bewitched, bothered, and bewildered

The Merriweather women have always been witches. Delia had been taught that as a child. She was a Merriweather woman, so she was a witch. That was just how it worked. The only problem is that they have no magic. The story in the family is that they are hexed, and that’s why they have no magic. It went back many generations, and they try to break the hex with potions and spells. But they are just not powerful enough.

Until now.

Now there is a Blue Witch in the family. Delia was born under a blue moon, and she has a distinctive birthmark. Her grandmother and aunts have been hoping her powers would emerge since she’d been 18. But now she’s almost 30, and she’s given up on all ideas of witchcraft. She no longer believes in magic. She studied to be an interior designer, and she’s only interested in staging houses for her realtor mother to sell and to made people’s homes more comfortable.

Delia has her sights on the house next door. Harrison Hartwell had been their neighbor for her entire life, until he died suddenly. The Merriweathers had been trying to catch his cat Nikki ever since, so they could feed him and take care of him, but he is elusive. Now Max Halifax, Hartwell’s cousin, is staying in the house and clearing it out. Delia has decided to pitch her staging services to him, even though he’s not been very friendly. But it’s a big house and would be quite a coup for Delia if she could get the job.

Max had always loved visiting his uncle in Willow Root, Texas. This time was different though. For one thing, his uncle had died. And for another, he was tasked with keeping an eye on the Merriweather women next door because if somehow they figured out how to reverse the hex that his ancestors had put on the family, the power balance of the Concilium, the governing body of witches. And then Delia, the supposed Blue Witch, asks him to stage the house. He can’t believe his luck. Keeping an eye on her just got so much easier.

But while the Merriweathers don’t have the kind of magic that Max has, they do have their own hospitality. They make sure Max and his brother Luc are well fed and enjoying themselves, as much as they can under these circumstances. But this causes more problems, as Max and Delia are clearly falling for each other. But that can’t happen. Because along with the supposed hex that kept the Merriweathers from accessing their magical powers, there is also a curse that meant any man the Merriweather women loved would meet with a horrible fate. So if Delia really cares about Max, she’ll let him go before he is lost to some terrible fate.

But the more they learn about the magical underpinnings of the towns where they both live, the more Max and Delia realize that there is more at stake than just one family’s magic or a relationship between the two of them. The entire witching world is under attach, and they may be the only ones who can set things aright again.

Hot Hex Boyfriend is a rom com set in the world of witches. There are a lot of genuinely sweet moments, laugh-out loud adventures, and Texas hospitality. These characters are charming but stuck in generational trauma that keep them from flourishing. There is a lot going on in this book, layers of storylines that seem to go on and on, but the writing is engaging, and the ending is powerful.

I listened to Hot Hex Boyfriend as an audio book, narrated in turns by Laura Knight Keating and Zion Jang. Going back and forth between the voices of Delia and Max add a lot to this story, since they are showing up from such different places and different perspectives. I though Keating especially did an amazing job to bring Delia to life with her Texas accent and enthusiasm. And Jang made Max’s seriousness and dedication to his mission so present as he told his half of the story. Together, they made the story come together in a lovely, balanced way, and listening to them was a joy.

I had a lot of fun with Hot Hex Boyfriend. There is a lot of witch world rules to keep straight, but since Delia is new to it all too, she helps make sure everyone is on the same page, and her friends are quick to jump in and help explain things. The chemistry between Delia and Max is sparkling, and the characters around them are fun, adorable, and surprising, and I would not be upset at all to find myself reading another book set in this world. If you’re into witches and love a good rom com, you’ll want to made sure to add this one to your list. Make a margarita, grab some queso and chips, and dig right in. It will cast a spell on you!

Egalleys for Hot Hex Boyfriend were provided by Forever, and an early copy of the audio book was provided by Hachette Audio, both through NetGalley, with many thanks.