Guest Review: Literace Reviews: Go Hex Yourself by Jessica Clare

If you want to read a very light-hearted rom-com that is driven by misunderstandings, Go Hex Yourself by Jessica Clare could be a good option. It was a fairly quick read, but personally, it did not tick all the boxes for me. For my larger takeaways from this new book continue reading. 

Summary

When Reggie Johnson answers a job ad in the paper, she’s astonished to find that she’s not applying to work at her favorite card game, Spellcraft: The Magicking. Instead, she’s applying to be an actual familiar for an actual witch. As in, real magic.

The new job has a few perks – great room and board, excellent pay, and she’s apprenticing to a powerful witch. Sure, the witch is a bit eccentric. And sure, there was that issue with the black cat Reggie would prefer to forget about. The biggest problem, however, is warlock Ben Magnus, her employer’s nephew and the most arrogant, insufferable, maddening man to ever cast a spell.

Reggie absolutely hates him. He’s handsome, but he’s also bossy and irritating and orders her around. Ben’s butt might look great in a crystal ball vision, but that’s as far as it goes. But when someone with a vendetta targets the household, she finds herself working with Ben to break a deadly curse. Apparently, when they’re not fighting like cats and dogs, things get downright…bewitching.

Review

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

Plot

Go Hex Yourself’s plot thrived on misunderstandings, which is personally a trope that I find frustrating and only serves to increase the length of a story. This applies to so many dramas, rom-coms in both books and movies/TV shows. The characters could have solved many issues if only they had communicated. I mean, if this is setting itself up to result in a relationship, the inability to communicate is particularly irksome. 

Aside from the miscommunications, the rest of the plot was fine I suppose. I did enjoy the tip of the hat to Magic: The Gathering, with the game Spellcraft: Magicking. The more “erotic” elements of the book at times seem forced, sudden, and artificially concocted (witch pun?) in the context of the rest of the book. I also did not find Reggie and Ben’s relationship particularly compelling or oozing with sexual tension. 

In addition, there were certain parts that were underdeveloped in the plot but felt tagged on in random parts. For example, Reggie’s relationship with her parents, while not great and I can appreciate the complicated nature of it, did not add much to the story and honestly made Reggie seem naive in a way that she isn’t depicted throughout the book. 

Magic

As always I want to know how magic functions in worlds. More or less Clare delivered. I did like how this magic was based on the Roman pantheon, or at least the magic Ben and Aunt Dru perform. They did mention Wiccans in passing, so I would have been interested in the fact that there are other forms and sources of magic in this world. 

Ending (not a spoiler)

I admit to being super annoyed at the “reveal” at the end of the book. The solution to the main conflict made the book seem too frivolous. There were certain items I was fine with turning the other cheek, but the cause of the curse placed on Aunt Dru really miffed me.

Overall

I did really want to like Go Hex Yourself with the promise of some fun, light witchy romance. Unfortunately, the things I would have liked to be focused upon were not there, and others that I could do without were omnipresent. That is not to say that others wouldn’t enjoy it! It just wasn’t my cup of tea. 

Find Go Hex Yourself on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository

Discussion

What is your stance on the trope of “miscommunication” in drama and romance genres?

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