Tag: magical realism

Book Review: Misfortune and Mr. Right (Only Magic in the Building) by Savannah Scott

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance + Magical Realism
Length: 324 pages
Author: Savannah Scott
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: March 26th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When your nemesis is your next-door neighbor, falling for him is not part of the plan … but fate may have other ideas.

Olivia Pennington has spent her whole life competing with Logan Alexander—and losing. From spelling bees to science fairs, he’s always been one step ahead, snagging the trophies, titles, accolades, and now … he’s after the promotion she desperately wanted. As if that’s not bad enough, Logan also moved into the apartment she had her heart set on.

Logan’s been secretly falling in love with Olivia since the third grade. His strategy? Stay close, win her over. But, the more he foisted himself on her, the bigger mess he made. Now Logan’s back in town, and he’s determined to settle the score. He’s over his crush, so he thinks. And he just wants to bury the hatchet, preferably not by Olivia chucking it at him.

When a string of mysterious fortune cookies starts appearing, hinting at a match between Logan and Olivia, Logan’s all in. Olivia? Not so much.

But in this building, fate isn’t merely a suggestion—it’s practically written on the walls. If you thought Mr. Darcy had a hard time convincing Elizabeth of his good intentions, just wait until you watch Logan attempt to win Olivia’s heart—one stubborn, banter-filled battle at a time.

Enemies-to-lovers meets a sprinkle of magic in this laugh-out-loud, heartfelt romcom with a Pride and Prejudice vibe.

LEGIT SURPRISED.

I have read three previous Savannah Scott books and I have not loved any of them. Something has just never clicked with the writing and yet I found myself determined to read every book in the series leaving me worried about picking this one up.

BUT. I will say, this is the best book I’ve read of hers. If you’ve been wanting to try her books, start here (all of these books can be read as standalones).

I really adored Logan. He was such a sweet heart and had some Mr. Darcy vibes I could get behind. I liked his gentle nature and his passion too. He really looked out for others and had genuine self reflection. I didn’t mind Olivia either. I do think she was a bit childish at times about things that happened years ago, but I suppose it all worked out well enough.

There were still a few plot/writing quirks that didn’t sit well with me. And the third act based around miscommunication had me hitting my head against a wall. I am grateful that this was more of a win than anything else though.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance + Magical Realism
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Clean Out of Luck (Only Magic in the Building) by Carina Taylor

GoodeyReads3 Comments

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance + Magical Realism
Length: 264 pages
Author: Carina Taylor
Publisher: Lit and Write LLC
Release Date: April 2nd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Six months to find love. One overprotective menace (who’s way too handsome for his own good). And a building that might have the final say.

Scarlett Fernsby holds the world record for shortest relationships. Mostly thanks to overprotective parents and an interfering brother, every attempt at dating has been a disaster.

When her whole family is out of town for six glorious months, she knows it’s time to find love.

What she didn’t count on was Wade Hendrix. Her older brother’s best friend.

He’s even worse than her brother. He’s soon crashing every date of hers, and Scarlett’s beginning to wonder if he’s made it his life’s mission to annoy her.

Wade is a firefighter with a hero complex; she doesn’t want to be his pity problem. Especially when she’s starting to misinterpret those fiery looks of his.

Scarlett doesn’t know what to do with this newfound attraction to him, and though she’d like to scrub him out of her life, the building she lives in has a very different plan.

Wade Hendrix has a problem. His best friend asked him to keep an eye on his little sister. But Wade has trouble keeping his eyes off of her.

What starts out as a favor for his best friend soon turns into pure torture: watching Scarlett date other men right in front of him.

Wade would love to tell her how he feels—but he knows she doesn’t feel the same.

Or does she?

After an especially disastrous date that Wade ruins—and with the help of a very special mop that likes to grant wishes—Scarlett tells Wade that he owes her a goodnight kiss.

But one kiss isn’t enough. Wade wants forever. Now he just has to convince Scarlett that just maybe, love has been right in front of her all along.

SO FLIPPIN’ CUTE.

This book just made me happy. I had a giddy little smile on my face because I was smitten with Wade (who’s a firefighter, you can’t resist) and Scarlett. They had insane chemistry and the banter was incredible. It’s cheeky and humorous while also being laced with attraction and heat.

My one small thing is the plot lacked something more. It was basically Scarlett going on a bunch of dates…that’s it. Minus that, I was charmed. There’s many swoony moments and the kissing scenes will light your kindle on fire.

I also loved all of the friendship moments too. I loved the sense of kindness and helpfulness that was woven throughout. It’s a short read and will absolutely brighten your day!!

(And if you’re not a big magical realism fan this book of the series had the least amount so far, the *mop* in question was barely mentioned/used).

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance + magical realism
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Content warnings; mentions of a past car accident

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: With a Little Luck (Fortuna Beach #2) by Marissa Meyer

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: YA Romance + Magical Realism
Length: 368 pages
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: February 13th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

After being magically gifted with incredible luck, a boy discovers this gift just may be a curse when it comes to love, in this YA novel by #1 New York Times -bestselling author Marissa Meyer.

Jude is determined to fly under the radar. He just wants to draw his comics, host regular D&D night with his friends, work at his parents’ vinyl record store, and escape high school as unscathed as possible. That is, until the night he comes across a mysterious twenty-sided dice and finds himself inexplicably gifted with a bout of supernatural good luck.

Suddenly, everything Jude has ever wanted is within reach. His first art submission is accepted to his favorite fanzine. He helps his friend’s song become a finalist in a songwriting competition. And he’s the 100th caller to a local radio contest, winning him a pair of coveted concert tickets, which he uses to ask out the popular girl he’s been crushing on since elementary school. For a few blissful weeks, he feels invincible.

But when he loses the magic dice at a local music festival, his luck takes a turn for the worse. He struggles to reclaim his good fortune while fighting off long-buried feelings for his best friend―who is definitely not the girl he’s supposed to be in love with. Can Jude risk stepping into the spotlight long enough to win the true girl of his dreams? Or is he doomed to be unlucky in love forever?

IT WAS ALRIGHT.

Friends to lovers is a hit or miss trope for me. And this was my least favorite way of handling the situation. Jude spent most of the book focused on another girl and dating her, etc. rather than his long time best friend where there’s clearly something there.

I adored Jude’s family and all of his sisters. Even more so that there were active parents here. The clueless/no consequence parent trope feels kind of old to me and I appreciate seeing parents who participate in their children’s lives. The setting is great, I loved all of the music content. There’s also a bunch of D&D matters too. I liked it, but the tangents into “fantasy stories” that Jude had created as dungeon master took me out of the book and didn’t add to the plot.

The magical realism aspects were good, subtle and worked well within the story. I liked the overall themes and it’s a good read for a younger audience.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult contemporary romance + magical realism
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

ARC Book Review: Petals and Plot Twists (Only Magic in the Building) by Jenny Proctor

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance + Magical Realism
Length: 260 pages
Author: Jenny Proctor
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: March 19th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Unlucky in love Sophie Stewart might need a miracle to find her one true love…or maybe just a little bit of magic.

Sophie Stewart knows a lot about plants. The rooftop garden she tends and beautifies is ample evidence of that. What she doesn’t know is anything about love, not with her long track record of always picking the wrong guy.

But then a mystery flower pops up in her garden—a flower that only blooms in the presence of true love.

Never one to shy away from a little magic, Sophie convinces her best friend, Peter, to help her use the flower to find her soulmate.

But after an unexpected kiss with the one man she never thought she’d fall for, Sophie starts to wonder if she’s looking for love in all the wrong places.

The flower has a plan, but only Sophie can decide if she wants to trust it or take fate into her own hands.

Best friends turn to lovers in this heartwarming romantic comedy about love and choice and making your own destiny.

Petals and Plot Twists is a standalone book in the Only Magic in the Building series. These closed door, whimsical romance books are all set in the same historic building, which has a habit of playing matchmaker with its residents. There are light magical elements, but no spells, shifters, or dark magic of any kind.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

A SWEET STORY.

I enjoyed this one y’all! It’s a sweet friends to lovers. Bonus points for not having flashback chapters. I enjoyed both Sophie and Peter for the main characters. Peter was a cinnamon roll soul who I just wanted to see be happy and Sophie had a lot of character growth to conquer, and bless her, she got there.

I didn’t love that the whimsical aspect of this book (the love flower) seemed to create distance between the couple rather than brining them together. I appreciated how it was handled during the third act and the conclusion, I just wish there had been a less miscommunication about it for the rest of the book.

The kissing moments were FANTASTIC. Jenny Proctor writes some of the swooniest kisses and I loved getting those moments. There’s an easy rapport between Peter and Sophie that lends to how long they have been friends and I loved seeing Sophie finally realize what has been in front of her for so long.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance + Magical Realism
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph