I wanted so badly to enjoy this book, but unfortunately it was not quite the witchy read I was hoping for.

Poppy is a somewhat chaotic witch, with sentient Rapunzel-like hair. Recently heartbroken, she places an accidental curse on a pendant in the magic shop she works in. Cue Alex Raine, a ladies' man and a celebrity illusionist by the name of Axl Storm, who purchases said cursed pendant as a gift to his co-performer Yelena. When Poppy tries retrieving the pendant and Axl's next show goes disastrously wrong--and the pendant is then stolen--they're forced to work together to fix the chaos.

Honestly, the book started off very strong for me, but I didn't really like Johnson's writing. Much like Poppy's chaotic vibes and hair, the pacing felt a bit frantic at times and perhaps just a tad too quirky for my tastes. I also really don't like instant-love or instant-attraction in romances, so the immediate making out between Poppy and Alex--after a colossal nightmare of a magic show, with at least two performers badly injured, no less--felt a bit cringey and rushed to me.

Anyways, I DNF'd this around 30%. While I can certainly see the appeal and charm many readers have no found in this novel, I don't think I'll be picking up another of Johnson's books anytime soon,

Thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy of Hex and the City. I am looking forward to getting a copy of this on the shelves!

Last year, I read and reviewed Hex Appeal and really enjoyed it. It was the perfect wholesome, inclusive and heartwarming romance featuring great main characters and even more kooky side characters. I was really excited to read Hex and the City especially with autumn and Halloween approaching. I misunderstood slightly as I believed this book would be based on some character we met in Hex Appeal but it seemed more separate than I imagined. Still, it was an enjoyable read perfect for the season.
Poppy, the main character is slightly chaotic. Her and her magical, sentient hair work in a magic shop and she tries to live day to day avoiding chaos as much as possible. After a bad break up with her ex-girlfriend Cynthia, Poppy accidentally places a curse on a pendant which is accidentally bought by celebrity illusionist Axl Storm.
Axl Storm, or Alex Raine is a bit of a ladies man, sticking to no-strings relationships and has slept with many of his cast mates in the theatre performance he’s a part of. Trying to let down a woman gently, he gifts this pendant and things go down hill from here. Yelena, the woman in question gets seriously hurt during the performance and Poppy with the help of Iris, her good friend who’s also a witch, they try to retrieve the pendant to stop any further damage being done.
Sparks immediately fly between Poppy and Alex but things come to a head when Alex thinks Poppy is interested in him romantically as a way of getting the necklace back. He thinks magic is a load of rubbish but that’s until he’s faced with it head on.
The two end up teaming together to track down this cursed pendant. I really enjoyed the chemistry between the two and Alex’s disbelief towards witches and magic was funny to read. I loved all the little side plots and characters plus Johnson’s magic system and description of witches was again really great. It covered some great topics in a way that they were written respectively and lightheartedly. I look forward to seeing what Kate Johnson writes next and again I loved the pun title.
I hope you enjoy this perfect book for spooky season!
Thank you for the eARC!

Heartbroken witch with sentient hair Poppy Thistlewood accidentally hexes a pendant which sets off a chain of events after selling it to hunky stage illusionist Alex Raine (aka Axl Storm).

This book was more enjoyable for me than Johnson's first (Hex Appeal) which I found too slow with too many side characters I couldn't connect with. The pace of this book immediately drew me into the adventure and I found myself drawn to the new cast of characters. I also loved the London setting and found myself searching the places mentioned to draw myself further in the story.

Poppy and Alex were compelling characters with instant chemistry. Alex immediately sees Poppy's vulnerabilities and provides the support she needs. Poppy is viewed as the creative flake who causes chaos by her high-achieving family. Meanwhile Alex, who is nursing his own insecurities finds himself surprised that he thinks of Poppy as a girlfriend, after a lifetime of one-night stands. These characters were interesting, relatable and believable which I think its the strength of this book.

A witchy, humourous escapist romp, this book was just so much fun. I look forward to another installment, hopefully with more London witches.

Thanks to One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the ARC.

Hex and the City is a good witchy read for the fall season. 
The story follows Poppy who is a new witch who is still finding herself, oh and she has magical hair. 

Axl is a celebrity musician who goes into her shop to buy a pendant. What he doesn’t know is that Poppy’s coworker accidentally cursed the pendant. This where is the story really picks up with adventure and trouble along the way. 

This is a fun book to check out as we approach the spooky season.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

this was so refreshing! I've read a slew of american romcoms of this type (including one set in the UK but written by an american) and they left me with such a bad taste in my mouth due to all the white supremacy and weird white terf-dog whistle feminism - I mean, you can't write a romcom about witches who trace their roots back to europe but "founded" a town in the USA, with zero mention of the native americans or their magic, and not have it come across deeply deeply creepy and gross. it'd been putting me OFF these witchy romcoms entirely.

anyway, this was not that!

this was a delightful London-set romcom with magic and a fun b-plot revolving around a cursed amulet that evolved into a much deeper, darker high-stakes plot. not world-ending, but high stakes on a personal level for the characters involved. it was just so much *fun*. it's a very classic paranormal/fantasy romance plot, one that I also see a lot in fanfiction, and it was just. so well balanced and fun. I've said fun a lot. this book is full of humour without getting slapstick or one-liner-ish, the humour comes from a well rounded gallery of characters that drive situational humour.

the relationship development between Poppy and Alex, and their individual character arcs was also so good - I'm very 'meh' about books where the characters instantly find each other attractive and want to sleep with each other (I'm too asexual for this, I just don't get it why people can't keep it in their pants) and tend to find it boring and trite and like a shortcut for chemistry. here Poppy and Alex have non-sexual chemistry off the bat in addition to the sexual chemistry, which for me at least really helped sell the fact they were attracted to each other in the first place. I also liked that they didn't actually *really* overcome their insecurities, but they were able to open up and acknowledge them (particularly Alex - 'I think I may have had an eating disorder' dude you STILL have an eating disorder) and in the epilogue it was clear they had been working on those and were both in a much better place both as a couple and as individuals. now I'd have loved to see more of that on the page instead of having a time skip, but genre conventions get in the way of that I suppose.

my ONLY complaint...is that Alex is just a normal human dude, lol. talk about a red herring!! what was with the constant focus on his glowing hands and his great grandfather's illusionist box and Iris' recognising him as spitting image of said great-grandfather, if it wasn't going to result into Alex at least being a tiny bit magical? I feel like I missed a payoff there. it's not that he had to be for me to like the book more, it's just puzzle pieces that don't fit into the whole. maybe that's different in the finished book.

final verdict: it's really good, y'all. this left me with the feeling of needing to read everything else Kate Johnson has ever written.

Synopsis:
Poppy is a witch, with Rapunzel-esque hair that has a mind of its own, and she lives with Iris, the head of a coven. Poppy works at a magic shop in Covent Garden and chaos seems to follow her everywhere. So of course she accidentally sells celebrity magician Axl Storm, more Viking than man, a cursed pendant. So when all hell breaks loose at his West End "fake" magic show, can she manage to fix the chaos she's caused with her real magic? Or will sparks fly both in and out of the cauldron?

My Thoughts:
This book is a trip. Shape-shifting moms, mummy spirits roaming the London Underground, time traveling to the Great Fire of London, artwork coming to life, Viking magic shows...the list goes on. This is a fun, adventure of a romance story. There's a great discussion regarding our internalized protective instincts and answers to the question of what makes a parent and what makes a family. Our main characters really come into their own and discover what they want out of their lives. The plot is a little all over the place but culminates in a really satisfying discovery and happy ending. All in all, an easy reading that provides a good laugh.

I have read Hex Appeal so I thought this was a series. And while the characters from HA make one quick appearance it was a completely different group of witches in London. This one was just as cute and I loved the mystery of the book. The ending fell a little flat for me but still a cute witchy read.

This book, like Poppy herself, was a little chaotic. It felt very frantic a lot of the time. There were times when I was really into it and loving the witchy vibes, but there were times when it exhausted me.

Poppy is a witch who causes destruction wherever she goes. When she accidentally sells a cursed pendant to a fake magician, mayhem ensues. Axl (aka Alex), the fake magician, is a playboy who gets caught up in Poppy's tornado of a life, but he kind of likes it. Can they make a relationship work after getting off on such a volatile foot?

There were parts of this book that I thought were great. The middle of the book was quite strong with several interesting parts, but unfortunately the beginning and end weren't my favorite. The beginning felt messy and too busy. Once I settled into the story it flowed better. This also happened with the author's previous book, so maybe this is her style. At the end, Poppy makes an emotional decision that is really hurtful, and I think she didn't grovel enough (or at all) to make me like her again. I liked Poppy and Alex's relationship before this incident, but had trouble getting back on board.

If you are in the mood for a romp filled witchy read, this one might be for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for the advanced e-book in exchange for my honest review.

Imagine if Rapunzel dated a human version of Thor instead of Flynn Rider. No one can replace Flynn Rider, but a human Thor is a close second. Witches, a hex, time travel and chaos, who wouldn't love this book? It's like watching an episode of your favorite paranormal show.
Kate Johnson's British humor thrives and gives you plenty of laughs along the way. Chaos is a big theme of this book and it may feel like you can't grasp what's going on, but the ties will start to unravel as the story goes on. From chapter to chapter, the scenes and settings change so quickly, give a truly chaotic feel and I honestly LOVED that. It kept me on the edge of my seat.
Poppy was a brilliant character, chaotic but strong, a witch who just needs to realize she's truly powerful. The poor sweet child had been lead to believe she isn't worth the effort but she proves to herself that she is. And sweet, sweet cinnamon roll, swoonworthy Alex. He just needed someone to trust so he could truly be himself, and isn't that something we can all relate to? I loved that he and Poppy were equally chaotic and balanced each other out, instead the sum of Poppy's chaos relying on Alex to carry. My favorite thing is when both characters take care of each other.
This is the perfect book to put you in the mood for spooky season!
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the advance reader copy of this book.

This was so charming and fun!
I really liked all of the characters and the nods towards Bedlam House. Loved the coven and how they came together when they needed to. I love a wee old (and older) lady coven!
Poppy’s hair was a definitely a main character and provided a lot of comedy relief.
I didn’t know there would be spice in this book so that was unexpected but I’m not mad about it
I cried when lovely people were lovely. I just really enjoyed this book and was rooting for the characters
This author is now my ‘go to’ for witchy romance
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Hex and the City by Kate Johnson.
Things you should know about Poppy:
1. She’s a witch
2. She has magical hair like Rapunzel from Tangled
3. She lives with Iris, the head of her coven, in a beautiful, ramshackle house next to Highgate cemetery
4. She works at Hubble Bubble, a magic shop in Covent Garden. Though none of it is real magic as that would be highly irresponsible. Until…
…Poppy accidentally sells gorgeous celebrity magician Axl Storm, all six-foot-four of him, a cursed pendant.
When all hell breaks loose can the guy with fake magic and the girl with real magic fix the chaos they’ve caused? Or will sparks fly both in and out of the cauldron?
I did enjoy this book. I loved Poppy and Axl and how they were together. 4*.

Follow Rapunzel-inspired Poppy, a chaotic witch with magic hair, as she learns to control her powers and follow her heart.

When Axl (a gorgeous celebrity magician) comes to town and accidentally purchases a cursed pendant from Poppy’s shop, adventure, trouble, and romance follow as they team up to stop the curse.

This was a fun fall witchy romance with a time travel element similar to the first book in the series, Hex Appeal.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK/One More Chapter and NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

A super fun paranormal romance with surprising depth!! Poppy is a chaotic witch who has always felt like she's never quite 'good enough' (both at life and her craft) and when she accidentally sells a cursed pendant to Axl Storm, a travelling illusionist, all hell breaks loose (literally).

Forced to track Axl down and work with him to help break the curse leads to all sorts of steamy hijinks! Along the way family secrets are uncovered and Poppy discovers there's more to Axl than just his charming good looks and playboy ways.

I thought this book was such a delight!! From Poppy's Rapunzel/Tangled hair, to the man-bun, Viking hunk she has to team up with and quickly falls for. The banter between Poppy and Axl was fantastic and the final scene had me cheering for Poppy the whole way through!

Great on audio narrated by Catrin Walker-Booth and recommended for fans of authors like Erin Sterling, Lana Harper or Ann Aguirre. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Ready for some Witchery? Hex and the City is amusing and chock full of sorcery and covens.
One witch is just vile and wretched.
Poppy was funny and I loved how she whipped her hair around like a weapon. It reminded me of a fluke being slapped against the water.
I never warmed up to Alex. In fact, I thought he was a regular sleaze bucket.
It’s the time for witches and soells.

What a fun and magical romance! I needed a light read that had heart and a bit of witchy magic, and this was the ticket. The next installment after Hex Appeal, Hex and the City follows Poppy, who’s a chaos gremlin I loved! Alex is healing, and it maybe doesn’t help that Poppy sells him a cursed amulet. This thrusts these two together in the most hilarious way— I really loved the humor throughout this! And the steam. Oh, the steam is amazing and perfect for the couple.

I highly recommend this, and think it’s perfect for romance and urban fantasy readers because the world building was fun, and the twists were too good to be guessed! You’ll have a wild ride knowing that the end will be satisfying. Excellent autumn read!

Hex and the City is a fun witchy romance with a swoon worthy love interest and a main character learning to accept herself. A brilliant love story with an autumn vibe!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

🍂 Review: Hex and the City by Kate Johnson 🍂

The autumn reviews have commenced! This gorgeous cosy book is coming out on 14th September. If you like a gentle, witchy romance/Indiana Jones type adventure, you’ll enjoy this.

Poppy is a bit of an outcast. A witch raised by a family of non witches, she had a lovely childhood but never really fit in. She’s now working in a magic shop in the heart of London, trying not to do any real magic, when she runs into a celebrity illusionist and some strange things start to happen.

I loved the characters in this, Poppy is pure entertainment and Axl, the illusionist, is a much more complicated love interest than you might expect. They have fantastic chemistry and gave me a good few laughs.

The supporting characters are really distinct and I was thoroughly invested in the story.

Thanks so much to @onemorechapterhc for an advance copy of this. As always these are my honest thoughts. Such a lovely comfort read - I have Johnson’s Hex Appeal on my shelf and I can’t wait to read it.

This was hilarious. I had such a good time reading it and I laughed and smiled so much. I feel like when a book can do that it doesn’t really matter what’s going on, I will follow you anywhere. But I also here thoroughly enjoyed the plot and the characters. If you enjoyed the Ex Hex, you will definitely need to pick this up!

Hex and the City is a charming and hilarious witchy romance set in London. Poppy is a witch with a chaotic personality who is kind, caring, and very energetic. She lives in a gothic-style estate with her coven and works at a magic shop named Hubble Bubble.

One day, Poppy meets a handsome stranger named Ash at Hubble Bubble. Ash is a warlock who is new to London and is looking for a place to stay. Poppy offers to let him stay with her and her coven, and the two of them quickly become friends. As Poppy and Ash get to know each other, they start to develop feelings for each other. However, their relationship is complicated by the fact that they are from different worlds. Poppy is a witch who believes in using magic for good, while Ash is a warlock who is more interested in using magic for his own personal gain. Despite their differences, Poppy and Ash are drawn to each other. They are both kind and caring people who want to make the world a better place. In the end, they must decide whether their love is strong enough to overcome their differences.

Hex and the City is a delightful read that will appeal to fans of witchy romances and contemporary fantasy. The characters are likable and relatable, the plot is engaging, and the writing is witty and charming. If you are looking for a fun and heartwarming book to read, I highly recommend Hex and the City.