Meet Cute Magic by Morgan Elizabeth: Magic and romance intertwine

Stars: 4

Teacups: TBD, zero violence

Age range: 18+ for high spice 

Most Iridescent Inkwell reviews get somewhat analytical and contain mild spoilers, but if

they don’t make you want to read the book even more, I’m doing it wrong.

Buy at Viewpoint Books.

Nine days until Halloween—what better time to review Meet Cute Magic?

After a string of disastrously failed romances, Rosemary is ready to accept that her family curse is real—and try to break it. Her mother told her years ago that the women of the family were cursed to have their relationships end in disaster if they said "I love you."

So she summons the ghost of the arbiter of the curse, and they make a deal. She'll make a potion that helps him move on to the other side, and he'll break the curse. Unfortunately, this requires the help of his grandson, Jack, a fellow shop owner who hates her.

Enemies to lovers who surprise each other

Despite some campy elements, which are to be expected in Halloween-themed cozy romances, this story was surprisingly character driven. Many enemies-to-lovers stories skate over the characters’ process of discovering new and delightful sides of each other’s personalities. This story takes the time for Rosemary and Jack to explore these enchanting new elements of each other, throwing their underestimations of each other into sharp focus and spiking the romance. 

Some of these personality-based plot twists happen during the spicy scenes. I wouldn’t recommend skipping the spice in this one. It’s too relevant to those character-driven elements of the plot. 

Some of the other plot twists are arguably character-driven, too; there are quite a few misunderstandings afoot. One involves a delightfully low-stakes trickster character.

I can't entirely get behind the "he's mean to her because he likes her" trope; this leads to too many calamities in real life. However, the misunderstandings soften this.

Magic intertwining with romance

Without spoiling too much, the characters prematurely activate a "kiss bond," which turns out to have several complications neither of them expect. I'm not the biggest fan of "love drug" stories, and while this does have some elements of that, it never gave me the "dubcon/noncon ick," I get some times, so to speak. Neither character expresses any reluctance, disgust, or particular sexual regret at any time.

Instead, I thought it wove into the plot in a clever way.

Paranormal romances between human characters have their challenges, even if one is a witch. This overcomes those challenges without too much "action distraction" from the romance itself. It keeps its plot focused, romantic, and magical via the kiss bond.

It acts as a metaphor for poor sex education, which dovetails nicely with other themes and plot twists.

It simultaneously accelerates their vulnerability and sets them up for misunderstandings, as any accelerated vulnerability does.

Point of view: when accurate, sometimes it's unpleasant

Rosemary’s narration takes a little patience. Her character flaws are obvious within her point of view, which is a sign of good writing. Stick with it; it’s worth it.

The turning point is at the 9% mark, when Jack’s narration begins. I didn’t realize it was a dual point of view, with the first four chapters being in Rosemary’s perspective, so this was a delightful surprise. 

Skimmed-over grief

I admit the grief might be mishandled. Jack's grief for his grandfather is certainly glossed over and treated like a big potential downer. I would have liked to see his grieving process a little better dignified. It could easily have been a factor in one of the main plot twists. There's a missed opportunity for realistic poignancy here; it could have been subtle or briefly touched upon, but I imagine some readers will be relieved.

I'm giving this a solid four stars for characters who felt real and multifaceted and mastery of certain romantic tropes.