Book Review: Magical Meet Cute by Jean Meltzer

I want to start off by saying I’m a big fan of Jean Meltzer. Her adorable debut, The Matzah Ball, kicked off the Jewish romance renaissance we’ve been lucky to experience over the past several years, and we need all the out and proud, openly Jewish and Zionist authors we can get. Plus, Meltzer’s commitment to Jewish joy couldn’t be more aligned with our mission here at Luxe Jewish Life.

Meltzer’s earlier works are just plain fun. They’re the perfect lighthearted escapist reads, with a little silliness and a lot of heart. Magical Meet Cute, however, is a bit of a departure.

Once Upon a Time in Woodstock

Jewitch Faye Kaplan has given up on love. After a traumatic childhood and a brutal dumping by her fiance, she left her high-flying NYC law career to set up a pottery shop in Woodstock, New York, where she lives a peaceful life surrounded by an adorably quirky circle of friends.

Peaceful, that is, until one day Faye finds her idyllic town littered with antisemitic flyers – flyers that included Faye’s name and address, along with those of other local Jews.

Understandably upset, Faye ends up getting drunk and crafting a clay golem, inscribed with all the attributes of her ideal man.

The next day, all seems back to normal – until, in her hungover state, Faye crashes her bike into a man who bears a remarkable resemblance to her fantasy man. Upon accompanying him to the hospital, she realizes he’s lost his memory and opts to take him home with her to recover and begins to wonder whether “Greg” could be her golem brought to life.

As Faye and Greg’s relationship blossoms, Woodstock is hit with escalating antisemitic violence – including a brick thrown through the window of Faye’s shop – and Greg decides to try to track down the perpetrators.

Mixed in, there’s lots of Jewitchery, a perhaps not-entirely-necessary quantity of dog poop, and so much hard kosher salami.

The Antisemitic and the Absurd

So as you can see, there’s a lot going on. And while I applaud Meltzer’s efforts to take on some ambitious topics, the juxtaposition of extreme silliness (did I mention that in the denouement, Faye uses said hard kosher salami to fend off an attacking antisemite?) with some seriously heavy themes (in addition to the antisemitism, there’s some past child abuse thrown into the mix) didn’t quite work for me. I can’t argue that it isn’t timely, but I found myself missing the lighter tone of her earlier works.

Looking Ahead

Still, Faye and Greg’s romance was charming, it was heartwarming to see Faye’s close-knit community band together to keep their town free of Jew hate, and I enjoyed learning some new things about Jewish magic – ever heard of a baladur cake? And I’m definitely looking forward to reading Meltzer’s next novel, The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah (coming out this October), which looks like it’s going to be a more lighthearted read.

Magical Meet Cute by Jean Meltzer is out now