From the Bookshelf of Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge…

The Ex Hex (The Ex Hex, #1)

Erin Sterling

Start date: October 1, 2022

Finish date: October 31, 2022

Discussion: 2022 Monthly Group Reads

Why we're reading this: October group read for "book with witches"…more
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2022 Monthly Group Reads

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What Members Thought

May 09, 2022 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was ok

Shelves: romance, fantasy-and-sci-fi, paranormal-romance, contemporary-romance, second-chance-romance, paranormal

I was LOVING this book, at first.   I found the characters to be immensely appealing, and their dialogue was fun and never felt forced. I was very much on board for a rekindled romance between Rhys & Vivi.

But then in the second half when the mystery of the curse needed to be tackled, it was like everyone took stupid pills. The only one with a lick of sense was the ghost. Perhaps an unforeseen (and sadly unexplored) consequence of the curse was that everyone (EVERYONE) living within city limit I was LOVING this book, at first.   I found the characters to be immensely appealing, and their dialogue was fun and never felt forced. I was very much on board for a rekindled romance between Rhys & Vivi.

But then in the second half when the mystery of the curse needed to be tackled, it was like everyone took stupid pills. The only one with a lick of sense was the ghost. Perhaps an unforeseen (and sadly unexplored) consequence of the curse was that everyone (EVERYONE) living within city limits became an idiot. (The ghost, of course, is not "living" and thus gets to retain her commonsense.)

This book was not BAD per se, it was reasonably enjoyable it was just frustrating that everyone was being so stupid. That frustration made it a so-so book.

In particular:(view spoiler)[
1. When the curse is first discussed, why is everyone blaming Vivi? It was GWYN who started it. Gwyn who decided on the night of a full moon to "fake curse" Rhys, Gwyn set out the salt circle, Gwyn lit the candle, Gwyn gave Vivi instructions, Gwyn said "We're cursing this dickbag!" Gwyn who started it by saying "Goddess we beseech you that this man shall never again darken Vivi's door nor her vagina."
2. It was, however, Vivi who smudged the circle. She does that again much later when they summon Piper. Way to go, Viv.
3. In a town with an actual COLLEGE for witches, FULL OF WITCH PROFESSORS, Vivi & Rhys never reach out to them for help. And they never offer help. The Head of Witchery shows up once, blames Vivi and Rhys for unleashing a ghost (HOW? that is never explained) and then just demands that they fix it without offering any help. It's IDIOTIC. I mean, either this is a serious problem and the entire town should mobilize to solve it, or it's a silly little hiccup that just Vivi and Rhys can work on in their spare time. NOT BOTH.
4. With a college full of witches, how did no one know that Aelwyd Jones was instrumental in creating the magical ley lines. Piper found out before she became a ghost, so the information was there. And Aelwyd just "died of some random sickness like so many of them did" and no one stopped to think maybe it was because her magic had been drained out of her? Does no one actually read the historical documents in the library collection??
5. They blame Vivi for not knowing that Amanda was a scam artist, too. But how was she to know? (Granted, she was awfully gullible, but ... it's already established that she's an idiot.) The college witches had been "keeping an eye on" Amanda, but somehow they didn't notice when she strolled onto campus. Great job.
6. Supposedly the town was founded by a witch from Wales, Gryffud Penhallow who charged the ley lines with his own magic, and so the Penhallows of Wales maintain a home in town and come over every ten years or so to re-charge the lines ... so why do they still live in Wales? If this guy went to the trouble to make himself a special magical town and college, why didn't the Penhallows stay in the US?
7. Rhys mostly keeps his dad Simon, another supposedly powerful witch, in the dark, but Simon hears about the problems anyway, and comes to the US, and ... then leaves. What kind of help was that??
8. Vivi's aunt is supposedly a powerful witch, but apparently her powers involve being mostly absent, because she's rarely around and she does not step up to help until the end.
9. Everything starts when Rhys tells Vivi he has to go back home to cancel the betrothal his father has planned for him. And what happened to that? What betrothal? What happened to that woman? Why was Rhys, the youngest son, the one with a planned betrothal? Ten years later and neither of his brothers are married. He keeps saying Vivi didn't understand and didn't give him a chance to explain, and I guess that's why I never understood.
(hide spoiler)]

There were more things I took issue with, but they are already evaporating from my memory now that I'm done with the book. Probably best to just let them go.

I became increasingly frustrated with the lack of character development, too. Vivienne's personality is basically "polka dot," Rhys is "the guy with the hair that does that thing," Gwyn is "supportive cousin," and Aunt Elaine is "mostly absent."

And the sex scenes were cringe. I don't know why. I'm not sure if it's because the characters were two dimensional, or because having lots of sex while you're supposed to be busily fixing a curse seems likes you're not trying very hard to fix that curse, or maybe it was just the writing. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Feb 08, 2022 Jaime rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobook, romance-contemporary, witches-wizards-magic, second-chances, read-2022, 52-book-club-2022, popsugar-2022, year-of-smut-2022

I was looking forward to this magical contemporary romance, but in the end I found it to be just okay. The characters were fine, the plot was fine, the spice was decent, but I guess I never connected to the relationship. I think it might have helped to have some time to get to know both Vivi and Rhys apart before they are thrown together again. I also thought the audiobook could have been better done. Despite Rhys being from Wales, he only had an accent during certain times in the book when it w ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

May 01, 2022 Jessica McLaren rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites

This was a delightful read! I told a friend it's "The Hating Game meets the not-annoying parts of Gilmore Girls meets the first half hour of the Practical Magic film adaptation," and I stand by that. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 13, 2021 Devon rated it liked it

Shelves: 2021

I liked this book. I’m glad I read it. It’s really fun for a romance with a witchy side. The humor, especially represented through the male protagonist, Rhys, is a lot of fun. I enjoyed the book the more I read it and if I had a complaint it would be to see the characters’ more when they were younger and in love rather than them just telling us about it. They would added a lot to the story. But overall, it’s a fun, open door romance with witchy and spooky vibes. Perfect for this time of year.

1 like · Like · see review