Nothing Less Than Magic

Just one year ago, Chelsea Knight was living the life she’d always wanted. Marriage to the perfect guy, a thriving career, and a gorgeous condo overlooking San Francisco Bay. Then out of nowhere, her husband, Austin, left her. Ironic, because Chelsea fixes marriages for a living. In fact, she’s famous for her techniques. Naturally, she’s been using her expertise to win back her ex—and when he invites her for drinks, she’s sure her work has finally paid off. Until he announces he’s engaged.

Devastated, Chelsea seeks refuge in the beloved small-town lake cabin she and Austin now take turns using. When she arrives, the streets are dazzlingly decked out for Halloween, the autumn leaves are exceptionally vibrant, and the locals are especially warm and welcoming. It’s downright magical—and so is Knox Hart, a talented jack-of-all-trades who’s fixing her roof. Chelsea is instantly drawn to him—and to the simplicity of country life. Slowly, she becomes immersed in the townspeople’s problems and finds a sense of belonging—leading her to reevaluate her own path . . .

But something about the idyllic hamlet—and Knox—seems too good to be true. A trick more than a treat. And when she ultimately learns the truth, her heart is shattered. Miraculously, Austin is there to mend it. It’s everything she’d hoped for. Or is it? On the cusp of making all her dreams come true, Chelsea must find the strength to make an impossible choice . . .

I have posted the blurb because, really, this is a hard book to review. I can tell you, it didn’t work for me. Why? Well, it’s hard to say without significant spoilers. But I’ll try.

When we first encounter our heroine, Chelsea Knight, she is waiting in the bar at Top of the Mark in San Francisco for Austin, the love of her life and, currently, her ex-husband. Chelsea is sure Austin is meeting her to propose they reconcile–despite his suddenly walking out on her a year ago, they’ve stayed close. He texts her daily, drops by, and the last time she saw him, they made love. So she’s first shocked and then furious when he tells her he’s engaged. Chelsea storms out of the hotel and BOOM! is hit by a cable car. 

Next–in the beginning of Chapter Two–Chelsea is napping in a hammock on the deck on the house she and Austin own in a small Northern California lake town called Ghost. She’s gone there for two weeks to recuperate from her accident–which left her relatively unscathed–and is happily taking a much needed break from her very successful career as a marriage counselor turned motivational speaker. She’s awakened from the aforementioned nap by a large, tall man whom she doesn’t know–although he looks vaguely familiar–named Knox who tells her he’s there to work on the roof. She’s never met Knox before although he tells her he’s been working around the cabin for the past three years. Chelsea is a bit disoriented but, hey, she was hit by a cable car! It’s normal that her memory is a bit shaky, right? 

It’s not just Knox Chelsea is a bit confused by. Despite having owned the cabin for the past six years, Chelsea finds much of what she encounters in Ghost to be, for lack of a better word, new. When she goes to the small downtown, people seem to know–and like–her though she has no memory of any of them. But, again, HIT BY A CABLE CAR. It will all come back to her, right? 

Nothing Less Than Magic is a tripart novel although Part Three is very short. Part One takes place over the two weeks Chelsea is in Ghost recovering. There, she spends a lot of time hanging out with Knox–did I mention he’s kind, gorgeous, a biophysicist as well as a handyman, and single? She goes regularly to the local bar–the bartender is Knox’s younger sister Katie who becomes Chelsea’s friend, and finds herself, surprisingly, doing much of nothing. All this free time gives her space to think about her life and what she truly wants. At the top of that list is improving her very strained relationship with her sister Lolly.

Lolly and Chelsea barely speak–Chelsea thinks it’s because, after a huge tragedy in their youth (and boy, is it a doozy–see the spoiler/content warning below), Chelsea abandoned Lolly to go to boarding school. Chelsea misses Lolly terribly and is determined to fix whatever went wrong between her and her sister.

Next on the list is maybe possibly abandoning her very successful career as an author and speaker because, deep down, she thinks it’s a bit of a sham. At the very least, it’s nothing like what she used to do when she saw patients and before she took up selling calendars with motivational quotes at the top of each month.

And, of course, she ponders the problem of Austin whom, after the accident, has called her constantly and seems to want her back. Does she want him back? Or, maybe, is Knox the man for her? 

In Part Two, at one point, Chelsea quotes American author and screenwriter Jim Thompson:

There is only one plot–things are not what they seem.

This is, of course, true of Part One of Nothing Less Than Magic. To say this is a spoiler of sorts but Finz deliberately sows doubt throughout the first 65% of the book. In Part Two, Chelsea’s perspective is very different than it is in Part One. And while she is still trying to figure out her relationship with Lolly, her job, and what she wants from Austin, she is doing so from a different place than she was in Part One. (The book is a first person narrative.)

The best part of this book is the relationship between Lolly and Chelsea. Their barbed, intricate sistership is one of pain, love, and missed chances. Every scene between the two is riveting–if the book had just been a novel about the two of them, I’d have been happy. 

Instead, much of the story is a romance–although, technically, I’m not sure it qualifies as such. And, as a romance, it wasn’t for me. Knox is too good to be true so of course he’s the man of Chelsea’s dreams. Austin, for his part, is a very flawed real man. I liked him better than picture perfect Knox. For many romance readers though, I suspect this book will work. If you believe that, in a romance novel at least, true love should be nothing less than magic, Finz’s resolution will warm your heart.

My biggest problem, though, is that the story, on a fundamental level, doesn’t make sense. In Nothing Less Than Magic, Finz shoots for the stars with only a magic carpet to propel her plot. I’d have preferred less woo woo and more physics. 

Many readers will love this book. Chelsea is a great lead, the dialogue is often perfect, and, as I read, I really wanted to know how everything would turn out. Nothing Less Than Magic isn’t my jam but for those who like feel good, whimsical women’s fiction, it might be, well, magical.