Julie's Review: Magical Meet Cute

Author: Jean Meltzer
Series: None
Publication Date:  August 27, 2024
Publisher: MIRA
Pages: 400
Obtained: publisher via NetGalley and book tour
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: A great story about making your wishes come true
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab

Summary: Faye Kaplan used to be engaged. She also used to have a successful legal practice. But she much prefers her new life as a potter in Woodstock, New York. The only thing missing is the perfect guy. Not that she needs one. She’s definitely happy alone. That is, until she finds her town papered with anti-Semitic flyers after yet another failed singles event at the synagogue. Desperate for comfort, Faye drunkenly turns to the only thing guaranteed to soothe her—pottery. A golem protector is just what her town needs…and adding all the little details to make him her ideal man can’t hurt, right? When a seriously hot stranger mysteriously turns up the next day, Greg seems too good to be true—if you ignore the fact that Faye hit him with her bike. And that he subsequently lost his memory… But otherwise, the man checks Every. Single. Box. Causing Faye to wonder if Greg’s sudden and spicy appearance might be anything but a coincidence. ~amazon.com

Review: I can always count on Ms. Meltzer to write a fun romance and this added a bit more social commentary than her last books, but I'm here for it. I think its great when it's woven into the story and is part of the plot. Faye is a wonderful heroine who is trying to live life on her own terms after being dumped by her fiancé before their wedding. She carves out a life creating pottery in Woodstock and is happy until antisemitic flyers find their way into her town. This fires her up and one night she decides to take some protection into her own hands and creates a golem. Then, it seems like the universe gives her the real life version.  

I love how I could be laughing out loud one moment and then really pondering what makes people so hateful based on someone's religion, race, gender. Faye definitely needs to work on somethings in her past that are still holding her back from being truly happy. The cast of characters in the book are fantastic and show how communities can really rally when needed.