October is almost here, and another witchy romance joins us tomorrow!

Dina is a successful entrepreneur - she owns her own cafe, where her treats are all homemade and infused with just enough magic. While she is thriving professionally, not much is happening romantically - not since she was hexed, and all of her partners find themselves in precarious and dangerous situations while dating her. So she's sworn off a serious relationship, which has worked for her so far. She has her cafe, her close relationship with her parents, and her besties. When a cute guy comes into the cafe she doesn't think much of it, until it turns out that he is the best man in the wedding where she's the Maid of Honor.

Best Hex Ever is cozy, sexy and perfectly witchy. It is the perfect fall read - quick, enjoyable and spicy. Debut author Nadia El-Fassi does an excelent job with her storytelling, and I really enjoyed these characters.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Dell for this ARC!

Best Hex Ever is a spicy paranormal romance delight. I loved all of the food references from Dina’s role as a kitchen witch, but it made me want a snack while reading. I also love how cute the cover design is for this book. It’s one of the main reasons I picked the book up. The chemistry between Dina and Scott was great, although it was a little more instalove than I typically want in my books. One of my favorite aspects of this book has nothing to do with the romance plot. I loved the found family friendship circle that Dina surrounds herself with. They make a great trio. While I didn’t love the third act breakup, it did lead to great growth and meaningful conversations. I was surprised by the depth of some of the topics this book addressed as well regarding how one views themself. If you’re looking for a great fall romance, look no further than Best Hex Ever.

The way I enjoyed this book! With this story we get to meet Dina and Scott. Loved that their first meeting the author conveyed their attraction perfectly. Loved the diverse rep in the characters and how relatable both characters were. I am definitely going to read more from this author.

If you remove all the steamy bits and a few other details, this was easily a 5-star read. But I found the spice in this to be excessive for my personal tastes and super cringe. The romance as a whole, while super cute, felt very sex-centered, and while I did see an actual connection, there wasn’t enough non-sexual connection on the page to truly convince me that this is a forever relationship.

The magic, however, was seamlessly woven into the plot, making it feel as real as everyday life. The friendships were heartwarming, and I found Dina’s parents to be delightful characters. The house, almost a character in its own right, was also intriguing. The cat and the dog added a wholesome touch. There were so many aspects of this book that I enjoyed, that I wish I could rate it higher. Unfortunately, I felt that half of the book was filled with the spice that I didn’t quite enjoy.

Overall, this book was a mix of absolute wonder and elements that didn't quite resonate with me. It's a 50-50 split, with half of the book being absolutely wonderful and the other half not quite hitting the mark for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

This book is the perfect cozy witchy book to add to your TBR this fall! Autumnal vibes are immaculate.

Best Hex Ever follows Dina who is a kitchen witch that owns her own cafe in London. She uses her witchy powers to bake delicious goodies and blend tasty teas and other drinks that make her customers temporarily feel a certain way while eating/drinking. One day, the handsome Scott comes into Dina's café and when fate keeps forcing them to cross paths, coupled with their best friends' matchmaking scheme, their attraction for each other grows quickly and rapidly. The only problem is Dina is hexed and anyone who loves her will be hurt.

I absolutely loved this book and to think that this is a debut for this author is crazy. It was an amazing exploration of all kinds of love - familial, romantic, and self. Every single character was sooooo easy to love and root for whether it be Dina, Scott, their friends or their family. Dina and Scott's connection and love for each other was sooo beautiful and spicy let me tell you 😏 we love a man giving professor/scholar vibes that has a mouth on him. Not to mention Scott's exhibition!?!! Absolutely yes. Plus, between Dina, Immy, and Rosemary what's not to love? Two are authors of horror and all lovers of all things spooky and gothic. Superrrrrrrr excited for Rosemary's story 🤭

4⭐️ “Best Hex Ever” by Nadia El-Fassi, out today!

This book was so cute! 🥰 It was sweet, made me wish I was a witch AND a baker, and don’t let the cute cover deceive you…she’s got some spice!

🎃 Paranormal Romance
💒 Maid of Honor x Best Man
❤️‍🩹 Self-love & healing
🌈 Bisexual FMC
🇲🇦 Moroccan Heritage
🏠 Forced Proximity
🥐 Cozy Kitchen Witch
🐈‍⬛ Cat Familiar
🌶️ Spicy Scenes

I love a romance book that makes me want to kick my feet and giggle. Dina and Scott were so cute together, plus the adorable side story of Immy and Eric! So much cute romance packed in.

I also loved the healing both characters had to go through to be together. 🥲 They faced trials but they made it and it makes it even better. 🫶🏻

There’s a lot to love about this debut, like the forced proximity trope is executed excellently. But the pacing is off throughout and the hex on Dina’s love life, which serves as the source of the central conflict, is on the lame side. I would have loved for Dina to have to face some accountability for her actions that led to the hex, rather than a cliché, eye-roll-inducing resolution.

While I love to read bi romances (being a bisexual romance reader myself), I’m tired of coming out stories—especially when there's such minimal development for why Dina would think that her parents wouldn't accept her. Her parents are such loving, supportive characters that her fears of coming out don't make a lot of sense.

Scott’s a top-tier book boyfriend though (a British Museum curator that wants to return artifacts to their cultural lands??? Amazing!), and I’m excited to read El-Fassi’s next novel in 2025.

This book had all the potential. I love a good witch story around spooky season, but this one fell flat for me. The most chemistry the two main characters had were in the spicy scenes. Not believable outside of that.

“Best Hex Ever” by debut author Nadia El-Fassi is the perfect cozy fall read! This book will make you feel as good as a warm cup of hot chocolate on a cool autumn evening!

I couldn’t help but feel immediately immersed into the world El-Fassi created, and I felt so much for Dina after finding out her backstory and struggle with coming out.

This book is filled with flirty banter, excellent forced proximity moments and a good slow burn with a spicy payoff. So far this is my favorite witchy romance I’ve ever read! Just the perfect combination of playfulness and a great cast of characters.

Highly recommend this one! I’m considering buying a copy for my shelf when it comes out— it was that good! 🧡

Thankyou to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a perfect fun, witchy read for the season!

I absolutely loved the main characters and their friends (can’t wait for Rosemary’s book!), and I enjoyed the storyline. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a non-creepy, funny but with feelings, rom com for fall!

Spice is obviously relative to the reader, but this book does have a little bit of a kick if you are either looking for that or trying to avoid it.

Best Hex Ever was excellent. Dina and Scott had excellent chemistry and their story was great to read and also pretty spicy. Great book, definitely would recommend to romance readers, perfect for the season!

Thank you to NetGalley and Nadia El-Fassi for the opportunity to read this book. This book will give you all the fall feels with a kitchen witch who owns a bakery. Unfortunately the chemistry between the two main characters was lacking and I felt that the story was a bit slow. Read if you want a light read with fall feels.

The synopsis for this book sounded terrific: a hexed witch falls in love but the hex means that the one she loves is doomed. It is a cute story but, to me, had more spicy scenes than needed. If you crave and are a devotee of spiciness, you will be delighted with this book. I just felt it detoured too much from the story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If your looking for a cozy, witchy, fun, and spicy read this will be the perfect read!

I thought this book was so fun and it warmed my heart. All of the characters were super likeable and just made me smile. This is a quick and easy read that will have you daydreaming of everything autumn and cozy. I do wish this had been more of a slow burn with some banter but ut was still super enjoyable. I feel like that’s just totally a personal preference. I did love how empowering this story is and I would definitely recommend it.

4.25
Having read several witchy rom-coms this year (and other years), I can confidently say that this is one of the best and the best I've read this year! I like that Nadia El-Fassi isn't afraid to tackle some more serious topics and break out of the witchy rom-com mold. Characters are really fleshed out and I loved their friends and parents as well as the main couple.

Dina owns a magical café in London (that I so badly want to visit) where she meets Scott, a forward-thinking museum curator. There is immediate interest, however Dina has been hexed so that anyone she loves is in danger, so she knows she can't fall for him. However, they keep bumping into one another...do they give into fate?

This book is full of fun, including a bisexual heroine, a grumpy black cat, a Halloween wedding (friend), and a steamy library scene. Hoping that the hints I was picking up on for a rom-com featuring one of Dina's friends lead to another novel in this world!

"Loving yourself will feel easy some days, and other days it will be a mountain you cannot climb."

BIGGG thank you to NetGalley and Dell Romance for this arc in exchange for an honest review!!

This was a very cute and cozy read, and a great witchy read for spooky season! While I unfortunately wasn't completely captivated by Dina and Scott's relationship due to the heavy instalove, the ending was handled really well, and I enjoyed the conclusion Dina came to!

THE PLOT

Dina Whitlock has been hexed. Every time she falls in love, her partner is guaranteed to have a string of bad luck the second they start to have feelings for her. So, she's sworn off love. With her best friend, Immy, having her wedding in a few days, the last thing Dina expects is to run into Immy's fiancé's best man, Scott. Repeatedly. Over and over and over. Dina can't keep denying the chemistry between them, but the hex is as strong as ever, and she has no idea how to break it for good.

I think you'll like this book if you're into "mostly smut, no plot", since that's what this really was. I was a bit disappointed at how quickly Dina and Scott caught feelings for each other, going as far as admitting to falling in love with each other within a week. Their relationship felt very lust-heavy to me, but I did enjoy the few scenes where they talked about each other's professions and actually had conversations. I also really liked the way magic was incorporated into Dina's baking, and kudos to Scott for not freaking out the tiniest when he found out she was a witch!

THE WRITING

Nadia El-Fassi has a very cute and easy writing style, and I was able to fly through this in two days! Dina and Scott had very modern voices, and I enjoyed the descriptions of Dina's thoughts and feelings as she baked.

THE CHARACTERS

DINA

Dina was a very fun main character, and I absolutely LOVE seeing queer POC characters!! Dina's internal struggles with her insecurities were very easy to relate to, and I sympathized with her heavily after her story with her ex. As I've gushed about already, I ate up every scene that involved Dina cooking and baking!

The scene of Dina and Scott cooking baghrir and cinnamon rolls in the hunting lodge??? I died from cuteness. And hunger.

SCOTT

THE SWEETEST CUTIE-PATOOTIE EVERRRRRRR

I love Scott. If Scott has no fans, I'm dead. I absolutely LOVED that the author showed that men, in fact, do have emotions! They cry! And it's totally okay!

Scott is the definition of "if he wanted to, he would," BECAUSE HE ALSO WOULD!! Whatever Dina wanted, he provided. Bro was obsessed by page 1, as he should be, and he was so open-minded and caring. I also loved seeing his friendship with Eric!

IMMY

I adored Immy. She was so cute the entire book, and I loved all of the little scenes of her and Eric just being in love. I'd also pay a hell of a lot to read one of her books.

I mean, sci-fi horror with tentacled aliens?? Sold. I'm picking up what you're putting down, Immy.

ROSEMARY

I refuse to overlook the fact that apparently Rosemary can see ghosts every now and then??? I'm hoping that means we'll get a spin-off about her! Rosemary was super fun, and she was always Dina's #1 supporter right next to Immy, and I loved seeing the girls' friendship throughout the story.

NOUR

I love Nour. I want her to be my mom. She was so cute and funny the whole book, and the scenes of her and Dina and the end were so beautiful. The story about how her and Dina's dad got together were also so cute!!

CONCLUSION

All in all, I thought this was a fun debut. Definitely heavy on the insta-lust, and about 40% through, there kinda stopped being a plot. Definitely good for folk who like vibes more than plot, and enjoy the MCs catching feelings pretty quickly!

This was a wonderfully cozy debut romance with a dash of magic that is perfect for fall. I really enjoyed this book, the cozy fall vibes were in full effect and it made me want to curl up on the couch with a warm cup of tea and a blanket and just read all day. The romance was very cute, a little bit insta-lovey for my liking, but still cute. The main characters were both very likeable, the friend group was so supportive and the bits of baking magic we got were the coziest. An overall great debut book that is a quick read!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Ballantine for granting me access in exchange for an honest review.

Best Hex Ever is a magical read with diverse characters, a whimsical storyline, and lots of heart.

Dina and Scott have great chemistry together. Their witty banter had me snickering, and their passion for their work–and each other–is both refreshing and titillating!

The secondary characters are loveable, fun, and vital to the storyline. There are a couple scenes that are so beautiful and magical, I couldn’t hold back the tears. You know it’s a good book when you can laugh AND cry.

Best Hex Ever is full of wonder and whimsy, love and laughter, and hope and healing. I thoroughly enjoyed it. A delightful reading experience.

Thank you to Dell and Nadia El-Fassi for this ARC.

Who needs a spicy, witchy romance book in their life? I know I do, so I was excited to dive into my ARC of “Best Hex Ever.”

This debut romance book perfectly combines magic, wedding hijinks, annoying hexes, and spicy romance. I loved that our witchy FMC was a “kitchen witch” and used her magic to run her coffee shop/bakery.

This book also got me in the mood for Halloween. The smells, the baked goods, the magic…it was all there. I also loved the backdrop of the wedding planning and ceremony. It allowed the reader to get to know the side characters perfectly and set us up perfectly for the next novel in this delightful series.

The meet-cute in this one is adorable and from the first meeting, we get sizzling hot, instant attraction, but I can’t really blame our FMC as the MMC is HOT.

Plus, I am a sucker for any MMC who calls the FMC a “good girl.” I mean…I just melted reading those scenes. They were hot, they were dirty, and I ate them up.

Am I a fan of the insta-love? No. Did I really mind it in this adorable yet steamy romance book? No.

This is the perfect book for you if you want some spice in your chai latte this fall. Under 300 pages, “Best Hex Ever” immerses you in a fast-paced world of witchy magic, fun friend groups, and spicy scenes.

3.5/5

4.5 stars!
This book was all of the cozy witch vibes I was expecting and more! The spice was enough to make me blush! Nadia’s writing is so descriptive. It really helped to paint the scene in my head while reading. It was a beautiful story of friendship and overcoming obstacles for love. I loved that the story wasn’t solely focused on her love story but also on friendship and the relationship she had with her mother and family. This should definitely be added to your spooky TBR! I’m really looking forward to Rosemary’s story!