"You shut up about destiny," Essie hissed back. "This isn't a romance novel.'

"There is a woman flying on a broomstick tree feet from me, he thought. I'm not courageous. I'm insane.'

Essie lives in a the biggest house in town, the house is constantly changing thanks to the coven of witches that live in Beldam House. Essie only ever wanted a normal life but normal was never on the cards for her freezing hands. Though it does come in super handy when wine needs chilling.

Josh arrives in Essex as the new land lord of half the town. He quickly discovers that his tenants haven’t been paying rent or if they have it’s nothing close to what it should have been. There’s one house on the list that’s not paid a dime since the 1700s, Beldam House. Which also seems to not exist.

Essie is determined to keep Josh at a broomstick length away but he’s determined to find what Essie’s hiding. The electric coven and family secrets make it even more complicated. Not to mention the pregnant lady, the knitting future teller, some time travel and the big bad witch hunter and you’ve got a cauldron full of madness.

A fun and sexy fantasy romance, perfect for this time of year. There's a great mix of characters involved.
Very enjoyable and I'd read more by this author.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc ebook.

Hex Appeal is a book that has the perfect fall/Halloween vibes that I was looking for when I picked up this book. A house that people forget about once they leave, witches, time travel, and more! The descriptions of the air and the settings only added to the Halloween-y, autumn feeling, which is one thing that I think was really well done with this book.

In terms of the weight of this book, I think it had a hard time deciding. In terms of the concept and the title, it was fun and light, with fun debauchery and an overall fun romance book. But every so often, it would get much darker and kind of throw a wrench in those vibes. I didn't necessarily dislike these tone shifts, since it gave the book more dimension in my opinion, but sometimes, it felt like these tone shifts came out of nowhere.

The main thing that stuck out to me that made it hard for me to get into this book, however, was the pacing. I feel like the book itself didn't pick up until around two-thirds of the way through the book, when I finally felt like things were happening. But then, once that part of the book hit, all of a sudden EVERYTHING was happening. A LOT was packed into the last third of the book. And while it was fun, it was a lot at times.

Overall, this was a fun, witchy book with a good concept that I mostly enjoyed reading. I would definitely recommend for people looking for a witchy book this Halloween!

Josh has just inherited a house that's been in his estranged father's house for generations, and is struggling to fix it up when his rich sister decides to move in-- after dropping the news that she is pregnant, and due very soon. Along with the house, he's inherited a few others (none of which make him any money at all) but there's one in particular, Beldam House, that seems to not exist.
Essie lives in Beldam House, which is protected by a powerful forgetfulness spell, so only its inhabitants and people who really need it remember its existence. Essie herself has a similar spell on her. So when Josh remembers who she is, and when he's able to find her house and remember it once he leaves, Essie takes notice.
Together, they must face an ancient evil that's hounded the land for four hundred years-- one tied to both Essie and Josh, though neither knows it.

Hex Appeal is fun, and sweet, and has some great twists and turns. The witches are a lot of fun, and the dynamic between Josh and his sister Siena is great.
At times I found some of the language a little hard to follow (some of the witches are from the past, and their dialogue at times tripped me up a bit).

Trigger warning for a discussion of a past sexual assault one of the characters has faced, and a moment in the book that triggers them as a result.

As one might suspect from a book about witches, Hex Appeal works best if you suspend your disbelief and go with the flow. It’s the type of book you need to just accept what it is and not ask for more. You want a cute, funny, sometimes steamy romcom with witches and all sorts of magical hijinks? Come on down! You want a plot that makes sense? This might not be for you. But it’s enjoyable none the less!

This book has pretty much any magic trope you could want, in both good and bad ways. It definitely tried to do way to much at the expense of the plot being easy to follow. The side characters are all SO FASCINATING, but completely under-developed. But also I didn’t really care because I had fun reading it. The MCs had decent chemistry and a series of obstacles to go through. What more could you want?

Anyway this was kinda cheesy and over the top and addictive. But it’s also pretty cute!

Thank you to @harpercollinsuk and @netgalley for the ARC.

I laughed out loud multiple times in this book. It’s sweet, funny, gut wrenching in all the right spots. Storyline is easy to follow, well paced, a good comfort read for spooky season.

A cute witchy book to help ring in spooky season! Thanks so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins/One More Chapter for the ARC! We follow Essie, a witch living with a bunch of other witches, and their new landlord, Josh, who recently discovered his tenants (Essie and her friends) haven’t paid rent since the 1700’s.
 
This book was a quick and easy read with low angst and just what I needed. If you love witchy things and crazy but great side characters (including a house), Hex Appeal is right up your alley. I initially struggled to get into it because there was a lot going on at once, but once I found my footing, I ended up enjoying the book a lot! Essie and Josh are great and interesting characters to follow. If you need a quick Spooktober read, definitely give this a shot!

I chose to request this book because it sounded like a great read for spooky season! There are witches, hexes, witch hunters and time travel plus a little romance; all things I quite enjoy! However, this book was just okay. The writing at the beginning particularly was very slow paced and hard for me to give my full attention to and it didn’t really pick up until about 60% (and then I started to quite enjoy the story) into the book. I also didn’t find much chemistry between Josh and Essie and that really needed to be played up more for me to be emotionally invested in rooting for them.

Overall, this was an okay read.

3 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK/One More Chapter for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kate Johnson has a way of capturing your attention as Hex Appeal dove right into the story from the very first page. Her description of the world creates a vivid picture in the reader's mind. Now, while I did enjoy the jump into the deep end of the pool, I did get a bit confused. We don't get much backstory at the start although many characters are introduced. However, as the story continues, we do see much more of that which is fantastic. I do wish the transition between POVs was more prominent instead of just switching in the middle of the chapter. Essie and Josh keep you on the edge your seat, wanting more and more. The amazing side characters pull the story nicely together. Some chapters put a hex on your and others just made you laugh out loud.

Overall, I really enjoyed Hex Appeal. A great read if you are in a witchy mood for an enemies-to-lovers novel!

2.5 ⭐

I really wanted to love this, but found I loved the idea/potential more than the execution. I think this would have been much better if it was written in first person/multiple POVs.

(3.5) Well, this was delightfully cute. A nice cozy mystery that gives me some spooky season vibes. I really liked the characters, but do feel like this dropped off a bit towards the end.

However, would read again, and this definitely makes me want to read more by Kate Johnson.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

A unique romance and witchcraft story. Josh goes to the small land holding left to him by his father only to find one home on his land can't be found...and once found not remembered. Essie and Josh together change that. I fun and different story.

I was looking forward to this book, but I just didn't engage with the characters and it was written in the 3rd person which i struggle with, sorry its not a better review, but thanks for the opportunity to read it

Wow! Really adored this book. Felt like a great combination of history and the modern world. The incel talk did get a bit much but inherently not a bad thing to call out.

I was so excited to get this ARC because it was the perfect book for my current ‘spooky TBR.’ I’ve been reading a lot of witch themed romances lately and they can do no wrong for me but what I liked about this one was the twists it took. Halfway through I was like wait is this the end? And then BOOM something else crazy happens. I really liked Essie and her found family of fellow witches, and Josh and his sister as well, and everything that happened to them was fun to read! Definitely a book I would recommend!

Hex Appeal by Kate Johnson is a fun witchy read. I couldn't put this one down.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Hex Appeal sounded like the perfect cozy witchy book to start the fall season with but it left me dissatisfied and confused.

The first half went by quick with us learning about Essie’s housemate’s and fellow witches. It was interesting to see all the different powers they have including the powers that Beldam house has. I honestly did not like Josh and didn’t think him and Essie had any chemistry. It felt forced. I did enjoy his relationship with his sister, she was my favorite character along with Avery.

The last half is where it felt so chaotic and I was so confused with the timing of the plot. I definitely wanted to end it there but it being a short book I pushed through.

My favorite thing about the book was the author’s note where they mentioned they researched the correct terms they used in British witchcraft and not just use the cliche Hollywood terms.

In the end there was very few things I liked about the book so it’s a 2 star read for me.

I was excited to get into this book as it’s starting to feel like fall, but I found it to be way too silly and completely bizarre. I felt like it was too in between reality and fantasy in a way that was disorienting and dissatisfying, so I gave up about half way through. Not for me.

This book was so freakin’ cute! And perfect for fall! It was funny, sweet, and romantic and I loved their banter!

A delightful, cozy read! This book features a no-nonsense witch, a cinnamon roll male lead, and cast of lovable, quirky side characters. The perfect fall book for anyone who loved The House in the Cerulean Sea or The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches!