Book Title: In Every Possible Way
Author: Alicia Thompson
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Publishing Date: June 2026
Magical realism as a subgenre of romance is always a delicate balancing act. It never fully commits to the world-building and rules of a fantasy world, yet it still asks for a suspension of disbelief that allows you to embrace the quirks of the story. The magic exists in this liminal space between the ordinary and the impossible, and because there’s rarely a complete explanation for why it works, everything else — the characters, the emotional stakes, the atmosphere — has to work that much harder to convince you.
Ashley Poston’s The Seven Year Slip is still the pinnacle of magical realism for me because the characters are so easy to root for that the magical premise almost becomes secondary. You accept the impossible because you believe in the people experiencing it.
“It makes it worse. Getting your hopes up and then having them crushed, over and over. It’s pathological when you think about it. It can’t be good for the nervous system.”
“So you’re going to stop wanting things,” Mari said, her voice disbelieving. “Cold turkey.”
Every magical realism story also needs a catalyst that unlocks its impossible world. In The Seven Year Slip, it was the apartment that bent time. In In Every Possible Way, Alicia Thompson uses Jess’s mugging, accident and subsequent comatose state as the gateway into the novel’s magical premise. On her thirty-seventh birthday, Jess heads out on a first date, hopeful that it might become one of those stories she’d tell for years — meeting the love of your life on your birthday has a certain rom-com appeal, after all. Instead, the date is a disaster. On her way home, she’s mugged in a parking lot, suffers an accident, and wakes up in Ireland, where she meets Eamonn, a mechanic who also happens to be the brother of her disastrous date. As fleeting glimpses reveal Jess lying unconscious in a hospital back in Florida, her alternate life unfolds over the course of forty-eight hours in Ireland.
A magical gateway to the Irish charms
The book feels like a love letter to Ireland. The cobbled streets of Dublin, quiet countryside drives, cosy pubs, independent bookshops, conversations about Irish writers and poets: it all creates this wonderfully immersive atmosphere. I especially loved the nods to places like The Winding Stair, the little cultural rituals like splitting the G on a pint of Guinness, and the easy affection the novel has for Irish literature and local life. Even if you’ve never been, the setting makes you want to book a flight.
The travel element also fits neatly into Jess’s emotional arc. Earlier in the novel, she’s teased for barely travelling outside the United States, and this strange, impossible detour becomes more than just a romance. It becomes a reminder that stepping outside your familiar world can expand your life in unexpected ways. That thread felt authentic, and it’s one of the reasons the magical premise worked as well as it did.
My only real reservation was with the characters themselves. The novel begins with an interesting glimpse into Jess’s interior life, but as it progresses, I never felt like I truly got beneath the surface of either protagonist. We learn what has happened to them—the events that shaped their lives—but not always how those experiences changed them. Eamonn, for instance, is repeatedly described as someone with a troubled past and some kind of criminal history, but the emotional weight of that history never feels fully explored. Likewise, Jess remains likeable, but I found myself wanting a deeper understanding of who she was beyond the circumstances unfolding around her.
For readers who enjoy magical realism rooted in travel, atmosphere, culture and a vivid sense of place, In Every Possible Way offers plenty to enjoy. The Irish setting does much of the emotional heavy lifting, turning the novel into an affectionate ode to the country and its literary heritage. If you’re looking for a romance that doubles as an enchanting journey through Ireland, with just enough magical whimsy to make that journey feel possible, this one is worth taking.
“I bet you don’t dwell on these things as much. Age, time, whatever.”
“Because I’m twenty-nine?” I tried to give him a smile to take any of the sting out of it.
“Or because you’re a man. I don’t know.”
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance review copy (ARC). All opinions expressed are my own.