Hexed is the sixth novel by Emily McIntire that’s part of the bestselling author’s Never After series.
At the time of publishing this guide, this story was available on Kindle Unlimited.
Here’s more about the book, along with our free Dirty Dozen downloadable discussion question guide for your spicy book club.
Book description
He’s the prince of La Cosa Nostra. She’s the witch who steals his heart.
From #1 New York Timesbestselling author Emily McIntire comes a dark and delicious fractured fairytale of The Little Mermaid.
Venesa Andersen has never been good. She wasn’t good enough for her parents, and she isn’t good enough for the gangster uncle who took her in after they died. But she’s cunning. Beautiful. Dutiful to her uncle’s demands. And she doesn’t have time for a moral compass, anyway. When her runaway cousin returns to their coastal southern town, she brings a man with her…and Venesa soon realizes he’s the only one who’s ever seen her for her.
There’s just one problem: she can never have him.
Enzo “Loverboy” Marino is a wealthy businessman by day and prince of the underworld by night. Underboss to a notorious mafia syndicate, he answers to no one except his father, the strongest don in the Northeast. When he’s tasked with marriage, Enzo doesn’t think twice.
Until he meets his fiancée’s cousin.
Venesa is everything he never knew he wanted, bewitching him with her sultry voice and supple curves. But Enzo learned long ago that for a man like him, life is better without the things you want.
When plans unravel and temptation sings its siren song, they’ll both have to choose what’s more important: duty to their families, or a forbidden love that was never supposed to be.
Hexed book club discussion guide
**PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS DISCUSSION QUESTION GUIDE MIGHT INCLUDE SPOILERS**
We’ve provided the Dirty Dozen below; twelve spicy and intriguing questions to spark discussion and help you uncover the spine-tingling depths of the story.
The Dirty Dozen
Foreplay – Warm Up Questions
1. What’s the overall spice level? 1 (Not Spicy) – 10 (Spiciest Thing I’ve Ever Read)?
2. How does the spice level compare to the other books we’ve read together?
3. Do you think the touches that tie the story back to the original fairy tale are enjoyable or not? Which were your favorites?
The Spicy Bits – Gettin’ Down and Dirty with the Plot
4. “I wonder if she realizes she holds all the power here, that I would crawl on my knees to be wherever she is.” What’s hotter to you: the person who begs for you, or the one who makes you beg?
5. Enzo says he’s “afraid I’m already a changed man just from knowing her.” Have you ever been so drawn to someone that you felt them rewriting who you are?
6. “I’m tired of being someone’s burden and not someone’s choice.” This theme is throughout the story. What would “being loved out loud” look like for you?
7. Do you think a kiss hits harder when the feelings are confessed before, during, or after?
8. Venesa admits she doesn’t trust anyone, yet Enzo calls her out instantly. Would you find it arousing or unsettling if someone saw straight through your defenses on sight?
9. Which is more seductive: stolen, secret love or the public claiming of someone you desire?
10. If you had a dream that broke a taboo (like Venesa’s dreams about Enzo when he’s still with Aria), would you lean into the fantasy or shove it away?
11. Do you think if Venesa had told Enzo the truth about his brother’s death earlier (or at least herself) it would have gone better?
Aftercare – Final Thoughts
12. In the end, how satisfied were you with Venesa and Enzo’s happily ever after? Was she right to leave Aria alive at first? If you enjoyed the bonus epilogue, you may enjoy the Mindf*ck series, another dark romance with a badass female main character.
Bonus: What questions do you have for the author? If you could dog-ear a page with a question for the author, what would it be?
Please feel free to use this post as a starting point for your spicy book club discussion questions and use the comments below to share your thoughts and insights about the book. You can also get a free downloadable copy of the discussion guide using the button below.
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