(3.5/5) This YA book (emphasis on the YOUNG) was a cute best friends to enemies to lovers read. I found some characterizations/tropes a bit eye-roll worthy (I, the main character, am the plainest of Plain Janes, "I'm a wallflower but my art isn't good enough to be on anyone's wall," etc.) but overall the story was easy to follow, I liked the magical aspects, and I would recommend it for readers looking to jump from Middle Grades to YA.

Teaser: The summer after her junior year, Ellie is ready to stop being a wallflower. Her Anti-Wallflower List includes 13 items she wants to check off with her best friend Lia over the summer (think: sneak onto a beach to eat s'mores, dance under the stars, get my first kiss from a boy). After a prank gone wrong, instead of spending the summer road-tripping with Lia, Ellie has to take the same road trip to a magical convention with her neighbor, utter nemesis, and former-best-friend-until-he-totally-ditched-her Jack Yasuda. As Ellie and Jack drive down the California coast over the course of a few days, she realizes that there's more to the story than she thought, and #13 on her list (falling in love) might be with someone who was closer than she thought.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, lighthearted YA enemies to lovers romance with a magical twist.
Ellie and jack were best friends in their youth, they live next door to each other. As they get older and lives change their friendship changes. Jack is the last person Ellie wants to road trip with from northern to Southern California for a magical convention. Their families businesses have a sales booth every year for only magic aware. Stuck together in the car they agree to get along for the sake of the trip.
Ellie has made her list of things she plans to do to make this summer epic- a way to get out of her normal boring existence and live a little. She didn’t expect to be checking off her list with Jack who she loves to hate. They tolerate each other, bond, open up to each other and have a blast making their way south. Their shared adventures open them up to new thoughts and emotions that they’ve both had all along.
I loved the magical twist to the story. I’ve made that drive many times myself and enjoyed feeling like i was there with them.
This is a good, wholesome, fun romance for YA- i definitely recommend it to any reader.
Thank you St Martins publishing and Julie Abe for allowing me to read and review this book.

The Charmed List is Julie Abe's first YA title, which is a little like an Eva Evergreen coming of age story. Ellie and Jack used to be best friends, but now they're enemies--their parents run businesses in the same Sorcerer's Square and are "magic aware," meaning they are in on the secret that magic exists and use it to do random things like fix phones and make cars have more storage space. When a prank goes wrong, Ellie and Jack are forced to go team up on a drive to a national magic convention and shenanigans ensue.

I was super on board with this at first because of Julie Abe. Eva Evergreen was a cute middle grade debut and I wanted to see her take on YA, but The Charmed List wound up being a bit too middle grade to call itself young adult in my view. This could be considered entry level young adult--immature, somewhat stilted dialogue, sugar sweet plot. I'd recommend this for kids still in middle school hoping to soon make the leap into YA. This is the perfect book to bridge the gap.

Teenage crushing but with a little magic on the side. Follow young love through the ultimate road trip that rekindles the friendship that they thought lost.

Thank-you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of The Charmed List by Julie Abe.

This is charming YA romance with a twist of a magic. I thought the story was cute and I loved the magic spin, but I just couldn't fall in love with Jack or Ellie or their friendship/relationship.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of The Charmed List in exchange for an honest review.

This was fun! Just unique enough to standout and just comfy enough to be a fun, fast, digestible romcom.

On the last day of Junior year Ellie Kobata and her best friend Lia are planning for a summer road trip to Southern California. Ellie decides that she is tired of being an invisible girl and she creates an Anti-Wallflower list. The list has thirteen items she wants to accomplish by summer's end. When a prank goes horribly wrong Ellie is forced to take her road trip with Jack Yasuda, her neighbor and former BFF. While traveling together Ellie and Jack each learn new things about each other and themselves. This was a charming little story about friendship and first love. I am not the target audience so I found some of the misunderstandings to be a little annoying, but typical YA readers will probably enjoy it. The magic in a contemporary situation was nicely done and I enjoyed the descriptions the author gave for how the magic was explained and hidden in plain sight. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and Julie Abe for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Charmed list has a little bit of everything and some of the best tropes in YA and Romance in it. Ellie and Jack are stuck together driving to a magical convention as punishment after one of Ellie's 13 part Anti-wallflower list goes... a little wrong. Jack is Ellie's former best friend, but he pushes her away and embarrasses her after the death of his mother. And so Ellie falls into the background, preferring to call herself a wallflower.

I thought that a lot of things about the characters were believable, especially how two people who know each other so well know exactly what to say to hurt each other.

It was cute and light and fluffy and I don't have any complaints. The story was paced well and the characters were likeable, the magic system was well done and fit into the story well. But someone, I just had such a hard time getting into it. I think this is probably a book a lot of people will like, I just struggled to engage with it.

This book was a sweet friends to enemies to lovers' story and the writing was fantastic! Realistic characters who are charming and easy to like, problems that many teenagers can relate too and a touch of magic made this an easy light hearted read.

Ellie Kobata, is a shy teenage who is part of a secret magic society and unfortunately has to keep this part of herself from her best friend Lia, and the only person who she can fully relate to is her neighbor and former childhood best friend Jack Yasuda. The chemistry and forced proximity are a driving plot point and this book is full of great tropes so loved in the romance genre, this book is full of misunderstandings between the characters along with some fun banter.

Although this book was a pleasure to read, I do wish that the conflict resolution with the supporting character Lia was more fully developed as it was a huge driving factor with the plot but seemed to get left behind in the end. There are a few other small critiques on the story line that as an adult make the book unrealistic but it not only is a YA book it also has a fantasy element to it and these are easy to look over.

Overall this was a sweet story that was light hearted and enjoyable to read and I would definitely recommend!

Julia Abe wrote a whirlwind story that pulls on some of my favorite tropes. I loved the characters and the storytelling within the Charmed List. I also really enjoyed the pacing of the book and never felt like it got too slow or drawn out at any point. Definitely recommend picking this one up!

I didn’t get very far into this before deciding to table it. The dialogue was a little bit stiff and awkward, and it was hard to keep track of when we were in the present and when Ellie was telling a story from the past. The premise was really cute and fun and promising, but I just couldn’t get into the story ☹️

Thank you Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

This is a best friend turns enemies into lovers with a dash of magic. I really enjoyed this. Jack was endearingly frustrating and charming and Ellie was adorable. She has a list that she’s desperate to see through before her senior year is complete. But when number 4 on her list get revenge on Jack goes horribly wrong she’s forced to endure the trip she was so excited for with her enemies rather than her now angry best friend.

I wasn’t a fan of Lia I think she was incredibly selfish getting so mad at her best friend. She knows Ellie has a deep hurt from when Jack ditched her years ago and she does the same thing because Ellie was forced to lie. As if the truth would not have gotten her banned from practicing magic.

That’s my only gripe, I still adored this novel and I would recommend this.

Although the idea of the book shows promise, the writing misses the mark. The lack of transitions throughout scenes makes the story feel choppy. It seems like there’s a bunch of different storylines happening all at the same time, but it doesn’t read smoothly. The book tells you things are happening rather than shows you. It seems like it was marketed for young adult, but in reality I would say it’s more juvenile - advanced reader.

Ellie is a magic-aware and she had planned a road trip to a magic convention with her friend Lia, a non-magic-aware. There is a rule in the magic-aware world, you don’t have the right, to tell the truth about the magic to a non-magic-aware. After a joke for revenge on Jake Yasuda, who turns bad, she is obligated to do the road trip with her enemy Jake. Will she finish her Wallflower list? Can she forget Jake?

The cover is pretty but it was not love at the first sight. I had to read a couple of pages before really like it. It is a cute enemy to lover's romance with a cute one-bed moment. I really love how this YA was written. It was not childish. I love how they see the magic in the book. They don’t call themselves witches, the magic is more like little charms. No big spell. It was refreshing.

One thing, I would have loved maybe a bonus chapter with Jake POV. Despite that, when he will come out, I will definitely buy myself a paperback copy.

A delightful and sweet YA story with just a hint of magic. A little juvenile for my tastes but I would have loved this in middle school, a la Bras & Broomsticks. A cute palate cleanser filled with a few good tropes, lessons learned, and sweet summer puppy love. Would recommend to fans of To All the Boys, Bras & Broomsticks, and all around syrupy-sweet YA lit.

The Charmed List is absolutely charming. The magic is subtle and a real compliment to the story more than anything, even when it is the focus of a main plot point. The characters are believable and relatable in different ways. I was originally aggravated by Lia's reaction to the situation, but ultimately it is handled well and you come to understand where she is coming from.

A very sweet former friends, now enemies, learning to care again coming of age story with a focus on coming out your shell while also accepting your true self. I really enjoyed this so much, and will definitely pick up a copy once published to read again.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Ever since seeing this cover on Instagram I knew I needed to read it! I’m a sucker for a good cover. Although this book wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be, it was still a fun read with tropes that I enjoy.

The book is told from the perspective of Ellie Kobata. She is very much an introvert which is something that I could relate to. She also has a secret world around her filled with magic. I guess I must not have read the blurb before requesting or maybe forgot, but the magical aspect came as a surprise to me. Haha. I didn’t realize this was a rom-com mixed with urban fantasy. It took me a bit to get into because of it, not because it was bad, just had to get my head wrapped around it all!

Ellie has a great relationship with her friend Lia. They do everything together and are always there for one another. This friendship does hit a bump but I liked seeing where it would go and how they would work it out in the end. The biggest relationship change in the book is between Ellie and Jack. They didn’t always start out as enemies, although I guess you could say it’s more one-sided, but it has changed how they have interacted. It was fun to have them go on a road trip together because it made time for them to try and understand one another’s perspective on their whole messed up relationship. It also made for great moments!

Although I did like a majority of the book, it’s still hard for me to fully get into a urban fantasy/magical realism style plot. This has nothing to do with the book and is solely a me thing.

Overall, this was a fun read and I can see it being a hit for so many people!

i really enjoyed getting to read this book early. it was so much fun and such a sweet little romance. it made me feel good and that's something i really enjoy in my books. a lovely escape!

This was really cute! I loved the magic and the food! Julie Abe truly has a gift for creating magical atmosphere. I enjoyed the character of Ellie especially. I loved that she was a book lover, that automatically made her awesome. Also, that she was shy. I myself am very shy and saw a lot of myself reflected in that aspect of her character. I was uncertain that changing herself was something I completely agreed with. Being shy is not detrimental or a character flaw, but the end made it clear that it was more about making herself into someone she was proud of and I get that. I also wish that Jack had done more when others said mean things. I was glad he finally did something about it at the end.

Overall, this was a fast and beautifully written with lots of warm fuzzies! Definitely recommended.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

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.