Heartbroken at nineteen years old, Vivi breaks the family motto: Never mix vodka and witchcraft. Of course, she and her cousin Gwyn are just playing around. The “curses” they put on Vivi’s ex, Rhys, are of the utterly ridiculous type. And as far as Vivi can tell, nothing comes of that night. Not until nine years later, when Rhys returns to Graves Glen to strengthen the ley lines his ancestor put down, and suddenly the town is overrun with demonic toys, talking cats, and a spate of twisted spells gone wrong. Vivi must right her wrongs, while trying not to fall back in love with Rhys, who is just as alluring (and attracted to her) as ever.

Aah, this book was awesome! Definitely my favorite I’ve read in awhile. It’s chaotic, cozy, creepy, sexy, silly, and fun. For years, I’ve looked for romance novels that focus on magic rather than creatures (so sick of vampires, werewolves, and especially angels/demons!), but that’s really hard to find! And yes, technically, the characters in this story are witches, but does that count as creatures, really? It’s different than the typical paranormal romance genre, in any case. The focus was on the magic, not the fact that they were witches. And it’s the magic that I find interesting.

So yeah, it’s very seldom that I find a book that combines sorcery and romance. This was done very well!! The writing was excellent, and the story was top-notch. I’m very picky about which romance novels I read in general, because too often I feel like the romance has been slipped in to spice up the story (in which case, the writing feels awkward and out of place), or the plot is superfluous to the sexy bits. When an author can pull them both together – a story that would be excellent without the romance, but also fits the romance parts in seamlessly – I’m here for that. The Ex Hex did exactly that – and then added magic on top. Couldn’t get more perfect!

I tore through this book in a day, loving every bit of it. Now I need to go check out more of Sterling’s books!

PS – The talking cat was the absolute best. Clearly narrated by someone who knows cats well.