Oh man, this story. Where do I even begin? It was a cute holiday romance. I did love all the Jewish and Hanukkah references, the food descriptions were relatively well done, and there were actually a few things I learned about the Jewish culture that I never knew before. Though I'm usually not one for a romance book with zero smut, I pushed myself to finish this book, despite my insides screaming at me to stop.

Anyway, I digress, I will say, there were a few things about this book that bothered me, which is why it only got a 2.5 rounded down to 2 since half stars don't exist on Goodreads/NetGalley, and I believe the things that bothered me about this novel deserve the three star deduction.

First: “Rachel wanted to tell people the truth about what she did for a living, but coming out wasn’t that easy. She couldn’t just stand up on the bima, like Mickey had done at his bar mitzvah all those years prior, and tell everyone the truth.“ --- In case you’re a little lost, though this does happen in the very first chapter, the main character is comparing her telling people she writes Christmas themed romance novels to her friend coming out as gay. I was honestly so taken aback by this comparison that I really had to push myself to continue. As a bisexual, the fact that coming out was compared to basically telling people Christmas is your favourite, really hurt. Coming out isn't easy. For some, its traumatically life changing - for the author to compare it to something so trivial, made me feel shame for Meltzer.

Second: The MC joked about being a part of IOF and killing Palestinians and it was supposed to be flirty banter. Nothing about IOF killing Palestinians is funny. The author deserves to take a good long look in the mirror and think before using genocide as "witty, flirtatious banter" SMH.

Those were my two biggest concerns, and why this book won't get recommended by me, or even purchased and added to my shelf. I refuse to support an author who can easily and without hesitation write these things.

I am a little conflicted on this one. I loved the different representation and learning more about a culture different from my own. I struggled with the connection between Kiran and her parents. The expectations, the vile things they said to her and yet she still felt obligation to them. I appreciated some of the conversations between Kiran and Nash regarding disparaging comments about her name. With Kiran and Nash I really enjoyed their connection and the trips they took to cross off items on her bucket list. There was a push and pull due to Kiran feeling like she needed to have her parents arrange a marriage for him with someone they chose after they have already disowned her older sister for choosing a love connection with someone of a lower class. I liked to see that towards the end they made some strides to bring the family back together and Nash made a grand gesture to show Kiran how much he cared about her. The romance itself was pretty fade to black - closed door romance, but it was sweet. The cultural representation was big, and I really loved the friendships between Kiran and her three friends who played a big part in the story and I would loved to see them get their stories. Having grown up in America it was hard for me to relate to the parental connection and obligations. However, I am sure others will have a stronger connection with the story.

Re-read.

Whenever I feel like I'm worrying about things too much, I pick up this book. It's a really quick read, but it's got a great message. Plus, I love Lauren Graham ever so much.

Cute little fluffy short story. I ADORED the video game references and think Mara had one of the coolest jobs and I would TOTALLY run a retro arcade. This close proximity-enemies to lovers romance was a good read, lots of things that I adore in a novel. I do wish it was a bit longer, but it was written as a short story, and it summed up nicely.

I adored this book so much, and I went immediately to find book one in the series as I haven't read it yet and I'm dying to now. It was so cute and the ending was just what I wanted to happen. I loved Paige, and I resonated with her for sure. The addition of this cozy cat café was my cup of tea and it made me love the book even more. I listened to this via NetGalley Audiobook - I enjoyed the narrator so much! Definitely recommend. 4.5 stars rounded up since I can't do half stars yet!

Full review to come on my blog!

I loved this. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was wonderful. The narrator of the audiobook was lovely. Definitely one I would recommend.