Review: Just Like Magic by Sarah Hogle (Spoiler-Free)

He's a collection of traits adults like to scoff at as they grumble and age, as if contentment and curiosity should lie buried within childhood—but now that I think about it, it's an act of courage to march to the beat of your own drum, to behave with compassion and generosity, with wonder.

This book is so charming, and such a great Christmas read. Hall is a love interest I'm surprised I was so won-over by. He's completely cheesy and sweet and just a ball of pure sunshine. Meanwhile, Bettie (and I) are more grumps. But, as he whisks her away to the bright side of life, it was impossible to resist his infectious joy and gratitude for living on Earth as a human.

Oh yeah, that's something I forgot to mention. Hall is short for the Holiday Spirit and he was conjured into existence by Bettie's drunken attempts at playing an All I Want for Christmas is You record. So while this book is incredibly soft and cute, it is also dryly (and ridiculously) funny. I do not mean ridiculous lightly. Let's just say that Shrek's onion carriage may or may not be a viable mode of transportation in this universe.

Sarah Hogle has never let me down. She's my foolproof romance machine. I love all of her characters and the arcs they go on, learning how to make the most out of the lives they're given. This book specifically also made me realize I like the grumpy/sunshine trope, but I love it when the girl is grumpy and the guy is the sunshine.

If you're looking for something to make it finally feel like Christmas, definitely give this book a try. I'd say you should let me know what you think of it, but I think I'm gonna be a little occupied for the next few weeks. Got a few records I wanna try ;)