REVIEW: Magically Generated by Jackie Lau
A jaded woman falls for her sunshine neighbor in this cozy Christmas romance.
Nora Blackburn is suspicious of everything she sees and hears. Is it fake? Is someone trying to scam her? God, it’s exhausting, but she can’t let down her guard again.
She’s tired of Christmas cheer as well. It’s never been her favorite holiday, and this year, she’ll have to spend it alone for the first time. Besides, Everett Sun, who lives across the hall, has more than enough Christmas spirit for both of them.
When she sees an image of an elaborate snow sculpture in a Toronto park, she assumes it’s AI-generated. But when more pictures of the sculpture—and others—pop up, she realizes it’s real. She encounters Everett when she goes to see it in person, and together, they visit the other sculptures.
Nora didn’t expect to ever fall for anyone again, and she’s startled by the feelings she’s developing for her neighbor. Why does she find his flannel shirt and irrepressible smile so alluring?
But as the city tries to solve the mystery of the whimsical sculptures, strange things begin happening with Everett, and she doesn’t know if she can trust him…
Magically Generated is a romance novella featuring hot buttered rum, festive snow animals, and a touch of magic.
Dear Ms. Lau,
I was looking for a cute holiday novella and noticed this one. I like that although it’s a Christmas themed one, for those who don’t care for Christmas, there’s a heroine who isn’t wild about the decorations, the music, or really the whole thing.
Nora is grumpy while Everett is beaming sunshine. Nora has her reasons for being grumpy, especially since her mother died after Christmas a few years ago. She also doesn’t trust easily as a romance scammer (she actually met him, so it wasn’t a foreign ‘prince’) took her for a few thousand dollars for his ‘sick mother.’ Plus the world is being inundated by AI so what can you trust anymore? When she takes a misdelivered package to her across the hall neighbor, she sees that he’s a Christmas fan as it looks like ‘Christmas has thrown up in his apartment.’
Everett arrived in Toronto via the Bay Area and Vancouver so he’s excited that there’s finally enough snow for him to work his magic. Literally, magic. He’s a snow master or something (it’s never really explained what it is) and can move snow with his thoughts to create elaborate snow sculptures. Obviously he doesn’t go around telling people about this though. As he gets to know Nora, he sees that someone has hurt her in the past. When she discovers his secret, will she give him time to explain or write him off as another liar?
The timeframe of this novella is fairly short but I still feel that we get to know both Nora and Everett. Parts of Nora remind me of me – I’m old school about tech and yes, I like to buy my media, too. She has genuine reasons for being skittish about believing things she hasn’t seen because – AI, amirite? She also trusted and was hurt because of that and not just because of the money loss as now she’s suspicious of compliments from men. Everett is a darling of a hero who’s a little bit plump and all heart.
The spice is there and we see Nora and Everett getting to know each other before Truths emerge that allow them to be honest with each other. I like that they’re still cautious – or Nora is cautious – and Everett wants to kick the ass of the man who hurt her. This is one story that I appreciate the five year out epilogue and the assurance that they’ve taken things slowly before going all in on hanging those naughty ornaments on their bedroom private Christmas tree. B
~Jayne
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I don’t recall reading anything by Jackie Lau before that included magic; admittedly, I’ve only read several. I wonder if this is a new venture for her. Thanks for bringing this to my attention, Jayne.
@Kareni: I don’t recall reading any magic books from her either. I do have a number of her most recent releases but just haven’t gotten a chance to read them yet so …maybe?