This was a super fun seasonal read! It gave me big Practical Magic vibes, but with more spice. The setting is charming and the town is full of fun characters. I also really appreciated the ending, it felt uniquely empowering for a romcom ending. However, I would only really recommend this one as an October read. I think out of season it wouldn't be nearly as fun.

Super cute, fun, and perfect for Halloween. It was delightful and original. I was so excited to read this book and it did not disappoint. I love seasonal romances like this, and it was exactly what I wanted it to be and more.

So is Graves Glen based on a real place? Because I'd like to move there. Witchy vibes, a fall festival, and a literal witch school? Count me in!

The Ex Hex is a lighthearted, quick read. The romance is adorable, with great banter and compelling protagonists, and as I mentioned, a fun setting. While the plot is fairly predictable, and you want Vivi and Rhys to just tell each other how they feel already, I still found this is a great read for spooky season.

"So what? We just hide from Night of the Living Tchotchkes and hope for the best?"

I absolutely LOVED this book! There are so many great, witty lines that picking one to highlight was difficult. I kept sending quotes to a friend of mine while I was reading which made her crack up even with zero context, but also made her want to read this book very badly.

Anyone who's been young and in love will appreciate the backstory of Vivi and Rhys, I think. They both made mistakes and it results in them being apart for nine years (not to mention a serious curse). But they're both charming and hilarious and you can't hate either one for being human, certainly. One thing I really hate about romances is the repeated issue of a lack of conversation when most often if they just sat down and had an honest conversation they'd clear things up in a flash. There were a couple of moments of that in this book but nothing unreasonable, and they were both understandable under the circumstances.

I was surprised at the resolution of the curse, to be honest - it was a little more tame than I expected given the build up, but at the same time it fit. It's not a complaint by any means - the entire book was a delight, resolution included. This book is just so good, I feel like it could be today's Practical Magic. Somebody needs to turn this into a movie, for sure.

Do you like to read holiday themed novels? I do. With Halloween fast approaching, I really enjoyed reading The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling.

Nine Years previous, Vivi Jones went through a sad break up with her boyfriend Rhys Penhallow when she found out he had a “betrothed” back in England. Vivi and her cousin get drunk to commiserate and put a curse on Rhys. They don’t believe it’s a real curse at all, although they know they shouldn’t mess with their powers in that way.

When Rhys returns to town as a descendent of the original founder to participate in the fall festival, Vivi is struck by him anew. She also realizes her drunken curse may have been a real curse after all when things start to go awry all over town. Can Vivi and Rhys work together to save the town and will they be able to deny their chemistry?

This book was truly delightful. I loved the characters and the unique storyline. The witches, their town, spells, and history were interesting and perfect for the season. I also loved the humor in the book. My favorite was when the cat started to talk and mostly just said, “treats” all of the time. That would be my cat if he could talk. The chemistry between Vivi and Rhys leapt off the page. I love second chance romance and enemies to lovers, and this was both tropes. The characters both had flaws and had to figure out how to move forward. I liked that. This is a steamy romance.

Overall, The Ex Hex is a fun read for Halloween or anytime. I highly recommend it.

Source: Review Copy from Netgalley and Avon

Apparently I am in a pattern of reading witch books where a breakup is the catalyst event. The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling had so much hype going for it. I mean, I saw this book all over TikTok and well, as a new TikTok convert, I was somewhat convinced. Of course, there were other elements pulling me to this book — the delightful cover, the witch element, the setting. I knew that if I gave this book a shot, chances were high that I would love it. As it turns out, I really liked this book a whole lot.

The Ex Hex is about Vivienne and Rhys and makes great use of the second chance love trope. Nine years ago, Vivienne and Rhys had a torrid affair over the course of three months in the summer. However, it ended when Rhys had to go back to Wales to break off his betrothal. Vivienne felt so betrayed. And so, under the influence of vodka and a good bath, she curses Rhys. This comes back to bite them in the ass nine years later. You see, Rhys is back in Graves Glen, Georgia for the Founder’s Day festival taking place just before Halloween. He has to charge the ley lines. Only, things start going sideways. It is up to Vivienne and Rhys to find out how to break the curse and save Graves Glen, while also fighting some intense chemistry.

I just gobbled up The Ex Hex. These witch books have got a real hold on me. I loved that this book was set right around Halloween. The atmosphere of Graves Glen really put me in the mood for spooky season. I would love to visit this fictional place and go to the fall events they have. As for the romance, I liked it. I thought that Rhys and Vivienne had such great chemistry — even though Vivienne was bitter a little bit, but who can blame her. I would be too. The spicy scenes were tastefully done and had an element of humor. In all, The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling is just plain fun and a perfect book to get you read into a Halloween mood. I absolutely foresee adding a physical copy of this book to my shelf eventually.

A fun romance novel to read around Halloween, or any time of the year if you're a lover of spooky and cute books!

The Ex Hex was a cute story that was a perfect balance to all of the creepy horror stories I have been reading during this spooky season. Vivi and her family are witches in the small town of Graves Glen Georgia. Rhys and Vivi shared a passionate summer nine years ago that resulted in the breaking of Vivi's heart. Now he has returned to fulfill a family obligation. He is charming, has a killer welsh accent and is now cursed! Their chemistry is still undeniable as the two try to break the curse and save the town from paranormal chaos. The story has the right amount of cuteness, steam and humor. Well worth reading.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. #ExHex #NetGalley

This was such an adorable book! I am not usually a witchcraft book reader, but I am glad I picked this one up. It was the cutest rom com I have read in awhile. I loved Vivi and Rhys banter. You could feel the chemistry coming off the pages. I wish I could go back and read this book for the first time all over again, but I think this will be a book I read every Halloween!

I absolutely freaking loved this book! Imagine in Sabrina the Teenage Witch became a Hallmark movie! I loved the cozy small town feel surrounding all of the chaos happening inside. Will definitely recommend!

This book was DELIGHTFUL. Imagine Stars Hallow with actual witches. Witches who happen to be in love but don't want to be until they accidentally curse said Stars Hallow and things go horribly awry. Also, there's a Welsh accent. Yep. You want this.

I wish that Graves Glenn was real, as I would love to visit it, particularly at Halloween. It is a small town in Georgia that has a lot of witches who run magic-related businesses. The town also has a university with a small difference: half of it is there to train witches, while the other side of the academics is for non-magical people. I would love to wear a Halloween costume, get my fortune told and visit their fun shops such as the Coffee Cauldron. Most of the book takes place during a Fall Festival, where both Founders' Day and Halloween are celebrated.

Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones fell in love with a charming, handsome young man named Rhys Penhallow, who was visiting the town that his ancestors had founded. Vivienne and Rhys both had magical powers but (supposedly) Vivienne's were much weaker. Their romance ended when Rhys was called home to Wales for reasons having to do with his betrothal, and Vivienne took it hard - both his leaving *and* the engagement she hadn't known about. While under the influence of alcohol and heartbreak, she and a friend put a curse on Rhys. Fortunately for Rhys, the curse didn't take hold while he was away from Graves Glenn. Unfortunately for Rhys, he is coming back for Founder's Day ....

This is an entertaining, romantic read with a lot of quirky characters and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I received a review copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher, and am voluntarily leaving this review.

A reviewer compared The Ex Hex to a Netflix original movie, and that is closest thing one can describe this book to. It was a cute book, but the plot never had any sense of urgency that had me racing to find out what happens next. The romance was sweet but not particularly interesting. The characters didn’t really stand out either.

Overall, The Ex Hex was just kind of meh. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t remarkable either.

The Ex Hex is a cute and fun witchy rom com.
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There were some parts that I think could have been developed more to fill in some gaps for the reader - there was just a little something missing for me to fall completely in love with the story and believe the chemistry and romance between them. ⁣
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The ambience in the book was fantastic and made me want to seek out a fall festival near me. Or at least take long scenic drives through CT.⁣
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The cat was one of my favorite characters and I’d definitely read a novella from his POV.

The perfect spooky season read! When a book starts with vodka and spell-casting and contains angry ghosts and talking cats...you KNOW it's going to be a wild ride. Years ago after having her heart broken by the handsome Rhys, Vivienne drunkenly cast a curse to doom him. Except the joke's now on Vivienne as Rhys has returned to her small town to celebrate Halloween and perform some spells as a member of the town's founding family. His curse creates absolute chaos for the town and Vivienne is left figuring out how to un-hex her ex.

I was bewitched by this laugh out loud, sexy romance. Small town, second chance romance, enemies to lovers, magic, Halloween, hilarious hijinks, endearing supporting characters- this story has it all. I would have preferred slightly more steam and more magic but overall was left feeling charmed. I've heard it described as "Hocus Pocus but with sex" and that is an amazingly accurate representation- also gave off Bewitched, Halloweentown and Sabrina the Teenage Witch vibes.

Also, have to note that the author is Rachel Hawkins (The Wife Upstairs). I love the versatility and talent of her writing to switch between genres.

Thank you so much to Avon Romance and Netgalley for my advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Ex Hex is about Vivi who accidentally puts a hex on her freshly ex boyfriend, Rhys. Years later, when Rhys comes back in town, and the hex wreaks havoc, they have to work together to put things right.

Overall rating: 4.5

A perfect October/fall read. Witchy, fun, light and entertaining with tons of cozy vibes and set during Halloween! I really enjoyed reading it. I'd recommend it for people who enjoy some light fantasy with their romance.

I really enjoyed the romantic aspects of this book. Vivi and Rhys had great chemistry. They were so cute together, and sexy too! I was rooting for them the whole way, I'd love to read more about them in the future. I liked how their families were involved in the story. It felt like there might be more books coming either about Rhys' brothers or Vivi's cousin, and I'd be super interested in reading about any of those. I especially loved Vivi's cousin, who's the best friend we all need in life. She's fun, supportive and smart.

The setting was also perfect for the season. I loved the town, the fantastical elements, Vivi's family store. It's all perfectly cozy, great vibes.

I also really enjoyed the humor of the book. It was full or sarcasm and sass.

I do wish that as the romance picked up that the fantasy aspect wasn't fully dropped. It felt like our two MCs fully focused on their relationship for a long time, while the two was on the brink of coming apart. It kind of took away from the urgency of the problem they're trying to fix. When the issue first happens, so many things go wrong, that it didn't feel realistic that they could completely put all those aside for multiple days while they fully invested in rebuilding their relationship.

Overall it was a book I really enjoyed and one that I'll be recommending to any who likes some light and cozy reads with Halloween vibes.

What an adorable lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers romance with a witchy twist. I loved the banter between Vivi and Rhys. Their chemistry was magical. The story itself was cute and original - I mean who doesn’t think about cursing the person who broke their heart and then accidentally follow through.

The dude characters were great too and I’m kind of hoping we see a few spin offs from this story!!

This was a super cute book! Fun read for the spooky season. I liked the dialogue, sweet rom-com energy. :) 3.5-4 stars

An adorable witchy book that brought to mind Practical Magic, but without the evil buried guy. A curse has befallen the quiet town and in the midst of trying to reverse it Vivianne and Rhys realize that their buried feelings from an ill fated former romance are very much still there. The book was sweet and cute without any real urgency to the problems of the curse. The pacing for the book was a tad slow for me, but I would still recommend it.

3.75⭐
This was a very cute, light, witchy romance. I enjoyed the interactions between Vivi and Rhys, as well as Vivi's snarky cousin Gwyn.
There was a fair amount of steam in this book as well. While I enjoyed the characters and the chemistry in the story as well as the magical subplot, overall I felt like it was a little forgettable and I would've liked a little more depth.