The Ex Hex by 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.

What a sweet story! I found this witch universe mixed with the human one interesting. The romance is adorable.

This is a silly romantic comedy. There's a happy ending.

I didn't much care for the racy bits all throughout the last third.

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling has been described as Hocus Pocus but they fuck and I can definitely see that connection. This book follows two characters, Vivi and Rhys. Vivi is a young witch who has just gotten her heart broken by Rhys after a steamy summer fling and she decides to do a funny curse on him with her cousin. Nine years later, Rhys returns back to the town to recharge the town's ley lines and be there for founders day. While he is making his way through the town, bad luck strikes him too many times and once he see's Vivi again, they realize together that the curse she put on him nine years ago is real. They must work together to break the curse and learn more about the town along with Vivi's family history.

This was a super cute read. It honestly felt like a normal contemporary romance but with witches. I loved the dynamic that Vivi and Rhys have. I am a sucker for sarcastic romances where the two main love interests know how to poke fun at each other and make jokes.

I definitely feel like there could have been more though. It felt like the story was a bit rushed. Not in the writing sense but the plot. Each chapter something major would happen and it would be resolved by the end of the chapter. I loved Vivi and Rhys relationship but I could see it needing to be flushed out more or have more moments together. Those felt super quick as well.

Overall, it was a super cute and easy read. It brings a twist to a normal contemporary read. I would recommend picking it up for any romance and magical lovers.

Super fluffy second-chance romance with magic! Solid three stars because I wanted more chemistry between the leads, but this was a perfect October vacation read.