From the publisher:
Is he the real deal…or did she truly summon a golem?
Faye Kaplan used to be engaged. She also used to have a successful legal practice. But she much prefers her new life as a potter in Woodstock, New York. The only thing missing is the perfect guy.
Not that she needs one. She’s definitely happy alone.
That is, until she finds her town papered with anti-Semitic flyers after yet another failed singles event at the synagogue. 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—if you ignore the fact that Faye hit him with her bike. And that he subsequently lost his memory…
But otherwise, the man checks Every. Single. Box. Causing Faye to wonder if Greg’s sudden and spicy appearance might be anything but a coincidence.“A laugh-out-loud funny romance with depth and heart, readers will love this spellbinding novel!” —Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Meltzer’s timely exploration of antisemitic propaganda is sensitive while never overshadowing the cute romance that blossoms between Faye and Greg. This is Meltzer’s best yet.” —Publishers Weekly
“Meltzer’s (Kissing Kosher) latest is a page-turner, and readers won’t be able to stop until they have all the answers.” —Library Journal
https://amzn.to/3MHo9ck
“The slow burn of their romance along with plenty of humor amid the serious concerns make Meltzer’s latest an excellent blend of Jewish culture and romance.” —Booklist
I have really enjoyed all of Meltzer’s books, and as serious an issue as this one covers, it is my least favorite. The story revolves around Faye, a “Jewitch”, and Greg, the perfect man for Faye except for one tiny flaw – she believes she created him from a Golem. If you are not familiar, a Golem is a Jewish mystical creature created out of clay or mud and brought to life, usually to protect Jews from antisemitism.
Faye is upset when the small, upstate New York town where she lives is the subject of an antisemitism campaign. Antisemitic flyers are plastered all over the streets, and the flyers include names and addresses of Jewish people and their businesses. Faye is a ceramicist, and owns a small store where she sells her wares. Frightened, she breaks into the wine and ends up creating a clay man that she buries in her garden. The next day, she is riding her bike when she hits a man. He goes down hard, ends up in the hospital, and has a case of amnesia. Feeling guilty, Faye decides to take him home with her so he can convalesce until his memory returns.
Greg and Faye form a strong bond, but they are leery of getting too close because they don’t know if he has a family, a wife, or someone else. The antisemitism problem starts escalating, as does the romance, but I found the book slow going and somewhat repetitive for the first couple of hundred pages. I was tempted to put it down more than once, but because I’ve always enjoyed her books, I stayed with it. It does pick up in the second half, with a somewhat unbelievable ending to the antisemitism plotline and a happy ending for Faye and Greg.
This was the first contemporary romance I’ve read that addresses the rising antisemitism in this country, so I believe it is an important story woven into the romance. It never felt preachy at all, but rather showed how these acts make people feel and some of the consequences of these actions. There are so many Christian romances that Meltzer’s books always feel special to me, especially since there is a dearth of Jewish romance novels out there. I wish there were more.
9/2024 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
MAGICAL MEET CUTE by Jean Meltzer. MIRA; Original edition (August 27, 2024). ISBN: 978-0778334415. 400p.
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