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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
Cute and cozy story with a little suspense and mystery sprinkled in.
hopeful
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Magical Meet Cute is a unique romance about a Jewitch woman, Faye, who creates a golem while drunk and feeling disheartened about life.
The next day, she meets a super hot stranger and takes him home to recuperate since he has amnesia. She's afraid her golem has come to life.
Will Greg go berserk and ruin her life, or will he help save her from the anti-Semitic attacks in her town? Read the book to find out.
The next day, she meets a super hot stranger and takes him home to recuperate since he has amnesia. She's afraid her golem has come to life.
Will Greg go berserk and ruin her life, or will he help save her from the anti-Semitic attacks in her town? Read the book to find out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Cursing
This is my second book by Jean Meltzer after reading Kissing Kosher last holiday season. I get so immersed in the world of theee characters and Jewish folklore elements make it especially interesting and intriguing. Like in Kissing Kosher I also love the disability rep for Chronic pain. Faye and Greg are a sweet couple.
I really wanted to love this book, especially with how fascinating the premise was. The idea of the main character Faye being a Jewitch, a witch who practices rituals based in Judaism, was novel to me but the execution of the book left much to be desired.
From the beginning, it's easy to figure out which character is going to end up being the head of the Paper Boys, the anti-Semitic group that is organising hate crimes in Faye's town. That took the suspense out of the story and made it quite boring to read.
The romance in the book was also lacklustre and didn't really keep my attention. After a while, Faye's dilemma over having created a man from a clay doll felt repetitive and prevented the relationship from developing in an interesting way. It was only at the end of the story that I actually started to feel invested in the romance, but by that point, the story was ending.
Thank you to Netgalley, Harlequin, and Jean Meltzer's team for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Three out of five stars.
From the beginning, it's easy to figure out which character is going to end up being the head of the Paper Boys, the anti-Semitic group that is organising hate crimes in Faye's town. That took the suspense out of the story and made it quite boring to read.
The romance in the book was also lacklustre and didn't really keep my attention. After a while, Faye's dilemma over having created a man from a clay doll felt repetitive and prevented the relationship from developing in an interesting way. It was only at the end of the story that I actually started to feel invested in the romance, but by that point, the story was ending.
Thank you to Netgalley, Harlequin, and Jean Meltzer's team for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Three out of five stars.
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After an anti-Semitic incident in her town, Faye gets herself drunk and creates a clay golem to protect the town, and be the perfect man for her. The next day, she accidentally runs down a man that fits all the boxes that she imbued into her golem, and he also happens to have amnesia. Could Faye have actually conjured a golem?
In these times, a book about anti-Semitic sentiments might be a little too on the nose, but Meltzer has made this a cute romantic comedy. Faye is convinced this man was her creation. Greg has fallen hard for Faye, despite not knowing anything about his past. And there’s the pesky business of an anti-Semitic hate group trying to run all the Jews out of Woodstock.
Does Faye get a little crazy sometimes? Yes. Does Greg fall immediately for Faye despite all her craziness? Yes. Is Faye’s neighbor, Nelly, a caricature of every crazy old lady who wants to do some violence? Yes. Was this a good book despite some of the character flaws? Yes, yes it was.
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. I really enjoyed it.
In these times, a book about anti-Semitic sentiments might be a little too on the nose, but Meltzer has made this a cute romantic comedy. Faye is convinced this man was her creation. Greg has fallen hard for Faye, despite not knowing anything about his past. And there’s the pesky business of an anti-Semitic hate group trying to run all the Jews out of Woodstock.
Does Faye get a little crazy sometimes? Yes. Does Greg fall immediately for Faye despite all her craziness? Yes. Is Faye’s neighbor, Nelly, a caricature of every crazy old lady who wants to do some violence? Yes. Was this a good book despite some of the character flaws? Yes, yes it was.
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. I really enjoyed it.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I never thought that one day I'd read a paranormal Jewish romance, but I am here for it!
We find ourselves with Faye, a self-proclaimed Jewitch ceramist. After experiencing an act of anti-Semitism, Faye needs a protector or some means to feel safe. She draws upon her Jewitch and ceramist skills and fashions herself a golem, who is the embodiment her perfect man. You can only imagine how surprised she was when she then hits him with her bike the very next day! Unfortunately, "Greg" gets amnesia. He also doesn't seem to have any ID or anybody looking for him. Feeling quite guilty, Faye accepts him into her home to help him recuperate until they can find out where his home truly resides. As time moves on, Faye isn't sure if he's truly man or if he's the golem she created!
I honestly was not expecting this book to hit as well as it did! There are certain aspects of contemporary that I have not fully delved into, and Jewish romance is one of them. With that said, I love cultural and religious representation in literature. As Faye is a Jewitch, I found her character to be quite fascinating. I've never heard the phrase before! With that said, the theme that I loved the most was the Divine Feminine. I've read quite a few books on the Divine Feminine (non-fiction and fiction, across a variety of genres) and it always pleases me to see it pop up as a central topic.
In Faye's case, the Divine Feminine is deeply rooted within her Jewitch lifestyle. The Divine Feminine also comes up rather specifically during a conversation she has with Greg about Medusa. Admittedly, her part of the discourse was lost on me. Greg, however, saved it when he then told her "There is no difference between a goddess and a monster."
(He only barely saved it with that line as I do think it could have been rephrased. In fact, that entire conversation would have made more sense if it was simply worded differently.)
Do note that what he was trying to say was that a woman can be seen as a monster, but truly be a goddess. As the book goes on, we learn that Faye sees herself as a monster / broken / imperfect, despite everybody else seeing her differently. This makes that Medusa conversation make a lot more sense.
In the end, I was left feeling that we are all perfectly imperfect, that we all have the potentiality to be both a goddess and a monster, and that sometimes real life can seem like a bit of magic.
In case it was missed, do note that anti-Semitism is a big topic in this book. There are acts of vandalism, threats of violence, and conversations about hate groups. A large topic in this book deals with a community hit by such radicals and, as such, there is a lot of fear felt. Domestic abuse also comes up (from the past). Please be wary of all trigger warnings prior to picking up this book as the subject material might be difficult.
I do wish to recommend this book to anybody who wishes to delve into a new witchy culture, loves the Divine Feminine, or enjoys a story (potentially) about an inanimate object coming to life!
Thank you, Net Galley, for giving me this opportunity!
We find ourselves with Faye, a self-proclaimed Jewitch ceramist. After experiencing an act of anti-Semitism, Faye needs a protector or some means to feel safe. She draws upon her Jewitch and ceramist skills and fashions herself a golem, who is the embodiment her perfect man. You can only imagine how surprised she was when she then hits him with her bike the very next day! Unfortunately, "Greg" gets amnesia. He also doesn't seem to have any ID or anybody looking for him. Feeling quite guilty, Faye accepts him into her home to help him recuperate until they can find out where his home truly resides. As time moves on, Faye isn't sure if he's truly man or if he's the golem she created!
I honestly was not expecting this book to hit as well as it did! There are certain aspects of contemporary that I have not fully delved into, and Jewish romance is one of them. With that said, I love cultural and religious representation in literature. As Faye is a Jewitch, I found her character to be quite fascinating. I've never heard the phrase before! With that said, the theme that I loved the most was the Divine Feminine. I've read quite a few books on the Divine Feminine (non-fiction and fiction, across a variety of genres) and it always pleases me to see it pop up as a central topic.
In Faye's case, the Divine Feminine is deeply rooted within her Jewitch lifestyle. The Divine Feminine also comes up rather specifically during a conversation she has with Greg about Medusa. Admittedly, her part of the discourse was lost on me. Greg, however, saved it when he then told her "There is no difference between a goddess and a monster."
(He only barely saved it with that line as I do think it could have been rephrased. In fact, that entire conversation would have made more sense if it was simply worded differently.)
Do note that what he was trying to say was that a woman can be seen as a monster, but truly be a goddess. As the book goes on, we learn that Faye sees herself as a monster / broken / imperfect, despite everybody else seeing her differently. This makes that Medusa conversation make a lot more sense.
In the end, I was left feeling that we are all perfectly imperfect, that we all have the potentiality to be both a goddess and a monster, and that sometimes real life can seem like a bit of magic.
In case it was missed, do note that anti-Semitism is a big topic in this book. There are acts of vandalism, threats of violence, and conversations about hate groups. A large topic in this book deals with a community hit by such radicals and, as such, there is a lot of fear felt. Domestic abuse also comes up (from the past). Please be wary of all trigger warnings prior to picking up this book as the subject material might be difficult.
I do wish to recommend this book to anybody who wishes to delve into a new witchy culture, loves the Divine Feminine, or enjoys a story (potentially) about an inanimate object coming to life!
Thank you, Net Galley, for giving me this opportunity!
I struggle with this because Jean Meltzer is a zionist, and the way cops are written about (despite being extremely mildly critical) still feels like copaganda with a few-bad-apples rhetoric. and there is a scene where she specifically says that calling people defending the zionist entity genocidal is antisemitic or based in ignorance. there are throwaway comments mentioning the zionist entity in other books of Meltzer's but this one mentions the term genocide in a context which implies the author is a genocide denier. I'm also assuming my comments on this don't mean anything to the author, judging by my experiences navigating these kinds of conversations.
this taints the book a lot for me. it's one of Meltzer's best written books that I've read, with a story which transcends the romance plotline alone. I very much saw the 'twist' coming but I think maybe someone who is more of a bootlicker might have not. like all other books by this author I've read, the protagonist is a disabled Jewish woman, and I think there are peripheral queer characters. I think the magical plotline is interesting and I like that it's left open to the reader whether there's something truly magical going on or not. there are a lot of extreme coincidences.
I also find the unite against hate rally that they do where they have a cop speak at it so ridiculous but it makes sense for people who have otherwise not done anything particularly radical. I finished this book like a week ago so I can't remember if it was this one or a different book that said they got a "permit" to protest. but if it was this book: lol
this taints the book a lot for me. it's one of Meltzer's best written books that I've read, with a story which transcends the romance plotline alone. I very much saw the 'twist' coming but I think maybe someone who is more of a bootlicker might have not. like all other books by this author I've read, the protagonist is a disabled Jewish woman, and I think there are peripheral queer characters. I think the magical plotline is interesting and I like that it's left open to the reader whether there's something truly magical going on or not. there are a lot of extreme coincidences.
I also find the unite against hate rally that they do where they have a cop speak at it so ridiculous but it makes sense for people who have otherwise not done anything particularly radical. I finished this book like a week ago so I can't remember if it was this one or a different book that said they got a "permit" to protest. but if it was this book: lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Sexual harassment
Minor: Child abuse, Genocide