Did I request this book when I had a 10-page lab report, a 2000-word essay and two exams to do? Yes, yes, I did. Did I ignore all my responsibilities and read this book from start to finish in almost one night? Yes, yes, I did.
It was almost as chaotic as my study plan and I loved every second of it, the chaos of the plot, family dynamics, Alex and Poppy's relationship and THE PLOT TWISTS. Added with witches saving the day? (And causing the chaos, but we're ignoring that.) Loved the characters. and the fact that Alex was W-H-I-P-P-E-D. Was a fun light read! :)
My only issue is that it possibly could have been a little longer? This may be because I read it quite fast, but I felt like Alex's story was brushed off a bit and the timeline felt a little squished.
Other than that, no complaints, I haven't read the author's previous book, "Hex Appeal", but I think I might have to if it's anything like Hex and the City.
Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the free copy provided in exchange for an honest review!

HEX & THE CITY by Kate Johnson⁣
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Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for this ARC. ⁣
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Poppy is in trouble. Last night, she accidentally cursed a pendant at work while upset about her ex kissing someone else and today, her colleague has sold the pendant. And not just to anyone. Its new owner is Alex, aka Axl Storm, a famous stage magician whose vibe is “sexy Viking”. Poppy’s attempts to reclaim the pendant and stop the chaos that tends to follow her will send her and Alex on a wild adventure around some of London’s most famous and infamous landmarks. ⁣
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This was a cute witchy rom com, that will definitely be up your street if you loved The Ex Hex. Poppy is a very lovable main character—chaos follows her wherever she goes. The Not-Coven who advise her are a hilarious found family, and personally I found her mother the vicar tone perfect! This is a dual POV and Alex is also a well rounded character. ⁣
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I think my main criticism is actually for such a short little book there’s an awful lot going on. I couldn’t quite decide if this was a romance with a little witchy-woo or vice versa. For a book that’s only 253 pages there was just too much happening and I found it hard to connect to the love story in particular as a result. ⁣
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This book is very much a love letter to London and I loved seeing how so many London landmarks ended up a part of the story. ⁣
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This is definitely a fun read and will be perfect for spooky season when it comes out on 1st October.

This is my second by this author and while I enjoyed it more than the first, Poppy & Alex were endearing characters you’ll find it hard to not be drawn by, I still struggled getting into this one.
It’s weird to think that the secondary characters steal more of the show than the H/H but in this case they do. This is a quick read, light and funny with out much turmoil.

This was a complimentary advanced reader copy provided by the author/publisher in exchange for a honest review.

I adore anything that centres around magic or witches and I especially love how witches are incorporated into the modern world.

This was another chaotic book from Johnson! 😂😂 you just don’t know what’s going to happen next. I liked this a lot more than the first one. There’s a lot of spice, a lot of mishaps, and a lot of fun. Worryingly, the best character is Poppy’s hair 😂😂😂. I mean Poppy and Alex are brilliant characters but the hair in this book is hilarious. Loved it.

Highly recommend for those that want a chaotic, funny read and you want to escape everyday life for a little bit.

Thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter, Kate Johnson and Netgalley for the eARC of Hex and the City in exchange for an honest review.

Hex and the City follows the insta-love (with lots of setbacks) story of Poppy, a sentient-haired, accidental bringer of chaos witch, and Alex, a viking-clad magician with child actor's trauma. This is a silly romcom, with a fun, fast-paced story and memorable characters. I enjoyed this book, and I think it's a good quick read to binge in between more demanding reads. Solid 3 star read! There are laughs, a bit of spice, and the best character is the hair on Poppy's head.

i want to start by saying that i did enjoy reading this book. im rounding it up to 3 stars from 2.5 instead of down as a result. im not an overly experienced romance reader, but i picked this up because i am a sucker for magic, and as much as i was frustrated with some of the elements of the book, it was a good read. i think reading more romance might help me to turn off the overly critical parts of my brain that are more used to realistic litfic, so ill keep my frustrations down to two.

first frustration - insta-love. this happens over the space of a week!!!! and our two main characters by the end of it, even if there is a time-skip in the final chapter, are engaged. theyre saying i love you to each other by the end of a week! our little bisexual mc really said lets u-haul lesbian with this man!!!

throughout the second half of this book i was seriously anticipating that poppy's magic had acted out of control and cast a love spell on him by accident, which would have completely negated my issues about the fast-paced connection. it was also obvious that that speed was causing issues, like they had no trust with each other

the second was seriously how simple it was to defeat the big bad. or really just the big bad in general. it felt inconsistent about how much power she did or didn't have - im still not sure on how much she has tbh - and it felt a bit like that conflict was shoehorned in to give the romance a vessel (see what i did there) to shine through. i think overall this book could have been a bit more balanced between main conflict and romance, which would have made it stronger overall.

other than that, i did enjoy it. i thought the characters were solid, and while the dual pov took a second to get used to because the changes could be a little jarring, they were good into giving insights into each of our two main characters. i liked poppy's parents as well, their absent-minded but good natures just settling nicely into background characters that did everything they needed to. the time travel and the wacky hijinks were also lots of fun.

i also got the sense that there were cameo characters from another novel in here???? maybe??? if thats true i do love that because there is nothing i love more than a cameo.

and finally as a complete aside that will probably mean nothing to anyone but me, an adelaide local, maybe 50 pages into this book, we find out alex had the number one show at the adelaide fringe. the ADELAIDE fringe. be so fucking for real. you expect me to believe that this man is like world famous and just decided to go do a show at the adelaide fringe????? it made more sense later when we found out he was from melbourne originally, so like the adelaide fringe is probably on his radar, but seriously. no one famous goes there. its for f list celebrities and your friends dad from noarlunga who has an acdc cover band with his high school mates. the best part about that throwaway line was the solid 15 minutes i got laughing from it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

While this book was very fun, with an interesting and well thought out magical system and plenty of memorable characters, there was something missing in the romance element for me, which would have elevated it to a 4 star read if it had the spark I was looking for.

Nevertheless, a fun, witchy read that you'll surely enjoy if you like your romance on the spooky side. Think The Ex Hex, Not The Witch You Wed and A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon.

The main character's hair is its own character. And it was one of my favorite parts of this book! Those are two sentences I never thought I'd say.

It's hard to find any faults with this book. The characters, the setting, the magic, the chaos - it's all wonderful! Even the time travel, which can cause a book to lose me very quickly, was very well done & added so much to the story. If you had told me coming into this that there was an Egyptian mummy ghost and living figureheads from ships involved in a cute romcom, I never would have believed you. But it's true, it's fun, and you need to read it!

After reading, I found out this is the second book in a series. I had no idea and had no issues, so don't hesitate to pick this one up even without the first book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kate Johnson, & Harper Collins UK for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Poppy is a witch with difficult to control power. She struggles with her self confidence often. Alex is an illusionist who has had his own issues with self worth. They are wonderfully flawed but accepting of each other. Their romance is delightfully mixed with magic, history and chaos. I loved the sense of sisterhood and community. I read this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK and One More Chapter for the advance reader copy.

This was a fun book about a modern witch and her mishap which leads to romance and also revelations.
The book is refreshing and fun; the main characters are easy to like and I’m including Poppy’s hair in that as well.

I always enjoy an easy romance book and with the added supernatural element was great. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am glad I requested a copy.

This was definitely a quick, fun read that was very enjoyable. I love the chaos that seems to follow Poppy around. It makes her much more relatable! Plus having magic Rapunzel-like hair is pretty cool too! Alex is a mortal magician who gets tangled (pun intended) up with Poppy and her cursed necklace. The chemistry between Alex and Poppy happens really fast but is really sweet. I loved the twists and turns and original storyline. I really great book I would recommend for a quick romantic read! I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

Hex and the City by new to me author K. Johnson, published by Harper Collins / One More Chapter is a witty and fun rom/ com.
Poppy is a witch with many talents, hair like Rapunzel, works at a magic shop.
Nope, she's clumsy like a smurf, is a mess most of the day, is a terrible cook on a good day, you get the picture.
And to top it off, she sells a cursed pedant to a celebrity magician, gorgeous Axl Storm.
So what can go wrong ?? Everything, every little thing is.
An entertaining well written read, 4 beautiful stars.

Sex and the city meets hocus pocus.
The characters are so witty and charming and adorably awkward at times. I loved them!
There's the usual dose of drama that has lead the main characters to where there are now, and it feels like it could be plucked right from a sitcom. Humorous, but not so far-fetched it couldn't have really happened (if you remove the fantasy element of course!).
This leads to one set of chaos after another and an eventual journey around great Britain with our leads roommates (also witches).
Honestly, this book had me laughing out loud and there were enough twists and turns, and palpable tension to keep me turning pages all the way though. I'd highly recommend!

I thought it was cute. It had enough sultry and interesting parts. I especially loved the accidental s*x travel

This ones was fun, I like it a bit more than the first one, I like the story and the easy going on. Also all the magic is awesome and I love how the author creates her stories , they are always fun and entertaining

Really enjoyed this one. Super fun witchy romance book. Loved all the fun witches in the coven and the two main characters.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Hex and the City' by Kate Johnson.

'Hex and the City' is the second witchy Kate Johnson Arc I have received and this one doesn't disappoint. Loveable characters, intriguing plot and magical world and its quick to read? What more could you want in a romance?
I am so excited to see where Kate goes next - if she keeps going on with this type of series.

Alex may be a magician but Poppy is a witch and when these two meet well sparks and the London fire and ghosts and something even more wicked this way come. Poppy is adorkable and Rapunzel-ish. Alex has abs of steel and a manbun. So of course they are meant to be and will take no questions. If you liked Hex Appeal you will love this book.
5 ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was so fun I just read it in a single sitting! Fun and fast-paced, Hex and the City was exactly what I'm looking for from a spooky rom-com and will be a perfect autumn read.

Poppy is a witch who accidentally sells celebrity magician Axl a cursed pendant.... Of course, she falls in love with Axl....

A fun light-hearted story. Love this magic world... I enjoy the Rapunzel bits especially. The discussions about gender and sexuality were interesting without it being too heavy. Poppy is a charming a character and makes me laugh... a fun story overall.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.