Erin Sterling also writes as Rachel Hawkins, the New York Times bestselling author of multiple books for young readers. Her work has been sold in more than a dozen countries. She studied gender and sexuality in Victorian literature at Auburn University and currently lives in Alabama. You can find her on Twitter @ladyhawkins or on Instagram @ladyhawkins. You can find more of my reviews of her work here.
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, descended 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 Fair 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 windup 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 breakup curse before it's too late.
This book is an incredibly fun read! While I love that contemporary romance genre is meant to be a space for women's stories to shine in addition to having a happily ever after, Sterling shows us that sometimes the space doesn't always have to be that serious. The Ex Hex is full of laughs and rom-com movie moments, while not sacrificing any of the powerful women and family dynamic moments we all love about the genre. This novel is meant to be a fun, light, October read, while also incorporating the realness without all of the heaviness.
Another positive of this book is the incorporation of the supernatural. Because the novel is meant to be fun, and for laughs, there's no need to world build like we see in fantasy—but that doesn't stop Sterling from adding important details about the family history in Graves Glen, how magic works, and other world building details to make the world feel more complete. While there are a lot of unanswered questions about the world, Sterling covers more ground than she has to in building the witchy world of Graves Glen, giving readers all the details they need to understand the implications of Vivi's and Rhys's stories without overburdening the novel, and while also leaving lots of room for interpretation and growth for future novels.
In the acknowledgements, Sterling hints to how this book, at its core, is one about families. Some of my favorite moments were the jibes between Gwyn and Vivi, and between Rhys and his brothers. I felt like Sterling really nailed that dynamic between families, and the lines between teasing and protecting. I especially loved how the curse plotline also had to do with families, at the end, because that strengthened any reader's understanding of the importance of family underlying the novel.
Despite all the fun in reading, I was left with some questions by this novel's end. What exactly was the "betrothal" that Rhys's father had planned, that caused the break-up between him and Vivi in the first place? How will Rhys and Vivi make it work? How much farther has Vivi come from her childhood understanding of magic to her present understanding? Some of my favorite storylines of the novel—namely Vivi's growth of her power and understanding of magic—were left up in the air by the novel's end, and I had wished for a bit more expansion and less of a rushed ending to get those answers!
If you fell in love with Graves Glen and the Penhallow and Jones family names, you're in luck! Erin Sterling is set to release a companion novel, The Kiss Curse, in September of this year. Until then, you can find Erin on Twitter @ladyhawkins or on Instagram @ladyhawkins.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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