Review - - Magical Meet Cute

Magical Meet Cute

by Jean Meltzer

Publisher: MIRA

Release Date: August 27, 2024

Reviewed by Hellie

Faye Kaplan used to be engaged. She also used to have a successful legal practice. But she much prefers her new life as a potter in Woodstock, New York. The only thing missing is the perfect guy. 

Not that she needs one. She’s definitely happy alone. 

That is, until she finds her town papered with anti-Semitic flyers after yet another failed singles event at the synagogue. Desperate for comfort, Faye drunkenly turns to the only thing guaranteed to soothe her—pottery. A golem protector is just what her town needs…and adding all the little details to make him her ideal man can’t hurt, right? 

When a seriously hot stranger mysteriously turns up the next day, Greg seems too good to be true—if you ignore the fact that Faye hit him with her bike. And that he subsequently lost his memory… 

But otherwise, the man checks Every. Single. Box. Causing Faye to wonder if Greg’s sudden and spicy appearance might be anything but a coincidence.

Hellie’s Heeds: 

So say you had really bad luck in the dating territory and had taken yourself off the market; and say you practiced witchcraft; and say after a really harrowing event where you felt you needed a protector…and you’d had some wine, you decided to try your hand at summoning a guardian, a golem, if you will–so far, it was sounding a lot like an average pre-husband Friday night to me, where I honestly believed the perfect man did not exist and I would have to make him up. But Jean Meltzer takes it one step further: Faye Kaplan actually summoned the perfect man…or golem. Faye can’t quite pinpoint which. Greg–well, that’s what she’s calling him, she’s not sure since she’s the reason for his amnesia and she had to call him something–is definitely a man, but he also looks like her wet-dream in real life and his characteristics are alarmingly checking every single box she created in the little clay golem she buried in her backyard just last night.  

The premise is a hoot and a treat–and I thirstily read this book down like the cool drink of lemonade, sweet and tart and refreshing, that it is. The secondary characters, particularly Nelly, are hysterical and add to the antics. But besides being fun, flirty, and all the best of rom-coms, it also pulled in real emotion from real issues: like parental neglect and child abuse, anti-semitism and the escalading violence we continuously see in our communities, and the pain and trauma in always feeling like one is either too much or not enough in our relationships–that we’re inherently unlovable. ANGST! (It’s one of my favorite things about a Jean Meltzer book: the angst and emotion! Recall: it was her Mr. Perfect on Paper which had both me and my husband sobbing from a scene I read to him.) 

Representation matters–and I think these books definitely add perspective to the lived experiences of those who are treated as Other in our communities. I’m always honored and thrilled to read these review books that touch on these issues that affect all of us in one way or another and to learn new perspectives–and maybe also how to be a better ally to those around me. But don’t worry–if that’s not what you’re looking for in a book–I think the straight up rom-com feel of this story will keep you laughing and proclaiming this the perfect beach read.  

I would start offering scenes you definitely need to read, but then I’d need to add a subsequent one…and soon you’d have the whole story told to you and it wouldn’t do it justice. Just know the pacing, the emotion and pacing are well-done, and you will be rooting for Greg and Faye on every page. Apparently you can create the perfect man…and he will find you. Top Dish!

Review - - Happily Never After

Happily Never After

by Lynn Painter

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: March 12, 2024

Reviewed by Hellie

 

Their name? The objectors.

Their job? To break off weddings as hired.

Their dilemma? They might just be in love with each other. 

When Sophie Steinbeck finds out just before her nuptials that her fiancé has cheated yet again, she desperately wants to call it off. But because her future father-in-law is her dad’s cutthroat boss, she doesn’t want to be the one to do it. Her savior comes in the form of a professional objector, whose purpose is to show up at weddings and proclaim the words no couple (usually) wants to hear at their ceremony: “I object!” 

During anti-wedding festivities that night, Sophie learns more about Max the Objector’s job. It makes perfect sense to her: he saves people from wasting their lives, from hurting each other. He’s a modern-day hero. And Sophie wants in. 

The two love cynics start working together, going from wedding to wedding, and Sophie’s having more fun than she’s had in ages. She looks forward to every nerve-racking ceremony saving the lovesick souls of the betrothed masses. As Sophie and Max spend more time together, however, they realize that their physical chemistry is off the charts, leading them to dabble in a little hookup session or two—but it’s totally fine, because they definitely do not have feelings for each other. Love doesn’t exist, after all. 

And then everything changes. A groom-to-be hires Sophie to object, but his fiancée is the woman who broke Max’s heart. As Max wrestles with whether he can be a party to his ex’s getting hurt, Sophie grapples with the sudden realization that she may have fallen hard for her partner in crime.

 

Hellie’s Heeds: 

5 stars, Top Dish, Awesome Beach Read 

The only reason why I wasn’t able to get this review to PJ before she went a-journeying was because I kept stopping in mid-read to hit my husband in the shoulder and go, “Listen to this, listen to this…” and then read it aloud–and then we’d cackle–and I’d go back to reading. It takes me twice as long to listen to the book as it would for me to read it–and here we are. That said, this book was so funny I had to stop every other page or so and read it aloud to whatever half-willing victim (after giving them a “brief” synopsis of the story so far) so they too could enjoy Lynn Painter’s brilliance.  

The story is told in back-and-forth first person POVs of Sophie and Max. Sophie is the greater of the two nihilists, a complete believer that “love” as defined by poets and adolescent idiots does not exist. She’s certainly never felt it. Even when she was about to be married. She felt a companionship for Stuart, an intense friendship–but not “love” of the passionate, all encompassing kind…and she thought he was on the same page. He was not. Turns out he did want a more passionate kind of love–at least on the side–which is how our story starts. Sophie’s bridesmaid hires an Objector, dear Max, to break off Sophie’s wedding so she doesn’t have to marry the cheating SOB. After the failed wedding, when Max comes to collect his paycheck, the drunk almost-bride convinces him to stay and drink with her and the bridesmaid–and he’s almost immediately hooked. 

Neither of them think they’ll see each other again until Max needs her to play the part of Objector in a wedding. Soon they start going to other weddings together, playing Objectors together and having the time of their lives. Each needs the other as a sort of “relationship camouflage” to keep family and coworkers off their backs, which works really well for them until they begin to realize: I really like him/her. Which is shocking to Sophie who does NOT do feelings. Ever. Max isn’t keen on feelings either–but Sophie really doesn’t do feelings.  

As someone who also doesn’t “do feelings” in a Brene Brown kind of way (“It was a year long street fight”), Sophie was very easy for me to relate to. To those of us in the crowd who may have had less dysfunctional parents or childhoods, you may want to shake her a few times for being so obstinate of what is so clearly obvious: LOVE. It’s a nice change of pace to have the girl being the one who struggles with feelings rather than the guy–in contrast, Max is much more a romantic and is much sooner to admit to himself he loves Sophie.  

The black moment was good–but the Groveling was adorable. I *heart* a great Grovel scene…and Sophie’s presentation will have you laughing out loud. It was a quick read with great pacing and hysterical banter. I think it would be perfect in your beach reading (I know how TBR piles can be). Oh, and the secondary characters? Did I forget them? OMG, Larry! Sophie’s cats! Seriously…go read it. 

Review - - Season of Love

Season of Love

by Helena Greer

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: October 11, 2022

Reviewed by Santa

Thanks to her thriving art career, Miriam Blum finally has her decoupaged glitter ducks in a row—until devastating news forces her to a very unwanted family reunion. Her beloved great-aunt Cass has passed and left Miriam part-owner of Carrigan’s, her (ironically) Jewish-run Christmas tree farm.
 
But Miriam’s plans to sit shiva, avoid her parents, then put Carrigan’s in her rearview mirror are spoiled when she learns the business is at risk of going under. To have any chance at turning things around, she’ll need to work with the farm’s grumpy manager—as long as the attraction sparking between them doesn’t set all their trees on fire first.
 
Noelle Northwood wants Miriam Blum gone—even if her ingenious ideas and sensitive soul keep showing Noelle there’s more to Cass’s niece than meets the eye. But saving Carrigan’s requires trust, love, and risking it all—for the chance to make their wildest dreams come true.

 

Santa Says:

Season of Love by Helena Greer will light up your holiday cheer faster than you can unravel last year’s Christmas lights! I am an unabashed holiday romance reader and will gobble up new ones and revisit them year after year. Well, this one had me at Sukkot. Let me backup here for a minute. What would a Christmas romance have to do with the Jewish holiday that takes place in the fall? I’m glad you asked because that is where Season of Love starts, in the Fall at Carrigan’s Christmas Tree Farm owned and operated by our heroine’s Jewish family. And also, because it’s so much more than just another holiday story. There are so many levels of character and depth in this book and Helena Greer writes them masterfully. This debut author is one to keep an eye on. 

Miriam Blum, our main character, lives in Charleston and has made quite a name and presence for herself on the internet as an artist. Her devoted followers known as Bloomers have grown to such a degree that she is about to open her own brick and mortar storefront in Charleston. She has a lovely fiance Tara who is a successful lawyer from Charleston royalty. Cole, her best friend from college, is there for her whenever she needs him. 

Everything is as it should be until she learns of her beloved Great Aunt Cass’ death. She drops everything and flies back to New York to sit shiva for seven days.  Her aunt owned a Christmas tree farm in the Adirondacks in upstate New York. She was catapulted back ten years when she dropped all family connections and ran away to Charleston. But she had only happy memories there at the farm. Her family celebrated Hanukkah every year there. Miriam spent summers there with her aunt, her best friend, and cousin, Hannah and the Matthews who ran the inn on the property. It had been her escape from an abusive and controlling father and her enabling and, seemingly indifferent, mother. 

Her plan was to stay the seven days, avoid her parents at all costs and return to her life in Charleston. However, Carringan’s, her great aunt and the gorgeous, redhead named Noelle who manages the farm seem to all have different ideas on the matter. Her beloved aunt leaves Miriam part owner of the farm and as wonderful a woman as she was, Aunt Cass seemed to have left them in a bit of a financial bind. Miriam’s father rears his vile head, too. And it’s all hands on deck to vanquish old demons, save the farm and bring its magic into the twenty-first century with an online presence and a year round appeal. 

There is an instant visceral pull between Miriam and Noelle but Noelle is resentful of her presence even as she works to help save a farm that has been a sanctuary for Noelle, as well. Miriam’s relationship with her fiance is put to the test by her lengthy absence  and doesn’t survive. As the story develops and we learn more about Noelle and Miriam we see walls crumble and bonds reinforced as they grow as a couple.  

As I said, I am an avid holiday book lover. I am delighted to add this to my keeper shelf and will be rereading it for years to come. I hope you will enjoy it half as much as I have.

 

Review - - Mr. Perfect on Paper

Mr. Perfect on Paper

by Jean Meltzer

Publisher: MIRA

Release Date: August 9, 2022

Reviewed by Hellie

The perfect Jewish husband should be:

• A doctor or lawyer (preferably a doctor)
• Baggage-free (no previous marriages, no children)
• And of course—he must be Jewish 

As the creator and CEO of the popular Jewish dating app J-Mate, matchmaker Dara Rabinowitz knows the formula for lasting love—at least, for everyone else. When it comes to her own love life, she’s been idling indefinitely. Until her beloved bubbe shares Dara’s checklist for “The Perfect Jewish Husband” on national television and charming news anchor Chris Steadfast proposes they turn Dara’s search into must-see TV. 

As a non-Jewish single dad, Chris doesn’t check any of Dara’s boxes. But her hunt for Mr. Perfect is the ratings boost his show desperately needs. If only Chris could ignore his own pesky attraction to Dara—a task much easier said than done when Dara starts questioning if “perfect on paper” can compete with how hard she’s falling for Chris…

 

Hellie’s Heeds 

You’re going to be “verklempt” in every sense of the word. Verklempt, assuming you were an SNL fan in the early 1990s when this word became more mainstream, means: overcome with emotion. Get your chocolate, get your tissues, and clear your schedule because you will be turning pages long into the night as you constantly wonder: “How in the world is Dara going to end up with Chris, who is clearly Mr. Right, even if he’s not perfect on paper?” I have rooted for some fictional couples in my time, but I rooted for Chris and Dara as if my very life depended on it. These two were perfectly flawed, but oh-so-lovable characters with friends and family that were just the right amount of supportive without being intrusive. Well, apart from that scene her grandmother does on live TV.  

The more I read this book, the more I wanted to slow down and take notes about HOW the author did it. For me, it is one of those perfect books to take and pull apart to show all the beats and nuanced tension that kept the story going, making me truly worry (as someone who has read HEA books for over 30 years) if the hero and heroine were going to make this work. This author did all the right things and made it look seamless–and what’s more I know it couldn’t have possibly been seamless–so I applaud her (and her editors) all the more for how perfect this book came out.  

If you have ever been to a writer’s conference or workshop where they talk about character development, one of the first keys to building realistic tension and relatable characters is identifying something (usually a quirk or a boundary for the character) that the character will never do. It doesn’t have to be “big” (like, they’d never rob a bank or kill someone) but it has to be a true boundary for the character. I always get stymied by what seems like a very simple question to answer for my characters; therefore, when I see it so artfully done in books I read, I take notice. I know how hard that was to create and then create the outcomes needed for the character arcs. And the arcs for both of these characters, the quirks and boundaries they each had to overcome, were handled spot-on. If you’re still reading this and you’re like, “I’m just a reader, Hellie, what ARE you talking about?”--just let me say the reunion scene in the end where the two characters are trying to get to each other to declare their love is AMAZE-BALLS. Like When Harry Met Sally or Sleepless in Seattle AMAZE-BALLS. Classic rom-com.  

The Dark Moment scene–I was crying–and I had to read it aloud to my husband, who cries at Disney movies, and then we were both sobbing into our breakfast meals. We are soft-touches for a great dark moment and then an even bigger reunion. The scene with Dara and her grandmother, as Dara realizes what she thought she always wanted isn’t what she wants…and how going for what she truly loves may impact her life and understanding of what it means to be Jewish, had us sobbing harder into our bacon–I mean it, we were a mess. Then when Dara takes the leap of faith–and the ChallahBack Girls come to her rescue: SOLID GOLD.  

And I haven’t even gotten to talk about all the LOL moments–which there is one basically on every page. I assure you I laughed much more than I cried–but when I cried, it was because I was invested and verklempt.  

When I read Jean Metzler’s The Matzah Ball last year, I put her on my auto-buy list, even as I knew sophomore books sometimes don’t live up to the perfection of their predecessors. Worry not, dear readers. It is as perfect as a slow-roasted brisket, cooked for 12 hours on low. This one is definitely going on my list as one of the best books of the year.