review will be up on pop-culturalist.com closer to the pub date. Ellie goes on an epic road trip with Lila. She’s made a bucket list and their determined to do everything until number four steers them off course and is a disaster. Number four was to get revenge on Jack Yasuda- but now she’s stuck in a car with Jack on the way to a convention instead.

Abe continues to prove herself a master of stories that are both comforting and exciting. The Charmed List is perfect readers who don’t want full blown otherworld fantasy that seems to dominate YA, but still like a little bit of magic woven into contemporary stories. Highly recommend this imaginative and beautifully told book!

Not what I expected, but in a good way. The Charmed List, by Julie Abe was so much fun. Set in contemporary times, but in a contemporary times where there are places that have magic, and people are “magic aware”, and can do little spells. Nothing huge, things like making the trunk of the car expand to hold more then it normally should, and being able to fix a tire on a car.

There are also magic houses, and magic villages, that only the magic aware can see, and go to.

And one of the best parts is it all takes place in a road trip from Palo Alto to Huntington Beach, an area I am very familiar with, having driven a similar route many times, but without the magic village off of the 99 in Pixley. So much fun. And the former friends, to enemies, to lovers is fun too, as you can see that Jack is trying to get Ellie to let him back into her life, if she would just let him.

Highly recommend it.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

This story was absolutely adorable! I loved everything about it! The references to Studio Ghibli and other books was awesome! The characters were super likable and relatable! This was a quick cute read and I highly recommend it! All opinions and views stated in this review are my own! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review!

Rating: 3 stars

I think I missed the part about actual magic existing when I read the blurb, but this was still a very cute read. I’m usually not a fan of reading books with magic taking place in our world. I feel like I’ve grown out of that genre and prefer my fantasy books to take place in fictional places. However, as I kept reading, I enjoyed the magical aspects. As for the romance, it was very well done. The friendship between Ellie and Jack was well written and I was rooting for them to mend things. Overall, this was a very fun read. Completing bucket lists has been a trope I enjoy reading about and this book was no exception.

3 Stars

I thought the magic element to the story was so interesting but I didn't really care for Ellie and Jack's relationship. It had some cute moments and I was really excited and I feel a bit disappointed that it isn't a 5 star read.

Ellie is your typical wallflower, with one best friend, Lia. But the summer before her senior year she is determined to leave her wallflower ways behind. She makes a list of things she finally wants to do this summer- dance under the stars, get her ear pierced, have her first kiss, and just maybe fall in love. But when her biggest secret, that she is part of a magical society that non-magicals cannot know about, is revealed to her best friend her plans for the summer seem to be ruined. She must take the road trip she's been looking forward to with Jack, her ex-best friend who has given her the cold shoulder for several years now. How is she going to survive the roadtrip with someone she hates, or maybe she doesn't hate him as much as she thinks?
Ellie and Jack are immensely likeable characters. Ellie’s wallflower tendencies are something that I feel like everyone has experienced at least once in their life. And her list to help her overcome it is something that I think everyone would love to create for themselves, no matter their situation. The themes of friendship, growth, communication, and bravery are ones that people will connect with. This story was fun and the different take on magic was delightful. You’ll find yourself wishing you had access to a few of their charms yourself.

The Charmed List by Julie Abe was a sweet story and an interesting concept, but it felt too immature for its targeted demographic. The story follows teenager Ellie as she sets out to accomplish her summer bucket list full of daring activities and wishes of her wildest dreams. This premise is great enough for a YA novel, but where The Charmed List confuses is its addition of fantasy elements. The novel is set in a semi-fantasy world. Ellie and her family belong to a magical community that hides in plain sight and charms everyday items with secret spells. The magic system is poorly explained, leaving the reader wondering what the limits and rules are for this magic. I wanted to like The Charmed List and there are a few redeeming qualities like the relationship between Ellie and her friends, and the romance between her and her arch-nemesis neighbor. But overall, the book seems to be balancing between middle-grade and YA.

The Charmed List is such a cute young romance novel. It is definitely a magical book.

The author did an amazing job at writing the story. Throughout the story, you would read flashbacks of Ellie and Jacks friendship and childhood. The flashbacks were perfectly placed and never took away from the story line. The story does include a “enemies to lovers, but not really enemies” trope and a “one bed” trope, but it is written in a juvenile way.

The main characters, Ellie and Jack were best friends growing up until something happens and Jack no longer speaks with Ellie. As certain situations occur, Jack and Ellie and forced to go on a trip together. Throughout the trip you read about Ellie’s struggles towards Jack. But, you read how they can’t resist the pull of them becoming close again. I love that you see the growth between the characters regardless of what happened in the past and even in the hard times, everyone still needs someone to stay by there side.

This book was an absolute gem. Makes me feel all sorts of bubbly inside. This deal with first love. Miscommunication and the whole friends to enemies to lovers trope. Has mystical elements involved - that adds a certain charm to the book. If you’re looking for something light to read - this is for you. This is a fun, quick read that will leave you wanting more. I would love to see a sequel to this - but I’m satisfied with the end.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Charmed List was an adorable, whimsical YA coming of age romance full of charm (no pun intended) and heart. I loved the magical realism aspect of this book and following Ellie and her friends and family over the summer before Ellie’s senior year of high school. I loved Jack and Ellie’s relationship in this book and seeing them go from strangers (after being best friends in middle school) to acquaintances to friends to lovers. The forced proximity and (non-toxic) jealousy trope were perfect! Even though this book was only told through Ellie’s POV, you could clearly see how Jack felt about Ellie and how much he cares about protecting her. I only wish that we got to see their relationship play out more at the end. It felt like the book immediately ended after the two revealed their feelings for one another, and we barely got to see them interact once they got together.

I also think that the magical realism aspect of the book was barely touched upon. I had so many questions about the way this world worked. What is the magic world like beyond California? What is magic university like? How exactly did Lia’s magic education/training go? This world has so much potential and room to be expanded upon and I would love to see Julie Abe write another book or two set in this world.

Overall, definitely recommend The Charmed List if you’re look for a short sweet story with friends-to-strangers-to-lovers and a touch of magic.

I wish I could give more than 5 stars to this incredibly charming story. I loved reading about Ellie and Jack, and as their story unfolded, I found it impossible to tear my eyes away from the pages. With a magical twist on the classic friends to enemies to lovers trope, YA readers are sure to fall in love with this book. I appreciated the authors vivid descriptions of Palo Alto, the magical community and the pairs road-trip to the magical convention. I have a good feeling this will become a comfort book I read over and over again!

The Charmed List is an enchanting YA read with a perfect mixture of romance, adventure, and magic. I absolutely loved this book from start to finish!!

Ellie is a quiet and shy girl who is eager to break out of her shell. She is tired of sitting on the sidelines and wants to challenge herself to show the world her true self. That gets her to make her Anti-Wallflower List that's filled with thirteen items she wants to accomplish during the summer.

Jack is Ellie's ex-best friend. They used to spend just about every moment together, especially since they are neighbors. But they haven't spoken for some years now and that has complicated their interactions.

When Jack and Ellie are caught using magic in public, they are enlisted to take a road trip together to represent their family's shops. At least it looks like Ellie will be able to mark off one thing on her list; get revenge on Jack.

I loved this relationship between Jack and Ellie!! They are both so relateable and remind me of my younger teenage years. Author Julie Abe's writing was just perfect as she gives readers enough background on their friendship to allow readers to be charmed by their growth over the years. It's just so beautiful. And when you read about the reasoning behind certain secrets you can't help but feel vulnerable and empathetic for both Ellie and Jack.

I give The Charmed List all the stars! This has got to be one of my favorite reads of the year. It's that type of book that you recommend to all of your friends and then create a chat group to talk about our favorite parts. I just loved the innocence and vulnerability of these characters. It reminded me of why I love reading not only YA but books in general.

The Charmed List is an adorable Young Adult romance. Ellie and Jack are two characters that are well-liked from the start. I was rooting for these two to end up together from the first chapter. When Ellie and Jack (two magically gifted teens) are forced to take a road trip together their true feeling start to surface. I really enjoyed this story and can't wait to read Julie's next book.

🔮Arc Review🔮

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Title: The Charmed List
Author: Julie Abe
Rating: 5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Release Date: July 5, 2022

So wow. Let’s start there. This book was amazing, plain and simple. My quick take is that all of you need to read it because it is the perfect teen summer romance read. There are so many fun summer elements from the Charmed List itself to the California setting. A definite must-read for the summer, so add it to your TBR right now.

Now that I have gotten that gushing out of the way I can talk about the book more calmly. This book is so much fun. I was initially a little hesitant about the premise because I don’t tend to like magic in the modern-day, but I absolutely love how Julie Abe did it here. Julie Abe is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors and best writers of magic specifically. I love how she utilizes the concept to really bring out the best in the characters.

Moving on from the initial setup of the book I had such a good time reading it. There are just some books that you start and 1 chapter in you know that it is going to be a good one and that you are going to be taking notes. That was this book. I don’t take notes or annotate in every book I read but for this one, I managed to get 31 highlights. This book was so funny and had so many elements that I loved sprinkled throughout. I especially loved all the shoutouts to other books and the amazing descriptions of food.

The dynamic of our two main characters are in my opinion the perfect friends to enemies to lovers dynamic. I was rooting for them the entire time and the progression of their relationship felt so natural given what they went through before and during the story. I also want to note that this book feels very well written for a YA audience. None of the language/slang feels forced but it still has a very distinct sense of being in the now. If that makes sense to you.

As I said, you all need to add this to your TBR and go check out Julie Abe’s other books. I want to close out this review by answering the question at the end of the author’s note: What is on your Charmed List? Honestly this. Getting to read books, post reviews, and run a bookstagram feels like the fulfillment of part of my own Charmed List. I’d also love to someday expand this hobby into something more. And maybe get a tattoo, that too is something I’d like to do.

This is easily one of my top 5 star reads of the year. If you love any of the following this is for you.

🔮 Enemies to lovers
🔮 Magic
🔮 Delicious food
🔮 Rivalry families
🔮 Road Trip Stories

I connected with the characters so quickly with this story. I honestly felt like I would get alone with this author so well. It was like reading a story one of my friends would have wrote.

The anime references and other subtle popculture references really made me feel at home in the story.

This was the cutest story I have read this year. There is not a thing I would have changed about it. Can't wait to read more by this author. They definitely have a new fan.

Sending my 5 billion magical stars to this extra cuteeeee story of extremely huggable, absolutely likable two main characters Ellie and Jack!

It was pleasure to walk in the memory lane of Jack and Ellie to understand how they become each other’s person, how they become best friends, what kind of adventures they had, how many secrets they shared and how they fell part!

Once upon a time they were best friends but now they’re enemies! After losing his mother Jack rejected to be around Ellie, humiliating her in front his new social circle. So Ellie becomes a wallflower, preferring to stay at the background like a wallflower. As Jack acts like she’s no one , she feels like she’s invisible. Thankfully she met with Lia who became her confidante even though she didn’t share the whole truth about her life like she and her family’s connection with true magic.

Now Ellie is excited for the road trip she’ll have with Lia and she’s adamant to check off each 13 items from her Anti- Wallflower list including falling in love, dancing under the stars, kissing a boy etc.

But one of the items of her list about avenging her ex friend and neighbor Jack Yesuda goes completely wrong. Now as a punishment, she’s stuck with him for a road trip to Magical Convention. She thinks she’s cursed but the list items she has to check off pushing her to remember her past with Jack, making her realize how much she missed him. Could they make things right and forgive each other for the mistakes they’ve made!

Such a heartfelt, energetic, inspirational, lovely friendship story with pure magical friends to lovers vibes ! I LOVED IT! One of the loveliest young adult romance reads I’ve lately read!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

I would like to thank NetGally for an ARC of The Charmed List by Julie Able.
This was a super cute magical romcom! I really enjoyed Ellie and Jacks story. I would defiantly recommend The Charmed List.

I am so very glad I got to read The Charmed List by Julie Abe! She is just a totally awesome writer! This story is a cozy, sweet, and magical YA romance. I happened to be a little sick while reading this, and it completely got my mind off of being sick and into Ellie and Jack's story...so much so that I read the whole book in one day.

Ellie wrote a list of thirteen things she wanted to do on a road trip with her bestie Lia, but getting revenge on Jack backfired; she had to go on a trip with Jack instead. The character development was well done and totally believable! I love enemies-to-lovers, and Julie excelled at writing this trope. The settings were so vividly described, I felt I was there walking around the magical shops in California with the characters. My only wish is that there was more because this book was so so so good!!!

If you want an amazing and heartwarming read, do yourself a favor and read The Charmed List!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a free arc in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

A cute romance. The fantasy isn't high-stakes or anything and it's just a rom-com with a twist. A definite recommend!