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lindzt18's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Loved the Jewish and chronic illness rep in this! Without going into any spoiler-y details, the source of tension is a bit farfetched. The idea of two people still being this hung up over their first love when they were 13 took some getting used to. Would have been more believable if it was drama from a messy older teen relationship! Still thought the writing was fun.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Chronic illness
readergonewilde's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Genocide, and Pregnancy
sydneyj's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Antisemitism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Cancer, and Abandonment
kaseybereading's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Cancer, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
lexa's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
All the stars. Delightful story, fantastic narration. (No steam)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer and Antisemitism
linesiunderline's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Matzah Ball was a really sweet, gently humorous read with strong rep for chronic disability. It was completely pleasant, start to finish, and for audiobook fans, the narration was on point.
I think this is about as clean / PG as an adult romance can be and still be considered a romance. This book makes Kerry Winfrey’s romances look racy. I’m good with a bit of open door action in my romances, so I did find myself wondering at the 2/3 mark if this couple was actually going to kiss in the book. I would have liked more evidence of their spark on the page.
Charming, comforting and heartfelt, I could easily picture this one as a sparkly holiday movie. Recommended for anyone who doesn’t mind low steam romance.
I think this is about as clean / PG as an adult romance can be and still be considered a romance. This book makes Kerry Winfrey’s romances look racy. I’m good with a bit of open door action in my romances, so I did find myself wondering at the 2/3 mark if this couple was actually going to kiss in the book. I would have liked more evidence of their spark on the page.
Charming, comforting and heartfelt, I could easily picture this one as a sparkly holiday movie. Recommended for anyone who doesn’t mind low steam romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide, and Xenophobia
foreverinastory's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was so much fun, I really loved this one!!
Rep: white Jewish cishet female MC with chronic fatigue syndrome, white Jewish cishet male MC with depression and past instances of suicidal ideation, adopted Black gay Jewish male side character, Jewish lesbian WLW side couple, Jewish male side character who uses a wheelchair, Jewish side characters.
CWs: Ableism, abandonment, alcohol, chronic illness, grief, mental illness (depression). Moderate: past mentions of bullying, past mentions of terminal cancer, cursing, death, death of parent (past), pregnancy of side character discussed and talk of babies, past mention of suicidal thoughts. Brief: mention of IDF and joking of being a Mossad agent--genocide and colonisation of Palestinian people.
Rep: white Jewish cishet female MC with chronic fatigue syndrome, white Jewish cishet male MC with depression and past instances of suicidal ideation, adopted Black gay Jewish male side character, Jewish lesbian WLW side couple, Jewish male side character who uses a wheelchair, Jewish side characters.
CWs: Ableism, abandonment, alcohol, chronic illness, grief, mental illness (depression). Moderate: past mentions of bullying, past mentions of terminal cancer, cursing, death, death of parent (past), pregnancy of side character discussed and talk of babies, past mention of suicidal thoughts. Brief: mention of IDF and joking of being a Mossad agent--genocide and colonisation of Palestinian people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
Minor: Colonisation and Genocide
forlorn_traveller's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Abandonment and Confinement
Minor: Cancer, Grief, and Death of parent
courtneyfalling's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was so positively surprised by this book! I don't normally rate romances so high, but I really loved Rachel and Jacob and Rachel + Jacob together. Rachel's ME/CFS and chronic illness experience is really well-handled*, I liked how this book balanced lighthearted Jewish representation with slightly heavier moments of reflection on religious weight and generational trauma (but keep in mind that I am a non-Jewish, chronically ill reader), and there's so much witty banter and clever campy (literally) backstory. And like, Rachel's obsessive and hidden love of Christmas? Golden plot device... this whole concept is so carefully constructed and it's as hilarious as it was heartfelt. And even the side characters felt real and whole! Also, I'm a perpetual hater of third act conflicts, but this one felt deserved, the logical culmination of Rachel and Jacob's personalities.
*The caveat here to the third act conflict and the chronic illness representation is that Rachel runs to the Matzah Ball and breaks in flamboyantly through the windows, and I was waiting to see Rachel's crash the following week, or another acknowledgement of limited energy levels and accompanying flares since that had been such a prominent theme through the book. And the ending offered only a quick, all-hopeful wrap-up, which, okay, fine, but I was cringing the entire time that Rachel was running and the toll never got mentioned again. And there's like a very quick reference to Rachel finding an obstetrician, but like, getting pregnant and parenting while disabled is a huge decision and I feel like this merited more attention or weight!
Edit: Moving down to 4 stars after a book club with friends! Some valid critiques and more obvious gaps the second time around.
*
Edit: Moving down to 4 stars after a book club with friends! Some valid critiques and more obvious gaps the second time around.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Chronic illness
Moderate: Ableism and Cancer
Minor: Antisemitism and Genocide
imds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Cancer and Death of parent