The Ex Hex (The Ex Hex #1) by Erin Sterling

 

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling is a comedic paranormal second chance romance novel. It's the first in a planned series, but there are no follow-up books released yet. Vivienne and Rhys had a hot fling nine summers ago. Vivienne was a fledgling witch and Rhys is one of the members of the founding magical family of Graves Glen, Georgia. Vivi continued to live in Graves Glen, and now Rhys is back in town to recharge the ley lines that protect the town, but it turns out that Vivi maaaaybe kind of sort of hexed him and they have to fix that before he can do anything.

Interesting characters:

The town is really the best character in this book. It's like Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls, but with witches!

As for the leads, they were fine. They had chemistry, fun banter, and each had a back story. Did I think the back story was a little bit weak? Yes. Did I think there were some unanswered questions about the breakup nine years ago? Yes. But Graves Glen! What a town!

Believable conflict:

I mean, I guess? There was conflict that broke them up that the author never satisfactorily addressed. But once Rhys got to town, they immediately rekindled that chemistry and it was off to the races. Vivi even admitted rather quickly that she had hexed him in the past - this was actually great communication and maturity, but it did mean there was less suspense in the plot.

Emotional tension:

Zip. Zero. Zilch. 

Happily ever after:

There was an HEA on the page. But. There's always a but with me, isn't there? Those weak back stories?  These two are going to have to have serious conversations about their families. It seems like a lot of romance novelists forget that when people are partnered up, they're not just partnered up with one another, but their families. Now, even if you have a distant relationship with your family, they don't just go away like seems to happen in a lot of these books.  Eh. Whatever. It's a lighthearted book.

In general, if you didn't stop to think about this one too much, it was a fun read. 4/5 stars