Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Adding my voice to those declining to review this due to the controversy surrounding it. (I thought I already had to be honest!)

I wish I could give this zero stars.

If you look at this book on Goodreads you can see all the negativity and controversy surrounding it. Basically, a bunch of people the author was at college with have come forward and said that specific characters are based on them and that personal information such as the name of the schools they attended and personal details of their sex lives have been shared and warped to paint them in the least favourable light.

While that's not cool, because although art mimics life and life mimics art, certain details that identify real people in a very obvious way, could of and should have been edited out. The name of one person's primary school certainly does not add to the story.
That being said, it's not unheard of for an author to hear about an event, no matter how personal, and mix that event with some creative licence to write a story. However, there really was no need to write in a way where anyone who knows the real-life people can identify them in this book.

I was not aware of all the drama surrounding this book when I requested it from NetGalley, however that drama did make me more curious about the book. Unfortunately, the book is terrible. The story is not good and it is poorly written. It's like listening to someone talk robotically about an event when they should be expressing compassion. I'm not surprised though, since compassion is clearly an emotion the author has no understanding of.

Please note that my critique of this book is not a critique of the real-life people who inspired the characters in this book.

This book has got some odd drama associated with it (see: Goodreads) and I have no idea whether or not it is true or some kind of internet bombing, but I've decided not to read this one as I don't have the time to wade through all the drama in order to write what I consider a fair review.

Given 3 stars as I haven't actually read it and there isn't an option to give 0 stars.

"A coven of witches turn to revenge-filled vigilante justice following a spate of sexual assaults on a college campus. Filled with dark magic (and darker humour), Consensual Hex is a modern Fight Club with fewer men and many more spells."

In principle, this sounded a fantastic book - as I started reading, it didn't quite match up to expectation, and learning of subsequent conversations around the book and the actions surrounding it, decided not to continue.

Seeing what other reviewers have written and doing some more research myself I would prefer not to review this book at all.

The author used personal information from people she knows in real life without their permission for this book. That is despicable and after reading the complaints from the people affected there is no way I can support this book. Disgusting behaviour from Amanda Harlowe. This book should not be published.

After hearing about allegations that the author used personal information from people in her life without their consent, I refuse to review this book.

Started to read this week and then saw the issues and horrible choices that the author made about her writing/feelings about real life people. Won’t be finishing it, absolutely not. The little bit I read wasn’t even that good.

The title hooked me (props to the marketing team because they get five stars), but the writing/plot/ethos of the author left me disappointed and a little angry.

I refuse to read this piece of shit book by this piece of shit author after things that have recently come to light about Harlowe ripping exact details from former friends' lives including intimately personal details. Do not support this book or this author AVOID.

I wanted to love this book, but 15% in and I just know I won’t enjoy it. This book focuses on an area that I’m currently conducting research in, so I was intrigued by the concept. Unfortunately, the writing style felt a bit sloppy to me - something is missing but I’m not sure what. I’m not going to leave a rating because I haven’t finished it and I’ve also received it in ARC form, so the final version might be different. If you’re intrigued by the plot, I’d recommend picking it up and having a go - it just happens to not be my cup of tea right now.

The premise of this book completely drew me in which makes it all the more disappointing that I ended up not finishing the book.

The writing was overfilled with very niche adjectives and the writing style was difficult to read, using very long sentences and obscure references.

In terms of plot, I only made it through 25%, but I found the characters very one dimensional and it felt too rushed. Because of the lack of character depth, it ended up seeming quite stereotypical and not empowering.

The concept hooked me but the writing and plot didn't match.

It took me awhile to read this book and it was okay, it just didn’t hold my attention. I liked the diversity as it has queer characters and it also shows the character dealing with issues like using correct pronouns. It also has some heavy themes such as dealing with sexual assault.
The writing style wasn’t really for me and i think it was one of the reasons this book took me so long to read, also the formatting was a little strange. The characters were okay, I couldn’t really connect to them. Some characters just appear at time’s and the plot seemed confused to me.
Overall this was a confusing read for me, it is a book that tries to deal with real world issues but I, not sure it pulled it off.

Yikes.
What can I say about this book? It was a hot mess in general unfortunately.
The premise was intriguing - coven of fledgling queer witches in their freshman year of college converge on a neighbouring college's illegal warlocks to enact revenge for multiple sexual assaults across both campuses.
However, the weirdly comic tone of this book was really off, and the narrative was frequently confusing, with characters appearing in places inexplicably and events unfolding that did not make any sense at all.
The ending was a cop-out and very disappointing also.
I can see what the author was trying to do with this book I think - provide a commentary on the trauma of sexual assault and how the experience can linger and poison other aspects of the victim's everyday life. What we get though is a messy, random magically tinged narrative full of flat, frankly horrid, characters and mixed messages.

Sadly unable to read due to formatting of galley, but thoroughly enjoyed reading what I could. Engaging writing and well-imagined characters. Very much looking forward to purchasing and finishing the novel when released. A promising new literary voice, for sure.

This was ok. I found the theme - that of sexual assault being punished by the victim taking matters into their own hands, in this case via magic - was done better in Foul is Fair, The Female of the Species and Ninth House. I had trouble connecting with the characters too. Conceptually I am all for this, the execution just left me a bit cold.

I really liked the premise of this book, it sounded like a fun, captivating approach to a very serious and real problem that exists in our world.

Unfortunately, however, the book itself did not live up to what I had hoped. It's definitely a creative take, and for that I commend Ms. Harlowe, however the story and its characters were a slog to get through.

The story itself is quite winding, jumping from one scene to the next or from one period of time to the next with no obvious movement between the two. This makes it quite difficult to follow.
I also found the characters really unappealing and hard to find anyone to root for. The main character, Liesl/Lee is quite flat, which is quite frustrating because she has so many obstacles to overcome that would have been a great opportunity to give her more depth.

I also found that the book was trying a little bit too hard to be "woke". There were a lot of mentions of issues like using correct pronouns or transphobia, but then never went any deeper that a character making a passing comment so it felt more like disingenuous lip service rather than a respectful handling of these topics

It's also just not very clear what's going on in the story and why, especially towards the end of the book. Was Liesl actually going through a mental health break? Was Tripp really a ghost? Was she straight or was experimenting with women just something she wanted to try? What the heck was Sienna's story? That one was wrapped up so confusingly.

I know this is a first time author, and there is some creativity here, but from the ARC I read, it needs a lot of tightening up - easier to follow, deeper characters and leave out all the social justice aspects unless you're going to give it the respect it deserves. At the moment it's sloppy and reads like something that's a first draft.

I had high hopes for Harlowe's "Consensual hex" that were sadly not met; the writing style felt a bit sloppy to me and, story-wise, something was clearly missing.