Cute, simple and a quick easy read...nothing super memorable but it was a good read. Forgettable but not horrible

Its so cute I just want to give this book the biggest hug. Like astrology mixed with romance perfection. Thank you Wednesday books for the ARC for my honest review.

december already! how did that happen?! coming at you today with a sweet ya cozy witchy book called 'the charmed list' by julie abe. this book follows ellie, a girl in high school who is planning on having the most life-changing summer of her life, starting with her 'anti-wallflower list', thirteen things she wants to do before the summer is over, including a roadtrip with her best friend lia. but when she tries to enact revenge on her neighbour jack (number 4 on the list) and it goes horribly wrong, suddenly her summer is looking less than epic. instead of her roadtrip with lia, ellie has to drive with jack to a magical convention on behalf of their parents. but as they drive and make stops along the way, maybe ellie realizes there's more to jack than she gave him credit for, and just maybe she'll be able to check 'fall in love' off her list, too.

this book was sweet, but honestly that's kind of the only thing i have to say about it. there truly wasn't anything that memorable about the characters or the plot, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. the book was fun and easy to read, but just isn't one that made any sort of lasting impression on me -- a week after finishing it, i'm already having troubles remembering specifics of the story. the magical world abe created was awesome, a good blend of magic and non-magic. this book is like a little dessert, a bite of something sweet but nothing more.

3.5/5 stars (rounded to 3)

I received an ARC of this book, and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

First of all, the cover of this book is so cute! It definitely influenced my decision to read this book.

There were several things I enjoyed about this book. I loved that it was an urban fantasy! A YA contemporary rom-com that also had magic? Yes please! I genuinely wish we had more books like that. I also liked the forced proximity and bucket list tropes since I think those are fun to see in YA books. The bucket list combined with the road trip aspect made for an interesting plot and introduced some magical settings that I thought were cool!

Unfortunately, as much as I wanted this to be a 4- or 5- star read, there were a few things that stopped me from rating it higher. The main one was that this was less enemies-to-lovers and more miscommunication trope than anything else. I'm not a fan of the miscommunication trope, so that was frustrating for me. This actually contributes to my other main issue, which was the amount of time spent reflecting on Jack and Ellie's lost friendship. Ellie spends the first half of the book trying to convince herself (and the reader) that she hates Jack while also reminiscing on their friendship frequently.

Overall, this was a light-hearted rom-com that had enough magic and bucket list shenanigans to keep me reading! While I had my qualms with it, I still thought it was fun and enjoyable. I could see this being a good beach/summer read for anyone who likes YA rom-coms.

This was a fun read that I wish I wouldn't of waited to read if you want a book full of magic second chances and some love to hate old friendships turning in to something a little more. This book is for you and also if you like a road trip this book has it. I enjoy listen to this book and just didn't want to pick anything else up once i got into this book. with that said i gave it four stars i enjoyed it but not a new fave.

Read if you like: Enemies to lovers, best friends to lovers, magical romance, second chances, road trip

Ellie Kobata is known as the quiet girl at her highschool. She wants to change that. She is ready to take some risks and have a life-changing summer with her non-magic best friend. She's made an Anti-Wallflower List consisting of thirteen items. She’s looking forward to riding rollercoasters, making her art Instagram public (maybe), and going on an epic road-trip with her best friend Lia.

Number four on Ellie’s list goes horribly wrong (revenge on Jack Yasuda). Her parents won't let her go with her best friend now. Instead of a road trip with Lia, Ellie finds herself stuck in a car with Jack driving to a magical convention. As Ellie and Jack travel down the coast of California, number thirteen on her list (fall in love) may be happening without her realizing it.

This book was really cute. It's sweet, magical, and has just the right amount of conflict. I loved their road trip. You get to learn all about how they were formally best friends. Ellie and Jack are so perfect for each other but their family caused conflict. Romeo and Juliet type vibes. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author, St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the gifted e-book. ❤️

This books was so cute! It was a fast read and I couldn't put it down. I loved the interactions between the characters. Will definitely pick up another book by this author.

This was a DNF for me. Normally I am a huge fan of enemies to lovers but this one just didn't do it for me.

I initially had a hard time getting into the book, but after multiple starts, I was finally able to read it all the way. One reason for the difficult start might have been due to the immense amount of information about the magic world at the beginning of the book. Although I understood the necessity of providing this background, it interrupted the flow of the story at times. Once I got through this, it turned into a cute read as Ellie's summer plans are ruined by a prank gone wrong and she ends up with Jack as her road trip partner.

While all the pieces were falling together to ensure Ellie and Jack reconnected on this trip, I couldn't help but feel it was all too fast. There was so much anger and uncertainty on Ellie's part about why they stopped being friends, yet this was hardly explored before she started feeling something for him again. It did not seem plausible to me that such a short road trip without the necessary truths coming out would have led to Ellie changing her perception of Jack and forgiving him. The answer eventually arrived, but it would have been more compelling earlier in the book so they could have talked more, setting the stage for not only possibly becoming friends but maybe even more.

4 stars! This was such a charming and magical story. If you're a fan of rom-coms, I highly recommend this book.
Thank you to Julie Abe, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great book and enjoyed the characters . loved the slight romance and the how well the group worked together. Overall a great book . I would read this author again.

I started this one and then I ended up skimming it because I knew it wasn't for me. I don't always love miscommunications and that was in this book. This just wasn't the story for me.

**3.5 Stars**

This was a light and fluffy best friends to enemies to lovers YA Contemporary romance that predominantly takes place during a road trip and there just so happens to have happy magic sprinkled throughout the story. I really loved the hints of the magical community that the couple experienced throughout the road trip, the food and charms were so fun and inventive, I would love to be a part of this world.

I will say a lot of the conflict in the story was due to a lack of communication (closely followed by overreaction), which is my least favorite plot device, but overall this was cute and fast. This also had the main character discover her self worth and decide to like herself for who she was which I am always a fan of. This is a great read for anyone who likes YA romance and magical spells that help make the day just a little bit better.

this was cute. however, i wish there was more development on the relationships in the book, particularly jack and ellie reconciling (not just the romantic aspect) and ellie’s friendship with lia.

I have some mixed feelings about this subtly magical romance! The premise was very promising, and on the worldbuilding side of things, it lived up to my expectations. I love how magic was incorporated into the real world; it reminded me of all the fantasy movies/shows and books I used to obsess over as a child. Unfortunately, the plot fell short for me when it came to the complication of the couple’s relationship. While I’m always game for a former childhood, current enemies-to-lovers trope, the actual “enemies” part was underdeveloped. It seemed so unfair for Jack to be treated so harshly by Ellie when he rarely ever showed disdain for her, and the sudden shift in that dynamic didn’t settle right for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review :)

Magical realism is the perfect way to describe the universe where this story takes place. Ellie is part of the magic community that lives among the common people, the magic-unaware. Her best friend Lia, with whom she's been planning a summer road trip had no idea of that secret until her revenge of her former-childhood friend/current nemesis Jack go very wrong, and Lia finds it out the worst way. Magic-unaware have to remain so or there will be consequences to whoever exposes their community. That is how Ellie is grounded to traveling without her friend—who is now stuck to taking classes on the magic community—and with Jack. Of course, the trip will include the "there was only one bed" compulsory stop in any rom com with enemies stuck together.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

The summary got longer than I had intended, the core of this story is really how Ellie and Jack fell apart and how they'll mend the broken pieces of their relationship. But the beginning got me fooled for an even more basic trope, to a point I wondered if this story hadn't started as a fanfic of some enemies-to-lovers manga story. Ellie's issues with Jack are far more interesting, however. I loved the way this was constructed, even if the average reader can more-or-less guess why Jack started ignoring Ellie so it's not big mystery. Still or maybe because of that, the depth this part of the plot went surprised me, it was very pretty.

The magic part isn't like a Harry Potter lookalike, by the way. As I mentioned, the story takes place in our world but with some characters who are able to perform a limited kind of magic. It was a refreshing bonus, giving us obvious reasons for the two to get stuck together and also a background for cuter scenes.

The story itself has its ups but I can't really call it amazing, I won't ever forget it. It was enjoyable, a great way to get our mind off and a have a fun time. And of course, all the world-building wasn't even necessary, so that's where the bonus points come from. I recommend it.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

To be corny, I actually found this book to be quite charming. The world wasn't fleshed out very much but it was cute enough that I didn't mind that at all. The love story was very sweet, and dynamic with the parent relationships and I really enjoyed the siblings that were portrayed in the book as well. It was very nostalgic and I would recommend it.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be eating pastries with magic to make you feel good? Teas that instantly relaxes you? Iced coffees to give you strength etc.? I wish I could be at the magic conventions and have that "Harry Potter" feeling without the dangers lurking around you. The premise of the book is interesting but it gets so much better once you read it. This is a light YA romance book that is just too cute. You will not regret reading this book, I swear.
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the development of the plot but I found the question of magic a little forced.
The couple won me over and the reading flowed very fast

Such a sweet high school story on taking chances and making the most of your own life. It was a quick and fun read.