Book Blurb:
Snow is falling, holiday lights are twinkling, and Abby Cohen is pissed. For one thing, her most annoying customer, Seth, has been coming into her café every morning with his sunshiny attitude, determined to break down her carefully constructed emotional walls. And, as the only Jew on the tourism board of her Vermont town, Abby’s been charged with planning their fledgling Hanukkah festival. Unfortunately, the local vendors don’t understand that the story of Hanukkah cannot be told with light-up plastic figures from the Nativity scene, even if the Three Wise Men wear yarmulkes. Desperate for support, Abby puts out a call for help online and discovers she was wrong about being the only Jew within a hundred miles. There’s one Seth. As it turns out, Seth’s parents have been badgering him to bring a Nice Jewish Girlfriend home to New York City for Hanukkah, and if Abby can survive his incessant, irritatingly handsome smiles, he’ll introduce her to all the vendors she needs to make the festival a success. But over latkes, doughnuts, and winter adventures in Manhattan, Abby begins to realize that her fake boyfriend and his family might just be igniting a flame in her own guarded heart.
My Review: 3.5 stars
Love you a Latke by Amanda Elliot was just what the doctor ordered this winter. With all the rampant discourse in our world these days, a holiday book celebrating Judaism felt like a calming balm. Fortunately, there were quite a few celebrating Hanukkah, but this was the only one I had on audio which was necessary due to some eye surgery.
I found this book to be light, easy to read and had a good dose of humor. I loved how the only Jewish guy in her small town, (think Stars Hollow, #iykyk) was the guy she found utterly annoying. This story falls in the grumpy vs. sunshine trope with the FMC being the grump while Seth is full of joy and optimism. Seth’s group of friends were so spot on and I’d love to see a novella featuring either Seth’s ex, or one of his guy friends.
Overall, this felt like a holiday hug from the book g-ds. Enjoy!
Quotes I liked:
Princesses ran away. But queens? Queens stayed to face the facts. And I wasn’t a princess. I was a queen.”
“But Hanukkah food? Because Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of the oil, it’s basically a mitzvah to eat fried foods for the holiday. And doing a good deed by eating French fries or doughnuts is the absolute best way to do a good deed.”
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