hexes for exes

EVERY SUMMER, four families make their yearly exodus to the British seaside town of Briarville. For Livia Wong, the trip had been tradition ever since she could remember. Summer was always spent alongside the pristine beaches with the dreamy-hued sunsets. The trip is awaited with anticipation, not fear.

Until this year.

Livia didn't leave Briarville last year on good terms. It wasn't all her fault, of course not, but she was partially to blame. Being no longer on talking terms with your two closest friends is one thing. Having them as your neighbours for the entire rest of the summer, while your parents and other friends have no idea something is wrong?

The plan was simple: Livia was eighteen, about to head to university. If she made it through this summer, she could leave Briarville in the distant past and never have to think about it again.

But it was going to be okay. She might not be on talking terms with the Calvert-Egerton twins anymore, and she might have always been on horrible terms with Sarah Hepburn, but she still had Brie and Lila. And her little sister, Pamela.

Still, eighteen years of friendship was never something that would simply go down the drain. Livia had some work to do if she wanted to make it out this summer unscathed. Her heart had been broken once, she was not going to let it happen again.

[THIS IS A REWRITTEN VERSION OF A NOVEL BY THE SAME NAME]
[120,000-130,000 words]