Upon graduating high school, Ellie fled Vermont, her overbearing parents, and her distant brother. Ellie also fled from her first love and her brother’s best friend, Theo, who has been nothing but a painful memory for her over the last seven years. Ellie’s travel site lands her back in Vermont at Sugar Valley, where everything began many years ago. Her goal is to get in and out without seeing anyone from her past, but life has other ideas with a blizzard leaving her seeking refuge in a cabin owned by none other than Theo. Theo really wants a second chance with Ellie, the woman he can’t stop thinking about so when she turns up unannounced in Vermont, he’s determined to find out why she left.

First things first, do yourself a favour and preorder this gem. As with every book, check for triggers before reading!  A LITTLE MAGIC is such a cozy and beautifully written story told over the course of nine Christmas Eves and eight nights of Hanukkah, alternating between Theo and Ellie’s POVs.

I adored learning about Theo and Ellie’s relationship from the first day that they met, their first kisses, and holiday traditions over the ensuing years. It was the perfect way to get to know both characters and also see the bond that forges between the two.

Both Ellie and Theo are incredibly compassionate and caring characters. Ellie shows unwavering compassion and support towards Theo in the face of his grief, which I really adored especially at their young age. Loss and grief can be difficult to discuss at any age but Lindsey did a great job at navigating this with open and unfiltered communication. Theo is so caring toward Ellie, wanting to help her when she is experiencing a flare and wanting to better understand her chronic illness warmed my heart. He is the ultimate book boyfriend, try to convince me otherwise.

I think that the chronic illness rep and the positive therapy rep was really well done and so important to discuss within this love story. Lindsey did an amazing job at showing how chronic illnesses impact personal relationships and truly opened my eyes to the associated difficulties this can cause.

Let’s talk about the way the last 15% of this book had me outright crying and completely wrecked me as I read. The buildup to these moments was so well done and truly had me in my feels. Keep the tissues handy, you’ll thank me later!

I truly adored how this book came to its conclusion. I love Theo and Ellie so much, they’re both such sweet characters. This is a beautiful childhood/second chance romance with lots of depth and hardships to navigate. I’ll definitely be carrying a piece of these characters with me for quite some time.

Lastly, I loved the sharing of collective nouns for different animals. It was so much fun to learn some different terms for each animal discussed!

A truly beautiful read. Sugar Valley sounds like a place of dreams, but a place I’d love to visit!

I would like to thank the author, Lindsey Lanza, of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own.