Cute, sweet, fun, and I loved the Jewish representation. Magical realism elements were fun and I related to the characters. The mystery element was also fun. As a Jewish woman I enjoyed the representation of Judaism!! Jean’s romcoms are always great and I enjoy her books very much.

A story that delivers on romance, mystery and a touch of magic.

Love Faye as a FMC she was true to who she was and the choices she made though the book didn’t feel out of character and didn’t created unnecessary friction to move the story along, and yet still finding a way for Faye to grow as a character beautifully done. She has a great support system with many secondary characters that didn’t feel forced even at the beginning of the story you get that sense of community and I just love seeing that as a reader.

As for the romance Greg is the perfect person for Faye, the build of the relationship was done well I just wanted a little more tension but that’s just me.

Regardless an easy read for anyone that wants to read a little romance with a touch of magic

It was a cute book, I wish I could just create my dream person lol I enjoyed reading about the kind of folklore behind golems and I liked the cast of characters pretty well. I didn't LOVE it, but it was cute for sure.

Love anything Jean Meltzer writes! This book has a fantastic story that was so fun to read.

Every time I read one of Jean's books I learn so much about her faith. She is incredibly knowledgeable.

I follow her on Instagram and love everything she posts!

A cute romance book that incorporates Jewish culture which was new to me and enjoyable. Magical, yes, romance, yes. Cute read.

Thanks to Harlequin and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

This was a fun tale of a woman who makes a golem to help her community deal with recent antisemitic attacks, then thinks the golem may have come to life in the form of a hot guy with amnesia. Faye and Greg are sweet as they try to navigate his amnesia, her fear of what she's conjured and the community concerns around the attacks. They both are bizarrely reasonable people for a romance novel, but it is kinda great to see two people build a relationship and make good decisions, where the conflict doesn't come from just a simple misunderstanding. Meltzer does a great job of making this book Jewish without leaving non-Jews behind in the story. I really like Meltzer's books, I"m excited for whatever is next!

I found Magical Meet Cute to be a cute read with great characters and a fun plot. I did go into it expecting it to be more of a “magical realism” book and was a tad disappointed that there really wasn’t any magic, but the plot was so charming that it didn't matter!

The meet cute in the "Magical Meet Cute" involved Faye Kaplan running over a man while riding her bicycle. While I can see that resulting in some minor injuries, it's hard to believe it would deal such a blow as to cause the man to have amnesia afterward. So, from the start, the reader has to be willing to accept some ridiculousness. But there were some glaring issues that were hard to let go of.

In a search to figure out where "Greg" belongs and who he really is, he found enough information to confirm where he'd been living before the accident, but never asked the person there (one who recognized him) what his real name was. It was such a natural question to ask under the circumstances. But the story would have had to go in a completely different direction if they had that information. So, rather than addressing the glaring omission, the author just ignored it.

In many ways, I enjoyed the story as Faye and Greg worked together to discover who he is, with each becoming convinced he was something he's not. And I truly enjoyed Nelly and Ruben as secondary characters. There was also a good amount of depth to the story, as Faye is living with issues from past trauma, triggered by present-day anti-Semitism targeting her in her own town. While I've never heard the term "Jewitch" before, it added an interesting component to the story as well. But there was a good deal of repetition, especially of the traumas Faye had experienced.

So, overall, this story was just "so-so" for me.

Thank you to Jean Meltzer, Harlequin, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

I DNF'd the book after the author posted about standing with Israel.
That is her right to voice that position. But as a reader who is pro-Palestinian and is watching what Israel is doing to Gaza and millions of innocent people - many who are children - I can't support an author who is willing to defend the Israeli government when the UN has even called what Israel is doing a genocide.
Reading is political. Writing is political.

I liked the premise of the book, and I liked the story itself. The message of being a proud Jew, of not hiding when antisemites come for you, of letting yourself be imperfect but continually moving forward, all of these were really important, and I loved seeing it as a Jew who is only now seeing her identify in the main characters of romance novels. But the writing did feel forced. It felt like a constant shouting into the universe that this was a Jewish book, rather than simply being a Jewish book. This isn't bad, but it felt like it was an effort to just shout louder than others rather than just showing a Jewish life.

Magical Meet Cute is the literary equivalent of a cozy rom-com with a side of sorcery. Imagine if Tinder had an enchantment filter, and instead of “swiping right,” you just cast a spell to see who’s your soulmate. The book dives into a world where every meet-cute comes with a twist—think awkward run-ins with wizards and accidental broom crashes.

Our protagonist? A bumbling, slightly cursed witch who’s as good at finding love as she is at spilling potions (read: not good at all). Every chapter is a hilariously chaotic adventure in dating, full of misfired spells, accidental love potions, and one scene involving a magical cat who gives dating advice.

With quirky characters and plenty of magical mishaps, Magical Meet Cute is a light-hearted, funny read perfect for anyone who thinks love could use a little more magic…and a lot less predictability.

So I fear I might be in the minority but this book was not my favorite. I had a hard time getting into this romance. I tried a few times but ultimately I DNF'd it. It is important to know that romance is not my typical genre so that may be why!

A fun book with a little magic and whimsy but also had depth and complexity. The writing style wasn’t my personal preference, but that is a personal preference rather than a critique of the book itself.

I much prefer Meltzer’s comedies, with Mr Perfect on Paper being my favourite - but I did enjoy this. Meltzer has a great way of making tropes feel fresh and new.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to be able to read and review this book!

4/5

This book is so great. Jean Meltzer has a way of making a romance book into so much more. The FMC has depth, dealing with something herself, and always an interesting Jewish setting. Highly recommend.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an early copy of this book.

I feel like I'm missing something after reading this book. So many people gave this 5 stars and I'm genuinely so confused.

I appreciated the Jewish representation in the book, probably the best part of the story. I found the folklore and Jewitch practices very fun to read about. Also, I thought Nelly was the most interesting character in the whole story as well and a lot of the witchy references were great too. I appreciated they talked about what some of the herbs magically corresponded with. I might try the recipe at some point.

Maybe the writing is just not for me. Everything felt very "telling verses showing." So many things were repeated constantly leaving me to believe the author didn't trust the reader to remember basic facts. Yes, I get it Stuart sucked, your mom sucked, and your dad sucked. Also everything was incredibly predictable. Maybe that's an obvious critique for a romance novel, but I mean come on? It was not hard to figure out the mystery surrounding Greg, or who the bad guys were. It just felt too cheesy and so unrealistic.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, you only lose your speech with amnesia associated with stroke or some other internal issue like infection, not if you have a head injury. Usually amnesia due to head injury can hurt your memory, but the part of your brain that is associated with speech is in a different location. It forced me to be annoyed with Greg sounding like a caveman because I don't think he would have lost his sense of speech.

Overall it was okay for me. Also, this story just solidified that I hate the amnesia trope.

A great start to the fall reading season. This was a story of healing family and generational trauma, the found family that puts you back together, and a splash of romance. And it was great to see elements of magic across cultures. Jean Meltzer is a must read.

I felt like there was a lot going on that felt like too many plot lines in this book. I really wasn’t interested until 30% in, do it was a little struggle. The story revolves around woman who is drunk one night and uses witchcraft to summon a golem, and then a mysterious man shows up the next day with all the traits she asks for.

I loved the history and magical elements of the story. I didn't like the miscommunication and the romance was lacking for me. I just struggled with connecting to the characters. I think that it is important to learn about other cultures and other religions, and I found those parts of this story to be meaningful as well.