Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

10 reviews

stonkermumi's review

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Honestly perfectly serviceable. I came into this expecting a silly smutty witch story and what I got was a silly smutty witch story. 

Just gonna put this out here first before I get into what I liked. It's not bad but there are just some points where I was squinting my eyes. Rhys leering at Vivi all the time, Vivi nearly killing Rhys and then wishing she had, Gwyn being best friend yes man. I'm all for some toxicity in books but it does bother me that it's portrayed as a perfectly acceptable thing. 
Like yea, it's fucked up that Rhys didn't tell Vivi about his potential betrothal but also throwing things at someone is just physical abuse. It ain't cute.

What was cute was once Rhys and Vivi started to get more into each other again. Them remembering all the good parts of their relationships. I'm all for second chance romances and this definitely hits the spot. 
It was funny and quirky. Sir Purrcival was a favorite of mine because what would a cat say if they could talk? You can probably guess. 

The overall plot was tied up pretty quick after they got together which was a bit jarring. It just felt a bit odd because like 90% of the book was leading up to the resolution (with copious romance). The resolution happens in like 5% and that's just that. 

Regardless, I'll definitely keep an eye out for a sale for the next one. I saw that it's for Gwyn and Wells and I'm intrigued. I'm a little sad that Gwyn isn't a lesbian like I thought but I'm all down for bi pan representation too! 

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lizard007's review

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Honestly, this book was just so boring that i couldn't seem to wade my way through it. it felt like everyone was just compaining about their lives and drinking vodka. Where is the chemistry and magic!?

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chasingpages1's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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fromjuliereads's review

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Really enjoyed for a lighter witchy read for the fall! There were some plot holes and things that felt unnecessary to the story but it's a good read if you don't take it seriously.

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toofondofbooks_'s review

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

3.5

This book was really fun and perfect for the season. I loved the magic elements and the small town environment was giving very much Gilmore Girls, along with the relationships between the female characters, those were very GG coded as well. I thought the romance was cute and I liked the dynamic between Rhys and Vivi but I do think the reason for their breakup is dumb, especially because it never comes back again the way you would expect, so it makes the thread feel unfinished. Additionally, I found the ending to be kind of abrupt.


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vj_thompson's review

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A majority of the book I did like. The premise of curing an ex-boyfriend was funny. Vivi and Rhy figuring out how to life the curse was also a good time. Everything kind of wrapped up quicker than it should have. It’s like in ten pages, they suddenly figured out how to lift the curse and boom, that’s it. Cue the credits.

The book should have been a little longer with more detail. I will not be continuing the series, unfortunately. 

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diana_raquel's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

 “Never mix vodka and witchcraft”

I found this book in a local bookstore, and it seemed like something that I would like. I have seen it around on social media, and seem like a lighthearted romance involving witches. Do I like romance? Yes. Do I like witches? Absolutely!

Look, this isn't a bad book, in any way. But there is something about second-chances books that I can't seem to like. I think that the only book of this kind that I absolutely love is Persuasion, by Austen. The characters are interesting and funny at times, the book has a good structure, and the story is interesting enough, but, to me, it was just "meh". However, I think that this is more of me problem than a book problem. Therefore, I'm giving it a 3.5 stars rating (but I'm being a bit generous). I can also say that this has fall vibes all over, so if you like romances with fall vibes, maybe give this one a chance. 

Now, the question is: will I read The Kiss Curse? Yes, probably. It seems like an enemies-to-lovers romance and that's my favorite kind of romance. 

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eve_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

 Overall Thoughts:
⁕ The quirky bits felt forced and teetered on the edge of cringe-worthy. I ended up rolling my eyes more times than I did laughing. 

⁕ The plot meandered for about 200 pages and then spectacularly resolved itself in the last 30. Not only did it drag to the point where I put it down for MONTHS (seriously, I started it in October of 2021 and finished it in April of 2022), but it didn't even make up for it with a satisfactory ending. 

⁕ Don't even get me STARTED on the weak transition from enemies to lovers. They never even fully address Rhys' arranged marriage and the reasons they originally started hating each other in the first place? The development just wasn't there!

To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online/
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
 

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fivecatsinacoat's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Thank you to NetGalley, LibroFM, and the publisher for advanced review copies of the ebook and audiobook. 

For the audiobook:
This has to be one of the worst narrators I've heard. The narrator used the same voice for all characters, even though several were Welsh, they all had the same nasally voice. Worse, the narrator ended nearly every sentence on an upward inflection. Every sentence was a question? Even if it wasn't a question? It made it very frustrating and annoying to listen to?

I beg future readers: DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS ON AUDIO! Read the book instead.

For the text: 
I enjoyed the story but felt it was a little simplistic. I wanted more from it and thought it wrapped up a little too easily. While it was a fun and charming story, I wanted it to be more - more magical, more charming small town, more about the college - more. 

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ka_ke's review

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

The Ex Hex is great if you don’t want anything heavy or deep. There is no plot, the spice is more like steam and by the end it feels very one note. Despite that, it was very funny and made me laugh out loud a few times! 

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