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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
I might just float away on a cloud of emotion. Wyatt dials down the romance and exposes two beautiful hearts. From the endearing to the funny, Just Like Magic, let's it personality shine through. With characters that dare to be vulnerable and words that dare to be powerful, the ballad of Adam Shepherd and Hazel Woodward is an intoxicating one.
A wonderfully sweet romance with spice and a little paranormal assistance on the road to happily ever after. Hazel is an intelligent, beautiful and talented writer whose mistreatment by others has landed her in a creative dry spell and a rut in her personal life. Looking for inspiration in a change of scenery, she books a stay at an inn in Gossamer Falls where she finds not only the resurgence of her creativity but also friendships, romance and yes, a little magic. Highly anticipating the next journey to Gossamer Falls!
Just like magic is a very nice, well written book. Light hearted and fun to read. I received this book as an Arc and I was addicted to reading it right after the first chapter. It’s one of those feel good cosy books. For me it felt like Gilmore girls meet the good witch series mixed in one with good spice. Defiantly recommend this book. I enjoyed how Adam’s character grew from the nonbeliever to what you will see in the book. The characters are very relatable you can feel like it could be very much a real life events plus some magic of fate and destiny. It has family bonds, friendship and love. I loved Hazel’s and Adam chemistry from the day they met .. the best kind of love story with great satisfying ending. By the end of the book I just felt happy and had a smile on my face ❤️
Oh, this was lovely!
Tara Wyatt kicks off a new series (Gossamer Falls) with her latest, Just Like Magic. Adam and Hazel's story is a bit of a new direction for Ms Waytt--it's a contemporary romance with strong friendship and family ties and set in a small town, which are all familiar territory for the author, but with the addition of a dash of mysticism, maybe some magic, and probably (definitely?) a small handful of friendly spirits. It's sweet and sexy and makes me think about taking a quick road trip to the Hudson River valley to look for innkeepers who could double as Henry Cavill lookalikes.
Or maybe I could just break out my tarot cards again. I'll for sure do at least one of those two things soon. ;)
Adam and Hazel's story is relatively angst-free--most of the tension comes from outside sources (except for Adam's insistence in the beginning that legends, ghosts, and magic are silly fiction) and gets resolved in an angst-free and realistic way. Both MCs are a bit older, which I really liked as well, and I loved that they didn't shy away from actual communication (the fact that they're both authors probably didn't hurt here) and making decisions together like adults.
Angst-free but swoon-worthy. I can definitely get behind that combination!
Adam is the oldest of six, and Ms Wyatt gave us some definite clues as to where future books might go--I'm pretty sure I spotted 2, if not 3 future book pairings as I read, and I'm not going to be upset about any of them. I'm already counting the days until my next visit to Gossamer Falls!
Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Tara Wyatt kicks off a new series (Gossamer Falls) with her latest, Just Like Magic. Adam and Hazel's story is a bit of a new direction for Ms Waytt--it's a contemporary romance with strong friendship and family ties and set in a small town, which are all familiar territory for the author, but with the addition of a dash of mysticism, maybe some magic, and probably (definitely?) a small handful of friendly spirits. It's sweet and sexy and makes me think about taking a quick road trip to the Hudson River valley to look for innkeepers who could double as Henry Cavill lookalikes.
Or maybe I could just break out my tarot cards again. I'll for sure do at least one of those two things soon. ;)
Adam and Hazel's story is relatively angst-free--most of the tension comes from outside sources (except for Adam's insistence in the beginning that legends, ghosts, and magic are silly fiction) and gets resolved in an angst-free and realistic way. Both MCs are a bit older, which I really liked as well, and I loved that they didn't shy away from actual communication (the fact that they're both authors probably didn't hurt here) and making decisions together like adults.
Angst-free but swoon-worthy. I can definitely get behind that combination!
Adam is the oldest of six, and Ms Wyatt gave us some definite clues as to where future books might go--I'm pretty sure I spotted 2, if not 3 future book pairings as I read, and I'm not going to be upset about any of them. I'm already counting the days until my next visit to Gossamer Falls!
Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Just Like Magic represents a new direction for author Tara Wyatt. This is her first cozy romance, and it does not disappoint. JLM has small town vibes with magical undertones; a broken but healing FMC; a swoony MMC; and great supporting characters in the form of close-knit family members (who I hope get their own books in the series).
I loved the legend of Gossamer Falls, the magical and mystical elements, that there was no third act break-up, and that the main characters were older (39/40). If this sounds like your kind of vibe, I highly recommend you check out this new series!
**I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review of the book**
I loved the legend of Gossamer Falls, the magical and mystical elements, that there was no third act break-up, and that the main characters were older (39/40). If this sounds like your kind of vibe, I highly recommend you check out this new series!
**I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review of the book**
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
- Later in life characters
- Small town
- Matchmaking waterfall
This book was so lovely and satisfying. I can't wait to read more from this series!
Hazel is a writer with no muse for her next book. She has some ideas, but nothing is speaking to her. She decides to visit the small town of Gossamer Falls after seeing an ad for it in a magazine. She is enchanted by the town and the inn where she is staying.
Adam is the manager of the inn, but Hazel meets his sister Autumn first. Adam has been struggling emotionally since losing his father two years ago. He has given up on love and absolutely will not date visitors to the inn....
The town has a legendary waterfall that will "kiss" a person if they stand by it under a full moon and wish for love. The recipient will find their true love match shortly afterwards. Hazel adores the idea of this and takes a tour to the falls...
She later finds out that Adam is a writer who is struggling to write a book as well. The two decide to collaborate .... in all ways.
I would absolutely visit this town. The descriptions of the area made it feel so real.
- Small town
- Matchmaking waterfall
This book was so lovely and satisfying. I can't wait to read more from this series!
Hazel is a writer with no muse for her next book. She has some ideas, but nothing is speaking to her. She decides to visit the small town of Gossamer Falls after seeing an ad for it in a magazine. She is enchanted by the town and the inn where she is staying.
Adam is the manager of the inn, but Hazel meets his sister Autumn first. Adam has been struggling emotionally since losing his father two years ago. He has given up on love and absolutely will not date visitors to the inn....
The town has a legendary waterfall that will "kiss" a person if they stand by it under a full moon and wish for love. The recipient will find their true love match shortly afterwards. Hazel adores the idea of this and takes a tour to the falls...
She later finds out that Adam is a writer who is struggling to write a book as well. The two decide to collaborate .... in all ways.
I would absolutely visit this town. The descriptions of the area made it feel so real.
I absolutely adored Adam and Hazel. There was a definite, immediate, connection between them and it was evident that these two were meant to be together. They lit up the pages when they were together and were the best part of the story.
Of course we can’t all love every character in a story. Autumn, Adam’s sister, not a huge fan. I thought she was pushy and meddling. And her friendship with Hazel seemed forced. I felt the same about Laurel and Sienna, Autumn’s friends. The interactions between the three of these women and Hazel just seemed stilted and lacked a spark. I didn’t enjoy those parts of the book as much and found myself hoping those scenes would be over quickly and we could get back to Adam and Hazel, which is unfortunate because I feel like we may have been given a set up for not only a book with a second chance romance but also a book with a workplace romance in this series, and I want to like these characters if those books do happen.
As for the “magic”, I’m not sure the story really needed it. Hazel says she was having coffee one day and reading a magazine and the wind just blew it open to the page with an advertisement for Gossamer Falls and she felt that she just had to visit. Is that magic or is it the story of a girl who has had her heart trampled on and needs a change of scenery? Then she gets to her destination and the inn she is staying in is supposedly haunted by the grandmother of the family. She helps Hazel find a few books she needs. And that’s about it. We don’t really hear about the grandmother again. And then Hazel goes to the falls and gets “kissed by the mists” so she can find her true love, who just happens to be the owner of the inn where she’s staying so she probably would have met him at some point anyway. I think her visit to the falls was symbolic of washing away her past and beginning anew, but not necessarily magic. The magic of Gossamer Falls is really just a story of two people who are falling in love.
I did love that there was no third act breakup. Not every couple goes through a breakup and has to realize they made a mistake before they get their happily ever after. I think this part was perfect.
I also loved how both Hazel and Adam gained confidence in themselves during the story. Adam with his writing and Hazel with her self worth. And the part of the story where Adam comes to terms with his grief over his father’s passing, was powerful and emotional. These two couldn’t have grown without the love and support they gave each other and I feel like that was the true magic of the story.
Of course we can’t all love every character in a story. Autumn, Adam’s sister, not a huge fan. I thought she was pushy and meddling. And her friendship with Hazel seemed forced. I felt the same about Laurel and Sienna, Autumn’s friends. The interactions between the three of these women and Hazel just seemed stilted and lacked a spark. I didn’t enjoy those parts of the book as much and found myself hoping those scenes would be over quickly and we could get back to Adam and Hazel, which is unfortunate because I feel like we may have been given a set up for not only a book with a second chance romance but also a book with a workplace romance in this series, and I want to like these characters if those books do happen.
As for the “magic”, I’m not sure the story really needed it. Hazel says she was having coffee one day and reading a magazine and the wind just blew it open to the page with an advertisement for Gossamer Falls and she felt that she just had to visit. Is that magic or is it the story of a girl who has had her heart trampled on and needs a change of scenery? Then she gets to her destination and the inn she is staying in is supposedly haunted by the grandmother of the family. She helps Hazel find a few books she needs. And that’s about it. We don’t really hear about the grandmother again. And then Hazel goes to the falls and gets “kissed by the mists” so she can find her true love, who just happens to be the owner of the inn where she’s staying so she probably would have met him at some point anyway. I think her visit to the falls was symbolic of washing away her past and beginning anew, but not necessarily magic. The magic of Gossamer Falls is really just a story of two people who are falling in love.
I did love that there was no third act breakup. Not every couple goes through a breakup and has to realize they made a mistake before they get their happily ever after. I think this part was perfect.
I also loved how both Hazel and Adam gained confidence in themselves during the story. Adam with his writing and Hazel with her self worth. And the part of the story where Adam comes to terms with his grief over his father’s passing, was powerful and emotional. These two couldn’t have grown without the love and support they gave each other and I feel like that was the true magic of the story.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Death of parent