The Matzah Ball: A Novel
Oy! to the world
Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt is a nice Jewish girl with a shameful secret: she loves Christmas. For a decade she’s hidden her career as a Christmas romance novelist from her family. Her talent has made her a bestseller even as her chronic illness has always kept the kind of love she writes about out of reach.
But when her diversity-conscious publisher insists she write a Hanukkah romance, her well of inspiration suddenly runs dry. Hanukkah’s not magical. It’s not merry. It’s not Christmas. Desperate not to lose her contract, Rachel’s determined to find her muse at the Matzah Ball, a Jewish music celebration on the last night of Hanukkah, even if it means working with her summer camp archenemy—Jacob Greenberg.
Though Rachel and Jacob haven’t seen each other since they were kids, their grudge still glows brighter than a menorah. But as they spend more time together, Rachel finds herself drawn to Hanukkah—and Jacob—in a way she never expected. Maybe this holiday of lights will be the spark she needed to set her heart ablaze.
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Community Reviews
I thought, what's not to love about a bestselling author who's Jewish but secretly writes Christmas romance? Turns out, there's quite a lot about Rachel that I absolutely did not love.
She's whiny and so full of herself that she can't see what's right in front of her face, and don't get me started on the CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) references.
As a nurse I absolutely have compassion for those battling chronic illness, but my gosh talk about "beating a de@d horse". I just feel there was a huge missed opportunity here for true enlightenment and education. Instead, the author has potentially done more harm than good by turning people off of wanting to learn more or feeling empathetic because it's referenced to the point of annoyance.
Overall I felt like there was a good premise here with lots of potential, but unfortunately the ball was dropped on this one, pun intended.
I listened to the audiobook version and though I didn't enjoy the book, I thought narration was well done.
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