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A review by indieandajean
Go Hex Yourself by Jessica Clare
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5/5 Stars for me
I love a good enemies to lovers romance, and if you make it witchy, I'm probably sold! That said, this one had some hang ups for me that didn't allow for full marks.
The romance was spot on, I loved the magic system, but some of Reggie's resistance to believing in magic just felt forced.
Of course I think anyone would be surprised that magic suddenly exists in their lives, but the mental gymnastics were just a bit much for me and it didn't really do much for the plot after the first couple "they shouldn't encourage this poor old woman's delusions". This, in combination with the fact that she had to constantly be reminded by others not to believe her parents would ever change just made her seem really unlikeable and flat at times, which I don't think was the author's intention. I understand that a component of this comes from the fact that Reggie is inspired by Rey and that Rey wasn't nearly as well written as any of us would like in at least one of the three movies in which she appeared, but I think that this could have been remedied by being a bit more willing to move away from the canon/ head-canon sphere and more into the original space. This is remedied in the sequel where, even as a side character who only comes up a couple of times, Reggie feels more like her own character.
Otherwise I really enjoyed the plot, the other characters, the romance, and the humor of the story.
I'd recommend it to someone looking for a good witchy read, or to someone who likes Reylo and wants to read some pretty directly adapted fanfic.
I love a good enemies to lovers romance, and if you make it witchy, I'm probably sold! That said, this one had some hang ups for me that didn't allow for full marks.
The romance was spot on, I loved the magic system, but some of Reggie's resistance to believing in magic just felt forced.
Of course I think anyone would be surprised that magic suddenly exists in their lives, but the mental gymnastics were just a bit much for me and it didn't really do much for the plot after the first couple "they shouldn't encourage this poor old woman's delusions". This, in combination with the fact that she had to constantly be reminded by others not to believe her parents would ever change just made her seem really unlikeable and flat at times, which I don't think was the author's intention. I understand that a component of this comes from the fact that Reggie is inspired by Rey and that Rey wasn't nearly as well written as any of us would like in at least one of the three movies in which she appeared, but I think that this could have been remedied by being a bit more willing to move away from the canon/ head-canon sphere and more into the original space. This is remedied in the sequel where, even as a side character who only comes up a couple of times, Reggie feels more like her own character.
Otherwise I really enjoyed the plot, the other characters, the romance, and the humor of the story.
I'd recommend it to someone looking for a good witchy read, or to someone who likes Reylo and wants to read some pretty directly adapted fanfic.