Summer is ending, there is a whisper of autumn in the air and with the equinox just days away this was the perfect read.

Essie Winterscale, a witch with a very limited skill set, has the unsettling feeling that things aren't quite right in Good Winter. Maude is knitting monsters, Blessing's carnivarous plants are out of control and Essie is having nightmares about a lawyer called Hobs. She is desperate for the day when she performs the ritual to summon winter and things will begin to slow things down.

Meanwhile, Josh has inherited half of Good Winter, which involves a money pit house to live and the rent for properties, including Beldam house that hasn't been paid for 300 years. He has the lease, but for some reason he can't find the house -- until he meets Essie and follows her home. And that is seriously weird -- or did he imagine it? Then his half-sister turns up on the point of giving birth and he becomes seriously out of control.

Welcome to Beldam House where Maude knits the future, Blessing nurtures stuff, Avery manifests ideas into reality and then there is Lilith...

Great characters, a wonderful setting and story that will keep you engaged to the very end. Recommended.

American lawyer Josh Henderson has relocated to the quiet village of Good Winter in Essex, UK, after inheriting several cottages. He discovers his new home is somewhat dilapidated, and the rent he is owed is virtually nonexistent; however, one property appears to have vanished.

Hex Appeal tells the story of Josh and Essie, who lives in the ever-changing house Josh cannot find and is a witch responsible for bringing in "winter." When the two meet, inquisitiveness slowly becomes a well-handled and convincing romance. Kate Johnson's characterisation is realistic and believable, which is often not the case with this genre. So you root for these two.

As always, things get complicated. The annual ritual Essie is responsible for isn't just to ensure a snowy Christmas, and Josh's genealogy throws up a curve ball.

Kate Johnson has a rich cast of characters. Elsie's housemates are well crafted and engaging. I loved Avery and Prudence.

Hex Appeal is in the top three reads of 2022. It has genuine laugh-out-loud moments, and I hope we revisit these characters again.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for the eARC.

A perfect magical romp for the start of the Autumn season.

Living in an ever-changing house full of witches and witchcraft, all Essie wants is a "normal" life and she works very hard to maintain this until one day Josh appears and throws everything Essie knows into the air as an old family secret is unearthed.

Essie and Josh's story is very sweet and all of the witches / coven provide some light relief and truly comedic moments. A really enjoyable stand alone magical rom com that is great for the chillier days to come.

If you are looking for a fun autumn read featuring witch hunters, time travel, and poppet dolls, Hex Appeal is a great pick! The book is about Essie and her coven, who live in a home called Beldam House that a lawyer named Josh has recently inherited. Josh and Essie meet when he attempts to collect the back rent on their home, and sparks fly. There is a monster involved in the plot and some somewhat confusing family lineage that I almost needed a family tree to understand, but I was more here for the romance! And we definitely get a romance, along with a bit of miscommunication between the two main characters.

The side characters, from Essie’s coven to Josh’s sister, are quirky and unique personalities who are fun to read about. I enjoyed the interactions between the various characters. The house is a character all of its own that changes to be whatever the witches need and can be straight up chaos at times. Each witch has specific abilities, and their abilities are so unique and original!

There was a section in the middle that took me a bit out of the story, where the characters spoke in such an odd old fashioned way that it was just tough to read. Without that section I would likely have rated this higher!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

I made a mistake starting this book whilst on holiday in 35°c heat and I struggled initially to get into it and read about 30%. I ended up finishing it after returning home from Cyprus and cosying up with a blanket and some hot chocolate which was much more fitting with the witchy autumnal vibes of this book and I finished the rest of the book in a few hours.
I found this book to be an enjoyable read, but it felt like there was too much going on at some points. Some scenes just seemed a bit too chaotic with too much going on at once and it felt like the story was a bit choppy because of this rather than flowing nicely. However, I really liked the characters in this. I think they are well thought out and even the secondary characters had very different personalities. This book wrapped the ending up nicely, however I am hoping for a sequel as I’d like to see what adventures they all get up to next! I’d recommend this if you’re looking for a witchy read in the lead up to Halloween. This book would pair nicely with a pumpkin spiced latte.

I quite enjoyed this book. Perfect fall read with a cozy, witchy romance. It had funny moments and some mystery with some spellcasting action. The only thing that did not work for me was Josh's overused, demeaning comments about Essie's weight. Once would have been fine but it was like he was hung up on it and he was with her in spite of that. It just rubbed me the wrong way. Without that infraction this would probably had been 5 stars.

DNFing @ 32%. Now, it may just be me, but holy crap I cannot get into this book. I gave it a good go -- I got to 30%, and at this point I should really care about at least one of the characters, but nope. I don't care at all. About ANY of it. The world seems like it has potential, but again, there's just nothing grabbing hold of me. It seems like there should be a romance somewhere in here, but what we've gotten so far doesn't really pique my interest at all. I think it might be how this is written, but who knows. I'm just not interested, and life's too short to keep reading something that just isn't doing it for me. Moving onwards.

As we head into the cool autumn days and towards Halloween, I was so excited to get an ARC of Hex Appeal.

Josh inherits property only to find rent hasn't been paid by its inhabitants for hundreds of years. Essie is a witch who lives at said property with other witches. Essie brings in winter. And can instantly chill wine (very important in my opinion).

I thought the book concept was cute, but I didn't feel the connection between Josh and Essie. Or maybe I just didn't vibe with either of the characters. I felt like Essie was immature. And Josh made some comments I wasn't a huge fan of.

I will say Kate built a nice world and wouldn't mind heading back there to get more stories from the other characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

While this book has a really fun and refreshing concept, with lots of funny and interesting moments, it fell a little flat for me. At times the plot felt strangely disjointed and was leaping around from thing to thing. Within the first 20% of the book there was a really stupid miscommunication trope between the FMC and MMC which had me actually rolling my eyes. It was so shoehorned in and completely ridiculous. The writing was... a little try-hard at times too, some things felt forced.

Overall it's a cool concept. Loved how magic was described and how it manifested. Beldam House itself was chaotic and the way it was spoken off in the prose reflected this. The cast of characters were interesting and relatable (in some ways). But the execution fell short many times for me. I remained unconvinced of the love story for most of the book.

Dnf @ 36%

This book was so boring. The writing is in 3rd person POV, which makes it automatically more challenging to connect to the characters. With the house being almost depicted as a character, I had such a hard time with picturing the setting and places because of the ambiguity of the writing.

Essie, for being however old she is, read so immature. I was so bored by her. The mmc, Josh, was a sad boy from Seattle (don’t worry, you won’t forget where he’s from because it’s mentioned every chapter). His half-sister was overbearing and annoying and served no purpose. Essie’s witchy friends felt like cardboard cut-outs and only served their specific purpose. There was no dimensionality of any of the characters. Essie was an “ice queen” and Josh is a “sad boy.” That’s it.

Considering I made it through almost 40% of this and I still didn’t know what the curse or the plot was says something. It’s slow, boring, and really fell flat. I read a few “cozy” fantasy romances last fall and loved them. I was hoping for the same reaction to this one, but I really couldn’t get through it.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for this arc and the chance to read it! Unfortunately it wasn’t for me.

This was a quick witchy book...a little bit of history, romance and humor. I enjoyed reading this and it's break from reality!
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Hex Appeal was action packed and so fun to read. The characters all brought something different to the story and were easy to fall in love with. When it seemed like the story had come to a conclusion, another problem emerged that kept the plot moving along. I read this in one day!

This book had me rolling on the floor with laughter, smiling until my cheeks hurt, and blushing like a tomato. Kate does an amazing job creating a spooky setting, giving me the best Hocus Pocus vibes. It contained so many great moments, that I was dreading the end because I just didn't want to leave this new world within Hex Appeal. Their romance was beyond hilarious and so intoxicating, and the characters themselves were written so well as a reader I couldn't help but love and cheer them on the entire time.

For spooky season, this has easily topped my must reads of this year. It was action packed, drama filled, romantic, and just a feel good read by the end of it. There's magic, badass female heroes, and so many spooky vibes that I couldn't contain my giddiness as I was reading it. This is a book I couldn't get enough of and honestly need more of!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK/ One More Chapter for this ARC!

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
Oh what I’d give to live in the little village of Good Winter!

This story was so charming and I loved the close-knit coven that resides there. Essie was a fantastic FMC and bless her, she could never catch a break! No thanks to the new resident in town, Josh, who somehow keeps remembering her when she’d very much rather be forgotten, thank you…

I hope to see this turned into a series. The magic system and character depth we were given for the whole main cast (not just Josh and Essie) was fantastic and appreciated. I’d love to learn more about the peculiar magical folk that reside in Beldam House… as well as the house itself!

This was so much more than a surface level, quick romance. The storyline of rampant dark forces on the loose came first, which I appreciated. It didn’t diminish the romance and the progression of the story was natural rather than cut short for the sake of tropes or easy reading. Essie fights for what she wants and for those she loves. Seeing her growth over the course of the story was so sweet. I also enjoyed that this was a dual POV (Josh and Essie)- made the story well rounded and easy to follow!

I personally really enjoy books, movies, and shows based in the UK, so I was familiar with a lot of the terminology and phrases. However, if you aren’t accustomed to UK media or books written by British authors, know that there might be some struggle adapting to the differences. But I hope that doesn’t stop you from giving this a go- it was really great!

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollinsUK/One More Chapter for sharing this arc with me in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and Netgalley for providing me with a eARC of this book to read and review.

Essie Winterscale is a witch, who lives in the Villiage of Goodwinter in Essex. She lives with several other witches in a Beldam house that is constantly changing to meet the needs of the occupants. Things get interesting when she gets a new landlord. Josh is a handsome American who has inherited several run down houses in Goodwinter.

I found that this book was a cute fun read. Essie and Josh have chemistry. Their interactions have lots of humor and sparks fly. The plot and the other characters were also entertaining and original. It kept me interested, although the plot did tend to meander at times.

Overall, a fun rom com especially well suited for fall time.

This was an amazing and fun ride! The description states that it’s ‘Encanto’ meets ‘Hocus Pocus’ and that is the most accurate description of this book! It was so fun to read and had me laughing out loud at so many different points. The characters were extremely well-written and once I started the book, I had a hard time putting it down. The story just sucked me in and before I knew it, it was over. But it’s the perfect book to read again and again, especially during the fall and Halloween time!

Essie is a young witch with the power to freeze things. But she feels different and out of place from those around her. Even those who have powers like she does. Essie lives in a house with other witches, each with their own special power. Essie just doesn’t feel that hers is as useful as theirs. I do think the other witches have some pretty cool powers. But I think Essie’s power is pretty cool too. I mean, who wouldn’t love being able to instantly chill their wine?!

Josh is a lawyer who has just inherited a mansion that has a mountain of debt. Debt he is determined to take care of by going to the tenants. The only problem? The house is where Essie and the other witches live. And everyone who goes there forgets it exists when they leave and are unable to give directions to where it is. Or that’s the way it’s supposed to go. But somehow, Josh is not only able to find the house, but he’s able to remember it after he leaves too!

In case you haven’t guessed yet, Josh and Essie are meant to be. And the way they came together and their relationship developed was magical. Pun intended! There was so much witty humor and the bond between them grew so naturally. But things aren’t all good as the lives of Essie and the other witches are put in jeopardy by an other worldly monster. So it’s up to Josh and Essie to save the witches and the world!

I am desperately hoping there are going to be more books after this one with all of the same characters. Or at least a sequel to this one. Because I will be all over that! One book was just not enough time with Essie and Josh.

*I'd like to say thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I had a hard time with this book because there were so many things I liked about the story but couldn't wrap my mind around. It took me a little bit to get into the story because it seemed like the narration wasn't focused on one setting. I loved learning about Essie and her coven of witches in Essex, and I think once she met Josh, the story started to pick up. There were many parts in the story where I felt like the novel could have ended and another story could have began. I think that was because the pacing was off more in the middle of the story.

The more I read, the more I liked the story and the characters. I felt like there could have been more cohesion and not have a lull in the initial story. I really liked Essie and Josh together, but their first meeting or interaction isn't one I will remember after reading more stories. Their relationship grew, and I really enjoyed that. If this becomes a series, I don't know how Johnson will make another Big Baddie like in this novel, but I would also happily settle for sweet novellas of the characters.

*I received a free ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*

I love a good witchy story and this one definitely delivered! It was funny and sweet and just the right amount of angst between Essie and Josh. I was so glad to see Essie find someone who really liked her and accepted her. Although there are tons of bumps in the road it is always clear that Josh is her person and it will somehow all work out. Essie's fellow witches/housemates add just the right amount of comic relief. I also really liked seeing how Josh and Sienna's relationship grew and changed throughout the story - Sienna might come on strong, but her heart is always in the right place. The "big-bad" storyline adds a little excitement and gets Josh more involved with the witch-side of things. I liked that Essie's mother is a complicated character - there is no doubt that she loves Essie but she's also selfish and meddles in very unhelpful ways. I know this ends with a pretty good wrap-up but I would love to see another book with these characters - maybe with Sienna finding love?

Hex Appeal is a definite read for Halloween, It’s a cute, spooky rom-com. I enjoyed Kate’s writing style and how well she portrayed each character. As much as I enjoyed Essie and Josh's romance, I would love for this to continue into a series which follows the side characters.

Overall this is the perfect witchy romance book for October.

Thank you to both, Net galley & Kate Johnson for sending me an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I absolutely loved it! I am so hoping she has more books out or in the pipeline, because I need more of this humour and craziness in my life! Essie’s coven are eccentric in the best way and their antics made me laugh so much. Josh and Essie’s flirting makes for some wonderful dialogue and they are clearly made for each other. I read the whole book in one go and didn’t want to leave the author’s imaginative and crazy world.