Title: Hex and Candy
Series: Strange Bedfellows 01 / Dreamspun Beyond 26
Author: Ashlyn Kane
Genre: Paranormal, Witchcraft
Length: Novel (214 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (21st August 2018)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: 💖💖💖 3 Hearts
Blurb: True love’s kiss can break the curse. But then what?
Cole Alpin runs a small-town candy store. He visits his grandmother twice a week. And sometimes he breaks curses.
Leo Ericson’s curse is obvious right away, spiderwebbing across his very nice body. Though something about it worries Cole, he agrees to help—with little idea of what he’s getting into.
Leo is a serial monogamist, but his vampire ex has taken dating off the table with his nasty spell, and Leo needs Cole’s companionship as much as his help. When the hex proves to be only the beginning of his problems, Leo seeks refuge at Cole’s place. Too bad magic prevents him from finding refuge in Cole’s arms.
Cole’s never had a boyfriend, so how can he recognize true love? And there’s still the matter of the one responsible for their troubles in the first place….
ISBN: 978-1-64080-739-6
Product Link: Dreamspinner | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Reviewer: Prime
Review: Hex and Candy is the first book in a new paranormal series by Ashlyn Kane called Strange Bedfellows. I’m not entirely sure on my feelings about continuing with the series, because although I did find this an enjoyable read and a great way to pass some time relaxing, I can’t say that I was utterly blown away by the story. Also, I had the song Sex and Candy running through my head the entire time I read this and then wrote this review.
Hex and Candy is the sweet love story between candy-maker and witch, Cole Aplin, and a human who had been completely clueless about the paranormal world until recently, Leo Ericson. Cole runs his candy store by day and on the side he breaks hexes/curses put on the unwitting, which is how he meets Leo. Leo’s ex, a vampire no less, sought out another witch to put a revenge hex on Leo.
Meeting Leo changes Cole’s world. In fact, both their worlds are turned upside down. While the pair find a gentle love (the hex prevents anything physical happening straight away) the two guys are sent on a roller coaster adventure about how and why Leo was hexed and how this all ultimately links to Cole and his family.
This was a fun and reasonably enjoyable romance. Fans of the genre will be sure to get some enjoyment out of it, particularly those familiar with the type of book featured in Dreamspun Beyond. There seem to be a lot of books currently being published in that house line featuring witches/mages/wizards, which I suppose is a change from all the shifter romances, which are totally my guilty pleasure anyway. I’m just not so sure at this point if witches are my book kink, equally or more so as my love for shifter books.