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Anne Mai Yee Jansen is a literature and ethnic studies professor and a lifelong story lover. She exists on a steady diet of books, hot chocolate, and dragon boating. After spending over a decade in the Midwest and the Appalachians, she returned to the sun and sandstone of California’s central coast where she currently resides with her partner, offspring, and feline companions. Find her on Instagram @dreaminginstories

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For many people, the literary label “magical realism” evokes the works of authors like Gabriel García Márquez and Laura Esquivel, Isabel Allende and Jorge Luis Borges. Works that are steeped in Latin American literary and cultural contexts, and are often considered canonical. And while I absolutely adore these authors and their works, as well as other magical realist authors from other backgrounds and parts of the globe like Haruki Murakami, Angela Carter, and Toni Morrison, I also love a good genre mash-up.

What combination is more enchanting than magic and romance? Love is already extraordinary all on its own…but when there’s more to the sparks flying than just chemistry, well, it’s a whole different ball game.

Luckily, this year’s Read Harder Challenge invites you to read a work of magical realism or fabulism. My offering to you? These mashups of romance and magical realism or fabulism to help you check this task off your list!

Time Loops and Meet Cutes by Jackie Lau

I love a good time loop novel, especially when it’s not trying to be hard sci-fi if the science isn’t integral to the story. Jackie Lau’s latest rom-com uses the time loop as a way to foster character development (and an incredible romance). Noelle Tom’s life is all about work…until she finds herself stuck reliving the same day over and over with nothing to show for it. Those magical dumplings gave her way more than she bargained for, which turns out to be a good thing because she gets three things out of this: a friendship with Avery (who’s stuck in the time loop with her), the opportunity to heal her relationship with her sister, and a shot at a life with sexy brewery owner Cam. But it’s up to Noelle to figure out what she needs to do to get her life back on track. There’s so much that’s great about this one, from the fun premise to the phenomenal characters.

The Most Unusual Haunting of Edgar Lovejoy by Roan Parrish

This charming queer love story brings timid (and very haunted) cis-het gentle giant Edgar Lovejoy together with bold, creative, transmasc Jamie Wendon-Dale. It’s already complicated, since Edgar is terrified of the ghosts who flock to him like moths to a flame. Add to that Jamie’s career as one of the best haunted house designers in New Orleans and you know the odds are stacked against these two. But since Jamie has been dealing with parents that dismiss everything from their gender to their success as a designer, they’ve learned their own worth and are hoping to help Edgar realize his…if only he’ll let them. With its fantastical premise, sensitive treatment of mental health, and adorable main characters, this sweet love story will have you swooning hard.

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Lightning in Her Hands by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

This second book in the Wild Magic trilogy features a supernatural friends-to-lovers and fake dating romance. The Flores women all have magic, but Teal Flores’s magic has always been out of control. Her ability to influence the weather combined with her inability to control that gift translates to lots of miraculous rainbows when she’s happy and terrible thunderstorms when she’s upset. Reconnecting with childhood bestie Carter in a desperate (and comical) move to secure a date to her ex’s wedding reveals that he needs her just as much as she needs him…to fake a marriage so he can access his inheritance. But as these two estranged friends rekindle more than just their friendship, Teal discovers a secret about her magic that threatens everything she thought she knew about her gift. It’s an unexpectedly heartwarming read with a megawatt magical union at its core.

Still Looking For Magic?

Try something on this list of recent magical realism or this list featuring magical realist and fabulist novels. And since I’m such a lover of magical realism, I’ve also compiled a list of magical realist cozy mysteries and another set of suggestions for feminist works of magical realism that might interest you.