Hot Hex Boyfriend by Carly Bloom
🎧 Narrated by Laura Knight Keating & Zion Jang
⭐️ 4/5 Stars
Tropes
🧙🏻 Witches & Magic Creatures
✨ RomCom
🏡 Small Town Romance
🔥 Slow Burn
🍁 Cozy Fall Vibes
❤️‍🔥 Soulmates
❌ No 3rd Act Breakup
📖Standalone

Synopsis
Hot Hex Boyfriend is sure to warm your heart and leave you smiling. Set in small town Texas, this novel combines witchy vibes with the classic appeal of a cozy fall rom-com, making it the perfect read for the witchy season.

Cordelia "Delia" Merriweather doesn't believe in magic anymore, despite her family’s insistence that they’re witches cursed to lose their powers. When Max Halifax moves in next door to settle his uncle’s affairs, he’s tasked with ensuring that Delia doesn’t break the ancient hex that his family placed on hers. But as Max and Delia get to know each other, their connection grows undeniable, and what started as a duty for Max turns into something much more complicated and magical.

Review
Delia’s and Max’s quirky families are the heart of the story, with their bumbling yet loving dynamics providing plenty of laughs and warmth.
Even though the romance is slow burn it keeps you on your toes and there is never a dull moment.
The small-town setting doesn't feel limiting but is vividly portrayed. The side characters are flushed out and add an extra layer of fun to the story, making it even more enjoyable.

I highly recommend the audiobook. Narrators Laura Knight Keating and Zion Jang do an outstanding job of giving each character a unique and distinct voice.

Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for providing the audiobook.

A cute, cozy, funny story, but it does move a little slow. I was expecting Delia breaking her family’s hex to be the inciting incident based on the blurb, so I was pretty surprised it didn’t happen until halfway through the book. So then I thought the introduction of the inequality the hedge witches face was introduced rather late in the story. I did really like the description of magic and the magic system, though.
I loved the dynamic between Delia and her goofy family, and I loved the scenes with the whole cast of characters.
The audiobook was enjoyable and I really liked the female narrator. She did a great southern accent, and she was entertaining to listen to. The male narrator was great also, but his volume fluctuated a lot and was much quieter overall than the female narrator, so it made hearing some parts difficult.
Overall, a cute spooky season read.

Delia has always been told she’s a witch and that she comes from a long line of witches and that they would be powerful, but that there has been a hex on them for years, but of course that’s just her crazy family talking nonsense. But it turns out it’s true - and the hex is actually more complicated that new really cute neighbor that moved in, it was placed years ago by his family AND can only be broken by her. But when Delia unknowingly breaks the hex and falls for her family’s archenemy (and he falls for her) all magic breaks loose.

I requested this audio widget on a Friday thinking it looked cute; little did I know how much I would need this adorable distraction over the weekend. This book was so fun and I maybe it also is making me accept that summer is allllmost over (I have one more day and I refuse to let go until I have to). I have always loved a good witchy tale (The Mayfair Witches and Discovery of Witches are high on my list of favorite series) so I was excited to read this and it totally delivered. It kept me thoroughly entertained during a really tough weekend, made me smile, and had a little romance as well. It’s absolutely a great Fall read (and nice way to dip my toes into the autumnal season especially since I am not a pumpkin spice latte girl).

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC

📖 𝐇𝐨𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐱 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦
🎧 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐊𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐙𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐠

“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦.”

This story was so fun! It truly filled my heart with all the warm and fuzzy fall vibes.

Cordelia ‘Delia’ Merriweather comes from a long line of witches, not that she believes in witches. Her family says that they were hexed decades ago and lost all of their magic. They believe she is the blue witch, born under a blue moon, who will break it.

Max Halifax comes to the small town of Willow Root to settle his uncle’s affairs after he dies. His uncle moved in next door to the Merriweather’s in order to watch them and make sure they didn’t break the hex that his family placed on them years ago. The witch world believes the Merriweather’s to be dangerous and now Max must do whatever it takes to make sure they don’t reclaim their lost magic. When he meets Delia and her family, they are nothing like what he expected. Delia is sweet and carefree, and doesn’t even believe in magic.

As they get closer to each other, the magic between them can’t be denied.

I thought this story line was really fun and unique! There were moments when Delia’s family reminded me of Practical Magic and I loved it! Delia and Max were great together and there was a nice little dose of spice added in towards the end!

The side characters were so fun. Max’s parents had me cracking up and Delia’s family was HILARIOUS. I absolutely ADORED Nicky, a magical imp, bound to be the Halifax familiar. He was hands down my favorite character! 🐈‍⬛

If you love reading magical romances during the fall, go add 𝐇𝐨𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐱 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦 to your TBR today! The audiobook narrated by 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐊𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐙𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐠, was absolutely MAGICAL. 😉

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
❤️‍🔥 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴
🧙🏻 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 & 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴
✨ 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘊𝘰𝘮
🔥 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯 + 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘦 (🌶️)
🫶🏼 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺
🍁 𝘊𝘰𝘻𝘺 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘝𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘴

The audio of this one is well done. Both narrators captured the characters well. The story was fun and a perfect fall read. The Merriweather family insists they are witches, but Delia simply thinks her family is goofy. She doesn’t believe in witchcraft. Max knows the truth of witches and has been sent to ensure the Merriweather curse holds, and must interact with Delia and her family. With each interaction he starts to question his role and looks at magic in a different way. The chemistry between Delia and Max is undeniable. The story is humorous with a slow burn romance.
Thank you to Forever for the opportunity to read an ALC all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was the perfect way to kick off my witchy season reading! It’s a cute, cozy read that had me giggling the whole time. I loved watching Max fall for Delia, even though it went against everything he believed in. And Nicky? Absolute delight! His banter had me nearly bursting out laughing in the middle of the grocery store! If you’re in the mood for a fun witchy romance with some unique magical twists, this is definitely the book for you!

This is a fun, witchy romance. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, which made for a lighthearted read despite family curses, death of loved ones, and a few dark moments. I loved how my understanding of the town and the general magical world shifted and grew as the story progressed. I appreciated the parallels between Delia’s chaotic but loving family and Max’s respectable family. Also, the banter is top-notch.

The audiobook is narrated by Laura Knight Keating and Zion Jang. I thought they both did a lovely job. I appreciate it when books with multiple POVs have multiple narrators, especially for romance novels. There was one section that threw me off because I think it was Delia’s POV, but the male voice was narrating. Overall, though, I enjoyed their performance.

If you're looking for fun witchy rom-com, look no further Hot Hex Boyfriend delivers big time.

Delia has been told all her life that she comes from a long of witches that have been hexed to remove their powers. Delia thinks her family is eccentric and embarrassing. The handsome next door neighbor Max is sent to keep an eye on Delia's family, to ensure no hexes are broken.

The setting for this is a wonderful small town, and and Delia's family and friends are wonderful characters, and add to the fun. Delia and Max have great chemistry .

Thank-you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the advanced listener copy. Narrators Zion Jang, Laura Knight Keating were wonderful to listen to. I highly recommend this audiobook, it's a fun read and perfect for spooky season!

3.5 stars!

Fluffy, witchy, cozy fun, "Hot Hex Boyfriend" by Carly Bloom is the perfect way to begin the upcoming spooky season! This book and these characters are quirky, intriguing, and zany. It's got a bit of everything: family shenanigans, long-time lore, spirits, hexes, witch-core vibes, true love, and spells. I loved Delia and the entire eccentric Merriweather family! She really was such a great character. I resonated with her quite a bit. She's quite messy, doesn't know what she wants to do with her life, is a witch with no powers...quite relatable (minus the witch part). Delia's chemistry with Max is SO GOOD! I thoroughly enjoyed them as a couple. Their personalities offset each other perfectly. This story is also about found-family and community coming together to help those they love. It's also about using magic for good purposes. This book approaches magic and matriarchy in a compelling way that I have not really seen before (but admittedly, I do not read a lot of witch-centric books). Ugh, so cute, and so dang funny! Some people might not like this book *because* it's too cutesy, but I didn't mind at all. Sometimes, you need something light and silly to offset everything else you read. It's also slightly spicy, which I was surprised about. Loved that! Dual audiobook narrators Laura Knight Keating and Zion Jang bring this story to life in an entertaining, fabulous way. They fit these characters so well! I just loved their work here, and their narration kept me engaged and interested throughout the book. I hope Bloom writes more Willow Root books in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley, Carly Bloom, Hachette Audio, and Forever for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Hot Hex Boyfriend was a funny and cozy romance with a lot of witchy vibes thrown in.

I enjoyed the characters and story. I found myself laughing a lot.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the narrator for Delia. The story was set in Texas so a southern accent made sense but she was the only one who had one so it didn’t work for me.

Definitely would recommend for anyone ready for falls vibes and to get ready for Halloween and all things witchy.

Thanks to Hachette Audio and Netgalley for the ALC in exchange of an honest review.

Awwww this had all the sugar and spice you need and it was such a nice listen!!! I LOVED ZION’s voice!! Yummy and toe curling for me with this smooth deep voice 😍. It took me a bit to get used to Laura’s voice, not going to lie.. i was mildly irritated for a little bit until I was accustomed to hearing it.

Delia and Max are the chef’s kiss! They are so cute together! And This book is full of amazing side characters!! This was truly a great small town witchy romance! It’s a great way to start your fall with cozy rom com!

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸…
🧹Cozy witch Rom Com
🧹Small Town
🧹Slow Burn
🧹Grumpy/ Sunshine
🧹True Love
🧹Dual POV
🧹One open door scene

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the perfect cozy romcom to read this fall.
Loved the quirky characters and the whole plot was just fun. The setting in a small town in Texas was the best small town atmosphere vibes. Mac is perfect book boyfriend vibes! I loved everything about his character. Delia is such a southern sweetheart ray of sunshine. The side characters were so entertaining.

The audiobook was really well done with dual narration by Laura Knight Keating and Zion Jang. They kept me engaged in this story and wanting more.

This one was a 3.5 for me! I really enjoyed the premise of the family earning their magic via a broken hex. I also really liked the community coming together in the end (trying not to spoil it for anyone!) and taking care of the bad "witch" once and for all. This book is a perfect read for fall. It has all the spooky vibes while still keeping it light and fun.

I would love to read more by Carly Bloom, especially if she's a fellow witchy woman!

I couldn't get into this one I was about 25% and truly nothing happens. It is very slow and not keeping my interest at all. I had to DNF.

Delia’s family is convinced they are witches, and that Delia is the blue witch. Delia is convinced they are a little bit silly for thinking that since they don’t have any magical abilities. When Max Halifax moves in next door to handle his uncle’s estate, things get even more interesting. Max actually is a witch, and somehow, without knowing it, Delia breaks the hex that has been keeping magic from her family.

This was an adorably fun romcom. I loved Delia’s family. They were so much fun and their relationships with Delia were so sweet. Max and Delia were fantastic main characters and I loved the way their romantic relationship developed. There was a bit of mystery in this book which was a nice touch.

I listened to the audio which was absolutely fantastic. I love dual narrators and Laura Knight Keating and Zion Jang did a fantastic job bringing Delia and Max to life. Their emotions were so easy to feel through the narration.

I highly recommend this if you are looking for a fun witchy romcom for your spooky season TBR!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the advance copy.

Incredible! I loved the narrators; they really made me feel like I was in small town, Texas (and I’m from Texas)! I just had so much fun listening to this book and I didn’t really want it to end. I grew attached to the characters and want more of Willow Root! It was a perfect way to kick off the autumn season and I would highly recommend listening to this while reading the book! 💜

Thanks so much NetGalley & Forever! It was a pleasure to read this book!

A hilarious mixture of family lore, true love and witches of course! This plot is fun with twists and turns to keep you guessing, but also peppered with family shenanigans and a bit of romance. The characters are wildly creative with unique personalities and witty banter to keep you giggling. The dual narration really helps bring the perspectives of both the male and female characters truly to life. If you are looking for a lighthearted fun read or listen, then this is the book you are looking for especially if you like a paranormal perspective of learning to accept everyone for who they really are and not who you perceive them to be! I really, really hope that the author turns this into a series as these characters would be a blast to follow as they develop their witchcraft and other characters find their true happiness as well! A great happily ever after story of opposites attract, enemies to lovers although friends to lovers would be more appropriate (you'll have to listen to the book to find out why I think that!!!) and a bit of close proximity trope sprinkled in for good measure! It is overall a sweet romance, but there is a touch of spice but not too much for those who prefer it to remain behind closed doors typically. I'd say it is a good touch of spice!

This was such a cozy, funny, heartwarming story. I loved the Merriweather family. There was so much love and humor in this little family. I was looking for a fun witchy read for the podcast I co-host and this was perfect. The narrators did a wonderful job voicing the characters and while third-person stories aren't usually my favorite, having this be a dual narration, made me really enjoyed this one. It's a good combination of all of the witchy favorites I grew up with and there was an unexpected bout of nostalgia for some of my favorite shows and movies. Great rom-com. Wonderful writing. Definitely a 4.5-5 star read for me. It's a little steamy but definitely not spicy.

DNF. This book was really hard to read. It could have been an interesting story. I got to 11% and turned it off. There was so much unnecessary cursing that it was very off-putting. You can get a lot across when building characters without cursing. There are so many amazing adjectives out there to use. Would not recommend.

Delia Merriweather comes from a family of witches, but they can’t perform magic because they’ve been hexed and she doesn’t even believe in magic anyways. Max Halifax is the new neighbour next door, sullen sexy at times grumpy he’s been assigned to keep an eye on the Merriweather women. But then he discovers that Delia has somehow accidently broken the curse and of course craziness (and love?) ensues.

I wanted to love this book, it had promise to be the perfect kick off to the fall season and perhaps being a teacher and it also being back to school it was not the right time for me.

I loved the accents of the voice actors, as a Canadian the southern American twang is a delight and I liked that it was easy to tell the characters apart. Perhaps the accent was a distraction though as I would say for the first 50% of the book I had no idea what was going on.

The second half of the book had much more action and the spice I was hoping for.
In conclusion this audio book is well produced, had a cute theme and storyline, romance, action and it was just perhaps not right for me at this time. If you love romantic stories of starring magic living among us humans you are likely to enjoy this book. If you’re just looking for a cute fall hallmarkesque story you might still like it or like me find it a bit hard to follow the finer details.