A review by blewballoon
Hex Appeal by Kate Johnson

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was cute and chaotic. I think fans of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna would enjoy this, and I actually preferred this one. It has the same concept of a hidden magical house with a quirky found family living there. I can't remember if we got the male love interest's POV in The Very Secret Society, but here we do have a dual POV where Essie is a witch who has grown up in the magic house and Josh is just a regular guy who doesn't know why he can't find this one property he supposedly owns. I did like both Essie and Josh; they were not perfect, but they were sincere, and I think the love story was paced well enough. As I said, the book is chaotic and characters kind of pop in and out to thrust the plot in different directions. A lot of the humor is the juxtaposition of crazy stuff happening and characters reacting nonchalantly. The narrator was alright, but her American accent slipped now and then and sometimes she spoke with a quiet mumble that made it hard to make out specific words.

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