Review: Not Your Ex's Hexes

Not Your Ex's Hexes by April Asher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

Now that Rose had a little extra time on her hands, she was . . . lost . .. 

Second in the Supernatural Singles series, Not Your Ex's Hex was a paranormal and fantasy world story that put the spotlight on the second Maxwell sister, Rose and Damian Adams. I haven't read the first book but I thought the author did a good job catching newbies up on what happened, eldest of the Maxwell witches magical triad triplets, Vi, finally came into her power and displaced Rose as the Prima Apparent (Prima is the head witch of the Supernatural Council). Rose, gladly, not only lost her job but an unwanted fiance and now is feeling adrift as she moves from working for a ride share to working at the local bar, Potion's Up. Damian is a half-demon who is bestfriend's with Vi's soulmate, a veterinarian and owner of an animal sanctuary, and oh, has a soul hex on him that if he falls in love, he'll lose his soul. He's all about one and done encounters but a few months later, when he runs into Rose, he can't get their one night stand out of his mind. 

The more he embraced his inner demon, the less Damian saw of Damian. He hadn’t been fully aware of precisely how off-track his life had gotten until he faced the wrath of a pissed-off teenage witch and earned himself his very own hex. That was his wake-up call. And finally, after years of Hunting, he realized he had two choices: give up his humanity to become one of the volatile lowlifes he Hunted, or hold onto it with everything he had. 

I enjoyed the magical realism/urban fantasy world this had, think a lighter toned Hidden Legacy by Ilona Andrews or Third Shift by Suleikha Snyder. There's a good amount of friends and family but they stayed enough to the side to let Rose and Damian shine but came in enough to fill out the characters and world. Even though our main couple had a one night stand months ago, they get a push to be together when Rose has to complete some community service hours at Damian's clinic/sanctuary. Their teasing friendship chemistry was pleasurable to read and even though I said the tone was lighter, Rose gets horribly injured at one point but the scary danger of it was rushed through fairly quickly, never getting too dark, they curse and hit the sheets and desk pretty often. They had that chemistry snark towards each other that flowed to softening when they rescue puppies and then a little before the midway point, they come up with their friends with benefits agreement.

And then his eyes locked with hers across the room. 

The second half brings in more of Damian's half-demon issues, him trying to control his inner demon and dealing with his brother Julius. Julius is on the Supernatural Council and wants Damian to return to Hunting (think supernatural bounty hunter). Damian needs money for the sanctuary, so he's already thinking about it and when Julius involves Rose, getting her to want to hunt, Damian agrees so he can take assignments with her to protect her. This was a bit longer than usual contemporaries, around 340 pages and while I overall liked how it didn't like the story was rushed, there were some pieces that didn't feel like they smoothly fit and maybe could have been left out. There was a mean girl trio that tied into Rose's ride share job, a random flashback from Damian's past that could have worked if went longer and showed his hexing but as the only flashback felt uselessly placed, a no pants subway ride that didn't hit the mark for me, a live cams scheme by Rose to help the sanctuary that could have been left out as there was a later, rushed, adoption fair featured, and a few other little things that when I think back on them, didn't tie-in the best. I would have much rather had that time given to more resolution with Damian, his inner demon, and his brother. 

They belonged together, and he wasn’t about to let something as minor as a Soul Hex prevent that from happening. 

The last twenty percent had Damian's hex coming more into the picture to be dealt with and we meet the ex witch that hexed him, following with the tone, she's not as evil as thought to be with a surprise reveal. If you're looking for a sizable cast of characters that keeps them around but gives the spotlight to the main couple, a lighter toned paranormal world, and steamy open door love scenes between two leads that had fun chemistry, this is definitely a world you'll want to hop into. Rose's younger sister Olive looks to be getting the set-up with her new roomie, guardian a

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