AAR has reviewed several books by Jackie Lau and they’ve all garnered a grade of B or above, a good sign for anyone thinking about picking up one of her romances. And if you’re in the mood for a Christmas novella, look no further than Magically Generated, a self-described ‘cozy Christmas’ story that includes a touch of magic which doesn’t seem out of place considering our long-held belief in Santa Claus.

Nora Blackburn has trust issues which are well-founded. Having been a victim of a romance scam that cost her a few thousand dollars, and with AI making it difficult to discern what’s real and what’s not, she keeps her distance from strangers. When she sees pictures of snow sculptures popping up around Toronto, she has a hard time believing they’re real and not AI generated images until she goes out to see one for herself, and runs into her apartment neighbour Everett Sun. She finds it kind of nice to share the moment with him, even if she’s wary. I mean, she doesn’t really know him and she’s suspicious of everyone’s motives these days, but when Everett invites her to go see another of the sculptures, she decides to tag along. She’s a bit humbug on the whole Christmas thing, but even she can admit that a snow sculpture of a hippo wearing a Santa hat is pretty funny.

Everett loves Christmas. His apartment is decorated every year, and even though he won’t be spending Christmas this year with his family, it’s not going to stop him from enjoying the holiday season. And Everett has a secret – he has the magical power to manipulate snow. In fact, he’s the one creating the original animal snow sculptures, his way of trying to spread some holiday cheer. It certainly seems to be working, as he’s been visiting his sculptures to listen in on the comments of others. He’s very careful not to get caught, and he doesn’t want it to be known that he’s responsible (revealing his magic would be awkward for sure). He’s particularly happy to see that they make Nora smile, as she’s always seemed to be quite serious and not overly happy whenever he’s seen her in the hallway. And another bonus has come out of the sculptures – they’re helping him and Nora get to know each other. It just so happens that they are attracted to each other too, and while Nora is cautious about romance, she decides that having a fling with Everett would be okay, as it wouldn’t have to lead to a romantic relationship. The sex is fantastic and Everett would like to see their relationship grow, but will his snow sculpture secret put out their fire?

My city has a winter festival in February and the snow sculptures are always amazing so it was easy for me to picture Everett’s creations, and I’d have delighted in seeing them in person (and, like the characters in the book, marvel and wonder (knowing how long they actually take to make) how they could be made overnight. I empathized with Nora and her trust issues, and the author’s thoughts on AI mirror ones I’ve had myself. Everett’s magic ability to manipulate snow is not explained, he just has it (it’s the only magic in the story), and while it’s a foundational part of the plot, the actual use of it is minimal on page – I’d call this a ‘paranormal-adjacent’ novella because it doesn’t really fit the paranormal genre as it’s normally described. The majority of the story revolves around the effect the snow sculptures have on the people of Toronto and on Nora, and how that leads to her romance with Everett. I liked that Nora is forty and Everett is thirty-five and they’ve both had some life experiences leading up to their romance. There’s no mistaking that this is a Christmas story (though not religious) and Nora and Everett getting their happy ending is a given. Magically Generated is a sweet, little bit spicy, romance that will put you in the holiday mood.