This week I am featuring two books with a magical touch. Both books involve women who are gifted with visions. For Emmie, it's a one time vision related to her future. For Cassia, it's a gift that allows her to see someone's past life to determine their soulmate. Though they both were privy to their future mate, their hearts had other ideas.
Published by Berkley on May 19, 2026
Age/Genres: Adult, Enchanted Realism, Romance
Rating:
Goodreads
A tantalizing novel about a struggling chocolatier who is granted a magical vision of the future of her dreams, only to realize that her heart may desire something else entirely, from the bestselling author of The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie.
Paris trained chocolatier and single mother Emmie Wynne gave up her own dreams six years ago when she returned to her Pacific Northwest coastal tourist town to run her family's struggling candy store. Now on her thirty-fourth birthday, Emmie has only one wish, to be granted the vision that every Wynne woman is given once in her lifetime—a shimmering glimpse of her true destiny. This year, when she blows out her candles, it finally comes true.
Her vision is more delectable than she could’ve imagined—her very own artisanal chocolate shop filled with decadent truffles and caramels, and her celebrity crush, Henry Summers, down on one knee. And when Henry suddenly arrives in town for the summer, offering Emmie the opportunity of a lifetime, the future in her vision suddenly seems possible.
But a rekindled connection with Jakob, her former high school best friend turned hunky, brooding tattooed baker, forces Emmie to grapple with the bittersweet realization that her destiny may not be what her heart truly longs for. As the culmination of her vision draws nearer, can Emmie find the courage to create a happiness of her own making?
Emmie put her dreams on hold to help care for her ailing parents while becoming a single mother. Following her father's death, she assumed the lion's share of running her parents' candy shop. Emmie was content with biding her time as she waited for her birthday vision. Every woman in her family gets a once in a lifetime vision on one of their birthdays to help them discover their purpose. Her vision held promises of the artisanal chocolate shop of her dreams as well as a proposal!!! But when she started trying to make that vision a reality, Emmie found that her heart didn't necessarily align with everything she saw.
This was Rachel Linden doing what she does best. This was a warm and heartfelt story of family, friendship, community, second chances, and following your heart that was helped along with a touch of magic. Linden has such a talent when it comes to crafting stories that make me fully invested in the outcome for everyone involved, and she also has a talent for making food part of the tale.
I know I would not have had the patience to make exquisite handcrafted chocolates like Emmie, but I sure enjoyed reading about them. I loved the focus on the flavors of the Pacific Northwest, and my mouth watered as I conjured images of these delectable treats from the rich descriptions provided.
Linden also crafted fantastic characters. Emmie won my heart and support early on. I can relate to her as a caregiver for aging parents and as a single mom, but I also believed in her and her dream. Every setback she experienced was painful for me, and at one point, I was wondering if the sky was going to fall because anything that could go wrong, went wrong. But you know what? Emmie picked herself up, dusted herself off, and kept going. I admired her grit and fortitude.
She also had an amazing circle of people who supported her. The auxiliary characters in this book were wonderful! I truly adored them all as well as the community at large. Love triangles can be a bit stressful for me, but this one was written the way I like them, so I was good with it.
Overall, I absolutely adored this sweet tale which warmed my heart and put a smile on my face.
*ARC PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on February 3, 2026
Age/Genres: Adult, Enchanted Realism, Romance
Rating:
Goodreads
In Five Years meets a millennial The Joy Luck Club in the adult debut from the author of YA Reese Pick Throwback— a funny and fresh love story of a woman thrown a curveball by fate, and the family secret that will make her question everything.
She’s seen what her happily ever after looks like. And it’s not him.
Cassia Park believes in soul mates. Fated love stories. It’s her family business, after all—for centuries, from Korea to Los Angeles, the Park women have peered into clients’ past lives to find their one true love, their “fated”. This magical secret is why One & Only Matchmaking has a 100% guarantee … for everyone but Cassia.
Afraid of ending up like her mom, Cassia asked to be told her fated—ten years ago. Now she’s days from turning forty and she still hasn’t found him.
Enter Ellis. He’s twenty-eight, indecently handsome, and not destined to be the love of her life. But destiny has more than one curveball ready, and her surprising connection with Ellis might be the key that unlocks finding her fated—and reveals a family secret that will make her question everything she’s ever her family, her belief in love, and truth itself.
Cassia will have to decide if she’ll follow her fate … or make her own.
Love was the family business, and the Park women could see into the past to identify someone's soul mate. Cassia was holding out for her fated mate, but it had been ten years, and her Daniel was still a mystery. Then Ellis came along. Sweet, thoughtful, kind, charming, handsome, and VERY young Ellis, and Cassie's whole world became uncertain. She struggled with if she should hold out for her fated or follow her heart.
I really enjoyed One & Only. The touch of magic was intriguing and used quite well. Goo did a wonderful job organically blending this element into the story, but it created quite a complication for Cassia, and me too! I must admit, I would never be able to resist Ellis. He was perfect and perfect for Cassia. He was a like a safe harbor for her, a quiet place where she could unwind and enjoy the moment. As much as I loved the idea of "the one", I couldn't help but wish there was a mistake with Cassia's reading.
There was a love triangle, and it was very stressful for me. It was utilize in a good way as this situation pushed Cassia on a path of growth and self-discovery. She began thinking more about her past and her future, and really, her core beliefs about love.
And it was quite a journey with many wonderful people to support her along the way. Though Cassia's father left and her mother passed away when she was young, she had two generations of Park women to be her life guides. There were a lot of great family vibes in this tale which I loved, as well as a ride or die friend.
One & Only was a magical romance which was packed with humor and charm that had me flipping the pages.
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