Thank you Kate Johnson, HaperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Hex Appeal comes out October 1, 2022.

Hex Appeal is a super cute and light witchy romance with some added action and angst. It takes place in Good Winter, a small town that is a host to weird winter weather patterns and a house that no one can find unless they are in need. In this house, adequately named Beldam House, lives a coven of witches who all have their own special talents, especially Essie a witch who is able to bring in winter and keep things very cold. What this coven hasn't done is pay rent for roughly hundreds of years, that's where Josh, the new owner of Beldam house, comes in. In an effort to collect rent Josh meets Essie and the two embark on a budding relationship complicated by a protection spell, their respective pasts and an evil that is stirring.

I really enjoyed this book, even though I do have to say that there were parts that dragged on for me and then other parts I would have loved more elaboration. Overall though I loved the romance between Essie and Josh, but I especially liked the coven and Josh’s sister. I thought the side characters really made this book, and I hope that there will be a second book that focuses on one of them. If you are looking for a light, fun, and slightly spooky read this fall, I recommend Hex Appeal.

Essie is a reluctant witch who wants a normal wife. Josh is their clueless landlord who doesn't know about the covent.... He's drawn to Essie and doesn't know why...

I love the covent... They are so much fun. A lot of craziness packed in here. Lots of LOL scenes. The whole cast is amazing.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Thank you Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Grab your broomsticks! A delightfully fun fall read is here! This story was so cute entertaining. It gave me all the witchy vibes one looks for when spooky season is upon us!

I loved the colorful characters and found the plot line was unique and captivating. This had just the right amount of romance and you can’t deny the chemistry between the main characters, Essie and Josh. The book is based in a small village in Essex which added another level to this light, cozy read. If you want a charmingly witchy story check this book out when it’s released next month!

Thank you Kate Johnson for this magical marvel of a book!

I received a copy of Hex Appeal via NetGalley to read and review.

Hex Appeal is being marketed as a rom-com but personally I didn’t think there was a lot of com. The first half was pretty boring. I picked this off NetGalley since I did enjoy The Ex Hex (super cheesy but definitely a rom-com). There were some somewhat funny lines and a few nice moments but overall a miss for me.

Hex Appeal was a fun super easy read that I finished in one day. I really enjoyed the plot, it was different and immediately had me hooked. It was the perfect fall read and I highly recommend this book. Thank you to Netgalley for sharing this digital ARC with me in an exchange for an honest review.

A fun read with a different plot line to the usual books that fill the charts, wish there had been just a little more character development that is all

Blimey! What a fantastic read and perfect to lift the spirits on a dreary day. Some books make you believe the author had a ball writing it and this is one of those.
Bedlam house, where the witches live, is an explosion of magical imagination. It was the small details such as fencing animals, loved up plants and ability to knit the future that gave the world building depth and made the setting unforgettable. The location is a character of its own.
Essie is a witch who believes she is only useful for one day and their talent has hilarious consequences. The chemistry and misunderstandings between her and Josh were a joy to read and the threat of the curse kept me on my toes. I never knew where this novel was taking me but I was never disappointed.
With a strong cast of supporting characters this could easily become a series.
I'm sure when I reread I'll discover details I missed adding to the reading experience, always a sign of strong world building and storytelling.

There have been many good witch related stories this year but this is one of the best romcoms.

I wanted so much to like this book. I thought the idea was great but it drags so much. There is so much fluff that I almost DNF’d more than once. It’s hard to tell what is conversation and inner thoughts. The characters just didn’t pull you in to want to know more.

DNF 9%

This feels like it’s trying to shove too many things in at once with this opening so rather than hooking me it’s leaving me the bad kind of confused. Plus some phrase choices (“curves all the places a woman should”) are hitting poorly and feeling unwelcome to me as a queer reader. I think I’m the wrong audience for this book, as entertaining as the premise sounds. Maybe I’ll try again, maybe it’s just a pass for me, but definitely missing the mark for me right now.

This was a really fun read. I enjoyed the witchy feel of the setting and having the Witch-finder General himself as the bad guy was very good. The romance element was very believable and the right amount of steamy. Perfect read for the cosy/spooky season.

This book had several good moments, but they unfortunately didn’t work well together. I did eventually love the relationship between MCs, but there were moments where the Josh described Essie’s body that seemed almost fatphobic. When they first met, he described her as a ”substantially built women” and remarked that the old staircase could support her weight. 😱
The plot was generally a bit of a chaotic mess. I loved the witchy aspects, but I feel like the plot was trying to accomplish too many things, and it was rather hard to follow, especially with the inclusion of so many characters with their own unique backstories.

It took my a long time to finish this book, and it felt like the story just dragged. There were several times I almost DNF, I just couldn’t get into this.


I was given an ARC by NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter. All opinions are my own.

Hex Appeal is a fun page turner filled with so much energy and immaculate witchy vibes.
I adored this one so much more than I thought I would.

Kate Johnson wrote such an enjoyable read! The adorable witchy vibes were so fun.
The writing in this was also beautifully done, the descriptions were always so vivid. it was amazing.
The setting was definitely one of my favorite aspects. The village of Good Winter sounds like an amazing place to be.
Right from the start I was hooked by our introduction to your main character Essie Winterscale and the side characters are just too much fun.
And the ending was so satisfying and cute!! It was a pleasure to read about such lovable and relatable characters. The perfect story to snuggle up to and get lost inside the pages.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

One More Chapter,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my blog, platforms, BookBub, B&N, Kobo and Waterstone closer to pub date.

I will this book to turn into a series and to the author to write more books about the fierce and charming witches of Good Winter I will.

Promise me, promise me, promise me (if you know, you know) to have at least a sequel to Hex Appeal. I was NOT ready to leave this witchery wonderful world. Hex Appeal was action packed, contained a great romance (Essie and Josh’ initial flirting was A+), a coven of compelling characters, and an interesting magical system built into our boring, common world. That being said, I would have LOVED to drench myself in this world and wouldn’t have minded to be info dumped just a tad more. There were so many fun things going on (a cat and a dog fencing! Sultry plants! Time travelling! Crazy parrots!) and I really wanted more time to enjoy all these imaginative details the author created. While reading Hex Appeal I just couldn’t stop thinking this book could have easily been chopped up into three books and be like sevenhundred pages per book - and I would still have loved it.

The author’s note at the end upped my appreciation for Hex Appeal.

4.5 stars. I really liked it!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for sharing an digital ARC with me in exchange for an honest review.

I read this in less than 24 hours - it was that good! The author makes it easy to suspend disbelief and truly enjoy the witchy elements, like you would any other amazing romance novel. It’s a perfect Autumn read 🍂🍁🍂

This was a fast read for me. I really couldn’t put it down. A great rom-com with witches— very funny and enjoyable!

A coven of witches live happily and peacefully in the Essex village of Good Winter. One of their numbers, Essie Winterscale, meets the cute American man who just moved into town and falls for his charm - despite his inquiries about the rent that her coven hasn't paid in centuries. Essie would like to experience a normal life or a normal relationship just for ONCE - but is that possible, when Essie's family and friends are magical?

This was an adorable read! Much closer to a standalone "A Discovery of Witches" than a traditional romance like "The Ex Hex" - much more "Practical Magic" than "Hocus Pocus" but I suppose that's on the marketing team lol still, very fun! There's great world-building and magic-building and I loved the characters in the coven, they really drew me in, as well as Siena and Josh. One of my favorite tropes in speculative fiction stories is seemingly-autonomous houses that feel like characters all on their own, and Beldam House nails it. I think the best written aspect/thread of the book and the part that kept me engaged was the mystery unfolding as the villain/curse/whathaveyou was revealed to the readers slowly over time. I will also say I don't typically enjoy the crossover of modern world and ancient-y magic, but it didn't bother me much in this story.

That being said, there was a lot to be desired in terms of pacing and I think the book would have benefitted greatly from a heavier-handed editor. The first 20-25% of the book honestly seemed quite boring, I was on the verge of putting the book down but the mystery of the monster was introduced right at the end of chapter 5 so I kept with it. I'm glad I did! But I also think the book should have been about 40 pages shorter. A few sections were action-packed and then others dragged along. It read to me more like a TV show, which is great, for a tv show, but a bit too stop-and-start-y for a romance book. 3.5 for me but rounded up.

I absolutely loved this book! I raced through it in a day (which isn't something that happens often). It's the sort of book where I read it while I was cooking, read it while I was waiting in line, just to keep reading.

Essie is a witch and lives in Beldam house with a coven of other witches - There's Blessing who is a fertility witch and qualified midwife, Avery who helps manifest people's desires (and makes medicines), Prudence who is a ghost and Maude who knits the future (maybe affects it, or maybe just predicts it) and Lilith who ... well, they don't talk about her.
Josh inherits a decaying farm house and finds he owns some Beldam house and they owe him rent. Except he can't find the house. If he finds it, he promptly forgets it. He meets Essie outside of the house and he's not about to forget her. Except of course, that she wants him to forget about the back rent...
And then to make matters worse, there's a evil stirring.

This is a romcom with witches. These are very practical witches - like Terry Pratchett's ones (more Tiffancy Aching and Granny than Nanny). Some of the things about the house are completely bananapants, but it totally works and it's very funny in places.

I enjoyed this book a LOT.

I had amazing time and laughed out so loud at some chapters! Quirky hero and heroine: amazing supporting characters, enemies to lovers story with magical and witchery powers!

Welcome to Essex,Good Winter village where a bunch of witches live in a magical place called Bendam House: no one knows where is located and any visitor forgets its existence as soon as they leave the place. A house that changes by the moods of the witches, having a tree and bunch of animals: singing parrots, dancing rats, nervous goat, fighting cat-dog.

The witches live rent free for nearly 300 years till their landlord: a handsome, quirky, blonde, boyish lawyer Josh who recently inherited a dilapidated mansion, deciding to meet with his tenants for collecting the debts!

Josh is adamant where the Bedham House located. He finally meets with quirky, red head- blue eyed, eccentric Essie: who is witchery kind of Elsa, rejecting to sing “Let it go”, bringing the winter, chilling the places ( her ability to freeze is convenient to chill the white wines)

Josh follows Essie to her house and meet the eccentric tenants but interestingly he’s strong enough not to forget things he’s seen.

The other witches also carry different kind of abilities: Maude knits the future. Blessing nurtures and brings things to
fruition. Avery manifests ideas into reality.
And Essie’s mom Lilith time travels.

Essie decides to keep Josh at broomstick’s length but when Josh’s very pregnant step sister moves to live with him and hires Blessing as her midwife, two families get a little closer.

And when an incarnated monster starts to threaten their existence, Essie teams up with Josh to confront the witch- finder who can bring the end of the world!

This was smart, fast pacing, humorous and also heartwarming fantasy! I liked the author’s unique hex touch! I’m rounding up my 4.5 stars to 5 magical, frozen, healing, romantic stars! I’m looking forward to read more works of the author in near future!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK/ One More Chapter for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Witches, hauntings, unlikely romance, and family secrets come together in this story about one witch who has avoided love but finds herself falling for the one person she shouldnt be. Essie Winterscale lives in a big magical house in the village of Winter Good, Essex. She is one of many witches in the community and her powers have caused a lot of harm to her previous lovers, so in turn, she has tried to keep herself out of relationships and away from love. Yet when a gorgeous new landlord named Josh appears, he suddenly comes knocking asking for rent that hasnt been paid since the 1700s! Josh finds himself drawn to Essie and all the other inhabitants of Beldam House but when a family secret puts Josh under it’s spell Essie has to save him before its too late. This was a pretty cute story thats perfect for fans of witchy rom coms!

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, One More Chapter for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I love the witchy romance novel, this was what I was hoping for when I read the description. I was invested in the plot of the book and what was happening in this world. The characters worked in this world and with the magic rules. So I was glad that I enjoyed reading this from Kate Johnson, and look forward to reading more from her.

"‘Us?’ said Josh. ‘There is no goddamned us.’ He glanced back at Siena’s room again. 999, that was the number! He dialled it and waited for the answer. ‘Yes! I need police, now. There’s an intruder in my house.’