By Tessa Pulyer Posted on

#PublicationDay #RomCom #BookReview | Not Your Ex’s Hexes by April Asher

In April Asher’s next Supernatural Singles novel, Not Your Ex’s Hexes, a one-night-stand between a willful witch and a broody half-demon conjures an adventure that wouldn’t be complete without several magical mishaps.

For her entire life, Rose Maxwell trained to become the next Prima on the Supernatural Council. Now that she’s stepped down, it’s time for this witch to focus on herself. And not think about her impulsive one-night stand with Damian Adams, a half-Demon Veterinarian who she can’t get out of her head. Neither of them is looking for a relationship. But when Rose is sentenced to community service at Damian’s animal sanctuary it becomes impossible for them to ignore their sparking attraction. A friends-with-benefits, no feelings, no strings arrangement works perfectly for them both.

After a sequence of dead-end jobs, it’s not until Rose tangos with two snarly demons that she thinks she’s finally found her path. However, this puts Damian back on the periphery of a world he thought he left behind. He doesn’t approve of Rose becoming a Hunter, but if there’s one thing he’s learned about the stubborn witch, it was telling her not to do something was one sure-fire way to make sure she did.

Working—and sleeping—together awakens feelings Damian never knew he had…and shouldn’t have. Because thanks to his ex’s hex, if he falls in love, he’ll not only lose his heart—but his humanity.

What’s it about (in a nutshell):

Not Your Ex’s Hexes by April Asher is a laugh-out-loud romantic comedy about a female witch and a male demon who had loads of chemistry, yet each resolved to have no serious commitments. But love doesn’t care about your resolutions. It will not be denied when it happens, and big declarations are a must. This is the second book in a series, but you can easily read it as a standalone.

Reading Experience:

Where do I begin? I loved this story. Sure, it made me cry in the first half – tears of heartache and joy – because I can’t handle animal stories. My heart breaks when an animal is mistreated or suffers from loss or pain. I even cry during trailers of movies about animals – my empathy is that bad. I had read that there were animal cruelty triggers, but I figured out what they probably involved just by the book description, and I was correct. It didn’t stop my heartache, but I got through it and enjoyed the rest of the story immensely.

I loved the references – almost love letter level – to popular tv shows. The plot is very much like the one found in Buffy the Vampire Slayer concerning the hex. The main character, Rose Maxwell, even admitted she was basing her snark during demon hunts on Buffy during her hunting. I love snark. It’s what made Buffy the Vampire Slayer one of my favorite shows. It makes this book one of my favorite romantic comedies. Also, a smaller reference- a character refers to Lucifer as Lucy, which I’ve only seen one other place – on the show Lucifer. It’s another show that I loved for its wit and snark.

To say that it’s an open-door romance is almost downplaying it. An open door is not my favorite romance aspect, but I can easily fast-forward through those scenes. It’s interesting, but it felt that a story about a witch and a demon had to be an open door. It would have lost some of its suspended disbelief power if it hadn’t. 

As for tropes, it’s got bits of enemies to lovers and bits of forced proximity. However, you want to categorize it, I enjoyed it and found the romance felt very authentic.

Characters:

Rose Maxwell is a powerful witch. She is the middle sister of triplets, and all three sisters are very close. She used to be the Prima Witch Apparent until the oldest of the triplets, Violet Maxwell, came into her powers as an adult. At that point, she felt it was only right to step down

and let her sister take her rightful position. But she had spent her life training – physically and magically for the powerful position, so trying to figure out what to do now has been particularly problematic. She has just gotten out of a terrible relationship and finds herself without a job or a love interest. Still, she is perfectly fine with that second part.

Damian Adams is a half-demon who left the demon world behind to become a vet and run a sanctuary for abused animals. He is grumpy and ill-tempered, but he has the biggest heart when working with animals.  A hex when he was a teenager has made him spend a lifetime avoiding love, and then he meets Rose.

Narration & Pacing:

The pacing is rapid, which I, of course, loved. And the narration is in the third person focusing exclusively on Rose’s POV. The pacing and narration worked perfectly to hold my interest. I find that relatability is essential in a romantic comedy, and this one gloriously had that factor.

World-building:

The world-building is very detailed and immersive, which is extraordinary, especially in a romantic comedy. The supernatural world’s politics and hierarchy are explained in great detail, as is how humans learned about supernaturals and how they have learned to co-exist. The magic could be more detailed, but it felt better described than I realized as I wrote this. Still, magic is present often, and I never will be unhappy with that!

Read if you like:

  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s humor and snark
  • Magical stories
  • Enemies to Lovers / Forced Proximity Romances

Overall Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Originality8
Writing Quality10
Pace6
Character Development8
‘Couldn’t Put It Down’-ness6
Setting10
All scores, except the overall rating, are on a scale of 1-10. The overall rating is converted to the standard 5-point system.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

21 Replies to “#PublicationDay #RomCom #BookReview | Not Your Ex’s Hexes by April Asher”

  1. WendyW says:

    The animal cruelty was tough to read about, but I was heartened by the sanctuary and how they were helping the animals.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      I cried tears of joy when they were getting the animals settled. 😂. I’m such a mess when it comes to animals.

      Like

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      Oh, you will enjoy this then! The snark and wit are so fun. And the demon/witch thing just adds wonderfulness to something already great.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      It really is. I saw it had a TW of animal cruelty and I was like, a
      “A romcom?” Then realized you can’t have an animal sanctuary without some back stories. But it was only a few in the first half, so that was good.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Sheri Dye says:

    Great review, Tessa!
    I don’t know where the animal story fits into this but that would have me ugly crying all day.
    Thanks for sharing!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      The male love interest runs an animal sanctuary- and you can’t have an animal sanctuary without a few heartbreaking back stories. Luckily, it was just a few and in the beginning.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Sheri Dye says:

        Aww.. there’s something so sweet about men who adore animals. I think I could handle that without bawling. Maybe.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      It is really fun. I could definitely see you loving it. A hot demon male protagonist seems like just your thing 😉

      Like

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