So, I was really excited about this book. The cover is GORGEOUS. It’s about magic and hexes (perfect to get me in the mood for Halloween 🎃). It has a little romance. The problem that I had, though? I really didn’t end up liking this book. Before I go any further with the review, I don’t think Hit Me with Your Best Charm is a bad book. I think I just expected something a little… more than what it was. 

I’m going to start with the characters because I think a lot of what I didn’t like starts with the characters. Nova specifically made me so unbelievably mad at times. Now, to preface, she is only 17, but sometimes she acted like she was 12. All of the problems and “occasional magic” was caused by her volatile emotions. She’s mad at Aurora, a psychic, for convincing her mom to declare her father legally dead since he’s been  missing for seven years. So, when she gets to Aurora’s tent and she’s not there, instead of LEAVING, she tells her arch-romance-nemesis, Kiara, that she will have misfortune, bad luck, and sacrifice in her future. Like, Nova, even if it wasn’t a real hex (which she only meant to scare Kiara anyway), words have power and mean something. She should’ve learned that with her dad, but nope. 

I liked all the other characters, but you really don’t get a lot of development with any of them besides what their specific personalities are. You don’t know what they do at school. You don’t know what they like/dislike. They’re just there to fill some empty space. Even Kiara was basic and just a “pretty” girl without much depth to her. 

With the plot, I loved the beginning with the letter about Prior’s End and its history. That felt like a really strong start, after that and chapter one, I feel like it all kind of went downhill for me after that. I wouldn’t say I was bored exactly, but basically after they find out Kiara is hexed, the group of 6 ish teens travel into the Longing Woods to find the wishing well that will let them undo Kiara’s bad luck. The Longing Woods was a really cool concept, and many weird things (otherworldly, you could say) happen out there. But, again, just like the characters, I felt like the woods lacked depth and it stopped me from being truly pulled into the story. Alsoooo, the epilogue? I was beyond confused and trying to figure out who the proverbial, not-mentioned-by-name characters were, but I couldn’t figure it out. Y’all help me please and leave a comment if you knew what the epilogue was supposed to be about 🙈. 

Honestly, this was going to be a three star read for me, but something that happened at the end REALLY threw me off (along with the epilogue), so it bumped down to two stars. I’ll mention it in the spoilers below.

Spoilers ahead.

Okay, Tayla being dead? It seriously felt like the author put that in the book as a last minute addition. It all felt rushed, like there was only one or two big clues that were dropped in, and, to be completely honest, felt like it was there for an “emotional” ending and shock factor. This really knocked it down for me because it not only felt odd, but it felt like it came out of nowhere, and not in a good way. 

Overall, while I really didn’t enjoy this novel, it’s definitely not the worst thing I’ve ever read. I think it lacks depth and character development, but a younger audience may enjoy it more than I did. Two out of five stars for me, but, again, I think many people will enjoy this book even if I didn’t. It has magic, a little romance, and a lot of folklore. A huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to have an advanced reader copy of Hit Me with Your Best Charm. 

Source: Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley

(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Audible, which gives you two free audiobooks of your choice!)