Magically Generated

by Jackie Lau

A jaded woman falls for her sunshine neighbor in this cozy Christmas romance.

Nora Blackburn is suspicious of everything she sees and hears. Is it fake? Is someone trying to scam her? God, it’s exhausting, but she can’t let down her guard again.

She’s tired of Christmas cheer as well. It’s never been her favorite holiday, and this year, she’ll have to spend it alone for the first time. Besides, Everett Sun, who lives across the hall, has more than enough Christmas spirit for both of them.

When she sees an image of an elaborate snow sculpture in a Toronto park, she assumes it’s AI-generated. But when more pictures of the sculpture—and others—pop up, she realizes it’s real. She encounters Everett when she goes to see it in person, and together, they visit the other sculptures.

Nora didn’t expect to ever fall for anyone again, and she’s startled by the feelings she’s developing for her neighbor. Why does she find his flannel shirt and irrepressible smile so alluring?

But as the city tries to solve the mystery of the whimsical sculptures, strange things begin happening with Everett, and she doesn’t know if she can trust him…

Magically Generated is a romance novella featuring hot buttered rum, festive snow animals, and a touch of magic.

Genres: Romance, Christmas, Holiday

105 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 21, 2025

About the author

Jackie Lau decided she wanted to be a writer when she was in grade two, sometime between writing “The Heart That Got Lost” and “The Land of Shapes.” She later studied engineering and worked as a geophysicist before turning to writing romance novels.

Jackie lives in Toronto with her husband, and despite living in Canada her whole life, she hates winter. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking, hiking, eating too much gelato, and reading on the balcony when it’s raining.

Reviews

[Malin · Rating 4 out of 5]

CBR17 Bingo: Arts (Everett makes detailed sketches before making his amazing snow sculptures)

This was an ARC from the author. My opinions are my own.

Nora Blackburn no longer believes in love and is super wary of anything that might be a fraud or scam. Her previous relationship was with a man who scammed her out of thousands of dollars, and she's determined not to be fooled again. Her state of constant hyperawareness and scepticism of everyone and everything also means she isolates herself, and she certainly doesn't want to go out to experience new things. Now it's coming up towards Christmas, which was never her favourite time of year, but which is extra hard after her mother passed away during the holidays last year.

When pictures of a large, elaborate snow sculpture that has appeared in a Toronto park start circulating, Nora is convinced it's all just AI fakery. But then, more pictures from various angles, and even videos of people with the snow sculpture are shared, and her curiosity is piqued. When she visits the first one, to see it for herself, she runs into her neighbour across the hall, Everett Sun, a man so positive and full of Christmas spirit that she's been avoiding him in self-defence. As always, Nora is deeply wary of him at first, in case he is another scammer, but he seems so gentle and genuine that she is drawn to him. As more snow sculptures appear, they go to visit them together, and the park visits develop into more elaborate dates.

What Nora doesn't know is that it's not some mysterious team of performance artists making all the sculptures; it's all Everett. He discovered his strange, magical ability to manipulate snow when he was younger, and has been going out to make the sculptures partly as a way of spreading holiday cheer, but mostly to actually impress and entertain Nora. She's been hurt before by dishonesty. What is going to happen if she discovers that Everett has been withholding the truth about the sculptures?

This holiday novella is a quick read of fewer than a hundred pages. Nora is the grumpy one, not quite having sunk into Grinch territory with her pessimism and impatience about Christmas, while Everett is the cheerful, sunny one, who's always smiling, positive, friendly and welcoming. He doesn't like having to keep the secret of his ability to create the sculptures from Nora, but since no one appears to be able to see him actually "do" the magic, just the results of it, it's not like it's an easy thing to demonstrate to her. Making the sculptures requires a lot of advance planning, and he expends tremendous amounts of energy while doing it. One night, Nora finds him collapsed in the hallway outside their apartments, and starts to worry that he has a health condition. Having to deceive her makes him uncomfortable, but he's also worried she'll think he's crazy if he confesses the truth to her.

This might be the first Jackie Lau romance in a while, where food doesn't seem to focus heavily in the story, even though Everett has to eat a lot to keep his energy when creating snow art. It's also a very quick read, and as is often the case in novellas, the characters don't have as much space to develop. If it hadn't been an ARC, I think I would have saved this to read closer to Christmas. It felt a bit weird to read Christmas stories in mid-October, but it's very sweet and well worth picking up if you want a little touch of magical realism as the days get darker (both literally and figuratively).

[Kara Jorgensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as an ARC and really enjoyed it.
It has a nice grumpy x sunshine dynamic that might be more like cynical x chill. Nora has had a bad experience with scammers in the past, so she lives her life on constant edge and beating herself up for being taken advantage of. Meanwhile, Everett is gifted with the magical ability to make fantastical snow sculptures and wants to spread holiday chill.
The two mix and lots of cozy cuteness ensues to help Nora thaw her heart.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance copy from the author for review purposes; this in no way influences my review.

Jackie Lau books are always guaranteed to feel warm and cozy, and overall this was a very sweet holiday novella. Nora was not my favorite, though, and several scenes felt repetitive because her thoughts were often the same. This felt a little heavy handed with the genAI hate (which I’m all for - genAI is theft!) and the fear of being scammed again. This made sense for her character based on her past experience, but with how short the novella is, it just got repetitive. Elliot was super sweet and I liked how he respected Nora’s boundaries and didn’t try to push her or make her uncomfortable. This isn’t my favorite of Lau’s books, but I did still enjoy it and it was sweet, a good light read to make the weight of everything a little lighter for a while.

[Eleonora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Girl who has reasons to hate Christmas meets boy who loves Christmas. Said boy has the magical power to move snow and has decided to surprise the city of Toronto with snow sculptures for Christmas. Our cynical heroine can't believe they're real - just like us she has been scarred by AI - but they are real and when she meet her cute neighbor (our hero) at one of the sculptures they start going to see them together.

When I started this novella and read about a cynical heroine called Nora who rants against AI and a fat Christmas obsessed hero I was in. The MCs are very endearing, as Lau's MCs tend to be.

In order to enjoy this you have to *believe* in the story Jackie Lau weaved. Personally I enjoyed a bit of Christmas magic. I even enjoyed the realism - the heroine having been a victim of a scam - because it only made it cosier: the notion of opening yourself to love and finding places of light during the darker times is very romantic for me.

Thanks to the author for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

[Maria Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, this was a quickie Christmas story that'll give you the warm fuzzies. It's paranormal-lite (there is magic but not really any worldbuilding around it). Enjoyable, full review to come!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet grumpy x sunshine holiday novella that takes place in Toronto and has two lonely neighbors getting to know one another as magical snow sculptures pop up around the city. I liked Nora's reserved nature, having been hurt by love in the past, she doesn't want to risk her heart again, but then Everett, her Christmas loving neighbor slowly worms his way into her heart. The perfect blend of sweet and spicy with emotional depth. Jackie Lau's novels are always a delight to read!

[Zimmy W · Rating 1 out of 5]

i’ll be honest, this was lowkey disappointing. 😭 i should’ve known when i read the premise this one wasn’t going to be for me, but i didn’t anticipate how much of a slog it would be to get through, rip.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

I received an ARC of this book via the author, it has not affected the contents of the review, only its timing.

Invariably, something that is bothering an author is going to make its way into the book they’re writing. That something for Jackie Lau in Magically Generated is GenAI. While I am largely on the side that Lau takes via her main character’s rants, I thought the note was hit too often and it wasn’t necessary because Lau already had enough character depth with Nora to have the reader empathize with her “done with the nonsense and not trusting anyone new or anything on the internet” vibe she is giving off strongly as this Christmas novella gets started (and throughout, really).

I love a prickly female lead – and the men that love them. I like that Lau doesn’t soften Nora, she is who she is at the age she is (yay for a female lead who is 40!). Her mother’s death and her being taken in by a romance scam in its immediate aftermath have affected how she interacts with the world (largely not) and how she views new people. So, when Everett her across the hall neighbor and she have a meet cute over misdelivered mail she’s not willing to entertain that there might be something there. He finds her grumpiness intriguing and likes that he’s able to get her to joke with him when they run into each other again.

Magically Generated follows the lead of Time Loops & Meet Cutes with the insertion of a little magical realism into the Romance setting. In this case it's that Everett can control snow once its fallen. Which he uses to make intricate snow sculptures and has decided to stay in Toronto for Christmas so that he can unveil his plan of sculptures around the city in the lead up to the holiday to bring a little joy to everyone. So, we have a holiday sunshine type and a holiday grump hitting it off. It's at the first of his sculptures that he and Nora run into each other again and they have an impromptu date-type hangout. Things go well and they continue to enjoy each other’s company as each has no plans for Christmas until her fundamental distrust and his necessarily hidden secret collide. This is where I wish Lau had left herself more space to unpack the trust that they need to build with each other, and sure magic snow powers are going to complicate that, but at the end of the say you can substitute any number of real life things there and the beats would be the same.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so sweet (with a little extra not-so-innocent spice)!

Magically Generated is a grumpy/sunshine (grinchy/sunshine?) holiday novella dusted with a little snow sculpture-making magic. I absolutely adored both Nora and Everett--though, honestly, Nora had my heart with this quote:

This [playing Sudoku on her phone] would be better for her state of mind than, say, going on social media and stumbling across posts that referred to a novel set in the nineties as historical fiction. Or, worse, people who supported book banning.

Yes, Nora. Yes to all of that.

It was really easy to root for these two to overcome their (OK, mostly Nora's) issues to come together as a couple. I 100% wish that all of Everett's snow sculptures were real, because they sound like so much fun! I'd even consider taking a day trip to TO to see them in person :)

It was really lovely watching Nora find the ability to trust again, and even (eventually) celebrate Christmas with her loved ones (which in the end includes at least one more person! Spoiler?) without her ever-present undercurrent of Bah, Humbug in the way.

Even if Everett claimed to like her "cynical, Christmas-hating [butt]" all along ;)

I don't know about anyone else, but I really needed to read this right now:

In a world of lies and misinformation, there was still hope. She couldn’t be certain that whatever they had would last, but she didn’t want to be someone who never tried anything new, who barely even talked to anyone new. She’d be careful and plan for the worst-case scenarios, but she’d also do her best to trust that things could get better.

I really, really hope so, Nora <3

Rating: 4 stars / A-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magically Generated is a short romance between Everett, a cinnamon roll hero who can magically control and sculpt snow, and Nora, his cynical and scam-wary neighbor. Like many of Jackie Lau's romances it features unexpected characters finding love in Toronto, and like all of them it's a well-written and pleasant read.

However, this novella has a bit of an axe to grind. Nora was taken in by a romance scam two years before the story's action, and because of that she's stopped dating and become suspicious and a bit shut down. She sees the world as full of fakery - men saying things they don't mean to women they're dating; deepfakes on the internet; books made with generative AI - and she despises all of it, and thinks and talks about little else.

This is an emerging reality in our world, and there's a lot to examine in the boundary between illusion and falsehood, social lubricant and scam - in particular with a romantic lead who can do actual magic. However, there isn't time for that kind of depth in the 100 pages of this book, so this interesting theme is reduced to a self-protective mechanisms that keeps Nora from getting hurt but also keeps readers from learning anything else about her.

3.5 stars. Good for a snowy evening or a Jackie Lau completist. Open door; lowish steam. Wintry with a bit of (secular) Xmas sparkle.

[I received a complementary ARC from the author. Opinions are my own.]

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the author as a member of their Review Team and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Magically Generated is a fun, cozy holiday romance with a magical twist which is very timely. With all the fear and discourse around the impact of GenAI, both in creative communities and how they’re being used to spread misinformation, I enjoyed seeing the plot both make light of and poke fun at the concept.
And something about reading a book where the guy is emotionally available and the woman is the grumpy one just scratches my brain just right. Nora being the guarded one was quite well-done, and I appreciate how her history of being scammed and tricked (including with use of AI) played into that. And Everett is just a sweet ray of sunshine in the cold winter. Their dynamic is quite cute, with him appreciating her grumpiness and finding ways to get her to laugh and joke with him. As far as the romance arc, I sometimes groan when I read the words “it’s just sex,” either spoken or in a character’s head, but this mentality quickly evolves, as expected for a novella, so there’s no unnecessary back and forth.
This was a cute little nugget of a book, and I do recommend it as people begin prioritizing their holiday reading.

[M. K. French · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nora Blackburn is suspicious of everything and tired of ceaseless Christmas cheer. It's exhausting, and this is the first year she'll spend Christmas alone. She doesn't have to care about Christmas because her neighbor across the hall, Everett Sun, has plenty of holiday spirit. A new snow sculpture in a Toronto park at first seems to be an AI-generated photo, but Nora soon realizes it's real. She meets Everett in the park, and they go to investigate other sculptures. As strange things happen, Nora begins to question her growing feelings for Everett.

This is a romantic novella, with the grumpy Nora and sunshiney Everett getting paired off. Nora assumes everyone is out to scam and cheat others, and Everett is hiding his ability to create and manipulate snow, which he uses to create these intricate sculptures. They're neighbors and know a little about each other before they go visiting the sculptures together. There's an instant connection, and it's fun to see it develop while we know more about them and the sculptures than Nora does. Of course, the secrecy doesn't last long, but the reveal forces them to discuss their feelings, the truth, and magic. This is a cute story, with a hint of holiday magic for everyone involved.

[Eilis Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful holiday story! After being scammed and robbed, Nora Blackburn is cynical about humanity in general (and social media specifically), and when she finds out about an amazing snow sculpture that seemingly has appeared out of nowhere in a Toronto park, she dismisses it as AI-generated, but then equally mysteriously, others appear in other city parks. When her cheery neighborhood across the hall, Everett Sun, invites her to go see the mysterious, elaborate sculptures, she reluctantly agrees—he doesn’t seem like he’s out to steal her money or her heart. What she doesn’t realize is that Everett has a secret: he’s not out to trick her, but he is the creator of the snow sculptures. This novella is about the melting of Nora’s heart, and it’s a perfect start to the holiday season.

[Truusje · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely Christmas novella by Jackie Lau. It's fun, cozy and definitely Christmas-y. I loved both Nora and Eliott. Nora has been scammed before and is made her difficult to trust people and basically everything she sees. Quite a few of her annoyances about stuff she encounters online, felt very familiar.
I liked Nora and Eliott together, but since it's a novella so things move very quickly. A little too quickly for me, but everything else makes up for it.

*** I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review ***

[Swai · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's something familiar and comforting about reading a Jackie Lau novella. You know to expect both sweetness and spice, and you know the writing will be easy and witty. Magically Generated delivers on all these fronts.

I had a hard time getting into the magical parts of the plot. The title of the novella is a play on artificially generated in that the magical creations in question are at times mistaken for AI. It wasn't poorly executed per se... I just didn't think it worked very well with the rest of the novella.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very cute, quick read. Unique premise too.

I received an ARC from the author. Thank you!

[Molly E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute short novella with some Christmas magic and a bit of spice. I received an ARC from the author.