REVIEW: Just Like Magic by Sarah Hogle

In Just Like Magic by Sarah Hogle, Bettie Hughes was brought up in a famous family basically as her award-winning actress grandmother’s mini-me. While she doesn’t have her namesake’s acting abilities, she has become a social media influencer with her own legions of followers and endorsement deals. Or, *had*, actually. Because Bettie, unbeknownst to her family, is flat broke thanks to her serious spending habits and taking advice from the wrong people and after a public breakup has lost her popularity. Which is why she finds herself not only secretly living in someone else’s house in Teller City, Colorado, but she has no clue how she’s going to afford presents that will amaze her family on Christmas.

‘We’re a house full of reluctant acquaintances who get together once a year to tear each other apart.’

Bettie’s problems seem to be solved when a tipsy accident with wine, a Mariah Carey Christmas album, and an old fashioned record player somehow conjures up a handsome man who claims to be Hall, as in the Holiday Spirit. After she passes out and finds out, nope, she’s not dreaming, Bettie is thrilled that Hall can magically make her wishes come true. Well, a lot of them anyway. As she doles out revenge first and then expensive goodies for her family second, she begins to understand that Hall is helping her see the world in a whole new perspective. Bettie also sees *him* through new eyes, wondering how she’ll be able to carry on without her kind, adorable partner in merriment when it’s time for Hall to move on.

“Hmm. Is your cheek cold?”
“It’s all right.”
“Because if so, I was thinking that I should probably kiss it,” he ventures. “For warmth.”
“Oh.” Delighted surprise swells. “Yes, I’m freezing. Can’t feel a thing. Might be dying.”
He kisses my cheek, and it warms me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

Just Like Magic was a quirky holiday romantic comedy full of laughs that paired up the jaded, oftentimes cynical view of our heroine with the charmingly naive outlook of our hero, the Holiday Spirit himself.

‘It feels wrong to find him attractive, so I’m trying not to. It’s like eyeing a Keebler elf with seductive intentions.’

Just Like Magic is the kind of offbeat holiday story that you have to just shrug off disbelief and let the author take you on an adventure with magic, family theatrics, and some heartfelt moments peppered in with the silly scenes. Bettie and her other self-absorbed family members might not be some readers’ cup of tea. But Sarah Hogle spun a tale that, after I got used to Bettie’s personality, had me giggling out loud–especially once her wine-induced mishap with a Mariah Carey Christmas album conjured up Hall, the Holiday Spirit. It was cute. It was a tad far fetched and farcical…in the funniest of ways. And it was magic and traditions all combined together, showing her family all the fun times they’d forgotten over the years as Hall and Bettie tried out one outrageous idea after another.

Bettie and Hall’s playful, slow burn relationship was part of what kept me hooked where it became more tender and bittersweet as the story went on. He was able to redirect her inward focus so she (for the first time in years) truly saw her family for who they were, past and present. Not an easy feat on Hall’s part. But his childlike wonder while in his corporeal form was contagious–for Bettie and this reader as well. He brought out the best of the Hughes and Watsons and at the same time caused Bettie to fall a little more each day for him. Knowing that Hall would eventually have to leave her made all of their moments together more meaningful. And I won’t say how the story concludes but it *does* end on an extremely happy note that will leave you smiling contentedly.

QOTD: Are you a fan of holiday-themed novels? (Any genre) Have any favorites you’d recommend?

Book Info:

Publication: Published October 4, 2022 | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |

From the author of Twice Shy comes a sprightly Christmas novel, a rollicking romp through the absurdity of family holidays and the hope of new love.

Bettie Hughes once knew the comfort of luxury, flaunting a ridiculous collection of designer shoes and a stealthy addiction to CBD oils. That is, until her parents snipped her purse strings. 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 a drunk Bettie plays a vinyl record of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” backwards and accidentally conjures Hall, an unexpectedly charming Holiday Spirit in the form of a 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 the wiles of magic lose their charm, Bettie finds herself set off-kilter by Hall’s sweet gestures. Suddenly, 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 come back as soon as the holidays are over?