Review: The Ex Hex, by Erin Sterling

I thought this would be very bad! But it wasn't, it was actually very enjoyable and not bad.

I mean, it wasn't great, obviously - this is not winning any prizes or sticking in my head or even really tempting me into reading the other planned books in the series - but it was a perfectly enjoyable afternoon in my reading nest, and I enjoyed it on its own merits rather than enjoying how bad it was.

This is a fairly straightforward romcom, with the added perk of also featuring magic (the magic part of this novel is not the most important bit, really; it's the premise of the romance but other than that does feel a little bit like a slightly more thought-out, adult version of the world-building in Halloweentown. Not a dig; I do love Halloweentown). Rhys Penhallow broke Vivi's heart nine years ago; she curses him in a post-breakup fug thinking it's not a real curse; but lo and behold, when he comes back to town in the present day he is, actually, cursed. The resolution of this curse, and the reason it was so much stronger than she wanted it to be, is totally cobbled together and dropped into the novel with no explanation and actually didn't make much sense, but we're also not here to talk about that so let's pretend it doesn't matter.

What you want out of a romcom to make it worth reading is all here: a wacky premise that obviously would never actually happen in real life; main characters with absolutely sizzling chemistry; witty banter; a supportive yet interesting female friend character; and a plot that chugs along cheerfully while also being completely incidental to the main romance.

This was a good book for a couple of hours in a reading nest when my brain needed to be off, and also wanted some slightly horny reading. It was enjoyable without being good, and was ludicrous without being so bad it was actually unreadable. I don't think I'll be picking up any of the other books in what is a planned series, but I don't consider the couple of hours I spent in this world and with these characters as wasted, and it did make me laugh (legitimately) in more than one spot so I'm calling it a win!

Happy reading,

Amélie xx