Ok, ok I know I am so late in posting this for spooky season, but save this for your TBR for next October because this was everything witchy and adorable! The perfect mix of a cute lil romance and trying to solve a curse gone wrong. Not very spooky, but a whole lot of fun to read!

Poppy is a little chaotic and has hair like Rapunzel from Tangled. She just so happens to be a witch and lives with her friend and mentor, Iris who’s the head of their coven. She works at a pretend magic shop, until one day she sells a cursed pendant to gorgeous celebrity magician, Axl. When all hell breaks loose, Axl and Poppy must work together to fix the magic, but will they be able to over all the sparks that are flying between them?

I loved Poppy and everything about her. She was so chaotic in a fun way and so flirty. At times this book was hilarious, and it was so fun to read. I have watched Tangled too many times to count with my daughter, so it was fun to have the Rapunzel twist with this one – and its why I picked it up! I loved how Poppy came into her own over the course of the book. However, I did struggle a little with the pacing. At times I found it rather slow and drawn out. I did still love the book overall though. I also really enjoyed the relationship between Axl and Poppy. I hope that this is the first in a series so I can read more about Poppy and her special brand of chaos!

If you are looking for a laugh out loud funny witchy romance, then check this one out. I completely agree with the publisher that fans of Lana Harper and Erin Sterling will love this one.

A Disney-like witch who lives near a cemetery? Sign me up! This is the witchy novel that booklovers always seem to recommend first, and for good reason. The premise is enchanting and cozy and I adored the blending of the real world with Poppy's magical one. Poppy is silly, endearingly funny MC who you can't help but root for. Even when she makes mistakes with her magic, you can just tell that she's trying her best. I love a heroine that makes a lot of mistakes but truly means well - it makes her more realistic. She reminds me of a younger version of Cassie Nightingale from "The Good Witch" movies and tv shows (they both literally live in old homes and work at magic shops!)

This was a lot of fun!!

The perfect atmosphere and witchy vibes to really transport you in the autumn season!

I did feel like this was a bit too insta-love for my tastes, but I did enjoy seeing Poppy's growth, and all of the witchy elements really hit the mark with making this a great spooky season read.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Unfortunately, I wasn't quite able to get into this book. I can see other people enjoying it to no end but it wasn't for me and I ended up DNFing the book.

Kate Johnson does it again with this cosy and cute magical roller-coaster of a romance. I really enjoyed her 2022 novel, Hex Appeal, and was super excited to read this newest release. I had a lot of fun with this book. I really liked Poppy the main character, especially her sentient hair which was a great unique and quirky aspect of her character.
Really the only thing I wasn't a huge fan of in this book was the unnecessary drama and conflict between Poppy and her love interest Alex. One wobble in the relationship I can handle, but the second round of conflict between them honestly made my eyes roll. I didn't see the logic in, mainly Poppy's reaction to the situation.
Overall a fun time though. Definitely a nice Halloween read to break up the more scary and suspense-heavy books I tend to pick up during this time of the year. Keeping my fingers crossed for more books like this from Kate Johnson.

It took me until halfway to actually get the plot of this one. Not in a bad way just in a way that made me pay attention a bit more while reading. I loved Alex and Poppy soooo much and the steam was perfect. I thought the witchiness was perfect for Fall and I just loved this one!

A delightful witchy romp that delivers on romance and magic in equal measure. Perfect for fans of the ex hex and Lana harper’s series- this book is a fun easy read.

I thought this was going to be a witchy Romance. It was more spicy chick-lit, though. With a dash of time travel (to the Great Fire of London) and witch politics.

The FMC, Poppy, was supposed to be quirky but felt random to me.

The man-bun wearing MMC, Alex, seemed to pile on backstory the further we got into this.

The saving grace, in my opinion, was Iris, Poppy's landlady, who managed to bury several husbands.

I finished the ARC but I'm not keen on picking up another book by the author - unless it's the well-edited story of Iris and her husbands.

After loving Hex Appeal, I was very excited to return to this world - and thrilled to find the new story filled with the same humour, hijinx and even some familiar faces! I loved both protagonists, and their relationship (for the most part). The third act breakup felt a tad silly, and the ending was rushed, but overall it was a fun book to read for spooky month!

This is a great witchy romantic lovely book- perfect for the halloween season. I think it takes elements of the romantasy genre with a good dose of comedy.

Poppy is a witch working at a magic store that doesn’t sell any real magical items. That is until Axl, a stage magician, purchases a pendant that Poppy accidentally cursed. Poppy and her coven try to recover the pendant but chaos ensues.


What I loved:
-fun and lighthearted read
-good spooky season book
-side characters
-magician/real magic plot

This was a cute fall read! I wish there had been a bit more focus on developing the romance and plot especially at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the advanced reading copy!

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, for an e-ARC of Hex and the City in exchange for an honest review.

Poppy is a witch with magical, sentient hair. She is distraught when she sees her ex making out with someone else in front of her, so like any stressed witch, she curses an object in her magic shop. The handsome faux-magician Alex stumbles upon this shop and purchases the cursed item. So begins a cute adventure of trying to right wrongs and learning a lot about each other and themselves.

This book almost convinced me that I liked romance. Almost. The first half was fun, with many supernatural antics, entertaining dialogue and kooky characters. I enjoyed the banter between Alex and Poppy, and everything was swell. But then we hit the point in every romance book of both individuals second-guessing their decisions. This leads to them losing trust in each other, and it’s all just a little dumb and unrealistic. Also, when characters decide they are in love after knowing each other for less than a week.

Okay, so romance is not my jam. But the fantastical witchy elements were fantastic. The humour was great, and there was even time travel! The book ended well and succinctly, and many mysteries were solved. There are LGBTQ+ characters, and the spicy scenes are written very well!

Overall, this book wasn’t for me. I don’t think anything was wrong with the book; it’s just not my style. That doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy it!

I really enjoyed this book, the plot was engaging and the characters were all intriguing. The only reason this wasn't a 5 star read is that it felt a little like there were too many peaks to the story - by the time we reached the big confrontation towards the end, I almost thought there would be more to come.

This book was not it for me. I didn't feel like I could connect with any of the characters and it felt like it jumped all over the place. Not my cup of tea.

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins UK One More Chapter for the E-arc!
I have to say that I absolutely love the chaos that Poppy brings to the story. She brings extreme Rapunzel vibes including the magic hair which is extremely welcome. There should definitely be more Rapunzel retellings and I think this story did a fantastic job of taking the original story and giving it some fun twists. This was definitely a very light and fun read. The romance was well developed and unbelievably swoon-worthy. I think the banter and the chemistry that comes across on the page feels very natural for the characters and I think they worked really well together.
Overall I think this is the perfect witchy romance for Halloween!

Unfortunately I DNF'd Hex and the City 53% in. I was just not meshing with the storyline or the characters. The writing was good, it's just not for me.

The book was alright, sometimes I felt the plot was moving really fast, sometimes a bit too fat in my opinion. Like they said I love you after a week of knowing each other. I liked the plot twist of Else and Elspeth not being who she said she was.

Even though she was pure chaos, poppy was such a strong, female lead, and I loved reading about her as the protagonist. She was so cared for by everybody she came into contact with, and I really just loved how everybody was looking out for her to help her be her best witch self. While some of the magic of it got a little confusing at times it was still a very enjoyable read.

Hex and the City
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Kate Johnson

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Harper Collins and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Things you should know about Poppy:

1. She’s a witch

2. She has magical hair like Rapunzel from Tangled

3. She lives with Iris, the head of her coven, in a beautiful, ramshackle house next to Highgate cemetery

4. She works at Hubble Bubble, a magic shop in Covent Garden. Though none of it is real magic as that would be highly irresponsible. Until…

…Poppy accidentally sells gorgeous celebrity magician Axl Storm, all six-foot-four of him, a cursed pendant.

When all hell breaks loose can the guy with fake magic and the girl with real magic fix the chaos they’ve caused? Or will sparks fly both in and out of the cauldron?

My Thoughts: Think Sex in the City mixed with Ghostbusters and a sprinkle of Hocus Pocus. This was an enjoyable reading adventure with magic, chaos, a little mystery, and a little paranormal romance delivered in a a perfect witchy fashion for the spooky season. It does not say it on Goodreads but this is part of a series. The first book was Hex Appeal; this is the second book; and the third book is Hex and Hexability releasing September 6, 2024 (in time for next spooky season). Saying that, these can be read as a standalone, I had no issues keeping up. Hubble Bubble magic shop is the coolest name that I have come across in my witchy reads. Poppy Thistlefoot works at Hubble Bubble, real magic is not sold at this shop, and she accidentally sells a real cursed pendant to Alex (Axl) Storm, an illusionist. This pendant causes all kind of chaos that they have to work together to get the curse reversed to save the town. What could possibly go wrong?

Poppy has a personality bigger than life, she’s a little quirky, has the most magnificent hair I’ve seen described, and has a heart of gold. Axl is every bit of swoon-worthy, he is flirty, charming, was rejected as a boy, and has more groupies than Aerosmith. Poppy has been dumped by previous boyfriends, really like every boyfriend, and then Axl had his own rejection issues as a child. Poppy and Axl are opposites attract and their chemistry really works well together. After the pendant is sold to Axl, he suffers tragedy at his illusion show. As they team up to find the cursed pendant, they are faced with ghoulish ghosts and creatures that they have to defeat, really like ghostbusters. The characters were well developed with depth, witty banter, chemistry, definite chemistry, and were so creatively curated. The characters were quirky, likable, and the way their vulnerabilities came across was authentic. The author’s writing style was complex, humorous, magical, swoon-perfect, endearing, and spooky with a fun twist. The book flowed well, was paced where I stayed engaged, and the plot was delivered well.

This was the perfect book for the spooky season. It is a lighter read that can be read in one session, I felt like the first book flowed better and was better executed, however, this was an enjoyable read. The magic world building was superb, I laughed out loud, the characters were likable, and the tension between Poppy and Axl was created in a way to make the reading experience even more enjoyable. I would highly recommend picking up this book, and the first one in the series.