I absolutely devoured this book! Riveting and emotional it gets you right in the feels! Love the chemistry between Vivo and Rhys!

I really enjoyed this book-fun dialogue, quirky characters, interesting plot line. It was magic enough to give me HP vibes, but not so convoluted that I didn't understand what the magic terms meant (a huge pet peeve I have with the fantasy genre). I read three books in a row-all new this October-that had witches as main characters and this was by far my favorite.

I had no idea that Erin Sterling was a pen name for Rachel Hawkins - but should not be surprised. I have loved everything I have read of hers and seem to have the exact same sense of humor as her. "The Ex Hex" has a perfect blend of magical realism and hilarious hijinks, giving it a hint of the feeling that "Practical Magic" gives without stealing or borrowing any elements of it.

I cannot wait to see what else comes from this *charming* series!

This book was not for me. I tried twice, but it was a big DNF. While I do think that I will recommend this one to library visitors, it would only be for people that like a specific type of romance. I do typically enjoy the enemies-to-lovers troupe, but I just couldn't get into this one.

There’s a trend I’ve been enjoying a lot seeing lately, and that’s the witchy books coming out. There’s something I particularly love about a paranormal romance that has a small town vibe, full of family and some spells thrown in for good measure. Absolutely love it. So I was beyond excited to read THE EX HEX. In some way, it gave me what I was hoping for. And in others, it left me a bit underwhelmed.

Let’s start with the good. The vibe in this book was exactly what I wanted. A light hearted paranormal romance, with family drama and witches that are not always on top of their spells. THE EX HEX has the right spooky vibe for the season. I loved the magical aspects of the storyline.

But this is a romance and as much as I love second chance romances, this wasn’t a stellar representation. I didn’t feel the irresistible connection between our main characters. I didn’t buy into their unresolved issues of the past and how, if their feelings were there all along, it took this long and basically a chance encounter for things to start moving forward. The urgency of the romance wasn’t there for me with this couple.

In the end this was still an enjoyable book to read especially this time of year. Perfect for readers that don’t want something scary and instead just want fun. I’ll probably continue reading on in the series.

The Ex Hex was a fun and funny rom com. I read this around the time it came out which was a perfect Rom Com for Halloween.

I liked the quit witty one liners and the story line. I didn't care for the steamy scenes, they didn't feel authentic.

All in all it was a good read.

As I am not a romance reader, I expected to not enjoy this as much as I did. An absolutely delightful mixture of romance and "witchiness", this is a very fun page turner.

The Ex Hex is the book I needed during the Spooky Season. I read a couple horror novels and considering the amount of horror in the real world, I was struggling to pick up just about anything. The Ex Hex to the rescue! This book has some flaws, but I ended up liking it quite a bit and look forward to more from Erin Sterling/Rachel Hawkins.

What I liked:

Vivienne has a supportive friend group and their dialogue was fun.
Sterling leans into the tropey fun with scenes including the classic "hiding in a closet, oh no we're pressed against each other."
Halloween-y fun - the town is obsessed with Halloween and it feels really spoopy overall. Not scary, which was what I needed.

What I didn't like:

The breakup and Vivienne's hostility felt contrived. She broke things off without letting Rhys explain why he was betrothed and hadn't told her and years later she's still not willing to talk to him about it. I know she was hurt, but the betrothal from childhood was Welsh Witch Politics and he went home to immediately dissolve the agreement. Couldn't they have fixed all this with a single phone call?
Rhys is kind of an entitled prat. This is the point, but I wanted to like him more than I did. I had to pretend several aspects of this "Welsh dudes owning a whole southern town since way back" didn't exist because... gross. Sterling is from the south and she tried to acknowledge this a few times but I'm not sure it was successful. (Then again, white people owning towns anywhere in the US is a whole thing and why is this particular one sticking in my craw?)
Multiple Harry Potter references. Vivienne didn't grow up in the magical community, so she wasn't aware of things like the aforementioned political betrothal and there's an entire page where she's talking about when she learned about her magic and met other witches. Rhys says she went "the full Potter" and there are other references later to plot, characters, merch. Could have been very easily removed, it didn't add anything to the book.

All in all, The Ex Hex was a fun spoopy read and the people I handed it to at my library agreed. If you want light witchy vibes and somewhat sparse world-building, go for it!

Not enough romance for me, and the romance that was there was underdeveloped. I didn’t understand the magic system. I was really disappointed, basically.

Super cute and witchy, if not super steamy - very similar to Payback’s A Witch. Perfect fall/Halloween read.

This was a very lighthearted and quick read. I didn't take it too seriously and just enjoyed the spooky vibes during the Halloween season.

While I enjoyed the Ex Hex, i didn't find myself excited to read it. I liked the reveal of the characters and their relationships, but it was only okay for me.

It's not the book is bad - it is NOT. It's just sort of meh. There was a lot of missed opportunity to lean into the lure of the world and build, as well as more backstory into Rhys and Vivi personal histories. So the pacing is weird and the whole thing felt a bit unsatisfying to be honest. I would love to say that I'd be willing to continue to read more if this was a series (and I think the premise and characters do lend to this to being a series), but I don't know that I closed this book and will ever think about it or the characters past this point. So...

* I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This book is the perfect read for fall season. The Ex Hex is a cute and lighthearted quick read. I loved the banter and the romance. Honestly I love anything with spooky witchy vibes, so I ate this book up. Vivienne was so funny and Rhys..omg he was hot. You want a witchy, cozy, funny, adorable second chance romance? Pick this book up!

4 stars
Spice level - 2.5

Graves Glen, Georgia is home to Penhallow college. The college has a secret side. There are regular college classes but also secret classes in witchcraft are taught too.
Vivi grew up not knowing her mother was a witch so when her mother died is came as a surprise. Vivi moved to Graves Glen to live with her mother’s sister and her cousin. However she didn’t fully trust her Magic.
Vivi met Rhys Penhallow a welsh witch from an ancient and powerful magical family. They had a summer fling but in the end Vivi had her heart broken. With the help of her cousin they did a silly break up curse to help Vivi get over him.
Nine years later Rhys is back in Graves Glen for the Founders Day and to recharge the let lines. Things don’t go as planned with hilarious results. One weird thing after another happens. And Vivi and Rhys have to figure out a way to fix things before real disaster strikes.
A wonderful read, I really hope this wi be a series!

For me this one was just fine. I’d recommend it for seasonal, get-in-the-spirit reading but the main romance and the writing itself wasn’t anything that drew me in. It was fun though, and a quick read. I do like the setting - a magical town - so I'm not opposed to giving this author a try again or reading more from her set in the same place.

I read that the author described this book as "Hocus Pocus but they have sex." and that sounded fun. Magic & witch craft make for an enjoyable story. l enjoyed this book-my first time reading Erin SterIing. I liked her writing style enough that I'll read others by her.

This was a fun read for Halloween season, though quite a silly story. I liked the main character but found her romantic interest to be a bit shallowly written.

What a fun and magical read! I am loving the witchy-romance trend this fall! I'm always a fan of second chance romance, and this one had lots of fun tension. Erin Sterling really brought this town to life and brought me in as a reader new to witches and magic. I loved the romance, tension, and bit of intrigue in the Ex Hex!


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 bit of fun easy reading. Some 'chick lit' for fans of the supernatural. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.