The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling conjures up the sweet ambiance of an old Meg Ryan movie and the romance, holiday sparkle, and gorgeous scenery of a Hallmark movie. I really enjoyed this fast read with its likeable characters and atmospheric locale.
The story is set in picturesque Graves Glen, snuggled in rolling hills and fields at the foot of a Georgia mountain. The town is home to both witches and non-magic folks, with themed businesses like Something Wicked and the Coffee Cauldron thriving during the busy fall season when locals and tourists celebrate Founder’s Day, the Fall Festival, and, of course, Halloween. Graves Glen seems fun and festive, a place I’d love to visit if it truly existed. In case you’re wondering, a quick Google search turns up only one Graves Glen - a century farm in Massachusetts.
The trouble in The Ex Hex all starts when teenage cousins Vivi and Gwyn Jones cast a curse on Vivi’s ex-boyfriend, Rhys Penhallow, who broke her heart when he returned home to Wales to call off a previously unmentioned betrothal. The curse goes unnoticed for nine years, until Rhys returns to Graves Glen, unknowingly activating the curse and putting both himself and the town in danger. Will they find a way to cancel the curse before it’s too late? And will Vivi and Rhys rekindle the fire that burned so brightly between them during that memorable, long-ago summer? The journey to find the answers they seek is both challenging and enjoyable for the characters and readers alike.
Ms. Sterling crafts warm, charming characters like Vivi, Gwyn, and Gwyn’s mother, Eileen, who value family and home, as well as their suddenly talking cat, Sir Purrcival. On the opposite end of the loving family spectrum are the dysfunctional Penhallow men, with Rhys avoiding his overbearing father as much as possible and spending little time with his two brooding brothers, either. I suspect we may learn more about the mysterious Penhallow family in a separate novel yet to come.
I have just two complaints:
(1) Vivi and Rhys spend too much time jumping in and out of bed for people who are supposedly racing to break a curse.
(2) The final scenes as the Jones trio and Rhys attempt to break the curse have fantastic potential, but they’re too short with not enough details, making the ending a bit anticlimactic.
Despite the pending doom of the curse, The Ex Hex is an amusing rom-com that delivers fun characters trading witty banter in a beautiful setting. It will appeal to most readers who enjoy a breezy, modern romance, with no explicit sex or violence and just a light sprinkle of the paranormal woven throughout to create a perfect October read.
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Popular Highlights in this book
Sometimes she thought what she’d really fallen in love with that summer was the version of herself she was when she was with him.Highlighted by 1,411 Kindle readers- “The Full Potter,” he repeated. “Not finding out you’re a witch until you’re older, not growing up with it. ‘Yer a witch, Vivi,’ that sort of thing.”Highlighted by 1,005 Kindle readers
- “You almost ran your ex-boyfriend over with a car, and then left him lying in the literal dirt on the side of the road. It is such a big deal, you absolute queen.”Highlighted by 971 Kindle readers
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Which Witch Stitch: The Power of Polka Dots
Vivienne Jones of Graves Glen, Georgia, has always been reluctant about practicing witchcraft. Content to live the quiet life of a history professor, she's never embraced her powers like her Aunt Elaine or cousin Gwyn, who run a shop called Something Wicked. But nine years ago, Vivi and fellow witch Rhys Penhallow (the word warlock is so last century) fell deeply under love's spell. At least until Vivi learned he was betrothed to another, dumped him, and enlisted Gwyn to help her put a more-cathartic-than-harmful hex on Rhys. Such is the setup for Erin Sterling's The Ex Hex.Never having read a romcom about witches, I wasn't sure what to expect. So when Rhys returns to Graves Glen and runs into Vivi, I wondered what would transpire. Would Rhys get his revenge? More importantly, did the hex take effect in the first place? Because despite Vivi having condemned Rhys to, among other atrocities, an eternity of bad hair days, his coiffure remains intact. Nevertheless, strange things are happening. And Vivi and Rhys must find out why and put the kibosh on them before Halloween. Can these star-crossed exes reverse the curse despite their bad blood and simmering tension? Or will Graves Glen -- and their fledgling relationship -- be lost to the dark side?Saving the day requires Vivi to dig deep and embrace her powers. And to me, there's nothing more powerful than the part where she selects a dress to wear while unleashing her most potent magic:"But as Vivi looked through her closet, her eye fell on the dress she'd been wearing the night Rhys had first come back into town, the black one with the little orange polka dots and the orange patent leather belt.She *#%& loved that dress. But it didn't exactly scream Powerful Sorceress.She reached past it, going for the black dress she'd worn to the Fall Fair, but then she paused.This was her spell. No matter that her ancestor had given it the necessary boost, she was the one who'd cast the original curse, and she would be the one trying to remove it tonight. She was a powerful sorceress, polka dots or no, and if wearing her favorite dress would make her feel better, why not?" (281)I love when Vivi realizes that she -- not society -- gets to decide what outfit gives her authority.Never underestimate the power of a woman -- witch or not -- who knows what she wants from her wardrobe.
Top reviews from other countries
Bruna Cordeiro
Uma comédia romântica digna de seu nome
Reviewed in Brazil on March 15, 2023
Dini
The perfect witchy book for the spooky season!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 25, 2022