The Ex Hex

The Ex Hex 

By Erin Sterling

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, descendant 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.

 This was firmly "fine"! Contemporary romances are not really my thing, although I do keep trying them for some reason, thinking that I'll enjoy them much more than I actually do.  But this one left a more favorable impression than most for me, probably because of the setting and details were just so...comforting.  Not that it was a soothing book, but more like it felt kind of nostalgic, like watching one of those old kids' movies about witches, like Halloweentown or Hocus Pocus, but you know, with some sex in it.  I will say that I think Hocus Pocus's greatest misstep was making Binx a cat for like, the whole movie!  Let's give the tweens something to sigh over!  Between him and Vincent Kartheiser in Masterminds, I had a type.  Look, floppy hair was in back then, I'm not making excuses.

Anyway, for adults who like witches, Rhys is a great update to Thackery Binx.  He's hot, he thinks the heroine walks on water, he's helpful, yada yada yada.  I mean, the characters themselves are not the point.  They're both kind of bland people, unexceptional and unexceptionable, I would say. They don't have a big misunderstanding (although how Rhys broke the betrothal which led to the break up in the first place - was that ever explained? Did I blink and miss it? I feel like that's a story there, right?), they cooperate well in their investigation - such as it is. They acknowledge they're both adults now, nothing but the burden of a long distance relationship is stopping them from banging boots now.  It's nice not to have that heavy angst. It's basically Hocus Pocus for all the ladies who were children when the movie came out.

Like I said, it's the scenery and details which keep you interested. I hate to say it, but I skimmed some of the dialogue between them (and missed some of the sex scenes) because they're just not that exciting when they're not in a haunted house, trying to capture a ghost, or whatnot.  But when they are? That's when the magic happens, haha.  Or at least, the good parts.  More talking cat, more angry tchotchkes, more ghosts and pumpkins and fall weather and pointy hats and burning candles and the color purple!   I will probably read the next one, having forgotten all about this book except that I vaguely liked it, but it's not a real priority. And it'll feel just like some comfortable pyjamas to cozy up into.

Anyway, not thrilling, not terrible, resoundingly "fine!"

 35: A Book with a Constellation on the Cover or in the Title