In Magical Meet Cute by Jean Melter, Faye is longing for the perfect man. Then someone distributes anti-semitic flyers all over her town. While drunk, Faye creates a golem protector to help protect her town. However, she makes it into the perfect man.
The next day, she accidentally hits a gorgeous mine with her bike. As a result, Greg, the man who she hits, has amnesia. Feeling guilty, Faye brings him home and cares for him. Will she ever find out who is behind the flyers and did her golem come to life as the form of the perfect man?

Magical Meet Cute did have a few fun parts to it. However, I did feel that it dragged a little bit in the middle of the story.

Faye's life takes an unexpected turn after a night of drinking leads her to create a golem, a Jewish protector against anti-Semitic attacks. When the golem transforms into Greg, Faye's dream man, after a chance encounter involving her bike, she questions her JeWitch magic. As Faye navigates her close relationships and confronts past abuse and trauma, the story gains layers of depth and complexity. I enjoyed Meltzer’s previous romances, but exploring anti-Semitism alongside a magical romance felt disjointed and detracted from my overall enjoyment of the story. I found the secondary characters Miranda and Shulamit to be a real highlight. Nelly added a lot of humor, especially while tackling some of the antisemitism in the quaint Woodstock, NY setting. I learned a decent amount about Jewish folklore in this book but some of the phrases were overused and made me cringe (ahem “hard kosher salami” was used at least 10 times). Overall, Magical Meet Cute was okay but could have benefited from more romance and magic instead of trying to push a social narrative.

I read and loved The Matzah Ball so I was so excited when another romance from the same author came up on Netgalley! I was texting friends only two chapters in to tell them how funny this premise was, and I was very happy that everything worked out. The middle of this book had me STRESSED but I enjoyed it so much.

Faye is a potter in a charming town in New York with a thriving Jewish community who has sworn off men after a traumatic broken engagement. So when she comes home one evening to discover that her street and business are covered with antisemitic flyers, she gets drunk and channels her anger into creating a golem that she can pour all of her dreams into. The next day she accidentally hits the most gorgeous guy with her bike, and he wakes up with amnesia and aphasia. So of course she takes him home and names him Greg, "just until he gets his memory back." But as Faye and Greg get to know each other, she starts to think that maybe he's a bit TOO perfect, and maybe ChatGPT is right and Greg is a piece of clay come to life to cause her destruction. (Meanwhile Greg is falling for her too but is scared that maybe he was the neo-nazi who posted the flyers.)

I laughed at Faye's "I HAVE ACCIDENTALLY MADE THIS DEMON CREATURE" nonsense, loved Greg slowly teaching her to trust, and was delighted when we finally got the HEA.

I enjoyed this book and loved the romance, but because this book takes in a present time (the flyers reference COVID), some readers may need to take breaks if they start feeling too stressed. I would recommend this romance, though.

TW: antisemitism is a huge plot point and theme, and the MC has PTSD from childhood abuse and internalized ableism.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin/Mira for this ARC.

Edit: Two hours later, I'm realizing that Faye's essay was what I needed for some internal healing. I think Faye's realization healed part of me. Thank you to the author for giving me something positive to discuss in therapy this week.

I have read every book by Jean Meltzer and wanted to love this one as much as her previous ones. Unfortunately, I found it very hard to get through. It took me 6 weeks to finish this book, because I kept putting it down, and it usually takes me 2-3 days. I loved the idea of this book and I loved the supporting characters. I wanted there to be more focus on Jewitch magic and I also found Greg's recovery to be slightly unbelievable. All of the ellipses to show his pauses were a bit hard to get through, considering he would string together a fully formed sentence with larger words, then stumble on something easy. I liked the focus on the important subject of anti-Semitism but wanted more from this too and I found the "big reveal" of the Paper Boys leader to be very predictable. I also found some of the wording during romantic/erotic scenes to be super cringey. My last complaint is small but something that drove me nuts: I GET that her favorite snack was hard kosher salami but it was mentioned SO much. How have they not gotten tired of the same snack/meal when I was tired of hearing it mentioned? I am looking forward to Jean Meltzer's next book and hope I enjoy it more than this one.

I really wanted to love this book. There were elements that I liked - the folklore and the side characters. I felt the trauma the MC went thru felt real but repetitive. I didn’t connect with her at all. I sympathized but something bugged me. I didn’t love the book excerpts either. I just felt it was good but a miss for me. It is also maybe too soon for the current events to be read about - for me. Felt uncomfortable. But maybe that was the point. I’m

This was a quirky fun love story. There is strong American Jewish representation that discusses anti-semitism. It's a light quick read.

3.25 🌟

This book was way more than just your standard romcom and dealt with some tough subjects.

I really wanted to love this book because I really enjoyed The Matzah Ball but augh, I struggled. I liked that she took on different/difficult topics like anti-semitism and parental abuse. But that combined with the Jewitch/magical realism felt like this book was trying to do too much.

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

I am always looking for more Jewish love stories and Jewish characters and I love how Jean writes them! This was a fun love story that I think is even better than her last few.

I had high hopes for this novel based on the synopsis, but this book was not for me. I never cared about the characters, disliked the lack of world building, and thought the antisemitism was too instantaneous without any background to help me feel Faye's emotions. I also questioned the view point of Greg when he was supposed created or suffered from amnesia. Also, why would anyone, especially a single woman living alone, take home a complete stranger?

Faye used to be a lawyer, but following a breakup with her former fiancé she moves to Woodstock and becomes a potter. She's happily single, until after yet another failed singles event at the synagogue she finds her town papered with antisemitic flyers. 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. Is he a golem or her dream man?

Jean Meltzer is the queen of Jewish romance novels and I've enjoyed all her previous books. I loved the "Jewitch" witchy vibes in Magical Meet Cute, and the topic of antisemitism is extremely timely. The golem romance thing was super weird to me - the idea of falling for a guy who either has amnesia or had been animated from clay gave me the ick - and as a result I had a hard time connecting to the characters. I think the question of whether or not Greg is a golem could have been resolved earlier in the book. I really liked the story's resolution though, and by the end of the book my appreciation for the story had risen considerably. I plan to read this again to see if I enjoy it more the second time around now that I know how it ends.

Overall, it was 3.5 stars for me personally but objectively the book was 4.5 stars, so I'm rounding to 4 stars in my official rating. This novel won't be for everyone, but if you're looking for a romance with magical realism that embraces Jewitch practices and tackles big topics like antisemitism, this is the book for you.

Thank you to Harlequin for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel via NetGalley.

This was my first book by Jean Meltzer and it wasn’t my cup of tea. I ended up DNFing 40% in because I didn’t like the religious focus.

In general I love Jean meltzer .Her first two books were straight out of my Jewish girl fantasies.i wasn't a huge fan of kissing kosher but, this book didn't disappoint. I loved both the FMC and Mmc. I could do with a little less antisemitism since it is so prevalent in the world right now and I look to books as an escape. Other than that it was funny, the side characters were Fab and I loved the jewitch premise.

Jean Meltzer's books are always charming and authentic representation of contemporary Jewish life. Thank you for the advance review copy. . I look forward to her next book.

This was like matzo ball soup in book form. With everything going on in the world and in the aftermath of October 7th, it was nice to read a story about being a Jewitch woman and her golem (or human?). This was a cute story and handled some serious issues about past trauma and antisemitism. I loved the main characters and rooted for them every step of the way. Nelly is, by far, one of my favorite side characters ever. We all need a Nelly in our lives!

I received an arc from netgalley and the publisher.

I wanted to like this book. But the awkward world building and language usage was too hard for me to get through.

I enjoyed reading Magical Meet Cute by Jean Meltzer!

This book was a good rom com that tackled some bigger issues . I loved the mix of romance with magical realism. It did have a “seven year slip” feel and I loved that. I liked the Jewish representation as well!

Overall this was an enjoyable read but not my absolute favorite.

Thanks to @netgalley for this ARC!

MAGICAL MEET CUTE by JEAN MELTZER was absolutely that...a magical meet cute. The book itself was adorable and full of cute fluffy moments. Weaving bits of magical elements into the mix and Jewish folklore made it to be a book I will remember! Jean's humor kept me interested and it added more to a pretty predictable (but enjoyable!!) plot! This is the type of book I would read during the cozy fall season as it checks every box of a need-to-read autumn rom com!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC!

Book Review
Magical Meet Cute by Jean Meltzer

Tropes and Triggers
Jewish folklore and Semitic history
Racism/ Hate crimes
Magical realism- in the form of a Golem, spells etc.
Small town in need of a savior
Disability rep
Childhood abuse

MC
Faye - refers to herself as a Jewitch, former lawyer, with a traumatic childhood and a recent bad break up she has started her life fresh as a potter but often gets mired in in the negative thoughts her past self whispers in her ear
Greg- Golem or man… its a mystery
Nellie- meddling neighbour full of sass and spice
Eric- potential suitor and protector, local police Chief
The Paper Boys- local criminal element that has recently targeted the town with anti-semitic propaganda

Thoughts
✅ I had difficulty suspending reality to accept to idea of a Golem but Greg’s ginger cinnamon roll vibes made him attractive , I wish his true identity was revealed much earlier
✅ The self healing journey Faye is undertaking held my attention- I appreciated seeing Faye find her voice and a path forward from her past traumas
✅ The author addressed a variety of complex social justice issues with care and compassion but it felt like a lot - almost too much for me- the romance did not feel at the forefront of the story
✅ Quite honestly- I think I would have liked this book more withOUT the “magic elements “

Overall
While all of these details may work individually, for me the pieces didnt fit seamlessly together . A miss for me from this author.

Thanks to @netgalley @mirabooks for my digital ARC in return for an honest review. Opinions expressed are my own.

i loved the jewish rep i this book as well as the romance it was very exciting and happy and reminded me of the magic i felt when i read the seven year slip

I Loved this book! The Jewish representation along with a magical love story was just what I needed to cure the reading slump i was in. The story was original and definitely so cute!