The Ex HexThe Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
Published by William Morrow on September 28, 2021
Pages: 320
View Title on Goodreads
Bantering Books Rating: four-half-stars

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.

Bantering Books Review


4.5 stars

Be still my heart. My Practical Magic-lovin’ heart. My fall-lovin’, Halloween-lovin’ heart.

For I have found one of the funniest, hottest, witchiest rom-coms I’ve ever read – Erin Sterling’s novel, The Ex Hex.

Nine years ago, Rhys Penhallow shattered Vivienne Jones’s heart. And Vivi did what any other hurt witch would do – she cursed him. She didn’t seriously curse him, though. Vodka was involved, and all she had on hand was a cheap scented candle. There’s no way the curse stuck, right?

WRONG.

When Rhys returns to town nearly a decade later, it soon becomes clear to Vivi that her curse did, in fact, stick. And now she must figure out a way to reverse it before both Rhys and her beloved town of Graves Glen are destroyed.

The Ex Hex is cute, cute, CUTE! I absolutely loved it. Sterling has written a surefire winner for romance fans who, like me, enjoy a little hocus pocus with their hanky-panky.

(Psst! By the way, Sterling is author Rachel Hawkins in disguise.)

As I hinted above, the novel is a sexier, funnier, more foul-mouthed Practical Magic. The chemistry between Vivi and Rhys is smoking hot, and Sterling’s literary comedic timing is superb. I laughed aloud many times from all the hilarious one-liners, hysterical situations, and well-placed, amusing F-bombs. (FYI: If you have any aversion to Sterling’s beloved four-letter word, you will need to check it at page one. She enjoys dropping it frequently. Personally, I developed a new appreciation for its comic value. Who knew the F-bomb could be so funny when written in just the right spot?)

The only reason I’m not awarding The Ex Hex a full five stars is that the story loses a bit of steam midway. It rebounds beautifully in the final act, though, giving the reader a magical, emotional conclusion to Vivi and Rhys’s journey.

So what are you waiting for, aside from me to wrap up this review? Don your witch’s hat, hop on your broom, and fly to the nearest bookstore to grab yourself a copy of The Ex Hex.

It’s (F-bomb)ing fantastic.

My sincerest appreciation to Erin Sterling and William Morrow for the physical Advance Review Copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

four-half-stars