3.5 -⭐⭐⭐💫

She was the fire to my ice, the warm heat to my cold, empty chamber.

Hate Hex is a standalone adult urban fantasy romance following Trixie, a down on her luck witch, and Dominic, a billionaire vampire with family baggage.

Trixie is a witch who hates magic and represses her own skills to live like a human. She spends her days getting by working as a taxi driver living in the only place she has ever called him...until she finds out the billionaire who owns her apartment building is planning to sell the building and thus evict her.

When a series of strange happenstances lead Dominic's attention to be drawn to Trixie (accidental magic use on a cork bottle, dark alleyway, and an invitation to an elite magical event) a connection forms between these two unlikely folks. Trixie claims it to be hatred but as they are drawn into a fight against estranged family and an election neither one wants it becomes clear something else may be brewing...if they give it a chance.

I had fun with this book!

Trixie is a spunky character who knows how to voice herself and stand up. Her tumultuous upbringing has led to a lot of insecurity around magic and I like how it was represented in this book. I will say at times she can get stuck in a rut but I admired the strength of the different side characters who found ways to get to her without her getting immediately on the defensive.

Dominic comes across as a pretty traditional billionaire vampire. He has baggage because he wants to be distanced from his brother and he fears what his brother will do to the people he cares about. I liked the connection he felt to Trixie and the ways he tried to keep himself in her life before he even understood what these emotions meant. Now, he did try to martyr things a couple times but thankfully Trixie does not let him walk all over her.

I also gave a shout out to side characters but Trixie's best friend and grandmother really helped make Trixie a character I was able to enjoy. They drew out her fears and helped her process things while also challenging her about her perceptions, which is key because her instant dislike of Dominic was a teensy bit over dramatic.

This book does have some reference to spice that I would place at a 0.5 spicy pepper out of 5 spicy peppers. While there is an almost instant connection between the characters, the overall romance is a slow burn. The spice itself has some foreplay before it fades to black. There is passionate kissing, biting, and declarations of love but I was surprised how limited the spice was given the connection these two felt. Their romance does take a back slide at one point as they both are dealing with their baggage but it did feel good overall.

"The smell of you, the feel of your lips on mine...I haven't been able to get you out of my head. I'm ravenous for you, Trixie. You have ruined me."

The story had good pace and some interesting twists to keep you along for the ride. I loved the antagonistic play between Trixie and Dominic and the additional plot elements about the election to help keep things going. Dominic's story around his brother felt sort of weaker than Trixie's struggle to accept magic and I wish there was a smoother transition to how it connects to the overarching story. We got banter, some sweet moments in the world, and intimacy that helped draw things together. I did feel the ending was rushed a bit.

Overall, a sweet romance if you love cool urban fantasy worlds where magical creatures live modern lives.

Thank you so much LaManna Books for this arc!

Hate hex is a fun, quick, paranormal, witchy read. The book is just perfect for the upcoming spooky season. I could not put it down. I loved the enemies to lovers romance between Trixie and Dom.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!
Release date is September 3rd!

Trixie Gardens, is a down-on-her-luck taxi driver in the paranormal section of New York. She is also a witch who has refused to use her powers since she was sixteen, and they have been building up inside of her ever since. Then one night, as she is walking back to her apartment, she runs into a grumpy, devilishly handsome vampire in the alley behind her apartment building and her magic accidentally shoots the cork from a cheap cabernet bottle at his face. Oops! The vampire turns out to be none other than Dominic Kent, the billionaire who owns Trixie’s apartment building and lives in the penthouse above her apartment. When she discovers Dominic is planning to sell the apartment building and evict everyone, she retaliates by getting her roommate/best friend to brew up a hate hex to show him just how miserable it can be to live in a crappy apartment, which is all she will be able to afford if she gets kicked out of her rent-controlled one. He retaliates by hexing her back, and it is game on. When Dominic's brother returns, hellbent on revenge, Dom & Trixie have to join forces to stay alive.

I am a huge fan of this author, and her Magic & Mixology series is my favorite of all of them. This book is in the same universe as those books, even if there weren't any cross-over characters. I loved Trixie & Dominic and Trixie's roommate Emmy, and hope this will be either a spin-off series, or they will be incorporated into future books in that series. This was a fun read that is perfect for anyone who loves fantasy fiction.. I highly recommend it.

Get yourself in the Spooky Season mood!  This is a cute, smexy, cosy paranormal romance.

Trixie is a powerful but reluctant witch.  Decades of suppressing her magic leads to her giving off random blasts of magic when she does cave and use it occasionally.  She has her reasons for hating to use magic and I can understand why she thought she had to basically live like a human.

Dom is perfect as the centuries older, vampiric rich guy.  He's forgotten what it's like to worry about rent, food and a working vehicle.  When he is determined to sell their apartment block, he sets Trixie off on a hex war!

The banter between these two is well crafted and the complete irreverence that Vix has for her employer is awesome!  Emmy is possibly my favourite secondary character.  She is such a great friend to Trixie and always on her side - even when she knows that Trixie is going off on a tangent.

The political mayhem subplot and Dom's squicky brother added some depth.  I really enjoyed this shorter story and I'd be happy to visit this world again.

What a perfect book to kick off fall & spooky season! This was a fun, quick read. I loved the chemistry between Trixie and Dominic. I enjoyed the universe that the author Gina LaManna created. I will definitely be checking out more books by this author!

2.5 stars. Hate Hex follows a witch named Trixie who is trying to suppress her magic. It's getting harder to do this as she nears her thirtieth birthday. Her landlord Dominic is a powerful vampire who she dislikes since he is selling the apartment building and she has to move. Once they start truly interacting with each other after they are both nominated for an elected position, they begin to realize they like each other. Unfortunately, Dominic's murderous brother and otherworldly politics can't stop getting in Trixie and Dominic's way.

Hate Hex had some entertaining parts to it but I did not feel that it was original. I didn't find myself getting invested in the characters or their relationship. I feel the love part was really rushed. Overall, it was still a fun, quick read.

Thank you to LaManna Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐️

Hate Hex is a quick, totally predictable just like Hallmark Christmas movies (but we still love them), enemies to lovers rom-com! FMC is a magically repressed witch and MMC is a vampire. The relationship would be considered instalove (on his side) but there is a reason for that explained which I appreciated. The pacing was a little off to me as it was building and building and then everything happened in the last 20 (ebook) pages. Still 100% enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

2.75🌟

Hate Hex is a cutesy, fluff filled paranormal romance. For lovers of enemies to lovers and fast paced romance then this is for you. However, I’m not a massive fan of insta love and even though it was explained away it still just didn’t do it for me.

I wish there had been more of a slow burn so we got more moments with the characters. The problem with the instant love is that you don’t get those moments of tension and longing, you don’t get to feel a deeper connection with the relationship as it happens in the blink of an eye. One moment they have just met and the next they are getting together. It just doesn’t hit the spot for me unfortunately.

However, that being said I did enjoy the small moments of banter between the love interests and the friendship between Trixie and Emmy. I just wish the book had been a little bit longer so that the relationship could happen a bit more naturally.

Thank you to @Netgalley for the ARC and thank you to @GinaLaManna for allowing me the opportunity to read this!

2.5 stars

Trixie is a rideshare driver & also a witch. However, she has repressed her powers due to childhood trauma. She meets rich & powerful vampire Dom one night outside her building, which Dom owns. They instantly love/hate each other. Both are nominated for an open spot ona magical council and the sparks fly.

This was a very tame book. Pretty formulaic, but an easy read and the author is a good writer. Would just have liked more action/development.

Thank you so much to Gina LaManna and NetGalley for a chance to read this Book.

“Dominic Kent was the epitome of tall, dark, and brooding—with centuries of grumpiness stored in his cold, dark heart.”

For someone that doesn’t usually read paranormal, Hate Hex was actually quite the surprise, I really enjoyed it! I was pretty much hooked from the first page. I thought the characters were good and it flowed pretty well.

If you want a cute, funny paranormal read, then this is perfect for this spooky season and I would definitely recommend it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5/5 stars

thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Hate Hex! this was a fun and cute paranormal romance set in New York but with a few witches, vampires & elves. i love an enemies to lovers moment so this ticked that box.

liked:
- sexy vampire Dom Kent (broody rich vamp, sign me up!)
- headstrong witch Trixie Gardens (rebellious, plant loving witch lets go)
- kickass bestie Emmy (lovable nerd roomie)
- scary femme fatale Vix (sexy vamp need i say more)
- Grandma Betty <3 (need one of her happy hexes hehe)

disliked:
- villain brother (ick)
- meddlers
- haters

liked this story overall - just a fun story involving miscommunication, magic, sprinkling of politics, uber drivers and a guy named Chopstix!

I love a paranormal romance so this really excited me and it felt like a lot of fun whilst reading, cute read overall.

It’s the classic grumpy boy meets happy girl. Trixie is part happy girl part emotionally traumatized witch. I enjoyed the duel POV of getting both of their reactions to each other. This is a very cute fun super natural book to get you in fall spirit. I enjoyed Trixie and Emmy as characters and Dom was the perfect grumpy but soft for her only boi. I did feel the ending was a little rushed. While I acknowledge that a time period was attached to show movement of time it still felt like the author felt the need to throw the proposal in there to show that the characters had a “happy ending” and to please those who would only see a marriage proposal as a success in the book. I felt like it could have been left out as it mostly felt like a rushed footnote that the author felt she had to add.

It’s first person, dual POV, closed door.

Trixie is a taxi driver. She’s also a witch living in a rent controlled apartment in the secret magical section of NYC. Dominic is a grumpy billionaire vampire and owns the building. He’s trying to sell, and Trixie is rightfully mad about the coming eviction. She decides to hate hex him for a few hours so he can see how regular people live. He, of course, retaliates.

Meanwhile, the committee that oversees the magical community needs a new member. Trixie and Dominic both get nominated by The Fates. Neither want the job. This B plot kind of gets forgotten for most of the book, but had potential.

Throw Dominic’s dangerous and angry vampire brother into the mix, and we’ve got a fast paced chaotic read. It felt like it was missing something for me, but overall was a fun time.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my advanced digital copy!

This is an adorable, (mostly) stress-free paranormal romance!

Reluctant witch Trixie and wealthy vampire Dominic make quite the pair- from meeting and immediately getting off the wrong foot, to both their names coming out of a very goblet of fire-esque chalice forcing them into running for a special paranormal election against each other, to a hex contest, and so much more! The stakes were pretty low and it was a cute connection between the two, a good early fall read for sure!

Thank you so much to Gina LaManna and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review!

I love a cute paranormal romance, but honestly, I was bored. It started off pretty good and then just kind of slumped. I couldn't really connect with the characters, and it just seemed so silly. It's closed door spice, and that's not really my cup of tea either. Enemies to instant love...meh. I love witches and vampires, so I wanted so much more from this.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC and opportunity to review.

Quick fluffy read with an interesting setting. Practically too quick, sadly. I felt like most of the romantic development happened off the page and I just didn’t care much at all.

This was really really cute. I enjoyed how Trixie and Dom went from bickering and threatening and pranking each other to a couple, and the magical and paranormal added a lot of fun to their story. The mystery around Dom's brother was an interesting storyline, although a bit predictable, but I did love the way it got resolved, which was a true surprise. The only thing I did wish for, was to have a bit more context and details on The Circle and The Veil. They were constantly mentioned but barely any explanation on what they are, what they do, how they work... It just felt like an important piece of the story was barely touched upon and would have needed to be built up a bit more. However, I still had lots of fun reading this story and that's what matter.

I’m not really sure why this is considered enemies to lovers because it was insta-love if I’ve ever seen it. Hate Hex is perfect for someone looking a really quick and simple paranormal read. Personally, I prefer a more fleshed out story.

Ok this was a good fall read. It has fun parts and really good sections. The characters were easy to follow . The plot is very central on inta love but that is ok, fun and easy read