If frozen crossed over from Disney to hallmark it would be this book! And I’m not even mad about it.

There was A LOT going on in this book. For the short page count I felt like there was so much content. I found the main story arc to be utterly fascinating, all of the origin stories to the curse and the missing house, I unfortunately found the story got overshadowed by the typical romance archetype through out the second half of the book.

Overall I loved all of the history of witches in the uk and wished there was more of that less romance! But perfect october witchy read! Honestly if hallmark picked up books like this I might be tempted to watch a movie or two..

I can't even explain how much I absolutely LOVED this witchy book by a new to me author!!! Hex Appeal is full of found family, magic, menace, a delightfully cast of quirky characters and is the most perfect #SpookySeason read of the year!

I was pulled in by the wonderfully purple cover but Kate Johnson's writing had me caring about these characters so deeply! Josh and Essie are flawed but still optimistic about love and life even though they've been through some traumatic experiences. I loved them together and was fighting for them to get their HEA right to the very end.

HIGHLY recommended for fans of Practical magic, The ex hex or The fix-it witches series. Bonus content for me was the author's note at the end with a brief history of witchcraft and the witch trials in Europe/North America. I really can't recommend this book enough especially if you're looking for your next totally engaging, big-hearted, swoony Witchy romance! Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!

Hex Appeal is one of the most charming and steamy witchy rom-coms I've ever read! I could not put this book down! It was witty, heart-warming, steamy and fun. It starts off with Josh Henderson moving from Seattle to Essex when he inherits a house, Brook Manor Farm, after his biological father's death. When going through documents, he notices he owns half of Good Winter's property. One rental, Bedlam House, has not paid rent in 300 years. Josh goes on a walk to find Bedlam House, no one in town seems to know where it is. On his walk, he runs into Essie Winterscale, a witch who lives in Bedlam House. She thinks he is a window repair man, not their landlord coming to claim 300 years worth of rent. The magic sparks between them almost instantly.

It could have used more steam, but I enjoyed the romance scenes. My only complaint is the word dungarees was used a hundred times, which I learned is overalls. Don't mind me, I'm just super American and learning more and more British slang with every read by a UK author.

If this is not a series, I will be very disappointed. I enjoyed this so much! Perfect read for October, just grab a cozy sweater, hot cup of tea, and curl up under a big blanket. 4.5 star read! Will post on Amazon and Goodreads as well.

Thank you #KateJohnson , #NetGalley & #HarperCollinsUK #OneMoreChapter for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

It’s’ the season for witchy romcoms!

Josh needs a new start so he moves to Good Winter, a small town where he’s inherited a number of properties. When he arrives he’s surprised to learn that rent on one of the properties hasn’t been paid since the 1700’s. When Josh begins to investigate, he meets Essie, a witch who is living at the property.

Hex Appeal was a fun seasonal read! I enjoyed the characters. I think the magic aspects could have used a bit more explanation and the plot got a bit off track at times, but, overall, I enjoyed the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC!

When Josh moves to a rundown house in Winterscale to hide from his ex, he doesn’t expect that his life is about to turn upside down, but a search for a mysterious house that owes him thousands in back rent puts him right in the middle of a witchy saga.

For Essie, life is as ordinary as it can get for a witch until she discovers Josh seems immune to a memory spell on their house. But things get even more complicated when it’s revealed her winter ritual is no longer keeping an evil force at bay and it may be related to Josh.

This story is unique and definitely worth a read.

I've been loving the influx of 'witchy' romances atm, but this one just didn't hit the mark for me. I struggled to connect with the characters in any way, and didn't like the insta romance style arc the author put in. I ended up DNF'ing at around 30%.

Perfect for spooky season! Sometimes you need a light and easy read and this fits the bill. Super cute read with relatable chapters that draw you in and keep your attention.

4 stars because it did keep me entertained, but I definitely would have liked a bit more from it! It was fast paced, excellent writing. I don't know if this will make sense, but I wish the story itself wasn't so fast paced. Like, it moved to fast to really flesh out the story and the characters. I like a fast moving story, but I like it to be more like the writing itself pulls you in and moves you along, rather than the events and characters moving fast through the book.

Anyway, I did like it! I love me a witch, and a romance. It is a bit like Encanto, in that the house gives you what you need, and there's a few people living in it haha.

Josh is kind of a doormat though. 5/10 for him.

A perfect spooky season read! Some really comical moments in this one, and a wonderful cast of characters. I loved seeing Josh and Essie's lives weave together, although sometimes found the third person format hard to relate to.

Hex Appeal was an adorable, very witchy read that is absolutely perfect for the autumnal season and change in weather. The book totally had the right vibe for Halloween, pumpkins, and spiced cider. There was a scary monster to face and vanquish, a quirky, spooky house that reshapes itself depending on its occupants’ moods, fecund Venus fly-traps in a magical conservatory, enchanted glass parrots, jousting cats and dogs, even magical broomsticks. Through it all, Essie’s coven/found family held firm and supported each other in life and against all threats.

Essie and her friends live together in Beldam House, a magical mansion in a small English village that has the reputation of always having snow for Christmas, no matter what else is happening in the greater area weather wise. It’s no wonder they always have snow because unlike her fellow witches, Essie has only one magical talent, and that is the ability to freeze anything to ice (pretty handy in keeping champagne chilled, but otherwise not particularly useful as far as she’s concerned). She uses this talent every year to bring on winter, but her talent has a deeper purpose, to freeze an ancient, malevolent witch finder who killed many of their kind in the 1600’s, and keep him quiescent for another year.

When sweet, rather clueless, hapless American hero Josh, inherits a local house, shows up in the village, and starts looking for Beldam House to collect on back rent that he discovers he’s owed, the witches start to get ominous, strange portents that all seem to be tied into his appearance. Even after he locates Beldam House, and meets (and is attracted to) Essie, he keeps forgetting it exists thanks to an old “ignore” spell however the effect of the spell doesn’t seem to be working as strongly on him as it does on the other villagers leading him to get more entangled in the witches’ affairs and especially in the matter of banishing the monster that threatens all of them.

Hex Appeal effectively straddled that fine line between romance and paranormal fiction. Essie and Josh were sweet and adorable together, but there was plenty of other paranormal action going on. The plot was a bit scattered, but I really didn’t care as I loved the book’s vibe so much. I don’t know if there will be more stories to come for the Beldam House inhabitants, but I really hope so as I wasn’t ready to leave this world. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

This is an interesting book that has magic and much mystery in the sense of the characters backgrounds. I did like those main characters and enjoy their romance for the most part. The only issue I would have had with the book is that I did feel like the back-and-forth through time sometimes could be confusing. All in all though it was quite an interesting book and perfect for spooky season.

This book is a cute little rom com featuring magic, witches and romance. I enjoyed getting to read about Essie and Josh and all the side characters, but I needed more romance and I needed this to be a duology instead of one book. I feel that a lot of the aspects/fleshing out of the characters and the romance were rushed trying to fit it all into this one book. Hence why I think this should have been more than one book.

Overall I enjoyed the book and would read it again when I want to read a witchy romance for spooky season. And although I enjoyed this book, I wish there had been more meat to the characters and the romance especially.

Perfect book for spooky szn! This book was lovely and the characters were amazing. The story was engaging and I finished it in a day!!

Essie is a witch who lives in Bedlam house with a coven of other witches (each with their own talent and ability) and meets Josh who recently inherited a house, or a few houses(!) in the local village. What is unusual about Josh is that he remembers the house and Essie - when he shouldn't due to an illusion charm placed over the house and it's inhabitants. Drama ensues, and evil is lurking around the corner.

It's a wonderful book story and book with excellent characters. I would 100% recommend this book!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Hex Appeal' by Kate Johnson.

This book was a blessing. 'Hex Appeal' by Kate Johnson was an absolute delight to read in the dubbed spooky month and I'd read it over and over again if I could. The plot was spectacular and I adored the two main characters - Essie and Josh. But I gotta weigh in on Josh in specific. Get me a Josh please. I want a Josh. The romance in this novel felt wonderful to me and I truly did feel a bit fluttery when they were making mad moves.

Overall, this book is perfection and I refuse to take any slander. Perfect amount of witchy and perfect amount of love. Beautiful.

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. You know that feeling when a book really just hits the spot? I didn’t even know I was in the mood for a cozy and funny fall read until I got my hands on Hex Appeal but once I got going I was immediately hooked. I absolutely loved the quaint and cozy setting, the romance, and the humor. I actually laughed out loud at multiple points with this book and it just gave me all the warm fuzzies. The eccentric witches of Good Winter made the story so much fun and I loved that Kate interspersed actual history (info on this can be found at the end of the book) with fun witch lore.

The book was light and fun overall but didn’t lack depth as it tackled a few heavier topics. I do think the book could have been a bit shorter but overall it was so much fun and I literally could not think of a more perfect book to read in October if you want something with Halloween vibes (that isn’t going to give you nightmares)!

Content Rating: R only because of 1 or 2 open door scenes and some innuendo. Otherwise it really is pretty clean!

Synopsis:
Essie Winterscale lives in a huge and ever-changing house in the village of Good Winter, in deepest, darkest Essex. She lives with various witches of various ages, one of whom is still a bit salty about being hanged in the 1700s, one who keeps accidentally casting fertility spells, and one who knits things that create the future.
All Essie ever wanted was to have a normal life but in the end she found herself drawn back to Beldam House because she just can’t stop her witchiness (although the ability to instantly chill wine is pretty awesome, even she has to admit).
Into this coven of chaos stumbles gorgeous, clueless Josh, their new landlord – and he’s just discovered his tenants haven’t paid rent since the 1700s! As Josh is drawn further into the lives of the inhabitants of Beldam House, Essie is determined to keep him at broomstick’s length. That is, until a family secret, lying hidden for centuries, puts Josh firmly under her spell…

This is a perfect spooky read for Halloween season! If you’re in the mood for romance, humor, and a great story that will definitely get you in the holiday spirit then search no further! I really enjoyed this one!

🔮 I went into this read with excitement for the witchy season and it definitely delivered in that regard! Essie and her housemates are a hoot and I the house they live in sounded so crazy and whimsical.

🔮 My main issue is that if it wasn’t spooky season, I don’t think I would have enjoyed it nearly as much (and I love witchy reads year round). It wasn’t bad, but there were many things just… lacking.

🔮 The romance was sweet in a quirky way, but was underdeveloped. I was much more invested in the side characters than I was with Essie and Josh. It felt as if this could have been 3 books. There was so much crammed into one story, but one book just couldn’t do it justice.

🔮 Would recommend if you would enjoy a fun, witchy romance this time of year!

Josh is new to town in a small village in Essex after recently inheriting a property from his late father. He quickly discovers he's actually the landlord of a few properties and while looking for the mysterious Bedlam House, he meets Essie. Essie and her housemates are witches, but thanks to spells put on the house, people don't remember visiting the home... until Josh comes along and suddenly Josh and Essie's lives become intertwined and turned a bit upside down.
Really a fun lighthearted fall read. Would give this 3.5 stars if I could. Thanks to HarperCollins UK, NetGalley and Kate Johnson for this ARC.

This book was not for me. It was too long and the plot didn’t start until around 40%. It was really oddly paced with so much going on but also with nothing going on. Did not enjoy

This book was marketed as similar to The Ex Hex and while it was, it was far more fantasy-esque. There were many times where I felt there was a little too much witchcraft history while also not explaining important aspects (like how long the witches had lived in the house or how they knew each other). It was a fine and interesting plot but I struggled to enjoy it.