Fall Into Magic by Melissa Baldwin (MIni-Review)

Series: Season of Summer, #1
# of Pages: 92
Publication: October 2nd, 2016
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Contemporary/Paranormal Romance
Goodreads | Amazon 

After a devastating breakup in the middle of her summer vacation, Summer Peters knows she needs something to distract her. What better than the arrival of fall, Halloween, and a new client? Though she assumes that Alexander Williams will be a hands-off client, she is surprised to find him very down-to-earth. She’s immediately drawn to him, much to the dismay of his overprotective assistant. When it becomes obvious that he feels the same, she begins to wonder if their meeting was meant to be. Just when she thinks she could be ready to move on with her life, her ex-boyfriend Jake returns for a second chance. She’s in for even more of a surprise when she learns her nosy, meddling neighbor is actually a psychic pushing to reveal details of her future. Summer doesn’t know which way to turn as she feels like she’s being pulled in different directions. Between Alexander, his assistant, and her ex-boyfriend, she fears she may not be ready to move on after all. She considers turning to her neighbor for advice but the fear of knowing exactly what the future holds is more frightening than not knowing.

Fall Into Magic was another fall themed book that I sought to read through Kindle Unlimited. The cover alone gave me witchy vibes that I thought would get me in the mood for the Halloween/Fall season. The novella focuses on Summer Peters as she attempts to get her life back on track after a sudden break up with her boyfriend. While working on an interior decorating project, Summer meets and has an instant attraction to her client Alex. In the midst of figuring out her attraction to Alex while trying to get over the break up, she learns that her neighbor is a psychic that is willing to  tell her bits and pieces of information as it relates to her future. 

"Do I just pretend that I didn't spend all that time with him? Do I pretend that I wasn't in love him? Ugh. Anyway, back to my new client."

Honestly, the psychic element was the best part of this entire novella. I found her neighbor to be both charismatic and interesting. Her fondness for Summer is evident in her attempt to assist her in figuring out the next steps of her life. It was the writing that I couldn't get past. It was juvenile in a way that didn't quite make sense. In fact, I remember making a note in my Kindle stating that I felt as though I was reading the journal of a teenage girl. I think that I'm used to reading books that have a little more flowery language as opposed to writing that's conversational. It was too informal for my taste and definitely took away from the entire experience of the book. 

"I wish I had a picture of Melanie's face when she saw Alexander and me hand in hand. At least she knows that her big plan backfired."

The character development was completely non-existent for the romantic lead Alex. There was no real insight to his character and it felt as though he was one-dimensional. Because I couldn't really get a feel for him as a character it made it difficult to visualize him and even really enjoy his interactions with Summer. He was bland, boring to the point that I even questioned why Summer was remotely interested in him. In addition to the lack of character development, the plot also felt as though it was simply thrown together for the sake of the book. There was no need for the author to include the obsessive assistant  in the novel. She didn't really seem to serve much of a purpose except to piss Summer off and make it seem as though the relationship between Alex and Summer had obstacles. If more time was spent developing Alex as a character then the recent break up between Summer and her ex-boyfrind would have been enough to drive a wedge into the relationship between Alex and Summer. Then there was the introduction of Alex's ex-wife which also didn't seem relevant to the story at the time; however, it can be used as a catalyst in later books if the story-line is developed properly. 

"It's like she's a different person than the one I met at Alexander's. I'm hoping that she's accepted the fact that I'm going to be around for a while, meaning while I'm decorating."

As stated before, I think that this book had potential especially with the psychic element included; however, the writing and character development definitely hindered its ability to be great. As it is the first in the series, I debated giving the second book a try to see if it gets any better; however, I think that I'll just try to focus on finding better fall themed romance books.