In Magical Meet Cute, Jean Meltzer, author of the hysterical The Matzah Ball, proves she can tell a story a bit out of her rom-com comfort zone by creating an amazing, haunting, funny romance/thriller which will tug at your heart but also emphasize what is happening in today’s world.
Faye Kaplan has a broken heart. Once engaged but that went south, she decides to leave her law practice and create a new life in Woodstock, New York doing something she always loved as a child. Create art through pottery.
Faye’s childhood was perfectly imperfect with a horrible mother and what she ended up getting out of that life was she always needed to be perfect in everything she does, which includes if there is one mistake while creating her art, means it gets dumped.
Now, lonely and feeling like she will never find someone, she goes to a mixer and discovers someone is putting anti-semantic flyers everywhere. This on top of her loneliness (and perhaps because she was a bit drunk, she decides to create a “golem” a being from Jewish folklore which is made from bits and pieces of whatever you have around, like clay for example, and once buried you make a wish. She buries it in the backyard. She hopes it will protect her.
But unfortunately, the very next day while riding her bike she accidently knocks down a very handsome man who is rushed to the hospital. He can’t remember anything about himself. Faye, who feels terrible and because no one has claimed him decides he needs to come home with her and recuperate, much against the advice of all her friends who think she will now be murdered!
They come to the decision together that his name should be Greg. Unfortunately for Greg, he remembers nothing not even how to do the simplest things. So, he begins reading books on just about everything. He does become a pretty good cook, and a great listener for Faye. As they begin to spend more and more time together, they both feel the start of something, but for Faye, she starts to believe he is the golem in human form she buried in the backyard and is now waiting for the right moment to make her life miserable.
And then it does. As the antisemitism begins to increase, a brick is thrown through the window of her pottery shop. The community doesn’t understand why this is happening, or maybe they do. Faye decides to take a stand and puts a pro-Jewish display in her window trying to lure whoever the beasts are who hate them so much.
As for Greg, she believes he is a bad golem and tries to do everything in her power to get rid of him. But he won’t go! She is so scared to fall in love, she’s willing to believe the worst of man she thinks she conjured.
But terrible things are brewing in this small town and trying to discover who and what are causing the violence will take the whole community banning together. As for Greg? Well, you’ll just have to read the book…
Magical Meet Cute is a fun book with very serious issues, which is trademark Meltzer, which melds romance with ripped from the headline problems, with a touch of mystery and of course, magic!
Thank you #NetGalley #MiraBooks #MagicalMeetCute #JeanMeltzer for the advanced copy.
Lisa's Cubby 
Great review, Lisa. I also enjoyed this book. I do like Meltzer’s writing, especially as there is always an issue in her books.
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I agree Carla.
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