Samantha Stewart, Sam, and her best friend Marta make up “a fool-proof, everything-you-want-in-a-man-or-soul-mate type of list, complete with magical powers, a special spiritual ceremony and summoning chant” to find their perfect mate. After composing the list, placing it someplace special, and summoning “the one,” Sam and Marta start checking their list for every potential date. If he doesn’t meet the first few criteria, they don’t waste their time. Occasionally, one of them will fall off the list wagon and get swept away by appearance, money, etc… and forget to check the list but the friend generally catches the lapse and points out the problem so that they each get back on track. Will this list really work and lead Sam and Marta to the one man for each of them or will this just be another big disappointment?

Magical Man List by Christie Walker Bos starts off with a wonderful premise. Imagine making a list of all the qualities you want in a mate, in essence making a wish, and finding “the one.” The story is cute but I was a little disappointed. The publisher had this story listed as a comedy but the first part of the story isn’t funny at all, Sam is in a coma. Then Sam and Marta’s conversations about all their failed relationships seems sad to me. I picked up this book expecting to laugh a lot and I did giggle, but I felt there was too much that wasn’t funny so that the story didn’t meet my laugh expectations. Don’t get me wrong, this is a cute story and well worth reading, just not as funny as I had hoped. Later in the story Sam seems to be on track to finding “the one,” dating a guy that meets so many of her criteria but she is still searching and even goes out with someone else that does not meet her own criteria. Up to this point I had really liked the character of Sam but I was disappointed that she was influenced by this other man for very shallow reasons. Overall, I liked the story and I am satisfied with the solution the author comes up with for Sam. Ms. Bos is a good story teller and I will read more of her other books.

Reviewed by: Stephanie B.