The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

e-ARC, 320 pages
Release Date: September 28, 2021
Published by: Avon
Read from: September 17-25, 2021
Ex Hex, #1
Source: Netgalley (I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Witchcraft
For Readers Interested In: Paranormal, Romance, Witches, Magic, Adult

   New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins, writing as Erin Sterling, casts a spell with a spine-tingling romance full of wishes, witches, and hexes gone wrong.
     Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two.
     That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all.
     Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.

*MY THOUGHTS*

I was so excited about this because I have been a fan of Rachel Hawkins since her Hex Hall days. I just knew her adult romance would sweep even me off my feet. Unfortunately though it started out so good, it lost its momentum along the way.

Viv and Rhys had just spent a wonderful summer together. But then Rhys drops a bomb that Viv can’t overlook. So as a witch, what does she do? She gets drunk with her cousin and jokingly hexes him. Despite all the times her aunt warned them not to mix alcohol and witchcraft. But as it turns out, they find out years later that Viv’s hex might not have been as harmless as she thought it was.

The beginning of this was SO. GOOD. From the prologue I was so excited because of all the witchyness that was going on. It was perfect. The witchyness stayed amazing through the entire book and I was hanging on to all the spells and magic they did. I DO think the world building could have been a little better, like a little more explanation, but since the magic was basically just them using their hands and it was set in a contemporary world, it wasn’t really a big deal that the world wasn’t completely fluffed out.

As for the romance, it was a fade to black kind of thing, so I would give it a 2 on my spice scale. I wanted it to be more because I am a SUCKER for second chance romance. But alas, this one was just a 2. The time they did have together was super cute tho. I wasn’t a huge fan of Rhys, but it was still cute. (Also, why is every hero named Rhys now? Or am I the only one reading them? lol) This one is also a slow burn. I’m talking about 70% is when the romance starts back again. Yes they flirt before then, but it’s not until late that they actually get to the romance.

The main problem I had with this tho was the plot. It seemed to get lost? Maybe it’s just me, but I thought it was supposed to be about saving Rhys and saving the town. But the saving the town part basically took over. And because of that it made me lose a little interest. I wanted to see more of them beating up wind up toys. The random secondary plot that popped up didn’t need to be there in my opinion. It just seemed like she didn’t have anything else to write about so she filled it with that. But that could be me just nit-picking.

This book wasn’t all that I was expecting, but it was still good. Seeing that it’s proposed as a series, I can’t wait to see who’s next; Rhys’ brothers? Viv’s cousin? (That would be cool since she’s LGBTQ+) Whoever the book is about, I will be reading it. Hopefully some things change in that book so I can give it 5 stars instead.

Overall, I give this