Just Like Magic

The holidays were never her thing, until she accidentally conjures the Holiday Spirit...before her very eyes.

Bettie Hughes once knew the comfort of luxury, flaunting a collection of designer purses and an enviable dream home in Hawaii. That was before she lost all her money. Long obsessed with her public image, Bettie boasts an extravagant lifestyle on social media. But the reality is Bettie is broke and squatting in Colorado, and her family has no idea.

Christmas, with its pressure to meet familial expectations, is looming when Bettie plays a vinyl record of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" backward and accidentally conjures up Hall, the Holiday Spirit, in the form of a charming and handsome (if offbeat) man. Once the shock wears off, Bettie knows she's stumbled upon the greatest gift: a chance to make all her holiday wishes come true, plus a ready-made fiancé.

But as some of Bettie's wishes lose their charm, she finds herself thrown off-kilter by Hall's sweet nature. Suddenly, grumpy Bettie is finding her heart merry and light. But the happier she gets, the shorter Hall's time on earth grows. Can Bettie channel the Christmas spirit and learn to live with goodwill toward all men? Or will her selfish ways return as soon as the holidays are over?

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368 pages

Average rating: 6

31 RATINGS

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4 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

DanniPhantomReads
Nov 13, 2024
8/10 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 3.5 stars! The writing style is beautiful and I adore the authors work, however this book was really hard to get through. I made it to the end and the character and romance development was great but, i found myself constantly putting this down to read something else or do something else because of how bored I was or tired of reading somethings. The quirkiness was good and unique but alot. Overall it was okay!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
littlemissalto
Jun 16, 2023
4/10 stars
Funny at first—enough to make me laugh out loud—but I couldn’t finish it (26%). The characters and plot became both too obnoxious and unrealistic. (I loved how Hall came to be, but the literal gingerbread house is where the book started to lose me.)
Anonymous
May 13, 2023
10/10 stars
This was cute and cheesy - just like I wanted it to be! I’m a sucker for cheesy Christmas books (and Hallmark holiday movies) this time of year, so this was right up my alley. I ADORED Hall & loved his character so much. I loved how innocent and playful he was & how he was entirely authentic. I didn’t care for Bettie at the beginning due to her being entirely too entitled but I’m glad she came around.
Nova Shari
Apr 13, 2023
1/10 star
Self absorbed influencer loses everything. If you can get past 60 I tip my hat to you.

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