but honestly? While there are some Christmas-y moments, the sense is more... Christmas media than Christmas, if that makes sense. I mean, I've definitely seen my fair share of time travel Christmas romcoms.

And in many ways, this was my IDEAL Christmas time travel romcom. Because first off... this is a fuckton hotter. Like. The Wedding Witch doesn't end on a chaste kiss. There are several sex scenes, and each one fully goes for it. (It's never a bad thing when the hero is all "I'm worried that I won't be gentle enough for you" and the heroine is like "PROMISE?"). The sexual tension between these two is heavy from their first meeting, and while I do think this one could fall under friends to lovers... Were they ever really friends? Did they ever see each other in a truly friendly way? Or were they just slow-motion falling in love the whole time?

While by no means is this a heavy book, there is also a kind of emotional resonance that you won't find in most Hallmark Christmas movies. I was really fucking sad about The Thing driving Bowen (and his guilt). There's one aspect of the plot here that's really bittersweet--not in any way that directly affects our romance, don't worry, this is very much an HEA, but in a way that injected some seriousness. I kind of wanted everyone to get everything they wanted in the end, but by withholding that indulgence, Sterling ensured the book hit harder.

I don't know if she'll write in this world again, but if she doesn't, she went out on a high note and didn't tie every single thing up with a little bow, which I appreciate. But to be clear: this is, overall, a very funny, adventurous book. You have a snarky teenager who actually isn't annoying, the horror of realizing your grandparents were hot and also had a fiery sex life (Elspeth and Harri were QUITE the secondary couple, and I loved every bit of pagetime they got), and some truly classic tropes. (Only one bed, sexy bathtime, very MUCH opposites-attract shenanigans.)

I read 80% of this in one sitting, and that's kind of hard for me to do at the moment. But it was just so fun! And I really wanted to see what happened next the entire time. Which is when you know a book is really good, right?

The Sex:

Like I said, you get several sex scenes, and while there's one other thing I would've liked to see on the page (it happens, it's just not directly on the page), what we do get is so good. Like. It gets hot up in this romcom. Tamsyn fantasizes a lot about Bowen before they get together, and she lets him know exactly what she does when she fantasizes (in total darkness... with him becoming QUITE responsive). There's some mirror action. There's some tree action. Look, you'll be happy with this shit.

It's always great when a book not only lives up to your expectation but surpasses them. Full of whimsy and heat and FEELINGS, The Wedding Witch is one to catch!

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC of The Wedding Witch by Erin Sterling.

I was so happy to receive this book, having really enjoyed the previous two in the series. Bowen has been a mystery to us until this point, and I was wondering who he would gain as a love interest while usually being a lonesome Scottish hermit.

Enter Tamsyn. Previously a problematic piece of the first book, now with a leaf turned over and working as an aquirer of magical artifacts for Bowen, on the straight and narrow until she sees an artifact posting that would literally change her life and she cant turn down. When she arrives incognito at a wedding party to steal the item, she finds Bowen there as well, on his own personal mission for his best friend.

When the two are thrust together there are sparks, as well as a journey through time to understand the artifact and to change the past.

All in all, I really enjoyed the book and read it in one sitting. There were a few plot holes that I was confused about, but I'll put those notes for the publisher (that's where my lost star goes).

The only thing that would have made this better for me was more time with both our main characters. We see their emails over a year, but we dont really see the build up of their relationship. While it works in the story regardless. I would have loved more of it.

Welcome back to the penhallow family , where you fall in love with each brother ❤️😍😭I adored this book so much! I just knew that Bowen would be super cute under his grumpy personality. Let me just say Erin Sterling does not disappoint ❤️ loved it so much and I can’t wait to add to my collection.my biggest complaint, having to wait longer for her next book lol 100%recommend reading this series ❤️
Thank you so much NetGalley , her publishers and Erin Sterling for the great opportunity to read this Earc.

This was such a great lighthearted read. The pace with perfect, the characters were so wonderful and I love Erin Sterlings writing style so much! The is book #3 of The Ex Hex series and if you haven't read the first 2 books....do yourself a favor and hurry and do that. SO GOOD! The entire series is so much fun! I absolutely loved Tamsyn and Bowen in this read. Tamsyn and Bowen are coworkers (they track down magical items) who shared a moment together and try to not make it awkward haha. Flashing forward, Tamsyn is offered a large sum of money if she goes to a wedding and tracks down an item for this mysterious asker....So of course she does...guess who is there.....DUN DUN DUNNNNN--Bowen..why you ask, well because his friend Declan asked him to (he's not earthside mind you) and of course I won't dive too far into this because you need to read this fun adventure for yourself. This story just gets better and better from there and for these two. I loved watching their chemistry grow little by little while loving the magical witchy story at the same time. You will swoon, you will giggle and laugh and fall in love with this world.

Pub Date: October 08, 2024

Thank you @netgalley, @avonandharpervoyager and author for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I've been jonesing (no pun intended if you've read been reading this series lol) for this third installment in this wonderful witchy series and it's finally here!

Our grumpy recluse Bowen is finally coming out of his shell, he meets his artifact acquirer for the first time in person and she happens to be a SHE. A beautiful, hilarious, and vivacious SHE that Bowen can't get out of his head. Tamsyn agrees to work exclusively for the hot bearded witch and the two continue their texting relationship for a year before Tamsyn can't pass up a million dollar gig to procure a brooch. Unfortunately Bowen catches her stepping out on their business agreement because he's attending a wedding for his dead friend's former fiancé who happen to be wearing the brooch.

I felt Bowen and Tamsyn's chemistry back in the second book so I was hoping this would be our couple for this book. They are beyond cute with their flirtations and the way Tamsyn brings Bowen out of his shell was lovely. I died at how his family was so taken aback by him sending her a selfie, it was hilarious.

The pacing of this book felt a lot faster than previous books or maybe it was just because I didn't want it to really end because I love this world Erin Sterling created so much. It was fun to get appearances from the previous book couples and to get a glimpse into what their lives were like now. And the other side characters were so lovable and endearing, it was tough to see them go when Tamsyn and Bowen travel through time.

Overall I really loved The Wedding Witch and would highly recommend this entire series to anyone looking for a funny and romantic good time. There's witches but there's still enough of a contemporary feel to not be too complicated. I'm sad to see this series end but will definitely be following and reading any thing else Erin Sterling puts out. Thank you so much to Avon and HarperVoyager for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest reivew!

₊ ⊹”you’re better than magic.”₊ ⊹

*:･ﾟmy thoughts┊this was so cute! such a quick, fun read that will be perfect for it’s october release this year!

i absolutely loved being back in this world; erin sterling’s writing is so fun to get lost in and i love how she builds up her characters. tamysn was such a fun fmc, and i really enjoyed getting to learn more about the reclusive pennhollow brother, bowen. they were a perfect match for each other!

this book and the plot felt pretty low stakes in comparison to the others, and i almost wish it had been longer to really dive into the plot, and the romance. i felt like i blinked and suddenly bowen was in love with tamsyn, which was a little jarring. i didn’t really believe it for awhile, so even though they were really good for each other, i had a hard time connecting with the romance. i wish we had more of them together before the actual plot began, rather than snippets of their emails and text threads. that was a fun inclusion, though. i just felt like their relationship needed more build up before.

but overall, i really enjoyed this! it was so fun seeing the other characters again, and seeing them all together at the end. this is such a fun series that i can see myself rereading during the fall time for years to come <3

Very cute book! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced readers copy.

Es el libro que menos me gustó de la serie.

Es el último libro de los hermanos Penhallow, es la historia de Bowen y Tamsyn quienes se conocieron un año antes y se volvieron compañeros de trabajo. Ella se encarga de buscar los objetos mágicos que él le pida.
Desde la primera vez que se conocieron ambos se gustaron, sin embargo, decidieron ignorar su atracción.

Siento que no paso nada y todo estaba mas centrado en Declan que en los protagonistas, no hay resolución con el tema de padre, esperaba que los hermanos se volvieran cercanos, pero eso no pasó.



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

“𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙪𝙗,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙,”𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣.”

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗:
Bowen is a broody loner witch, trying to figure out a way to undo the spell that turned his best friend into a ghost. He hires Tamsyn Bligh, a human, to track down magical artifacts in order to help him. When the two of them are sent back in time, they have to figure out why in order to get back home, & if they don’t? Both of them cease to exist.

𝙼𝚢 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎:
I’ve been waiting for Bowen’s story since we met him in book one - & it did not disappoint! I loved the dynamic between him & Tamsyn & how absolutely GONE he was for her from the moment they met. I will say that I missed the setting of Graves Glen, but I also liked the new world that we were introduced to. Also, Bowen meeting his grandparents & getting to watch their love story had me🥹

This book has a bit of everything: magical heisting, ghost best friends, time travel, family drama, a steamy mistletoe kiss & witchy Christmas shenanigans🪄

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:
🎄Grumpy x sunshine
🎄Time travel
🎄Mistletoe kiss
🎄Texting / messaging banter
🎄Marriage of convenience
🎄One bed

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The wait for the third book in Erin Sterling’s The Ex Hex series did not disappoint! It’s finally elusive Bowen’s turn to find love. Family drama, the Welsh mountains, ghosts, time travel, and steamy romance, what’s not to love? I adored Bowen and Tamsyn - their banter is everything. The mystery combined with a cast of hilarious and lovable side characters make this my favorite of the series! Fans of The Ex Hex and The KISS Curse will fall in love with this latest installment.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The characters are so rich and layered, full of complexity and detail, that it’s impossible not to fall in love with them and their story. Absolutely enjoyed reading it.

I’m totally captivated by another bewitching romance featuring one of the charming Penhallow brothers, taking us on a quick trip to the Graves Glen universe! This book is particularly special with its haunted house theme that intertwines elements of "Back to the Future," "The Time Machine," and "Doctor Who," as it involves rewriting the past to save lives in the future.

This story focuses on the quirky Penhallow brother, Bowen, with his perfect beard. He hires the best acquirer for tracking down magical items: the breathtaking, free-spirited Tamsyn Bligh. Despite a past incident involving Tamsyn's brother, Rhys, that nearly endangered Rhys and Vivienne with a cursed candle, Bowen decides to work with her. Even though their mistletoe kiss left him muddled and Tamsyn admitted she couldn’t mix business with pleasure, they remain reluctant coworkers, searching for magical artifacts together.

During Christmas, while Bowen is spending the holidays with the large Penhallow clan in Graves Glen, Tamsyn gets lonely and looks for extra work. She stumbles upon a strikingly alluring job offer that pays $1 million, which could relieve her financial worries and allow her to quit her job for good.

Her job requires her to attend a wedding at the foreboding, gothic, and eerie Trywxyll House to find a very valuable piece of jewelry for her secret client. However, she doesn’t know that Bowen will also be attending the wedding at the request of his longtime school friend, Declan. The catch is that Declan is dead, and his ghost wants to reconnect with his ex-fiancée, who is about to marry someone else at this wedding.

The two meet at the eerie estate and decide to combine their powers to find the magical artifact. What they didn’t expect is to be targeted by powerful magic that transports them back to 1957, to the same eerie house but free of ghosts. There, they meet the house's ancestors and uncover the big secrets that haunt the place. Can they find a way to set things right and return to the present without altering future events? As their attraction grows stronger with each moment, they must navigate their feelings and the web of secrets they need to unravel.

Overall, I adore this series! This book is an absolutely entertaining, magical, high-chemistry, witchy time travel experience that I highly recommend. I’m eagerly looking forward to reading more books in the series, whenever the author is ready to take us on another journey into Graves Glen.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Harper Voyager for sharing this addictive series' digital review copy with me in exchange for my honest feedback, which I highly appreciate.

Bowen Penhallow gets a book?? Bowen Penhallow gets a book!! Long time fans of the Ex Hex series such as myself have long since harbored a soft spot for the quieter, broodier Penhallow brother and I for one am positively thrilled to see him get his own love story! This edition to the series features ghost best friends, time travel and a touch of light magical heisting. In summation: it's perfect. I loved watching Tamsyn and Bowen fall into trouble at every turn and in turn, fall into love under the yuletide mistletoe!! This one's a treat!