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WORK TITLE: Best Hex Ever
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CITY: London
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COUNTRY: United Kingdom
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RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married.
EDUCATION:M.A. (creative writing).
ADDRESS
CAREER
Orbit Books UK, commissioning editor.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
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Nadia El-Fassi is a half-Moroccan, half-Australian author who writes romance and fantasy. After earning a master’s degree in creative writing, they became a commissioning editor for fantasy, horror, and science-fiction at Orbit Books UK in London. They have a fondness for Dungeons & Dragons and horror movies.
El-Fassi’s debut romance fantasy novel, Best Hex Ever, features bisexual Dina Whitlock, a half-Moroccan, half-Welsh kitchen witch who runs the Serendipity café in London. Unbeknownst to her customers, Dina adds a little magic into the pastries and drinks she serves. But she herself is haunted by a hex she earned when she put a spell on her ex-girlfriend. Now, anyone who gets romantically close to Dina will get hurt. Her chaste destiny is tested when handsome Scott Mason, a curator at the British Museum, walks into her café. She tries not to get involved with him, until she learns that her best friend is marrying his best friend. They are both in the wedding party and will be spending a lot time together.
In an interview with Elise Dumpleton at Nerd Daily, El-Fassi said she wanted to incorporate into the story aspects of her own life, including a love of baking, London’s many museums, and romance novels. She listed the novels attributes: “A magical café, …a focus on Moroccan recipes which I learnt growing up, bisexual rep, joyful family and friend relationships, adorable pet familiars, spooky houses in the English countryside, Halloween rituals, sensual palm reading … and my favourite, a sentient house.”
“An emphasis on female friendship and Dina’s connections with her family…adds a heartwarming throughline, but the real star of the story is the steam between Dina and Scott,” declared a Kirkus Reviews critic. A Publishers Weekly reviewer noted that in this “sizzling debut,” the sexual connection sidelines the characters’ emotions, nevertheless, “the characters’ complexities propel the story forward. It’s a charmer.” Noting that El-Fassi’s debut cozy “holds strong portent for future successes,” WebOnlyReviews contributor Neal Wyatt praised the story which “showcases strong attention to detail (Dina’s family home is fantastic), characterization, and dialogue.”
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BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2024, review of Best Hex Ever.
Publishers Weekly, August 5, 2024, review of Best Hex Ever, p. 45.
WebOnlyReviews, August 16, 2024, Neal Wyatt, review of Best Hex Ever, p. 1.
ONLINE
Nerd Daily, https://thenerddaily.com/ (September 29, 2024), Elise Dumpleton, “Q&A: Nadia El-Fassi, Author of ‘Best Hex Ever.’”
Q&A: Nadia El-Fassi, Author of ‘Best Hex Ever’
Elise Dumpleton·Writers Corner·September 29, 2024·4 min read
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We chat with author Nadia El-Fassi about Best Hex Ever, which follows a kitchen witch with a penchant for baking and a (literally) cursed love life meets someone who’s worth breaking a hex for in this sweet and spicy debut romance.
Hi, Nadia! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi, thanks for having me! I’m Nadia, author of Best Hex Ever. By day I’m a commissioning editor for fantasy, horror and sci-fi at Orbit Books and when I’m not writing you can find me playing D&D or watching period dramas and horror movies. I have a crippling addiction to iced coffee, reading fanfic and powerlifting. I grew up in London and now I live in the English countryside with my husband and our perfectly round cat Fitz.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
My parents gave me a big book on myths from around the world (which I still have!) and the rest is history. I grew up reading Eva Ibbotson, Lemony Snicket and was obsessed with the Worst Witch series. I used to write short fantasy stories and take them to my primary school English teacher to review. I also used to work in a bookshop so if you let me I’ll spend hours recommending books!
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
The first book you ever remember reading: Tony Ross did an illustrated chapter book on the plot of Macbeth which I read a million times – mostly for the cool witches and all the murder!
The one that made you want to become an author: I knew I wanted to try writing contemporary romance after I read Talia Hibbert’s The Princess Trap – she is the queen of British spicy romance
The one that you can’t stop thinking about: I’m going to avoid pitching any of the books I’m an editor for so I’ll say, for fantasy: Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang which I read recently and for paranormal romance: Heather Guerre’s Cold Hearted which I’ve read like five times.
Your debut novel, Best Hex Ever, is out October 1st! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Witchy, Spicy, Cosy, Whimsical, Spooky
What can readers expect?
A magical café, a spicy romance between a cursed kitchen witch and a museum curator, lots and lots of cosy autumnal baking with a focus on Moroccan recipes which I learnt growing up, bisexual rep, joyful family and friend relationships, adorable pet familiars, spooky houses in the English countryside, Halloween rituals, sensual palm reading, heaps of the forced proximity trope and my favourite, a sentient house.
Where did the inspiration for Best Hex Ever come from?
I have a love of baking and spent my childhood in and around London’s many museums and galleries so I wanted to write a romance that featured both of those things. I especially wanted to write about my Moroccan heritage and what better way to do that than with a kitchen witch who bakes a lot of Moroccan recipes. I also wanted to write Scott’s POV, the love interest in Best Hex Ever, to show a man in romance who is sensitive and caring as well as living up to all the other contemporary romance tropes readers expect of a book boyfriend!
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I really loved writing the mother and daughter relationship between Dina and her mum Nour. Nour is also a witch, and I based her larger than life, sharp-witted and deeply caring personality on my own mum, who passed away some years ago. Writing Nour, I almost felt like I got to spend a little more time with her.
This is your debut published novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
Is it cheesy to say it’s been a dream come true?! As an editor, it’s been my job for some years to acquire other author’s books and publish them and now I get to be on the other side of the experience, with my own book being published. . . it’s been crazy!
See also
The Night Weaver Monique Snyman
Interview: Monique Snyman, Author of ‘The Night Weaver’
Why romance?
I love nothing more than reading about two people falling in love and knowing, every time I pick up a romance book, that it will end with a happily ever after. I unironically love all those cheesy moments you get in rom-coms and I always end up squealing and kicking my feet in delight when two characters kiss for the first time. It’s joyful, swoony, what’s not to love about that!
What’s next for you?
My second book, Love and First Fright is a paranormal romance which has Rosemary as the main character, who is one of the side characters in Best Hex Ever. In the book, one of her novels is being adapted into a movie, and she finds herself butting heads with Hollywood heartthrob Ellis Finch, who is playing the main role in the movie. Oh and did I mention this all takes place in a gorgeous manor house filled with ghosts? And that Rosemary also has the uncanny ability to see and speak to ghosts? It comes out in Autumn 2025!
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
Some of my top romance reads of this year have got to be Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood, Ne’er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti (and I’ve reread her Halifax Hellions novellas multiple times) Bride by Ali Hazelwood – of course! In 2025 I can’t wait to read The Tomb of Dragons, the third spin off book by Katherine Addison – it’s darkly cosy and beautifully hopeful fantasy.
Will you be picking up Best Hex Ever? Tell us in the comments below!
Nadia El-Fassi is a half-Moroccan, half-Australian author of spicy romance and fantasy and works as a Commissioning Editor at Orbit Books UK. She has an addiction to iced coffee, period dramas, buying D&D dice and watching horror movies. They have an MA in Creative Writing and live in London with their husband and perfectly round cat.
El-Fassi, Nadia. Best Hex Ever. Dell. Oct. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9780593871799. pap. $18. PARANORMAL ROMANCE
DEBUT El-Fassi's first novel holds strong portent for future successes. It is a sexy cozy featuring Dina Whitlock, a bisexual kitchen witch who is living under a hex. Her London café, where she serves sweets and drinks infused with magic, is thriving, and she and her two best friends are deep into the enjoyable days of celebrating a wedding. However, anyone Dina loves romantically is doomed to suffer. The hex was born when a much younger Dina used her magic to compel her ex-girlfriend to return to her against her will. After watching those she falls for get hurt, Dina has no choice but to reject the charming attentions of Scott Mason, a British Museum curator who drops into the café and, through the plots of her friends, rooms with her during the wedding. Haunted by the hex, her fear of telling her parents about her sexuality, and falling dangerously deep for Scott, Dina will have to confront her fears and herself if she is to cast a spell for a happy ending.
VERDICT: Proving that self-acceptance is its own magic, El-Fassi's assured debut showcases strong attention to detail (Dina's family home is fantastic), characterization, and dialogue. Put it on a Halloween display.—Neal Wyatt
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Library Journals, LLC
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/xpress/884170-289/xpress_reviews-first_look_at_new.html.csp
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Source Citation
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Wyatt, Neal. "Best Hex Ever." WebOnlyReviewsLJ, vol. 149, no. 8, 16 Aug. 2024, p. 1. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A806386735/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=203ee0cc. Accessed 18 Oct. 2024.
El-Fassi, Nadia BEST HEX EVER Dell (Fiction None) $18.00 10, 1 ISBN: 9780593871799
Sparks fly between a witch and a museum curator, but magic may be keeping them apart.
Dina Whitlock's London café, Serendipity, has a reputation as a place where "good things [happen]," but what none of Dina's customers know is that all her delicious treats are made with a bit of actual magic. Coming from a family of witches, she has a spell for everything, whether it's giving a friend a dash of luck with a job interview or crafting a tea blend that calls back a fond childhood memory. What she can't figure out, though, is how to ditch the hex that's been hanging over her since her last brutal breakup. It's not easy getting close to someone when there's a literal curse in the picture, designed to put any romantic partners in harm's way. Then Scott Mason walks into Serendipity, and all Dina's resolutions about closing herself off to love fly out the window. Well, almost. The tall, dark, and handsome curator for the British Museum is her type in every way, but Dina can't run the risk of sentencing him to a string of bad luck. Fate, however, seems to have a plan for them: It turns out that one of Dina's best friends is getting married to one of Scott's, and guess who's in the wedding party? As they travel to the countryside for a weekend of celebration and witchy rituals, Dina and Scott fight their attraction to each other at every turn in an attempt to keep the focus on their friends in the lead-up to the wedding, but they can't deny they want to be more than pals. Can Dina lift the hex and give herself a long-deserved chance at love, or is this romance cursed from the start? El-Fassi's debut romance is a delightfully magical story with a welcome helping of spice. An emphasis on female friendship and Dina's connections with her family--Moroccan on her mother's side and Welsh on her father's--adds a heartwarming throughline, but the real star of the story is the steam between Dina and Scott.
A soft, spicy romance with perfect fall vibes.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"El-Fassi, Nadia: BEST HEX EVER." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A802865263/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=13114ce5. Accessed 18 Oct. 2024.
Best Hex Ever
Nadia El-Fassi. Dell, $18 trade paper (320p)
ISBN 978-0-593-87179-9
In El-Fassi's sizzling debut, a cafe owner and a museum curator find love despite a curse. Witch Dina Whitlock spends her days infusing magic into the pastries she serves at her London bakery, Serendipity Cafe. Haunted by a hex that threatens harm to anyone she falls in love with, a consequence of a spell she cast on her ex-girlfriend that backfired, Dina sets love aside and conceals her witch identity. Enter Scott Mason, a curator at the British Museum. Though he's not looking for a relationship after a devastating breakup, when he comes into the cafe, he's immediately enchanted by Dina. The pair are thrown back together on a train ride to the wedding of mutual friends, who, in a matchmaking effort, assign Scott and Dina to the same cabin. The close proximity heightens their sexual tension and despite Dina's reservations, their connection deepens. But the more she comes to care for Scott, the greater risk she puts him in. El-Fassi prioritizes her leads' steamy physical connection, somewhat sidelining the emotional bond. Still, the characters' complexities propel the story forward. It's a charmer. Agent: Maddy Belton, Madeline Milburn Agency. (Oct.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Best Hex Ever." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 30, 5 Aug. 2024, pp. 45+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A804959362/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7a5cfa39. Accessed 18 Oct. 2024.