4 out of 5 stars - I'll tell you to read it, if you ask me

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for this free advance copy. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

Book Summary:

The Charmed List is about Ellie Kobata and the “Anti-Wallflower List” she has created to help get herself out of her shell and out into the world before senior year. The problem is that Ellie can’t really be 100% authentic in front of most people, including her best friend Lia, because she is a member of a secret magical community.

One person who had always been a friend and confidant about the magic world was her neighbor Jack Yasuda. She’s not sure why, but Jack started snubbing and ignoring her several years ago. Now he’s more like an enemy than a friend. This is why #4 on her list is “Revenge on Jack Yasuda”. When things go terribly wrong, she’s convinced her entire summer is cursed. The punishment for the outcome of the revenge is a change to her entire summer plans. Rather than driving down the coast of California with Lia to a magical convention (that Lia knew nothing about), she’s now being forced to go with Jack instead. Throughout the road trip, things between Jack and Ellie slowly start to thaw…

Review:

This was a fun, light hearted story that makes you stop and think during several parts.

While I wasn’t a complete wallflower in high school, I regularly felt like I was a “hanger on” rather than the center of things with my friends. At this point in my life I found Ellie’s list to be amazing and brave. In high school I would have been terrified to put words to some of those, let alone actually try to follow through on them. Having the added burden of the secret of the magical world hanging on her shoulders makes Ellie’s list that much more brave, as the chance of accidental exposure is always present.

Another part of the story line that made me stop and think about relationships in my life, was the reasoning behind Jack’s change in attitude. Without giving anything away, some of the reasoning becomes more clear as Ellie and Jack spend the days preparing, driving, and working at the magical convention. You never know what another person or family may be dealing with, especially if they’re too proud or ashamed to ask for help from friends.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will be looking for other books by this author.

A cute, fluffy rom-com with a touch of magic. I found the protagonist Ellie to be pretty over the top and a little annoying. But the story was cute for what it was. A super fast, single sitting read.

This book is the absolute CUTEST! IT is the perfect summer YA contemporary romance for anybody. The vibes are immaculate. It also has a beautiful display of diversity and culture. I could not put this book down when I started it. The addition of magic into this contemporary novel added some extra flair that really moved the story along. I fell in love with the characters as well. Ellie is a wallflower who is trying to break out of her shell, but when a revenge prank goes wrong, she is stuck with her ex-bestfriend-turned-enemy neighbor, Jack. Also, did I mention there is a summer road trip? This book is the perfect mix of everything a YA romance aspires to be, coming of age, fighting for friendships, and personal growth.

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books and St Martin's Press for allowing me to read and review this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This story sounds super cute! It features the "forced proximity" trope with a touch of enemies/ex-friends to lovers.

Ellie is a quiet girl who creates an Anti-Wallflower list to help break out of her shell. Unexpectedly she finds herself on a road trip with a rival - Jack Yasuda. She and Jack travel the California coast to a convention and find out more about themselves and create a connection.

Ellie is adorable and very relatable to a lot of Wallflowers out there. Including myself. I'm always trying to improve on my "introverted-ness" and being less shy but sometimes it's difficult. I liked the list Ellie creates, it's pretty cute.

This book is definitely written for a younger audience around 13-15 years old. The magic is cute but I think it would have been nice if it were developed more or used more. Ellie does grow quite a bit throughout the story and I do like her connection with Jack and her family.

Overall a very sweet and endearing story.

4 stars

This book was truly a solid cute friends-to-lovers plot with so many moments that just make you want to squeal with excitement. And I did quite a few times. There is literal magic embedded in the words of this book both through the romance and the actual presence of the charming type of magic these characters can do. It really added to the cuteness of the story. The characters were so endearing and truly adorable. The stories of friendship between Ellie and her companions were all too cute for words and her romance with Jack just had so many butterfly-inducing moments. Definitely a great mood read when you want something cute and uplifting to read.

ARC was provided by NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you!

A cute romance with the perfect amount of tropes (best friends to enemies, road trip, stranded with one bed). The book had nice pacing, but I wish that the story had been fleshed out a bit more. All the elements were there, but I wanted more detail or the scene to last a but longer before skipping to the next scene or day. I still would recommend if you are looking for a quick and cute read.

I received a free ARC from Netgalley on behalf of the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

That being said. I was surprised by how cute this book ended up being. I did not realize that Charmed meant magical. In this book, there is the magic aware and the magic unaware. It plays a significant factor in the book. Something I did not get, as I said before, from the description of the book. However, it was super cute. The main character Ellie is so excited for an amazing summer with her best friend and crossing off items on her Anti-Wallflower List. Some of these she grows confident and knocks out right away. However, because of one of the items on the list, things go awry and she is stuck with her friend turned enemy Jack for a road trip she was supposed to spend with her best friend. That road trip, however, leads to discoveries that affect both Ellie and Jack. I truly enjoyed this book and definitely will recommend it for a lighter easy read.

This book was just so fun and sweet. It had all the things I love about YA with a little extra bit of magic thrown in.

I loved the best friends-to enemies-to lovers trope. The tension and the angst were perfection and I loved this roller coaster of emotions.

The Charmed List also touched on topics of grief, friendship, and the struggles I think everyone feels in high school about being seen.

Ellie had some great growth in this book. I think she learned a valuable lesson about second chances, and also that she can’t fix everything. Sometimes what’s best for others is stepping back and giving up some control.

The magical elements of this were just plain fun and I haven’t read a YA romance like this before.

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYwQ8UJrpC2/

Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4476860963

BookBub
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/373062749?source=link_share

Storygraph
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/53d704b7-ffc1-48c0-8a0c-ee4262f5077a

Pinterest
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/1094867359382125108/

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc.

2.5 stars.

This book definitely had a lot of potential but it fell flat in the key areas.

The Charmed List follows Ellie who is able to perform magic and her ex-best friend Jack who she is forced to take a road trip to a magic convention with.

This was a cute read overall, and I liked the magic aspect but I didn't really care about/ feel the sparks between Ellie and Jack. I also would've liked it if the whole magic aspect was given more depth as I was left with many questions pertaining to it. I skimmed quite a bit in the beginning as I felt it was taking longer than it should have to get into the main point in the story. I also wasn't the hugest fan of the writing style as it was a tad choppy and didn't allow the reader to connect with the story.

Overall, I think that this book would be great for middle-grade audiences, but it just didn't work for me.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: July 5, 2022

I was completely charmed by The Charmed List!
This book was full of magic; not just magical charms- which were full of whimsy and fun- but about Ellie discovering that she was already living a magical life.
Ellie is trying to break free of her fear of rejection through her list of 13 objectives for the summer, and as the book goes on, we learn just how much her own self esteem was damaged through the broken relationship she has with her one time best friend, Jack. At the same time, Jack comes to realize that he did more damage than he realized when he walked away. I liked the back and forth between these characters, and I really felt pulled into their story, and I was invested in the desire for them to work things out.
I will definitely recommend this one.

A cute premise about estranged childhood friends who reunite on a magical road trip while ticking off bucket list items intended to make a shy girl break out of her shell. Though technically a romance, the focus of the main characters' relationship is told mostly through the many flashbacks that permeate the story, making this more a story about a joyful childhood friendship that awaits a reconciliation than a story about a burgeoning teen romance. Because of the choice to give so much of the narrative to the childhood scenes, and because of the sweet, whimsical, and never-threatening nature of magic in this world, to me, this book seems best suited to middle grade readers or to those just bridging into YA. With its light magical touch and its a strong focus on the importance of nurturing one's friendships even when that isn't always easy, this will no doubt be a hit with many eager readers.

The Charmed List is a wonderful and incredibly rich magical novel, so well built and fast paced that I wasn't able to put it down till I reached the end. I was absolutely captivated by the atmosphere, and the characters.

This novel submerges the reader in a landscape so imaginative and detailed that the information of the world building/plot never feels forced, and is never difficult to understand or picture in one's mind. I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day! I enjoyed every page and thought that the plot/story was very unique. Would recommend to anyone!

Wednesday Books,
Thank You for this eARC! 😘

My Thoughts:
The Charmed List by Julie Abe

This was such a fun sweet lighthearted fantasy YA romance!
Julie Abe has written a delightful story that put a big smile on my face.
The writing style really worked for me- it's modern, addicting and it strikes a balance between quick witted banter and heart warming realness.
Ellie and Jack completely jumped off the page for me and I appreciate how well all of the side characters were also developed.
The plot was really fast paced and easy to follow.
I loved everything that happened in this book, perfect chemistry, very smart, so humorous, totally entertaining and adorable!
This character driven novel is sweet, magical, smart and adorable. 
This book literally has it all!

Thank You Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!

This is a fun, magical, and heartwarming YA novel with the best friends to enemies to lovers trope and forced proximity ;). I loved this book so much!!! The magic aspect kept me engaged the whole time while Ellie goes through her Anti-Wallflower list!
Before you read it make sure you understand that this book is for a younger audience. This book was a great way to start the new year!

Julie Abe's books give me so many Ghibli vibes, I love it! This was the perfect book to read on a lazy Sunday morning. It has a perfect balance of magical elements in a contemporary setting, in a way that made it feel completely natural that the magic was there, because all of the contemporary stuff got a magical feel to it as well. And it was just such an adorable book!

At first i was hmm it looks like a cliche story to me, but i was very interested and invested when i saw that there was magic involved.

I really liked Ellies character and how she deals with things, that she want to be more than a wallflower. Lia’s character first i thought she was cool and nice, but i don’t like the way she treated Ellie after that.

I also really liked Cam & Remy, would like to read a story about them too and their obstacles.

AHHHHH the way that this was everything i wanted it to be and more. this was so perfect and i cannot wait to scream about it to everyone

Kind of a Sabrina the teenage witch vibe. The 90s TV show one not the weird one on Netflix. So of course this 90s kid was thrilled and enjoyed the book.

So many fun tropes in this magical YA! Enemies to lovers and forced proximity! I’m here for it! This follows a girl named Ellie that makes an anti-wallflower list to make her last summer of high school a success! The list includes a first kiss, a summer romance and a dance under the stars to name a few. However, her plan takes a detour when she forced to take a road trip with her ex-best friend, Jack. Along the way they have to work as a team and mend their friendship. He helps her check off the list in the best possible way. This was a fun, sweet, and fast read. Thank you to Julie Abe, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you to the publisher for my review copy. All opinions are my own.

De.Light.Ful. Delightful. I adored this sweet little title.

Categorized as YA, The Charmed List reeled me in from page one. I loved it all. The characters. The sprinkle of magic....so stinkin cute.

Highly recommend!