Name: Chloé Dupèré's review of The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
Item: The Ex Hex
Rating: 3.5
Author: Chloé Dupèré

Erin Sterling

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins, writing as Erin Sterling, casts a spell with a spine-tingling romance full of wishes, witches, and hexes gone wrong. Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths...and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn't use her magic this way, but with only an "orchard hayride" scented candle on hand, she isn't worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two. That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town's ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town's ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all. Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it's too late.

A Novel

The Ex Hex

Liv Gliese Johnsen

Polka dots had replaced black lace and red satin in any sexual fantasy he might have for the rest of his life.

Alesha Clifford

"Okay, okay, Operation Soothe the Muggles, I'm on it."

Seeing as I read Carrie just over a few weeks ago, I can see how much of a monstrosity that would be.

“I swear to the goddess, if this is another text about Founder’s Day shit, I am going to go full Carrie on this town.”

Michelle Hruby

Seriously, dude, don't care whose dad you are, or how fancy a witch you are, keep talking shit about my cat, and I will personally kick you down this mountain.

A spellbinding rom-com with a twist, The Ex Hex is Practical Magic in the Gilmore Girls Stars Hollow . . . New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins, writing as Erin Sterling, casts a spell with a spine-tingling romance full of wishes, witches, and hexes gone wrong. 'Sterling's novel is ultimately crisp and sweet, like biting into the perfect caramel apple, and makes for an equally delicious autumn treat that will sweep readers up into a world of whimsical magic' Kirkus 'A spooky romantic comedy treat that had me sighing at one page, laughing out loud at the next. The Ex Hex is the perfect book for fall' Tessa Bailey, New York Times bestselling author 'You broke my heart, Rhys Penhallow. And we curse you. You and your whole stupid, hot line.' Vivienne Jones handled the biggest break-up of her life the way that any witch would: vodka, bubble baths, and a curse on her ex. That was nine years ago. Now Rhys Penhallow, descendant of the town's founders, breaker of hearts and still irritatingly gorgeous, is back. Rhys has returned to the quaint town of Graves Glen to recharge the ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival. But when his every move results in calamity, Vivi realises that hexing her ex might not have been so harmless after all . . . As the curse starts to affect the magic of the town, resulting in murderous wind-up toys, an outraged ghost, and a surprisingly talkative cat, Vivi and Rhys must put their personal feelings aside and work together to break the curse and save not just the town, but also Rhys's life.

Never mix witchcraft and vodka . . . a spellbinding second-chance rom-com!

Im sorry but whenever she says his hair does “the thing” I just reminds me of jimmy neutron 😭

Athena

“his hair definitely doing The Thing and his stubble really upping his whole rakish air.”

Mariann

Needless to say, her body definitely remembered how much it had liked his, which was deeply unfair and, quite frankly, treasonous of it.

"And!" She lifted a finger in the air. "I have had many boyfriends since him!"

"Which is more than two, which is 'a couple', so therefore is many, Gwyn, whose side are you on?" 

Just inside, Vivi stopped to pet Sir Purrcival where he was curled up in his basket. He was massive now, a hulking mass of black fur and green eyes who adored Gwyn and tolerated Elaine and Vivi, and she considered herself lucky when he only took the laziest of swats at her hand before settling back into sleep.

He'd felt like someone had hit him solidly in the chest when he'd seen her there at the Solstice Revel, standing under a violet sky, a flower crown crooked on her head. She'd smiled at him, and it had been...

Tindra Sjöqvist

The Fool and The Star, just like Gwyn's cards had shown. Leaping off cliffs and shining steadily, opposites who couldn’t live without each other. 

He leaned in a little closer, lowering his voice.

 "That woman you, by the way. Wanted to make sure that was clear."

‘ I was completely fucking miserable.’

But all that came out was, "You have...an office."

No cariad, no I miss you, but he was thinking of her, and that  was enough.

"Look on the bright side," she said, as she pulled back. "At least this time I won't be cursing you. Might even set up a little mini- Rhys Penhallow shrine on my desk at work."

"May I kiss you?" Rhys's heart jerked almost painfully against his ribs. "Now?" 

"I’m open to whatever your schedule allows." 

"Well, lucky for you, I am currently free as fuck," he replied,

"And now promise me you will never, ever mix vodka with witchcraft again." 

"Solemnly swear," Gwyn said immediately, and Vivi nodded. "Lesson more than learned, trust me." 

 the courage to take a deep breath and say, “So fuck Grytud Penhallow. The Jones Witches are taking this back." 

Rys will die, Rhys will die, Rhys will die, over and over again,

Vero Flowers

This was very girlboss millenial vibes, but it was cute.

Chloé Dupèré

this book broke my one book every three days streak

issa

i enjoy the plot but idk why it took me so long to read it. compare to pumpkin spice, i’m glad there was something more to the story than just the romance but literally it would have been solved in 3 seconds without all the side quests. i had one more witchy book but im think im done with halloween books, until next year!

debbie <3

Kate W

cute book, it's like practical magic/halloween town vibes but adult. i wish we had more focus on the plot, like the ending was very rushed. but its a cute fall read~ 

alice l

this was so cute! it was the perfect fall vibe ✨ the plot was not complicated but it was entertaining and I love a silly rom com

fris🐝

I enjoyed reading this book. I felt like it had the best spooky vibes and got me excited for fall. Although it wasn't the most complex story, I enjoyed the characters and the jokes they made.  I did feel like it wrapped up too quickly at the end, and it was a little anti-climactic. The uncursing bit was a little too simple compared to what you would think would happen. But overall, it was a nice, quick read that was easy to get into.

Maggie Hotmer

millena

get me out of a slump? yes

it was good? …….kinda?

Very cute, cozy and sometimes steamy witch rom-com, with the vibe of the movie Practical Magic.

Lili V Guba

Jennifer Gosnell

I liked the cozy, autumn, Practical Magic vibes… but sadly I wasn’t invested in the story or the characters. Third person narrative is also my least favourite for this genre. Just was… a bit of a miss for me.

"Vivienne Jones handled the biggest break-up of her life the way that any witch would: vodka, bubble baths, and a curse on her ex. That was nine years ago. Now Rhys Penhallow, descendant of the town's founders, breaker of hearts and still irritatingly gorgeous, is back. Rhys has returned to the quaint town of Graves Glen to recharge the ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival. But when his every move results in calamity, Vivi realises that hexing her ex might not have been so harmless after all . . .As the curse starts to affect the magic of the town, resulting in murderous wind-up toys, an outraged ghost, and a surprisingly talkative cat, Vivi and Rhys must put their personal feelings aside and work together to break the curse and save not just the town, but also Rhys's life"--FantasticFiction.com.

Rebecca Hurd

Super cute!!!! Loved all of these characters so much!! Just enough witchy vibes for this Halloween season. The romance was top tier, they had great chemistry, this was small town greatness!! I loved that Rhys thought Vivi was an absolute goddess even when she didn’t believe in herself!!

radhika dhawan

literally just Halloweentown but make it adults. perfect spooky szn read 🫶🏽

Abbie Duggan

I’m honestly a bit surprised I liked this book as much as I did! It’s cheesy, had me rolling my eyes several times, and the ending is… anti-climactic. Nonetheless, this cute little Halloween love story sucked me in through every page.

a fun read, love the silly quips, banters and spice. but I find the later half of the novel to be hard to read… didn’t rlly like how the plot progress there. that’s why I feel kinda meh abt it 

his hair does the “thing”

a fun read, love the silly quips, banters and spice. but I find the later half of the novel to be hard to read… didn’t rlly like how the plot progress there. that’s why I feel kinda meh abt it 

anya

Ellie M.

This book is extremely fun, and is perfect for a quick read, most especially during the spooky seasons, or any of your rainy/gloomy days. The plot of the story was very interesting and I can’t even remember how many times the comedy had me gasping for air. I didn’t even realize how good second chance romance tropes actually were, till I picked up this book. I felt like I was watching one of those Disney Channel Original Movies, but throw in a dash of spice. 

We love badass and empowered women. Vivi? God, her character is so sassy and adorable at the same time I sometimes couldn’t take her seriously. Gwyn is such a straightforward character who knows what she wants while Aunt Elaine is such a hippie, cool mom, all witchy things aside. These three women are so fucking powerful. One of the things I also loved about this book was that these two were written as side characters but they had such an amazing role to play in the progression of the plot. 

Vivi and Rhys have such this amazing chemistry I wanted to pull my hair off. How am I supposed to live, laugh, love when I don’t have what they have? The tension and the longing had me crying when they finally made out for the first time. 

Rhys is such a pleaser like c’mon. He has so much more to offer than having black hair and blue eyes, and being Welsh. He’s a good listener, for fucks sake. And he actually cares about Vivi’s opinions and her thoughts, and not to mention asks and gives? He basically treats Vivienne like the queen she is.

Chloé

Easy read/listen. A good pallet cleanser but not overly impressed. Most of the book was just them having sex, not enough drama/story line build up for my liking. 

Lacee Foutch 

Selin Igten

Filipa Carvalho

I hate that I'm saying it...... but I would have 100% loved this more has a movie
What I mean is that this is the kind of story that I wouldn't mind spend 2 hours watching, but has a book... it was just boring? Boring sounds so mean, but for such a cool premise and honestly such a cool story line, I couldn't care less? Nothing felt like it had any weight to it. The romance did absolutely nothing for me, they just had no chemistry . <spoiler>And even the underling feminist story line, reclaiming the real history of the town, was just so flat.<spoiler>
Really sad I didn't like this one, honestly hope they make it into a movie, I can see that working really well.

I just wanted to read a Halloween book so this satisfied my wants, but did find it difficult for me to want to pick it up or focus on reading it. 

Edna Aviles

Riya

This book has such a warm and cozy atmosphere and I loved the way with which the author had carved out this world and interweaved it with magic so deftly. I loved her resplendent and whimsical imagery of the festive season in a small town, it evoked a feeling of comfort. I specifically loved how witches led almost the same lives as their human counterparts but there was always some use of magic here and there incorporated in their lives, which was so fun to read.
 I really loved all of this, so much so that I was willing to forgive how one-note the characters were. But, unfortunately, I couldn't. 
Yes, I didn't love the characters, especially the protagonists. I was not feeling propelled to read further and find out what happens to them. I had to force myself to continue and swipe to the next page.
I wish it had a better romance, the leads lacked chemistry and were just in lust with each other. I say this because they were just thinking and talking about "ravishing" each other in the better half of the book. Writing two or three sex scenes doesn't make a good romance book. A good romance book should be able to show yearning, angst, and sexual tension between characters in the most tenderest of ways, but this book didn't manage to to do that. It felt so trite and vapid.

Mel 

This reads like an early 2000s romcom. Definitely fall, cozy and practical magic vibes. I feel like this is one those books that would be eclipsed by it’s movie adaptation. Overall, quick and easy to read but I’m not obsessed.

Vero Flowers &
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

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Vero Flowers &The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

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Vero Flowers &
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling