I had to DNF this book, but I still give it a 3 star. I gave myself to 30% of the book before making this decision, but just couldn’t continue.
I’m still going to give it stars for plot idea and because I love witchy books, which is basically what kept me going this long. The idea of Poppy being a chaotic witch and Alex being a stage magician with a pendant she accidentally cursed is such a cute premise but the execution has fallen short. They have zero chemistry, everything feels rushed but at the same time feels slow or no build up?
But one of my main gripes is using ‘ for speaking quotations. Maybe it’s a normal for some books? But every time I see it my brain misfires and pretty much pretends they aren’t there and then I don’t know if I’m reading a quote or not half the time.
I wish I could have gotten more into it, but I hope other enjoy it!

A really fun, frothy sequel with lots of miscommunication between the two leads and an unexpected twist which I loved. Huge thanks to the publisher for the ARC of Hex and the City in exchange for an honest review.

Hex & the City is a modern paranormal romcom. Poppy's a chaos witch but she doesn't know it. She thinks she's simply a bit of a hot mess at life and no idea how to fix it. When she accidentally curses a necklace that hot stage actor, Alex Raine, purchases life gets even more crazy. I loved Poppy. She felt real, not the perfect witch who has it all together. Her phone is frequently missing, her family drives her crazy, & her hair is in business for itself most of the time. Alex is so busy running from his past he didn't even realize this woman would truly see him. Together they have to decide if they can heal from their past relationship issues
and childhood trauma. Hex & the City made me laugh. Spice level is minimal but what's there is plenty hot for the characters. If you're looking for a paranormal HEA with sexy times that aren't too graphic this is your book.

This is generally is not the genre I read, but I was intrigued by the witches & spice meets rom-com. I struggle to make it past the 35% mark and almost DNF, but stuck it out. much of the romcom formula is that one member of the couple has a secret that unravels the relationship. However, I found myself a little disappointed in the cliché that the female protagonist thinks she’s not good enough, and that the male protagonist (who’s usually a womanizer) is intrigued by the quirky/manic pixie dream girl. The end was cute, however.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the change to review this book before release, all thoughts and words are my own.

I read Hex-Appeal and loved it which is why I really wanted to read this early.

This is better than Hex Appeal. Poppy finds out she is a witch when she is 18, but always seems to cause chaos! Sentient hair, hot Axl, time travel, Iris, her landlady and her coven. Ghosts, the great fire of London are some of the parts you can enjoy from this book. There is some spice which adds to the story.

Let not even mention the marvellous plot twists and turns.

I absolutely loved this book and will definitely be purchasing a copy.

I am so sad to say I had to DNF this.

I found the multiple characters confusing, jumping from one place to another confusing and overall didn't enjoy the writing.

I was so excited for this book as a concept but sadly it didn't work out for me.

Hex and the city is the second book from Kate Johnson I have read and loved. This is my go to book style, Witchy RomCom with a quirky and eccentric main character. This is my comfort zone.
This book has chaos, sentient hair, minor banter and hilarious nicknames. 'ManBun'. HA. and don't forget some 🌶️
Seriously add this to your Tbr.

Poppy is a witch who accidentally sells gorgeous magician Axl Storm, a cursed pendant.

When chaos hits the town because of it, these two have to figure out how to stop it.

I had high hopes for this book as I enjoyed similar tropes from Erin Sterling, but this was just okay.

There were a lot of characters introduced in the beginning and it got a little confusing and I immediately lost interest. I also didn’t feel any connections towards the characters and I really didn’t care what happened to them.

I will say my rating is more of a 2.5 so I will round it up to 3.

Thank you to Netgalley and One More Chapter for this eARC!

Honestly I was soooo disappointed by this book! It started off pretty strong - the characters are intriguing and mysterious - but soon the plot lines became more and more random and silly. Towards the end the characters were completely unbelievable, the interactions were so fake and the plot lines were scoffable. However, I do think it would make a good teen read so maybe I was just the wrong audience demographic to fully enjoy this book.

Hex and the City is a cute supernatural mystery/romance with a hint of spice. Poppy is a witch but everywhere she goes she manages to cause chaos. Case in point she accidentally curses a necklace and then sells that necklace to a very handsome magician, Axl. While trying to get the necklace back, she starts to get to know more about herself and her magic, along with the sexy Axl.

The book reads very quickly. Sometimes I would get lost in descriptions, but I was able to follow and did not take away from my enjoyment of the book. The characters are fun and make me want to read more about this world.

Witchy/paranormal romcoms make me beyond happy 😊

I absolutely loved Hex Appeal by the author so when I saw their was another book along the same lines I flew my broomstick over to NetGalley and was given the opportunity to read the ARC for Hex and the City 🧹 🪄

Magic, hunky viking-like illusionist, Sentient Rapunzel Hair, Time travel, Chaos, add a little bit of ✨spice✨ and you've got a winner on your hands.

I loved our mains of Poppy and Alex along with the side characters. They were all well developed and flawed and allowed you to see yourself/a friend etc in their shoes ✨swoon✨

Honestly I really hope the author writes more witchy romances 😍 Thanks to the publisher and NG for a chance to read and review the ARC.

This novel drops in September 2023 add it to your TBR now!!!

I had to DNF this one at about the half-way point, it just wasn't working for me. I read Hex Appeal and thought it was OK, so I was hoping that this second book in the mythos would be an improvement...it was not. Again, the premise and the world of magic that Johnson built is intriguing, but the characters and plot fail to make use of it. In short: Poppy's chaos crosses the line from quirky to exhausting real fast and when combined with feeling no chemistry between her and the MMC it was really hard to stay invested in a very disjointed plot.

SPOILERS AHEAD (to supplement the review, but not integral...skip these is you think you might like the book): The jump from amulet, to mummy, to animated figureheads to time travel with not a single common thread in sight proved to be more than I was willing to untangle. By the time we were watching the two utterly hopeless protagonists not realize they had time jumped, I was closing this book with an exasperated sigh. If this type o quirkiness is you jam, enjoy! It just wasn't for me.

Thanks to Harper Collins and Kate Johnson for giving me the opportunity to review this ARC!

I loved the magic system with witches and covens with specialities (growth, chaos, transformation), and how they’re applied. I think it is super cute and quirky that Poppy, the MC, has sentient hair that cannot be cut. The coven's personalities and support system is adorable, and it did give me Sex & the City vibes throughout.

A frustration that I have (that is not related to the author) is instant or quick love, and the mentioning of social media apps such as Tiktok. It’s a personal pet peeve, but I quickly got over it!

If you’re looking for a witchy sweet romance with a lot of personality (and spice), this is the book. It’s short and it’s chaotic, but it flows well and embodies the MC’s life.

A cute and quirky RomCom whose MFC is a chaos-magnet, modern witch with magical hair – I’ve never hit “add to Kindle “quicker…and I’m glad I did.

This was such a fun read – filled with laugh-out-loud moments between Poppy and Alex, an underlying mystery linked to a cursed necklace, and a surprise family revelation. Poppy and Alex are on the cusp of an awkwardly sweet romance, but anything that could go wrong does. This page turner was filled with lots of angst inducing twists and turns

Hex and the City by Kate Johnson is the perfect cause and effect tale with lots of opportunities for some fun book club discussion…and the “happily ever after” is simply icing on the cake.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK – One More Chapter for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Poppy is a modern-day witch without a handle on her powers, her hair, or her life. When a drunken night out leads to a cursed pendant being sold to a handsome street magician who looks like a Viking, she must go on a journey to find the pendant, and more importantly, herself.

I loved learning about the little history tidbits scattered throughout, like the Cutty Sark and the Great Fire of London. Iris was also great, and I would read an entire book about her crazy life, and all the different historic events she's been witness to. However, I couldn't really connect with the rest of the characters, especially Poppy. While I know everything wasn't her fault, she was very immature and a hot mess to the point of being unlikeable, especially her treatment of everyone trying to help her. Poppy and Alex's relationship was a serious case of #insta-love, and then yo-yoed on and off so often that I never felt like rooting for them when I knew they'd be back together in a few pages.. I've decided that I'm 50-50 on modern day witch romances, and this one, unfortunately, didn't meet the mark.

Poppy’s life is a mess. Sure, she’s a witch and that’s super cool until she accidentally cursed a stone and gives it to Axl Storm a famous, hunky actor. Poppy needs help from the coven to find the stone, and break the curse before bad things start happening, but alas chaos ensues and Poppy and Axl must work together to destroy the mess she created.

This book was chaos. Lol. I tried to think of a better adjective to use but Poppy (and her hair) was a mess and it was almost *too* much. It was hard to get into it when Poppy’s long Rapunzel-like hair was constantly getting things stuck in it, she was always tripping, losing things , it was just too exaggerated and I couldn’t ignore it. I’m a sucker for books that involve witches, covens, magic etc so I definitely enjoyed that aspect of the book. The banter between Poppy and Axl was great, they had great chemistry but this book was just not my favorite. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.8 from me!

A fun romance in London with a magical twist, Hex and the City appeals to lovers of both fantasy and romance. I sped through it, and enjoyed Poppy and Alex's adventures. A little choppy at times, but altogether a fun read.

Okay, this was cute. Did it blow my mind… well, no. Maybe it’s because I just finished reading People We Meet on Vacation (main characters have the same names), or I was in a book slump after reading Fourth Wing, but I just didn’t love this as much as I was hoping I would. If you want a cute witchy read that feels like a soapy show, here you go!

Thank you.

This was a fun and fairly quick paranormal witchy romcom that would be perfect as an Autumn read which is when it releases!

A story about a witch who tends to fall into chaos in all parts of her life who happens to have sentient like hair that lives with Iris, an older more experienced witch. When she accidentally curses a pendant that’s boughten by the charming celebrity magician Axl Storm, the two must come together to try and fix the problem.

It was an insta love, enemies to lovers story but this had many laugh out loud moments. The writing was a bit chaotic too but still an enjoyable read. A fun witchy spin on Tangled.

BLURB:
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?

MY REVIEW:
I had high hopes for this, that weren’t quite met. It reads more like YA to me than romcom or PNR.

This light-hearted book is a quick read, with characters that are likeable, but for me, there was just something lacking.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for my honest review.