Book Review The Eight heartbreaks of Hanukkah: A Jewish Holiday Romantic Comedy by Jean Meltzer

 Wow!  This is a holiday Rom-com that packs a punch and addresses many serious topics while still injecting humor. Quite a balancing act, and one that Jean Meltzer does extremely well! 

Many Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin audio for the audiobook, read by Dara Rosenberg.

I listened to the audiobook with a friend as a buddy read and we both LOVED this!  I chose it because I thought it might be a good one to recommend when people are looking for a romance that is from a different culture. Now, this is set in contemporary Manhattan for the most part and the main characters are mainstream modern Jewish people, but many readers aren't very familiar with Jewish culture and Meltzer does a great job introducing some concepts and traditions that are different and somewhat unique while spinning a ridiculously funny and at the same time heartbreaking second chance romance. I definitely learned so many things about Jewish culture and family!

Without spoilers- Evelyn is a dedicated, driven TV executive, while David is a laid back physician. They married, having a passionate love and shared values between them, but after a tragic event, they drift apart with David settling down on a hobby farm in Pennsylvania. Evelyn is producing a massive holiday extravaganza, when she's suddenly confronted by David who is doing a stint as the production studio doctor. Things get awkward! Evelyn is visited by multiple ghosts of Hanukkah as she revisits past moments, she gains perspective on past events, while David is faced with his continued feelings for Evelyn. Can a Hanukkah miracle happen for this unlikely couple? Well, of course you'll want to read to find out. 

I enjoyed the audiobook. Dara Rosenburg did a great job conveying personality through her narration, and I definitely felt Evelyn's tension and David's more mellow demeanor through the narration! 

Please note the trigger warnings prior to embarking on this journey. The cartoon cover makes it seem like a campy rom- com, but within the pages, Meltzer also seamlessly addresses pregnancy loss, grief, loss of parent, divorce, and more. So, it's important to decide if this is a novel for you, or one you'd give as a gift. Both of us buddy readers did ugly cry hard through some parts of the book. That said, we also could not stop laughing at some of the other parts!   

First Published : 10/2025

Pages: 368

Available as an Audio Book :YES

Trigger Warnings: medical situations, chronic illness, pregnancy loss, child loss, parental death, divorce, irrational main star, chickens and Llamas. 

Not a full TW list, please read responsibly. 

Book Review: All the Water in the World By Eiren Caffall 4.25/5 stars

 All the Water in the World is a new novel (published January 2025) that I immediately put on hold at the library. It fit so well into my water theme! It fits well in March- women's month- as the author Eiren Caffall is a woman. AND, the main character is also female AND - the narrator for the audiobook is fantastic Eunice Wong! so... how did I feel about this? 

Well, I really liked this book a lot! I would not have picked it up- but for the water theme, and I am glad I did. (the benefit of having a theme right here..) In Short we have:

-Original plot/narrative

-Coming of age

-Climate fiction  "Cli-fi" if you will

-Great narration   

No Spoiler summary: . 

Nonie is a young girl who has lived most of her life on top of the NY museum of natural History because water has flooded most ground making it less livable and not always safe. She's an unusual child, one that readers may or may not recognize themselves in, depending on the reader.  After a particularly bad flooding, Nonie and her family make a journey north to find drier ground. As one might imagine, the journey is adventure and peril in equal measure, and it's also a bit of a coming of age for Nonie as she must face loss, make decisions, and learns that some things that look safe are really just menace in disguise. 

What happens for Nonie and her family? Well, that would be the spoiler part. 

 This book was inspired by museum curators in Iraq and Leningrad during times of war, who worked to preserve history for future generations.  Interestingly, this really isn't the main focus of the book and I appreciated how the author took that inspiration and then moved into a different, but related direction. Curators preserved items of significance in hopes that future generations would be able to enjoy and learn from them and that the items would remains touchpoints for community.  While Nonie isn't dragging the blue whale up the coast, she's learning and deciding about different ways people can act in times of disaster, and which way might create the most success for everyone involved. 

When I started reading, I was intrigued as the entire setting of the book was quirky and odd, but I wasn't truly invested I kept reminding myself I was just reading for the water theme, but then, suddenly, at about 35-40% in to the book, I couldn't put it down! And to be honest, it was moving a bit slow up to that point, so while the build up and end was great in hindsight, in the midpoint, I wasn't so sure.  I was sneaking in bits of the audio at the oddest times, making sure things were going like I wanted them to for Nonie. ( but oh they didn't always go the way I hoped!)  I enjoyed a tour of the New York area of the future and while the author is not NY based, she had a good grasp of the areas, and I love love loved that!  The plotting was really very good, and the build-up  and crescendo was great- especially as this is a debut novel for Caffall. I have to admit there was a moment when I felt certain that things would not end very well, but the author skillfully brings us to a gentle conclusion that's hopeful but realistic - something we need in our current times. 

This is NOT a 'Romantasy'  and thank goodness for that, it was such a relief to read a book that didn't have a recycled plot. So if you enjoy literary fiction, and are looking for a book that's engaging with the issues of the day and interpersonal dynamics, I highly recommend picking this up.  It is dubbed as a thriller, and I didn't really find it to be thriller-y at all, so if you want a thriller, this probably is not the book for you. There is a gentleness in the writing that is maybe at odds with the topic, but at the same time, for me, just sort of fit the narrative especially coming from a child's POV.  I do recommend the audiobook because Eunice Wong is an excellent narrator, she brings the story to life, no matter what the topic. 

This book does have some mixed reviews, and I suspect people were expecting something more "action-packed" for me the perspective of Nonie was fabulous- and really captured my experiences of being that age (though thankfully I was not living on top of a museum canoeing through the Hudson in dirty foul water)  I hope you'll give this book a try, and let me know your thoughts.  This is one I am definitely suggesting for the book club! 

STATS

First Published 2025

Pages: 304

Available as an Audio Book : YES

Trigger Warnings:  Medical situations, Storms, child death, death, gun violence, parent death, racism,   

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)

Book Review: All The Rivers By Dorit Rabinyan 5/5 Stars

Choosing water as a theme for 2025  has REALLY  had me choosing some books I might not have read before. All the Rivers by Dorit Rabinyan probably would not have been on my list, but it SHOULD have been.  It should have been on my list in 2014 and it probably should be on your list also. Let me tell you all my reasons why! 

This novel ripped me apart emotionally and really opened up my thoughts.

All the Rivers is a bit like an onion there are so many layers. This book, written by an Israeli woman, has been banned in Israel for young persons as inappropriate content.  (for my US readers, that may sound a little bit familiar).

   The premise of the novel is a love story of Liat (an Israeli) and Helmi (an Arab)  who meet unexpectedly in NYC  and have a deep and passionate love affair. (the book itself, in case anyone is concerned- does not contain on page love scenes or anything of that sort). 

   The writing is really high quality, this is an infinitely readable novel, and although it doesn't have a plot of a typical romance (couple meets, falls in love, faces some challenges, reaffirms love with a Happy Ever after ending) , it draws the reader in to the story.   Having survived the brutal winter that I believe the author is referring to, I could deeply relate as she described the mountains of snow and ice and unending gray skies, as she and Helmi navigate a relationship that is overshadowed by the Middle Eastern Situation.  I felt drawn in and could relate to the life she and Helmi build for themselves. The fact that the writing was still excellent after translation speaks to the skill of Rabinyan and the translator Jessica Cohen. 

   While we explore Liat and Helmi's growing relationship- and the challenges it brings-  the reader is given space to think about and explore concepts of love, cultural identity, prejudice, family, sacrifice and more.  This isn't a true "Love conquers all" story, which makes it all the more attractive.  Liat struggles to not view Helmi as as "enemy", Helmi struggles with Liat's very strongly held beliefs, and neither is able to exactly put these parts of their identity aside in favor of their relationship.  It is indeed a wild dance where they are both it seems about to lose their balance and fall wildly into an ocean of chaos. In fact, I could barely put the book down because I had to know how it would end. 

I will tell you the ending shocked and surprised me and figuratively tore my heart right out of my chest. And after finishing, reading that it was based on a "true story"  I felt so much more sorrow.  But of course, I'm not going to tell anyone how this love affair plays out. 

This is an excellent read for persons interested in the current conflict in the Middle East, 

Folks wanting to read/support banned books, and those who are  interested in reading something that's well written, which will settle into your brain like a thick heavy snow. 

Let me know if you've read this book and what your thoughts were, or if you're going to be requesting it from the library! If you like this post, please share it, as it helps books - even books published some time ago- get discovered and rediscovered. 

STATS

First Published 2014

Pages: 288

Available as an Audio Book : YES

Trigger Warnings:  death, war, inter-racial relationships, political conflict, family turmoil  

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)