Erin Sterling, a pseudonym for Rachel Hawkins (The Wife Upstairs), delivers a pitch-perfect paranormal romantic comedy with The Ex Hex, a tale of magic gone awry and the rekindled love that follows in its destruction.
When Rhys Penhallow broke Vivienne Jones's heart, she in turn broke her aunt's cardinal rule ("Never mix vodka and witchcraft") in order to curse the heartless "Witch Boy." Of course, the curse wasn't real magic--or so Vivienne assumes, until an age-old tradition draws Rhys back to Vivienne's hometown of Graves Glen, Ga., and the typically straightforward task of recharging the magical ley lines beneath the town results in magic gone horribly wrong. Vivienne and Rhys are thrown back together to try to set their magic--and perhaps their relationship--back on track, as they make out in the spookiest of settings (the closet of a haunted house, for one) and battle unexpectedly dastardly, if also somewhat amusing, threats to Graves Glen (like a display of plastic skulls running loose in the Joneses' family witchcraft store).
The Ex Hex seamlessly blends fantasy and romance, with a strong sense of world-building and magical rules that guide Vivienne and Rhys's attempts to course-correct from the "accidental" curse, and an equally evident sense of attraction between these two witches. A bit of unexpected magic, a dose of revenge and a sprinkling of steaminess churn together in a humorous and heartfelt paranormal romance, sure to delight fans of Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic--or any contemporary tale of witches run amok. --Kerry McHugh, freelance writer