879 reviews for:

Not Your Ex's Hexes

April Asher

3.81 AVERAGE


I love it when a book starts with a (literal) bang!! This was a great second book in the Supernatural singles paranormal romance series! I loved the forced proximity, opposites attract, fat FMC romance! I'm especially loving the trend of influencer love stories and this one was excellent. Plus the no strings attached F*ck buddy arrangement (FBA) gave me all the feels as the MCs tried to resist their innate attraction. Great on audio too. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!!

A witch trying to find her feet, a broody half-Demon trying to do the right thing, an animal sanctuary rehabilitating mistreated and abandoned animals, and NO STRINGS ATTACHED??? Sign. Me. Up.

Rose Maxwell’s life plan has been disrupted. She’s no longer the Prima in Training. And she’s no longer engaged to a cheating, evil, power hungry shifter. (Good riddance.) But what is she supposed to do with herself now?

Damian Adams is back in town and is just trying to keep his soul. He cares for animals. He has occasional hookups. He gave up his Hunting and the prospect of love long ago.

But then Rose is sentenced to community service at his animal sanctuary. And they may have had a one night stand before. And there is definitely still chemistry there. He certainly doesn’t want to trigger any of the conditions of the Soul Hex his high school girlfriend placed on him. Can Damian and Rose partake in some no strings action without developing feelings?

I was hooked from the start. Rose trying to find her place is both entertaining and endearing. Damian is just plain delicious. And their chemistry is OFF THE CHARTS.

We get more of the delightful Maxwell sisters’ dynamic, glimpses into other family dynamics of Supernatural Council members, visits with the guys, and a healthy dose of Prima Edie Maxwell being awesome.

There’s an excellent mix of lightheartedness, humor, and depth and plenty of steam. Plus I just adore watching a man—who is staunchly against falling in love—in the process of falling head over heels.

And, in the end, Rose ends up finding her place—both as an independent woman and as one in love—after all.

I see a reread of this one in my near future.

I received an advance copy from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

I was very excited to be approved for the next installment in the Supernatural Singles series. In Not Your Ex’s Hexes, we get the chance to see the next Maxwell sister, Rose, find her happiness. If you haven’t read the first installment, you can see my review here: http://alwayslostinwords.blog/2023/04/30/not-the-witch-you-wed/.

Asher has a talent for writing MCs with troubled or stressful pasts that are working to turn over a new leaf. The story of Rose and Damien is not an exception.

After losing what was essentially Rose’s predetermined path in life when her older (by a few minutes) sister Violet comes into her powers, she’s a bit thrown off. She’s been training for the Prima position her whole life, and though she’s not upset that her sister is now in that position, it leaves Rose with a freedom of movement she’s never before had. Plus, not being forced into a bonding with a truly awful tiger shifter also frees her to dive into the dating pool if she so desires, or just a one night stand, and one thing she finds she desires is a certain half demon that catches her eye at Potions Up who helps her forget for one night.

However, after Rose and her friends try to save two malnourished horses from a farm that turns out to be Damien’s animal rescue (and yes, those were horses he had JUST rescued), she ends up seeing a lot more of Damien than she ever thought she would. Unfortunately, Damien has his own problems that have put his heart firmly on the shelf for his own self-preservation and it’s a major problem when Rose seems to be the one person with a ladder tall enough to reach it. Falling in love is a literally threat to his very humanity. But when his brother gets involved, he realizes he may already be in the fire.

I really enjoyed this installment in the series. From the previous installment, it felt like Rose always had to the be responsible one, whose life was driven by the structured traditions of the Supernatural world. It was really great to see her come tumbling out of that and into a fresh world where those expectations were no longer trying to stuff her into a box. I also loved the super broody Damien and the love of animals that brought their hearts together. This one felt slightly grittier than the first, but also cozier? Not sure if that makes sense. They seem to be getting better now that the world building is done. Bring on the heat!

Thank you to Netgalley, April Asher, and St. Martin’s press for an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for this book!

Not Your Ex’s Hexes
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 2/7/23
Author: April Asher
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pages: 343
GR: 4.07

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

My Thoughts: This is the second book in the Supernatural Singles series. I adored the first book and was excited to read this one. We met Rose briefly in the first book where she stepped down from the Supernatural Council. She has had a string of dead end jobs trying to find her thing that makes her happy. She is also does not want a relationship with any man, especially after the Valentino fiasco. After a horse snatching incident going horribly wrong, she is sentenced to volunteer at her one-night stand’s animal sanctuary. Will she find the thing that makes her happy? Can she coexist with Damian?

The story is narrated in dual narration by Rose and Damian, through their POVs. Rose is fierce, independent, and is trying to find what makes her happy. Damien has been deeply hurt, is part demon, career focused, but is kind when you get to know him. It was nice to see updates on the characters from the first book. The characters were well developed with depth, witty banter, amazing chemistry, and brilliant. The author’s writing style was complex, spicy, swoony, magical, and kept me engaged throughout the story.

I absolutely adore Asher’s writing. She blends supernatural and norms so effortlessly. While you do not have to read the first one, I think it would build on the characters. The flow and pace of this story was amazing. I highly recommend picking up this book and the prior one.

2.5 rounded up to 3 stars. First let me say that I have not read “Not the Witch You Wed”, the first book in April Asher’s series about a magical triad of witchy sisters. This definitely could sway my opinions on Rose’s book. I initially found this story difficult to get into. There was so much happening in this book that I felt like I never had a clear sense of setting. The main location is in modern day New York City, we get the sense that the magical and normal “Norm” world coexist, although there seems to be little Norm interaction. And yet in NYC we have an animal sanctuary run by a grumpy vet that just doesn’t seem to fit—it seemed very barn-like and “country”, not at all like what I imagine a veterinary office in NYC would look like so I couldn’t wrap my head around these places working together. I liked Rose and Damian and their compatibility was believable coupled with heated attraction, but their dialogue sometimes felt jokey at times and not witty like I hoped for in their banter. This was most especially when they seemed to be in a tense situation (ex: with the gryndors—not the time to joke, get out of there!). I feel like I got confused easily in the beginning of the book because it was assumed I would know the paranormal world, and I felt like I needed a guidebook to help me figure out relationships and character purpose. Side note: I did not discover until the end of the book that there is a reading glossary (most likely because I read on an e-reader and only noticed it after the epilogue). So if you are somewhat new to paranormals, READ THIS FIRST! The glossary was funny in its descriptors and would have greatly helped me in the beginning, perhaps changing the tone of the book and explaining the soul hex better. The soul hex itself was confusing to me; you know it’s irreversible, that Damian can never truly fall in love because of it, and that it was put upon him by an ex-girlfriend witch, but how it works is unclear. I did really appreciate the twist with Damian’s ex and found this to work really well with the storyline. Damian and Rose’s relationship also has time to grow and is nurtured through the opportunity of working together at the animal sanctuary; an interesting juxtaposition to them working as bounty hunters. I had considered DNFing just because I couldn’t quite get into the story initially, but am glad I pushed through and finished the book; it got better with story development and clearer character purpose. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The first half of Not Your Ex’s Hexes was really slow and I struggled to get through it but thankfully it sped up in the second half. I really ended up enjoying it.

The book is filled with a lot of cheesy banter which wasn’t horrible. And it does get pretty steamy at time. I did like the characters.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of Not Your Ex’s Hexes in exchange of an honey review

This is the 2nd in April Asher's Supernatural Singles series. You do not need to read the 1st to read this one, but I believe it would be more enjoyable if you did to know more of the backstories and characters.

I would rate this for me to be about a 2.5 rounded up to a 3. A couple of my negatives are: repetitiveness (how many times can someone's eyes flicker to someone's mouth and back again), kinda cringe descriptions in the sexy scenes (I won't give examples and I am no prude but some word choices, just no) and made up cutesy words (you are such a bwitch!)

These a nitpicky negatives. I liked most of the characters and the supernatural storyline, but the things mentioned above were a distraction.

Obviously there's going to be a #3 for the 3rd triplet. I kind of want to finish what I started but we'll see!

Thank you to St. Martin's and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy of this book for my honest opinion.

A great continuation of the Supernatural Singles series by April Asher. Rose had known for years that she would be the Prima except when it turns out it is a role better suited for her sister, Rose is left in a tough spot. She doesn't know what she should be doing with her life and her mother is determined that she should be married. While attempting to actively avoid her mother she lands in the arms of Damien, half-demon/half-human veterinarian. When life keeps throwing them together they have to decide if their chemistry should be pursued or walk away before Damien's curse kicks in. A really enjoyable read with great banter from a very grumpy hero. Very excited for where the series is going, can't wait to see the last triplet get her HEA.
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kimalah's review

4.0
lighthearted slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Not Your Ex’s Hexes is an enjoyable paranormal/UF romance. It is the follow-up to Not the Witch You Wed. I would recommend reading Not the Witch first due to the world building described in the first book. Not Your Ex’s Hexes feature a witch searching for her purpose in life and a half-demon veterinarian and former Hunter. The world is interesting with a variety of supernatural denizens. I didn’t connect to this book as well as Not the Witch You Wed. It lagged a bit and some of the more serious moments were cut off at the knees by too much banter. But overall it is a low-stress, low-angst read with spice and humor that I liked.

Not Your Ex’s Hexes is the second paranormal romance in the Supernatural Singles series. This series follows triplet witches as they stumble through their lives and find their mates. In this romance, Rose Maxwell, who has trained her whole life to be the next Prima but has recently stepped down, finds herself at a loss for what comes next. In come bad boy and half-demon veterinarian, Damian. When the two are forced to work together, sparks fly.

Let me start by saying this was a well written book and a good paranormal romance. The author did a great job of creating this world and keeping it interesting, but I did myself no favors by not realizing this was the second book in a series. I felt like I spent the first half of the book playing catch up as I tried to learn this world. The other things that I had going against me was that I just couldn’t connect with these characters. I’ve been having that problem in a lot of books lately, so it’s probably me, but it did take away from my enjoyment of this book. Overall, looking passed my mistake in not know this was the second in a series, this was a good, well written paranormal romance. If this sounds interesting to you, I would say to give it a chance, just make sure you know it’s part of a series and you’ll probably be better off starting from the beginning; learn from my mistakes!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an audiobook version of this book!