Magical Meet Cute by Jean Meltzer

Magical Meet Cute by Jean Meltzer

Published by MIRA ISBN 9780778334415

Trade paperback, $18.99, 400 pages

From the publisher:

From the author of the buzzy The Matzah Ball comes a romantic comedy for fans of Sally Thorne, about a lonely potter who drunkenly creates a golem doll of her perfect match—and meets the man of her dreams the next day.

Is he the real deal…or did she truly summon a golem?

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.

My thoughts:

I have enjoyed reading Jean Meltzer's romance novels for many reasons. Her characters are interesting and not the stock "perfect" romance protagonists, they have serious issues to deal with- Avital in Kissing Kosher has a chronic health issue (as does Meltzer herself), Dara in Mr. Perfect On Paper has General Anxiety Disorder, and Faye in Magical Meet Cute was subjected to trauma and abuse by her mother as a child.

Meltzer is Jewish and I am not so I find learning about Jewish cultures and traditions enlightening. In Magical Meet Cute Faye is artistic and has mystical beliefs, and the reader learns more about what that entails. 

I am familiar with the Woodstock area of upstate New York, which most people know as the place where the famous 1969 concert was held. The Woodstock of today is filled with artists, musicians, and a tight-knit community of caring people. In Magical Meet Cute, even that Woodstock is not immune to the problems of the world, where anti-Semitism has reared its ugly head.

The novel is a romantic comedy- Faye's sometimes comical efforts to discover if Greg is a golem she conjured and her elderly neighbor Nelly is a hoot- but the serious tones of anti-Semitism add gravity to the story. There are a few twists here (one which I guessed) but the big mystery is finding out who Greg really is, and I was totally invested in that.

Although I don't usually read romances with magical elements, I truly enjoyed Magical Meet Cute and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a good romance with intriguing characters and a small town setting.

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Summer 2024 Blog Tours.

Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer

Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer

Published by MIRA Books ISBN 9780778334408

Trade paperback, $18.99, 432 pages

I enjoy reading Jean Meltzer's romances (The Matzah Ball and 

Mr. Perfect on Paper) because I've learned so much about Jewish customs and traditions, and her newest novel, Kissing Kosher, adds another layer of learning.

Avital manages her family's popular Brooklyn Jewish bakery, Best Babka. Her twin brother is the creative baker, and Avital runs the business end of things. Avital also lives with a chronic illness called Interstitial Cystitis, which causes her disabling pelvic pain that makes everyday living difficult. Doctors haven't been very helpful, they are unable or unwilling to give her pain medication, and nothing else seems to work.

Business has been good at Best Babka, so Avital decides to hire a new person to join their tight-knit crew.

Ethan Rosenberg applies to work there, and Avital hires him unaware that Ethan has an agenda. He has been sent there to steal the recipe for the famous Pumpkin Spice Babka Bread.

Ethan's grandfather Moishe and Avital's grandfather used to be business partners until a serious falling-out resulted in a breakup of the partnership and friendship. The men became sworn enemies, trading insults and expensive lawsuits over the years.

Of course, Ethan is attracted to Avital which complicates matters. The more time he spends at the bakery and with Avital, the less he wants to do his grandfather's bidding, but there are family complications that he can't ignore.

I loved learning all about the bakery business, I found it fascinating. It made me want to search out the closest Jewish bakery near me to try their delicious treats. 

 Author Jean Meltzer lives with a serious chronic condition and she gives the reader a true look at the challenges of that. Her descriptions are so visceral, the reader can almost feel Avital's pain.

As Ethan and Avital's relationship blossoms, it can only be a matter of time before Avital learns the truth about Ethan's identity. What will happen then?

Once again, Jean Meltzer has created interesting characters and put them in a sticky romantic situation. Kissing Kosher is a little deeper than her previous books, dealing with a serious medical condition that many people (including myself) know little about. 

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Summer 2023 Blog Tours.

Mr. Perfect on Paper by Jean Meltzer

Mr. Perfect on Paper by Jean Meltzer

Published by MIRA ISBN 9780778386162

Trade paperback, $16.99, 416 pages

Last year I read a cute holiday romance, The Matzah Ball, by Jean Meltzer. It was a nice changeup from all the usual Christmas-themed books that pop up around the holidays, and I learned a lot about Hanukkah celebrations.

Jean Meltzer's new novel, Mr. Perfect on Paper, tells the story of thirty-something Dana Rabinowitz, a matchmaker. She is a third-generation matchmaker, following in her beloved 90 year old bubbe (grandmother) Miriam and her deceased mother's footsteps. Dara took matchmaking into the 21st century creating an app called J-Mate, specifically for Jewish people looking for a marriage mate who shares their values. 

Dara has General Anxiety Disorder (GAD), something that many people battle silently. One of the only things that calms her is listening to a police and fire scanner app, which you might think would create more anxiety, but it has a soothing effect on Dara.

 Dara and Miriam are invited to appear on Good News, a national afternoon show with a low ratings. At first reluctant to do the show, Dara agrees because it will help her company launch a new feature on their app, because Miriam is so excited to do it, and the fact that Dara has a major crush on the handsome anchorman Chris Steadfast doesn't hurt. 

Things are going well until Miriam embarasses Dara by sharing a list Dara made years ago called Mr. Perfect on Paper.  The list is an extremely detailed description of the perfect man for Dara. Dara is mortified even more so when the segment goes viral.

 

Chris decides that the only way to keep his show from being cancelled is to set Dara up on dates to find Mr. Perfect and have the show follow the dates live. Dara reluctantly agrees, knowing the publicity will help her company and she'll get to spend time with Chris.

Since the Jewish holidays are approaching, the dates all revolve about each holiday. Each date is more disasterous (literally) than the previous one, providing for good television but embarassing Dara further. When she meets a man who is Mr. Perfect on Paper, Chris finds that his feelings for Dara are more than professional. But he is not Jewish, and that is a deal breaker for Dara- or is it?

Dara dealing with her GAD elevates this romantic novel, and as someone who isn't very familiar with Judaism, I appreciated learning about the history and culture. Being Jewish is more than a religion to her, it is her identity. If you're looking for a romance that will enlighten as well as entertain you, look no further than Mr. Perfect on Paper. 

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Summer 2022 Rom-Com Blog Tour.

Friday 5ive- August 5, 2022

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly post featuring five things that caught my attention this week. It really is the Dog Days of Summer, this heat is crazy, even for August.

1) The Beach Club Book Club had our annual meeting at the beach club of one of our members. We read Adriana Trigiani's epic family novel, The Good Left Undone, and had a lovely luncheon. Our discussion of the book led us to talk about our own families, and the things we don't know about them but would like to.  Matelda, the protagonist of the novel, would have been pleased with us as one of the best quotes from the book is "Families are only as strong as their stories".  

Our host Kerry and her sister Kathy shared that their grandmother worked in vaudeville. She showed us photos and letters, and they even have a poster featuring their grandmother hanging on their wall. It was fascinating. We talked about the things our families have handed down, and many of those are family recipes, which we share in books, on printed tea towels, and wall hangings. Our desserts kept with the theme, with Italian cookies, cannolis and sfoglia (a nod to the Italian characters) and Scottish shortbread (in honor of Matelda's father, Scottish seaman John Lawrie McVicars).

Mary Beth printed two quotes from the book to inspire us, and she brought prosecco to toast to Matelda before we adjourned. Kerry even gave us each a lovely pin with our initials on it to commemorate Matelda's family business,  designing and creating jewelry. It was the perfect ending to another delightful Beach Club Book Club meeting.

Toasting to Matelda and Adriana Trigiani

Two of our favorite quotes from the book

Italian and Scottish-themed desserts

A jeweled initial pin was gifted to remember our discussion 

2)  As I was doing my laundry at 6:30am, it occured to me how much we depend on our phones for everything. The laundry room in our building now has an app (Hercules Mobile) that allows you to pay for your laundry without having to use a laundry card. You can start the washer and dryer with the app, refill the app with your credit card (and not have to worry if I have $20 in cash to refill the card), and the app will notify your phone when your laundry is done. It is also supposed to give a room status update so you can know if there any machines available for use, but this has not been working as of late. 

And speaking of a card I no longer need, you can use your phone to pay for subway rides. Every subway station now has Omni pay, so you can open your Apple wallet or credit card and tap and pay for your rides. This is all very convenient, as I hate digging around for cards in my wallet. However if I lose my phone, well I guess I won't be able to do laundry or go anywhere. 

When the app works, this is a great feature

3) I saw on our local news this morning that certain branches of the New York Public Library will be having a Dance Party on Saturday, August 6th. The Webster branch where the bookstore I volunteer is located is not on this list, however we at the Book Cellar will be having an all-day Dance Party while we sell books. Shall it be Disco, 70s, or 80s music tomorrow?

4)  I binge watched all eight episodes of the wonderful Uncoupled  on Netflix this week. Neil Patrick Harris is amazing as an almost-50 year old gay man who, on the night he throws a huge surprise 50th birthday party for his boyfriend of 17 years, discovers his boyfriend has moved out of their apartment. He is completely shell-shocked and turns to his friends (the fantastic Brooks Ashmanskas as an artgallery owner, Marcia Gay Harden as an Upper East Side divorcee, and Tisha Campell as his partner at a real estate firm) for help. Now that he is back in the dating scene, he finds it's a different story now that he is not in his twenties. If you liked Sex and the City, you'll love this. (It's created by Darren Star who did SATC.) It's poignant and funny and the New York setting is breathtaking. 

5) It was another busy week, but I managed to I read two books. Katie Gutierrez's novel, More Than You'll Ever Know, is one that true crime fans will want to read. Cassie writes about true crime for a website, something that she wishes paid better. When she comes across a newspaper story about a woman who was married to two men at the same time- one in Laredo, Texas, one in Mexico City- and one of the husbands killed the other one nearly thirty years ago, she wants to find out more. Lore was married to Fabian and they have twin sons. Lore has a good job at a bank, and she travels to Mexico for work frequently. Fabian's decorative ironwork business runs into problems as a recession decimates his business. He moves from Laredo to Austin to try and save the business while Lore remains home with their teenage sons. When she meets Andres in Mexico City, she is entranced by him and falls in love. How she ends up married to two men at the same time intrigues Cassie who manages to get Lore to agree to tell her story so Cassie can write a book about her. Gutierrez writes a compelling story, and she puts the reader inside the heads of these two intriguing women. It's a fascinating character study as well as a mystery, and the truth of what exactly happened the night of the murder consumes Cassie, as well as the reader. See if you can guess the ending. (Bonus- you'll be able to practice your high school Spanish.)

Jean Meltzer's new novel, Mr. Perfect on Paper, tells the story of Dana Rabinowitz, a third generation matchmaker. She updates her family's business when she creates the succcessful J-Mate, an app for Jewish people looking for a marriage mate. Dara has General Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and one of the only things that calms her is listening to a police and fire scanner app. When Dara and her bubbe (grandmother), 90 year-old Miriam, appear on Good News, a national afternoon show with a small audience, Miriam embarasses Dara by sharing a list Dara made called Mr. Perfect on Paper.  The list is an extremely detailed description of the perfect man for Dara. Their segment goes viral much to Dara's dismay. The host of Good News, handsome single dad Chris Steadfast, decides that the only way to keep his show from being cancelled is to set Dara up on dates to find Mr. Perfect. Dara reluctantly agrees, knowing the publicity will help her company. Dara dealing with her GAD elevates this romantic novel, and as someone who isn't very familiar with Judiasm, I appreciated learning about the history and culture. (I also liked Meltzer's first novel, The Matzah Ball.) My full review posts on Tuesday.

Have a safe, healthy, cool week. Don't forget, you can support independent bookstores (including the Book Cellar) by buying books on Bookshop.org.

You can find this post and other food-related posts on Weekend Cooking at The Adventures of An Intrepid Reader.  

The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer

The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer

Published by MIRA, ISBN 9780778311584

Trade paperback, $15.99, 416 pages

At this time of year I enjoy reading Christmas books, and the opportunity to read a Hanukkah story intrigued me, especially Jean Meltzer's The Matzah Ball with its unique leading lady. Rachel is the daughter of an esteemed rabbi father and doctor mother. She's also secretly Margot Cross, the bestselling author of twenty Christmas romances.

Rachel's lifelong best friend Mickey is one of few people who know she is Margot, and the only one who has seen her Christmas room- filled to the brim with all kinds of Christmas decorations, including her beloved and numerous Santa collection. It's every Hallmark movie come to life in one room. 

The other secret Rachel has is that she has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Most people don't understand the disease, believing that people who suffer from CFS are just low-energy or lazy. Rachel can be bedridden for days, unable to even raise her arms without pain. (Jean Meltzer also has CFS, something that gives the reader a better understanding of the disease.)

When Rachel's publisher tells her that this year they want her to write a Hanukkah romance, Rachel is stunned. How can she write a Hanukkah romance? Christmas is so festive, with so many different traditions, like the Rockefeller Christmas tree, and the Radio City Music Hall Christmas show. Hanukkah doesn't have all that.

Rachel decides that she must do some serious research for her Hanukkah book to get it right. She hears about the Matzah Ball, a big weeklong party for wealthy Jewish people to be held at a ritzy New York hotel. That's perfect! There will be lots of single people there, she can soak up the atmosphere and get some good details for her book.

There are some problems though. The host of the event is Jacob Greenberg, CEO of Greenberg Entertainment, one of the premier event organizers in the world. Jacob is also the guy who humilated and broke Rachel's heart at summer camp when she was twelve.

The event is sold out, but Jacob is willing to let Rachel come if she volunteers the week of the event. Jacob has a different view of what happened when they were twelve; he believes that Rachel broke his heart.

What happens when Rachel and Jacob spend the week working together? There are misunderstandings,  mishaps, and yes, sexual tension. The Matzah Ball is a funny, sweet enemies-to-friends story. The characters are delightful, and as someone who has planned events in the past, I reveled in the descriptions of the event coming together. I liked learning about Hanukkah, the traditions and the food, and you will pick up a fair amount of Yiddish phrases. 

The Matzah Ball is a welcome addition to the canon of holiday romances, and I hope that Jean Meltzer continues Rachel and Jacob's story in future books.

Thanks to Harlequin Books for putting me on their Holiday Romance Tour.

Friday 5ive- November 12, 2021

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post featuring five things that caught my attention this week.

1)  When you get up at 6am to do laundry, sometimes you are greeted by this gorgeous red sky over the East River. It almost makes it worth getting up so early. Almost.

2)  Living in New York, surrounded by concrete and highrise buildings, it's a treat to see pretty landscaping. I saw this in front of the Bristol apartment building while I was running errands.

3)  Also while running errands, I listened to a fascinating podcast. On Next Question with Katie Couric, journalist Margaret Sullivan talked with Katie about her book, Ghosting the News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy. Sullivan (now with The Washington Post and formerly with The New York Times) spoke about her work as the editor at The Buffalo News and how important local newspapers are to a community and our democracy. Local newspapers attend city, town council, and school board meetings, report on local arts scenes, and highlight community members. So much of today's media are now in the hands of politically motivated monopolies (Sinclair Broadcasting TV stations) and hedge funds that only care about profits (Alden Global Capital which now owns such prestigious newspapers as Chicago Tribune, Denver Post, Baltimore Sun), it's dangerous to our democracy. Young reporters from Report for America also shared their work in local communities underserved by media. As someone who grew up in a small community with a very strong local newspaper that still exists, I really appreciated this podcast and I will be buying Margaret's book. 

4)  On Veterans' Day, MeTV ran the series finale of MASH, which is something that is rarely seen on TV. I've been on a MASH kick, as TV Land runs two hours of episodes in the morning from 9am-11am and I like to watch it while I'm doing my morning chores. I vividly recall watching the last episode in my college dorm, with dozens of us crowded around the television in the common room, and I'm not sure I have seen it since then in 1983. The MeTV broadcast also had interviews with cast members, writers, and producers during the three hour event. It was a powerful ending to a classic television show that artfully combined drama and comedy. You can see the interviews here. 

5) I read three books this week. The first is a super suspense thriller, All Her Little Secrets, a debut novel by Wanda M. Morris. When lawyer Ellice Littlejohn walks into her boss's office early one morning and finds him dead from a gunshot wound, she runs away to her office and tells no one. Why? Ellice, the only Black lawyer at Houghton Transportation Corporation, was having an affair with her now-dead white boss. She finds herself caught in a dangerous tangled web that includes her younger brother, along with the CFO of Houghton who clearly dislikes Ellice, the female head of HR, and the CEO who appears to be suffering from dementia. It's a twisty novel that combines the movie Get Out with the legal thrillers of John Grisham. It's a real page-turner.   

Now that Mariah Carey has declared it's time for Christmas, I read two holiday-themed books. Jean Meltzer's The Matzah Ball serves up a Hanukkah story. Rachel, the daughter of an esteemed rabbi, has a secret- she is also Margot Cross, the bestselling author of twenty popular Christmas romances. When her publisher tells her they want a Hanukkah-themed book this year, Rachel must get herself invited to the Matzah Ball, an NYC event that is organized by a man who broke her heart as young teen at summer camp. It's a delightful holiday story, full of heart and humor, and I so enjoyed learning about Jewish foods and traditions. My full review posts on November 21st. 

The second holiday-themed book is Susan Mallery's The Christmas Wedding Guest. The story takes place in the town of Wishing Tree, near Seattle. This town is all about Christmas, with Christmas-themed stores and restaurants surrounding a town square called The Wreath. Sisters Dena and Reggie's parents are renewing their wedding vows at a huge traditional wedding they didn't have when they eloped 35 years ago. Dena is a schoolteacher who also owns the town B&B, and is pregnant having decided to become a single mom when love has eluded her. Reggie left town last year after her boyfriend proposed to her on the Friday after Thanksgiving, hosted a huge engagement party on Saturday, and then dumped Reggie on Sunday. When Reggie's high school boyfriend returns to town with his young son, and rock star Micah is a guest at Dena's B&B, sparks fly and the road to true love is rocky indeed. It's the first book in a new series, and no one gets readers more invested in these charming towns and the people living there better than Susan Mallery. My full review posts November 22nd. 

Stay safe and healthy all.