Welcome to Isla Bruja, a secret magical enclave near Miami and home to the richest and most powerful Latinx witch families.
When Catalina Cartagena returns home for her older sister’s wedding, she’s shocked to discover that her soon-to-be brother in law is possessed by a demon. To make matters worse, everyone else seems to be under the demon’s spell—except for Diego Paz, younger brother of the groom and Cat’s childhood rival.
With only three days until the wedding, Cat must join forces with her sexy nemesis to break the spell and defeat the demon. If they fail, demonic forces will control two of the most powerful witch families on Isla Bruja.
There’s only one bed at the magical B&B, and it’s time for these witches to get wicked…in more ways than one.
Alexis Daria is the award-winning and internationally bestselling author of You Had Me at Hola, A Lot Like Adiós, Take the Lead, and more. Her books have been featured on several “Best of ” lists and have received starred reviews from multiple trade publications. A former visual artist, Alexis is a lifelong New Yorker who loves Broadway musicals and pizza.
Fun (but short) witchy romance novella set in a fictional island near Miami. Catalina Cartagena teams up with high school nemesis Diego Paz to defeat the demon possessing her sister's wedding party. The witch worldbuilding is fairly basic, which is a compliment tbh (I was doing chores and wanted to listen without getting caught up in complex magical lore).
The romance could've been developed a little more, but well — it's a short novella with a significant non-romantic conflict! There's only so much a shortened word count can have. I was pleasantly surprised by the on-page sex scene; you never know what the heat level is with audible romance originals!
The audiobook narrator Jacqueline Grace Lopez is fantastic. Her vocal delivery isn't monotone and she changed tone/tempo/vocal frequency depending on the character. I'm no expert in Spanish, but I think she pronounced the occasional Spanish phrase correctly. I hope she narrates other books soon! This is very impressive for a debut audiobook narration.
I would love Alexis Daria to write a full-length installment in this world and flesh out the witchy worldbuilding a little more. Cat's many (single) sisters have their stories to tell, too. :)
Length: 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Read via audio (narrated by Jacqueline Grace Lopez).
Disclaimer: I received a free audiobook from the publisher (Audible) in exchange for an honest review.
reallyyyy loved this and it just solidified my need to pick up a full length novel from alexis daria soon!! it was just such a quick, fun time and yet with a well developed storyline, characters and romance!!
'There’s no place like home, right? Well, in my case, it’s true. There’s nowhere quite like Isla Bruja, home of rich witches, restless ghosts, and rampant chisme.'
'Diego’s still holding me, and I don’t move away. Running for our lives distracted me from what we did, but now that we’re safe? All I can think about is that I just kissed him. I kissed Diego Paz. And I liked it. If it weren’t for his eyes, I might not have recognized him. Those, at least, are the same. Chocolate brown, thickly lashed, and more soulful than a little snot like him deserves.'
As a story that had its origins rooted as an audible original audiobook, I feel just a little bit lucky that I got to read it in its later formatted ebook composition. A reading friend of mine inspired this author onto my romance reading wishlist for some very big (and exciting) reasons. This reading friend was so very enthusiastically complimentary of the author's novelistic style that it would have been remiss of me to miss out on the novelty. I quickly bought the first two standalone instalments in Daria's Primas of Power series but decided I'd try this fun taster for a swift, refreshing experience for some December reading. I had a fun, spirited time with What the Hex and this little proudly paranormal reading excursion only served as a pointed imperative to promptly sit myself through any one of the author's fuller length Latinx pieces. Let 2024 be that year!
Some backstory: The eldest of the Cartagena sisters is about to get married in the coming days, and with the arrival of impending matrimony Cat's expected on arrival for maid of honour duties. Flying from her high octane life of New York fashion back to her supernatural stomping ground near Miami that populates the largest tribe of high society Latinx alchemists, Isla Bruja, and she's in anxious anticipation of a revisit that reminds her why she upped and left when she did. Where wanton witchery and the glad rags of the supernatural make quite the performance of power and familial importance. But coming back to a home inhabited by an eerie line-up of silent videomakers tracking every movement of the Cartagena household (or mansion-hold? Mega mansion? Energetically sentient abode?) and family members who seem less like themselves and she quickly comes face to demon with a power thirsty demonic presence in possession of the groom. Also immune to the malevolent spirit's influence is Diego Paz, younger brother to the groom and high school nemesis to Cat. Rather than performing against each other, they have to use their wits, witchery and paranormal prowess (of which Cat is ashamed to admit is practically null and void within her) to work in alliance to remedy the situation and get this arranged marriage back on track.
Alexis Daria conquers a fun paranormal rom com novella with What the Hex, fragrant with flavour, finery and a dash of some wicked witchery. With tastes and textures of the spiritedly paranormal, it embraced the theme of the disincarnate with an adequate seed of dramatic conflict. An invisible Latinx island, glamorous witches, flamboyant elders, disastrous nuptials, generational family systems, witchery, wars and the wandering hands of two high school adversaries turned paranormal mages and there's a touch, a trace and a tidbit of everything. It did admittedly have some novella quirks that hastened the plot events (and the romance) of the story forth with a brisker pace but the story held its threads and themes with a pleasant - and very appealing - consistency. The added dramatic conflict of a groom under proprietorship of a greedy force of the undead was a well managed plot force that held the story strong, and enables this sweet and spicy romance to earn some legs. Diego and Cat reconnect in an entirely different way, and all it takes is some meddling, some magic, an entirely grown up Diego Paz, a vampire suite and the challenging task of demon removal. For what was present of the magic system was creative but I wouldn't have scorned a longer write up just to enjoy more evolved world building, and character building, and everything-else-building. Actually, this would have been creatively unique as a fuller length piece. Though I specifically chose it for its short length so I had no trouble enjoying it for its brevity. Not one bit. The magical burnout thread pertaining to our go-getting, perfectionistic heroine was a really nice touch and pulled together the narrative and angle of familial pressure quite nicely, swift little experience that this was. And of course, I can't not credit the graphic cover art; which is a piece of talent in itself. Light, modern, spicy, spooky, spirited, witchy, affectionately dramatic with some culture, and I'd say this is one for your contemporary novella reading catalogue.
Content Warning/Listing: Some profanity. Bedroom scenes. Mentions drinking.
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“I’m gonna make your pussy my familiar” is going on a tshirt oh my fucking god 5 stars for that line alone. This kinda felt like a sexy scooby Doo episode lmao.
Idk why the rating is so pressed this was great 💅 short, pnr, high school rivals turned exorcists turned lovers?? Yes of course also I just really like Daria’s writing and characters. I want more!! I’d totally read a full length book in the same world. Plus there was like a sex scene and a half and our sexy valedictorian can get it 🔥 I also loved the narrator!!
what a hexing good time! "paranormal romcom novella" is the perfect way to categorize this fun little book. alexis daria is a romcom gem.
the story is about a magical bruja wedding that will bring together the families of enchantress cat and her childhood nemesis diego. but wait! both of their families are under a demon's spell! they have to secretly work together to disenchant their fams before cat's older sister marries the demon occupying diego's brother's body.
there's a perfect balance between witchy magic, dramatic suspense, romcom humor, likable supporting characters, and sexual tension between reunited enemies. and don't forget the good measure of spanglish and latinx flavor that daria always weaves into her stories! all of it works together really nicely. i kept thinking it'd make a good airplane book: short, entertaining, and not requiring too much focus. alexis daria always nails it. i hope to see more stories set it this magical bruja universe!
Cute rivals to lovers story! I’m always here for the witchy vibes! The drama of the demon possession was rather rushed (novella problems) and so was the HEA 🤷🏻♀️
Was I happy I read it? Totally! I truly adore all Brujo/Bruja plots.
This was seriously just a fun audio quickie! Under three hours, a little witchy wedding situation between the maid of honor and the best man, childhood rivals who work together to get a demon out the groom, and fall in love in the process. Its just seriously cute!
What the Hex was super fun and cute. There’s also an interesting witch/demon/wedding plot that adds a bit of spooky intrigue into this novella. Loved the witchy vibes and thought it was the perfect quick read if you love Halloween, but don’t want to go for horror/monster stories!
as a puerto rican I am so disappointed. this “caribbean” witchy love story was not it. its truly a shame.
first of all, the protagonist is supposed to be puerto rican but is clearly narrated by someone with a mexican accent. secondly, the rest of the characters are supposed to be caribbean (puerto rican, dominican and cuban) but the lingo was so off. so many random coloquial spanish here and there not used correctly.
the plot had potential but it felt flat. it’s like a bad version of wizards of waverly place with encanto mixed in.
A witchy romance novella that's a quick listen about former rivals reconnecting while in the wedding party of their siblings. This was okay, but I found the romantic and steamy scenes to be fairly cheesy. The plot was fine, but I never got super invested. That said, if you're looking for something light and quick, it might be worth a shot!
This story was really fun. It was short, but still managed to be humorous, action-packed, sweet, and sexy. I would love to see more stories in this world.
Catalina Cartagena left her home five years ago, right after high school, to head for New York City where, though she is very young, her extraordinary talent as a high-fashion designer has already established her with a dynamic career. She has returned home for the first time, to Isla Bruja, a secret magical community of rich and powerful Latinx witch families on an island near Miami, for her older sister’s wedding. Within moments of shaking the hand of her future brother-in-law, due to her empathic powers, Cat realizes to her horror that he is possessed by a demon. Worse, the entire bridal party is clearly under the demon’s spell, except for herself and her former high-school rival, Diego Paz, the younger brother of the groom. With only three days until the wedding, Cat's only hope to drive the demon away and save her family is to join forces with Diego.
This is a fast-paced, well written paranormal romance that is exciting, sexy, and often humorous. It is written entirely from the point of view of Cat, but it becomes clear almost immediately what a great guy Diego is, and I was rooting from the moment of their inventive Cute Meet for this adorably sympathetic couple to get together.
The author has done an outstanding job at supernatural world-building for a novella. The magic is convincing, and there are many colorful subcharacters who are vividly drawn, though not so much so that they ever upstage Cat and Diego.
I received access to the excellent audiobook version of this novella for free, as a perk of my Audible Premium Plus Annual Membership. The talented narrator, Jacqueline Grace Lopez, does a wonderful job with both female and male characters of all ages, and she performs the Spanglish dialog with authentic flair.
Relisten of audiobook 7/27/25: I enjoyed this terrific novella and the excellent narration of the audiobook just as much the second time as the first. Diego is my favorite part of the story. He is an adorable Cinnamon Roll love interest. I also greatly appreciated that this is a humorous, paranormal version of a romantic-suspense plot. It's quite a challenge for a novella to successfully blend together all of that in such a short format. Bravo!
Catalina Cartagena has been away from Isla Bruja, the secret magical isle off the coast of Miami where her family of Puerto Rican Brujos resides along with several other families. Invisible to humans this vibrant isle is home to some of the most powerful witches in the world. Catalina is back for her sister's wedding that's basically a merger to unite her family with another powerful family. But when she returns to her family's estate she realizes things aren't as they seem. Everyone seems to be under the trance of a power demon. The only other person aware something is going on is Diego Paz, her high school rival. And Diego is no longer the nerdy boy she remembers. He's a lot hotter and confident now.
Alexis Daria comes through with another winner in the form of a witchy rom-com. I've been saying since I saw paranormal romance making a resurgence that I hope to see some more diversity among them. So when I got her newsletter and she revealed the cover I was excited. Puerto-Rican brujos? Yes, please! And I liked that all the conflict in this story was non-romantic. Just our main couple exploring their feelings while saving their families from a demon. This had everything I want in a romance novella. The narrator was good, the plot was interesting, and the couple had sizzling chemistry. I look forward to my next Alexis Daria read. Seriously this book had corny witchy puns, magical sex, and spell-casting. What more could you ask for?
I will never cease to be amazed by authors who can make a short story feel like a full novel. Well done Alexis Daria, well done indeed! Giggles, mystery, adventure, spice, family drama and witches. This was a total win for me.
I always say this but ALEXIS DDARIA’s books need to be made into TV Shows!!!! 💕💕💕💕 This short Audiobook was everything!!! It left me completely satisfied and yet longing to stay in this world! I love the brujería and family dynamic. The mystery and Childhood rivals to spicy lovers! The story was so fun and engaging and yet I wish it could’ve been longer just to have a little more of these amazing characters! Diego was amazing! I loooove him and his suave witchy innuendos. Cat was so badass and loved her finding herself and her worth thru this story. The magic was perfect!!! I loved the magic system and the Latinx family and bujería! It was everything!!!
Tags: F/M, witchy fantasy romcom novella, Latinx witch MCs, one bed, forced proximity, childhood rivals to lovers, fake dating
Triggers: demon possession, minor violence
A Latina witch girl exorcises demon by making out with sexy arch-nemesis in a closet!!! So basically my future😮💨
Mi melliza bruja plays sneaky stealth to try and get rid of a demon while getting felt up by her high school rival. Also MAGIC!!! What a silly fun read this was. Some of it was major cringe but it was still sweet. It’s super short (it’s a novella).
I loved how flirty the MCs were like I was like y’all should fuck to see if that exorcises the demon or somefin JUST ONE (horny) WOMAN’S OPINION!!!
I would definitely enjoy more books (and longer books) set in this universe. I did enjoy a lot of it but the romance didn't quite land for me. I enjoyed more of the magic and witch vibes than the romance, which isn't what I expected.
For a quick "spooky" read, I am glad I read it during the Fall. I am super glad that I read this and am going to check out more by the author and narrator!