e-Audio, 07:45:42
Narrated by: Shannon McManus
Release Date: September 20, 2022
Published by: HarperAudio
Read from: September 29- October 2, 2022
Ex Hex, #2
Source: Edelweiss (I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Kidnapping, Blood Mentioned, Torture Mentioned
For Readers Interested In: Paranormal Romance, Witchy Vibes, Magicy, AdultWelcome to Spooky Season!! The follow-up to Erin Sterling’s New York Times bestselling hit The Ex Hex features fan favorite Gwyn and the spine-tinglingly handsome Wells Penhallow as they battle a new band of witches and their own magical chemistry.
Gwyn Jones is perfectly happy with her life in Graves Glen. She, her mom, and her cousin have formed a new and powerful coven; she’s running a successful witchcraft shop, Something Wicked; and she’s started mentoring some of the younger witches in town. As Halloween approaches, there’s only one problem—Llewellyn “Wells” Penhallow.
Wells has come to Graves Glen to re-establish his family’s connection to the town they founded as well as to make a new life for himself after years of being the dutiful son in Wales. When he opens up a shop of his own, Penhallow’s, just across the street from Something Wicked, he quickly learns he’s gotten more than he bargained for in going up against Gwyn.
When their professional competition leads to a very personal—and very hot—kiss, both Wells and Gwyn are determined to stay away from each other, convinced the kiss was just a magical fluke. But when a mysterious new coven of witches come to town and Gwyn’s powers begin fading, she and Wells must work together to figure out just what these new witches want and how to restore Gwyn’s magic before it’s too late.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This was so cute! I thought it still had some issues, but I liked this more than the first. There was more chemistry AND I didn’t even mind this enemies to lovers book! And y’all know how I am with those lol But I don’t even have much to say about it this time. That’s how I know I liked it!
My main complaint with the last one was the plot. And this one wasn’t as bad, but I think it was because it was more of a mystery. I think every time it lulled she dropped another little nugget of information. And of course, with the witchy vibes, this felt a lot like a cozy mystery. But the blood and kidnapping, etc made it decidedly not so lol There were a few times in this that I thought it was kind of repetitive. Like they had too much back and forth between the two of them. This could also just be me since I’m not a fan of enemies to lovers, but yeah. I could have done without so much of that.
The romance was cute! It was still fade to black, but I liked the “getting there” part, if that makes sense. Like that car scene?! I knew what it alluded to so that was fine. I still would have given this a 2 on my romance scale. I also liked that it didn’t lose any momentum this time too. They hate flirted, and flirted, and then got together over the entire book. It was awhile before they actually did anything tho, so it’s definitely a slow burn again. Which made me glad I was able to listen to it because I hate reading those with my eyes. BUT I was disappointed. I remembered in the first book that mentioned that Viv was LGBTQ+, but it was never really mentioned in this book. It was more like a blip when one of her exes shows up, but if you didn’t read the first one, you wouldn’t know it.
The characters individually were really cute. I LOVED Wells. I did think he was oblivious, but that could also just be male main characters in general lol Gwyn was the same as she was in the first one, funny, crazy, and also scary lol I also would have liked more of a reminder that she was LGBTQ+. I didn’t remember until the mention of someone she dated in the past. (Which we learned in book 1) But what if the reader hadn’t read book 1? But it was still mentioned in passing, so that’s fine with me.
I DID wish there was more magic. Like the other one was filled to the brim. This one was more like watching the kids do it. I don’t know, I just want a witchy book where just once they use potions throughout their normal day for various things. Or at least have a wand or something and use it randomly. This seemed like it was magicky, but it was more pandering to the humans in the town. And I hated that. I want something that’s filled to the brim with magic.
This was better than the last one, but still not exactly what I wanted. I wanted more magic and less of a slow burn. But I do get the reasons why. I also hope there is another book for the last brother. Especially since he’s not much of a people person from being in the mountains. I hope to see more of this series later on.
Overall, I give this
