Hexing the Ex - Susanna Shore

[goodreads]

Title: Hexing the Ex
Author: Susanna Shore
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 224
Date read: July 2021

I didn’t expect to be evicted the first thing I returned from my holiday, but thanks to my flatmate Nick, that’s what I was facing.

It’s not exactly easy to find a new place to live in London, so when Phoebe Thorpe spots a room-to-let sign at the window of a magic shop, she doesn’t hesitate. The room is perfect, even if chores are part of the rent. There is only one thing odd about her new landladies. They seem to believe magic exists.

Phoebe doesn’t believe in magic, but unfortunately magic believes in her. A mysterious statuette is sent to her boss, Archibald Kane, and she accidentally triggers a curse meant for him. Naturally, the first person she curses is her ex-boyfriend. But why would anyone want to curse her boss, a perfectly ordinary antiques dealer? Or is he?

Phoebe sets out to break the curse with the help of her new housemates. But it isn’t easy trying to solve a mystery she doesn’t even believe is real. Then again, that hellhound chasing her seemed pretty solid… Maybe there’s more to magic than hexing one’s ex.


Really charming story. I fell in love from the very first chapter and absolutely adored the House of Magic. I'm not usually a fan of cozy mysteries, as I generally find them too unrealistic, but since this was fantasy anyway, that part didn't bother me at all here. In some ways, it actually reminded me quite a bit of "Enchanted, Inc." by Shanna Swendson, with all the magical creatures running around.

I did miss an explanation for why Phoebe was suddenly magically inclined, as I never felt that was really explained. Perhaps it'll come in a sequel?

The title is slightly misleading as it wasn't actually the ex being hexed.... nor did it have as many hexes as I had expected it to, but I did enjoy the way the hex was managed in the end.