Phronsie Linnelle was conceived at Woodstock in a serendipitous liaison between a free-spirited hippie and a farmer’s son and was born with magical wonder flickering in her DNA and rationality knit into her bones. All her life she’s been torn between the two. But now that she’s been betrayed by both love and the mother she once idolized, her rational side is winning.

So when her best friend from childhood proposes that they give up on romance and marry each other, Phronsie agrees. Who better to spend your life with than your best friend? Maybe the connection they already have is love. Maybe there’s no falling to be done. But immediately after they announce their engagement, she encounters someone who makes a very charming and compelling argument for revisiting romance.

While her even-keeled stepmother argues for the safety that comes with her new engagement and her mother relays messages from the universe to hold out for true love, Phronsie must look to her own heart to find the answers that have been there all along.
This is a rapid-paced, compelling story with masterful execution.

Maddie Dawson has hit another one out of the park with this charming tale about what happens when your head tells you to settle but your heart keeps whispering something else. Funny, poignant, and beautifully clear-eyed, THE MAGIC OF FOUND OBJECTS is a delightfully grownup coming of age story, peopled with quirky, real-life characters who remind us that sometimes, before we can open the door to the future, we must first open our hearts to the past.

I liked this one but I think it could have been better if Phronsie and Judd seemed better suited to get married and then realized it wasn’t a good idea, instead of it being immediately obvious that this was a terrible idea (and who are all these friends and family who are just egging her on?)

I enjoyed the parts about Phronsie's childhood and her parents meeting at Woodstock far more than the current drama of going on bad dates and subsequently deciding to marry her best friend. I also felt like I was waiting and waiting for action on that front and it took forever to get there, and then the ending was rushed through. And they get engaged and all of a sudden after years and years of friendship they act like they aren't even friends anymore?

Also, it was really hard to buy into the love story/happily ever after with Adam. I mean, they spent time together for what, the evening of the book tour and the following snow storm day? Other than the quirky gnome thing and that he was a surfer dude with crazy hair, we don't really get too deep into his character (and I get that maybe that's the point, that he represents potential future true love vs. comfortable best friend love) but it felt like he was just there as a prop. I guess I wanted more contact/flirting/banter between the two and it doesn't happen again until the book is almost over.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In the first few chapters I thought I'd stumbled across a lighthearted romcon where two best friends threw it in with love to settle on each other and fumble around and end up in love.

That is decidedly NOT the story and I'm glad of it as Judd ended up being a fairly flat character after the initial development.

What happens instead is a woman devastated by hurt in a previous love and trying to heal from never really receiving the love needed from her parental figures figures out what she really wants out of life, even if it's not what she expected or planned for.

🎵What's love got to do with it?🎶
That's the question Phronsie keeps asking herself after a failed marriage to her dream guy and forty-four failed internet dates. When her life long best friend, who's also frustrated by the dating scene, asks her to marry him she figures 'why not?' they know each other better than anyone else, he's good looking and won't cheat. Give it a chance and romantic love will bloom, right? Add to the mix a free spirited, hippie mother who she idolizes, a responsible and strict father and a stepmother trying to do her best and you've got a compelling coming-of-age? (She's almost forty) story.
Very well written with an original plot, this one kept me intrigued from start to finish. I enjoyed going on the journey with Phronsie as she navigated life and relationships.

This book is amazing! So cute but heartwarming all at the same time. The story really brings something deep inside readers, some happiness yet emotional and vulnerable feeling that is quite undescribable. I think my library will purchase this book so people can borrow it. Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Lake Union Publishing and #NetGalley for my honest opinion.

This is definitely a feel-good story for a bevy of audiences. I think it would make a fantastic book club read.

I read Maddie Dawson’s Matchmaking for Beginners in late 2020 and just loved it. I was so excited when I realised I was able to read this eARC of her latest work.

This story follows the unusual life of Phronsie. She and her twin Hendrix were conceived during the famous Woodstock event.

Her hippie mother Tenaj (Janet backwards) met her young farmer father and despite her father being practically engaged to Maggie back home, he stayed with her especially when the twins were being expected.

The parents split up and the twins grew up on the farm with their father.

36 year old Phronsie lives in New York working in her dream job for a publisher. After one failed marriage and 44 recent failed dates, her best friend Judd proposes to her.

The question for much of the book is whether the two can make a marriage work.

It’s also an examination of what has gone wrong in the past and the events of Phronsie’s life that have brought her to this point.

Beautiful pace, crafted words and a heartwarming story bring this gem of a book together. As I was reading, I just didn’t want it to come to an end. And it’s a special ending too.

I found it interesting how the sprinkling of “steam” in this book was the opposite of what would normally be found in a love story. I just loved this one. ❤️

If you want to read a delightfully light-hearted story about friendship, love, and marriage, you need to read “The Magic of Found Objects.”

After a row of mysteries, thrillers, and fantasy novels, I found it refreshing to sit down and read this book. It’s a humorous, emotional, and sweet story about Phronsie, who decides to marry her best friend, Judd. The whole book is about Phronsie’s decision to go ahead with the wedding or not. As the story progresses, the author toggles between the past and the present, and we see how different events in Phronsie’s shapes her decision.

Phronsie is lovely in the lead, and I feel people who are not yet married and are looking for the right one would relate to her. We all have that moment in our lives where we wonder if we should wait for the right person or go ahead and marry for convenience. Phronsie is quirky, emotional, and gets conflicted over making the right decision. I liked her conversations with Tenaj and how she contemplates if what she is doing is right. This story is one of those where all the characters are simply charming, including Mr. Swanky.

Moreover (and I may be the odd one out here), but I adored Judd and Phronsie. Even though they might not be in love, the friendship and the camaraderie they share is so funny and beautiful. No matter what flaws Judd had, I adored him.

Overall, “The Magic of Found Objects” is a beautiful contemporary fiction that you can pick up if you are in the mood for light-hearted emotional drama.

What do you do when you’re in your mid thirties, have gone on 44 dates, but still hope for a committed partner & spouse? Phronsie and her childhood best friend, Judd, decide they’ll get married. All that romance, falling in love is for the birds

Phronsie isn’t sure what it means for her to be loved after watching the examples of her parents who randomly met at Woodstock. Conceiving Phronsie & her twin brother, Hendrix. Yes, you guessed it! Janet, renamed “Tenaj” cannot get her act together, eventually leaving Phronsie & Hendrix under the care of her practical farming responsible ex-husband. Always longing for a special relationship with her mom finds it’s not all sunshine & rainbows with her mom.

After a work trip with a colleague, maybe Phronsie just needs to let her hair down to see what life could look like.

I absolutely adored this book! All the feels! It was so heartbreaking seeing Phronsie long for a relationship with her mother who doesn’t return, but she also learns to put her hair down a bit. You will definitely fall in love with Phronsie!

Thanks so much to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review!

Maddie Dawson continues to flourish with the complex humanity of Alice Hoffman, Adriana Trigiani and Sarah Addison Allen. The magic that sprinkles each of her explorations of the human heart is most often explored in the nuances of many forms of love and friendship.

The Magic of Found Objects posits the idea that we have control over our happily-ever-afters but a dash of magic realism and inter-generational wisdom--as well as the strength of community will help us forge our path there.

Dawson is a competent and gifted author who never fails to open a book of questions best answered in her humorous wisdom and our long reflections long after the last page.



posted to goodreads, instagram facebook.

also hosted Maddie for a release week Q and A

This book goes back and forth with Phronsie’s childhood to the present. This was a very quick read. Her best friend since Kindergarten proposes to her since they are mid 30s and tired of the online dating scene. She and her twin was conceived at Woodstock and her mom remained a hippy, while her dad moved back to his farm and married the small town girl.

The storylines didn’t mesh up well for me. Her mother who she barely ever saw, was all about love. Her stepmom was about practicality.

This was a book about different types of love. Will Phronsie go through with the wedding to her best friend? Read it and find out

The Magic of Found Objects was a whimsical read that gave insights into the past and the present. The family dynamic was wild and interesting and kept me engaged. I do think that the relationship with Adam wasn’t fully realized, but I’m glad that Phronsie figured out what she wanted

Two friends sick of searching for love decide to marry each other? I knew as soon as I read the synopsis this was going to go one of two ways - either end in utter disaster or happily ever after. Thankfully, it was the latter.

I adored Phronsie's character from the start. I loved her wit, her writing aspirations, her go-getter attitude... really all of it. I loved the family dynamic, her back story, her friendship with Jude, and the adventures of going from best friends to lovers.

But what I really loved was the ending. Even though it was predictable, it was predictable in the best way possible, where everyone had their happily ever after.

I'm looking forward to reading more by Maddie Dawson.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing, Maddie Dawson, NetGalley and Suzy Approved Book Tours for providing me with the digital ARC in exchange my honest review.

My Rating:

4.5

Favorite Quotes:

“I made a little temporary engagement ring for you out of a twist tie I had.” He reaches into his sweatpants pocket and pulls out a piece of wire covered with peppermint-striped paper, all knotted up into a circle, and hands it to me. “The good thing about this kind of ring is that it’s adjustable. And replaceable.” He gives me a big smile. “You could get a new one from me every week.”

So to tell you the real truth, I’m actually hiding out here. My apartment is about the size of a hamster cage, and I have this roommate who rehearses operatic duets in the bathroom with his girlfriend. Something about tile providing the best acoustics.

You can leave us if you want to, but think about whether you might do it kindly… don’t think you have to set fire to what’s behind you in order to go… Just take your place in the world with as much grace and gratitude as you can muster and try to see the best in us.

I’m sorry— but those boobs, Judd! The way she pokes them out at every opportunity. I think they have their own zip code. At the very least, they should be registered with the state.

You’re looking well, by the way. Unchanged in a Dorian Gray kind of way.


My Review:


These are the types of unusual characters and original storylines that keep me interested, curious, and entertained yet twist me up inside and make me itchy and unable to determine if I liked it or loved it until I peruse through my highlighted passages. The writing was superb, engaging, and pulled sharp visuals to my mind's eye. Ms. Dawson's style is also easy to follow and cleverly amusing as well as emotive, insightful, and often disconcerting as I wanted more for the characters than what is happening for them on the page.

Phronsie’s was a train wreck of a family and it didn’t need to be, but then again, no family does. They were making each other miserable while saying and believing that what they were doing was for the best, and it kind of was and really wasn’t. Thankfully, there were generous servings of amusing wit and humorous observations and inner musings to lighten the tone and even out the balance of a lifetime of familial tension and hostility. Phronsie was not always likable but I was rooting for her, even when I wanted to give her a whack or two with my Kindle. I had faith this crafty scribbler would get her there but she certainly kept me hanging until the last few pages with an eruption of pleasant and shrewdly paced twists.

Maddie Dawson, Author of “The Magic of Found Objects” has written a delightful, entertaining, witty, intriguing, and thought-provoking novel. The genres for this book are Women’s Friendship Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Fiction, and Romance. The timeline for this story is set in the author’s present and goes back to the Woodstock Festival. The author describes her colorful characters as complex, complicated, quirky, confused, and dysfunctional.

What exactly is love? Through music and art, there have been descriptions. Magicians often feel there has to be a special essence of magic. Phronsie Linnelle often wishes and thinks about what true love is. Phronsie and her twin brother were conceived in Woodstock by a young farmer and a free-loving spirited woman.(Janet or Tenaj) The farmer and that free-spirited woman’s marriage didn’t last, and the farmer and his current wife have brought up Phronsie and her brother. Tenaj is very creative and does speak or see Phronsie infrequently. There are times that Phronsie feels that her mother has a “magical” pull with some objects or thoughts.

Phronsie has had more than 42 dates and each of them has been a disappointment. She was also married to a handsome man that betrayed her. The one constant is her best friend Judd, who literally proposes that because they are such great friends, they would have a perfect marriage. Phronsie has to ask herself, “Is there such a thing as true love?”

I love the way that Maddie Dawson vividly describes the characters, the plot, the events, and the scenery. I appreciate that the author describes the importance of self-worth, communication, the importance of family, friends, love, and hope. I would highly recommend this heart-warming and thought-provoking novel to other readers.