Fiction Review: The Matzah Ball

My last book read in December 2022 was, appropriately, The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer. This was a departure for me, as I don't normally read many romances or holiday-themed novels, but it was a special exception. Both the author and the main character share my chronic illness immune disorder, ME/CFS. It was refreshing to see my own life reflected in the pages of a novel (which is rare), but the book was also entertaining and a lot of fun.

Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt's father, Rabbi Aaron Goldblatt, is a world-renowned Jewish religious leader. She was brought up on Long Island and attended the Jewish Camp Ahava every summer of her youth. When she was eighteen, she was struck down with ME/CFS, a debilitating immune disorder, though she lives her life as best as she can, within the limits of her disease. But Rachel has a big secret, kept from everyone except her best friend, Mickey: Rachel is a best-selling author, under the pen name Margot Cross, of ... Christmas romances. She knows it would destroy her parents (and possibly her father's reputation) to find out about her secret life, so she tells everyone she's a freelance writer. In her apartment, her spare bedroom/office is crammed from floor to ceiling with all kinds of Christmas decorations, posters of her books and movies, and awards she's won, plus her enormous collection of Santa figurines. Margot Cross doesn't make public appearances, but that is just fine with Rachel, since she wouldn't have the stamina for it anyway. Now, her summer camp nemesis, Jacob Greenberg, is coming to New York ... and her parents have invited him to Shabbat dinner! She has no desire to see this guy she was in love with who humiliated her in front of the entire camp when they were twelve years old, but she goes to her parents' house that weekend with an ulterior motive. Her publishing house is insisting her next book be a Hanukkah romance, and Jacob, a professional party planner, is hosting a huge Matzah Ball Max next week. Rachel just has to get to a ticket, to provide some inspiration on how to make Hanukkah seem as magical as Christmas.

So, right off the bat, even as a non-romance reader, I noticed plenty of classic romance tropes here: enemies-to-lovers, secret life, second chances, and all kinds of misunderstandings between Rachel and Jacob. But this novel is unique because Rachel isn't your typical perfect romance heroine straight out of a Hallmark Christmas movie. She feels very real and authentic, flaws and all. Of course, as a fellow ME/CFS sufferer, I greatly appreciated the honesty in how her restricted life is portrayed, but I don't want to give the impression that this novel is depressing. It's very entertaining, with plenty of humor and romcom-ness; it's just also real. You can expect lots of hilarious hijinks and a happy ending in this unique holiday romance.

385 pages, Mira

Harlequin Audio

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This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

Mount TBR Challenge

Monthly Motif Challenge - The Fire Is So Delightful (fire/candles on the cover)

Diversity Challenge (December mini challenge - religious minorities)

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here, narrated by Dara Rosenberg. and/or download it from Audible.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores (audio sample here, too).

 

Print and e-book from Amazon.

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!