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jackiehorne's review against another edition
DNF at 1/3 in. A 30-year-old Jewish woman with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) is secretly a writer of category Christmas romances. But she's taken aback, rather than excited by, being asked by her publisher to write a Hanukkah romance, and somehow feels she needs to wrangle an invitation to the upcoming big "Matzah Ball Max" event from her old camp nemesis in order to get inspiration for the task. Although the author herself is Jewish, the narrative (or at least the first third that I got through) reads like its intended audience is Christian, and so needs every detail about Jewish life and experience explained in order to understand what's going on. Although the narrator tells us that protagonist Rachel is part of the Jewish community, on the page we do not see her showing love or even connection to her Jewish identity (is she reform? Conservative? Orthodox?), which I found deeply off-putting. Part of the problem is the narrative's over-investment in telling rather than showing (SO MUCH info dumping about the misunderstanding between Rachel and Jacob at camp that led to their estrangement, and so much interior ruminating on past events rather than on current plot). But part of it stems from the fact that the story often feels like it was written by someone who doesn't have a lot of love for Judaism, or perhaps someone who has more of an outsider than insider view of the culture and treats it in a totalizing way (which is odd, because the author's bio says she attended rabbinical school for 5 years!). And despite her illness (or perhaps because of it?) Rachel comes across as immature and silly, not at all an appealing protagonist.
Had to stop when I reached the scene where Rachel goes and sits on Santa's lap at Rockefeller Center and treats him like a therapist ("Santa sighed. But Rachel understood what this was between them. She had seen it countless times in both her Christmas novels and movies. The grumpiness was just a front. Santa obviously loved her.") Yeah, no. If this had been played for over the top comic laughs, it might have worked. But instead of being funny, the whole thing just felt uncomfortable and cringeworthy.
Had to stop when I reached the scene where Rachel goes and sits on Santa's lap at Rockefeller Center and treats him like a therapist ("Santa sighed. But Rachel understood what this was between them. She had seen it countless times in both her Christmas novels and movies. The grumpiness was just a front. Santa obviously loved her.") Yeah, no. If this had been played for over the top comic laughs, it might have worked. But instead of being funny, the whole thing just felt uncomfortable and cringeworthy.
freckleduck's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book and it was a fun escape!
shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
A traditional romance in the sense that the two main characters initially dislike each other and then fall in love. In this case, Rachel is the daughter of a Rabbi and a member of the Jewish community in good standing (except she secretly writes romance novels and loves everything Christmas) and Jacob is a successful Jewish boy coming back to his hometown to make a splash. The 'twist' is that Rachel suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome so the reader gets a feel for what it's like to live with a chronic illness - based on the author's own experiences.
alexisrt's review against another edition
4.0
Romance novels aren't usually my genre, but a trusted friend recommended this, and I needed some fluff.
It's surprisingly good. This is in more the funny and fluffy vein—strictly PG, no steamy sex scenes. It's *very* Jewish, and Meltzer (a rabbinical school dropout) does a great job. A lot of the time, writers ignore everyone who isn't either completely secular or Orthodox. Here we have a rabbi's daughter who keeps kosher, wears a tallit, and makes references to the midrash. Meltzer doesn't dumb it down, either--if you don't know what the Al Cheit is, she leaves it for you to Google. She goes a little heavy on Jewish humor, but it's a romance; it can take it. It's also self-aware of the problem with setting up a Chanukah themed romance: this isn't our big holiday! Although the novel sets things up by making Rachel a Christmas romance writer who is obsessed with the holiday, Christmas thankfully doesn't take up much of the book.
Meltzer also does a really nice job of handling chronic illness, which isn't common in popular fiction. Rachel has an illness, and it's portrayed realistically and compassionately, but she's also a fully realized character who deserves, in romance novel tradition, to meet her dream man. The gay Black best friend is a little too clichéd, but there’s some story elements that really push it that way (aside from being Black—on the other hand it’s also good to have a character who doesn’t fit into the Ashkenazi stereotype.)
It's surprisingly good. This is in more the funny and fluffy vein—strictly PG, no steamy sex scenes. It's *very* Jewish, and Meltzer (a rabbinical school dropout) does a great job. A lot of the time, writers ignore everyone who isn't either completely secular or Orthodox. Here we have a rabbi's daughter who keeps kosher, wears a tallit, and makes references to the midrash. Meltzer doesn't dumb it down, either--if you don't know what the Al Cheit is, she leaves it for you to Google. She goes a little heavy on Jewish humor, but it's a romance; it can take it. It's also self-aware of the problem with setting up a Chanukah themed romance: this isn't our big holiday! Although the novel sets things up by making Rachel a Christmas romance writer who is obsessed with the holiday, Christmas thankfully doesn't take up much of the book.
Meltzer also does a really nice job of handling chronic illness, which isn't common in popular fiction. Rachel has an illness, and it's portrayed realistically and compassionately, but she's also a fully realized character who deserves, in romance novel tradition, to meet her dream man. The gay Black best friend is a little too clichéd, but there’s some story elements that really push it that way (aside from being Black—on the other hand it’s also good to have a character who doesn’t fit into the Ashkenazi stereotype.)
goldandjules's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
antireading's review against another edition
Bored out of my mind. It’s a chore to pick up. Also the reason they are enemies is a miscommunication from when they were 12 which is so dumb. Also also the plot felt agonizingly slow- I got a third in and the characters had only talked once