Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt is obsessed with Christmas. Normally this isn't a big deal but Rachel is Jewish. She can't help it. Rachel loves Christmas so much she secretly writes Christmas romance books under a pen name. She's living with a chronic illness which makes her dream about a love she thinks she could never have. Her publish pushes her to write a Hanukkah romance but Rachel can't find any inspiration. Unless her archenemy Jacob Greenberg waltz back into town. He turns her world upside down and suddenly Rachel is dreaming about a new type of love story. Rachel and Jacob have crazy history and it's so fun to read about. I loved their banter. I love a good enemy to lovers story and this one totally delivers that. It was also a lot of fun to read about Jewish traditions for a change. The bMatzah Ball is fresh take on holiday romance and I loved it!

I loved the twist on a holiday romance. It is well known versus and I appreciated the depth of characters really living with disabilities.

I am here for the amazing chronic fatigue AND jewish representation in this book. I would love to read more of both so was so excited to get this one for review. I did find some of it over explained to the point of boredom, and I don't think the romance felt right between the two main characters. You kissed once like 15 years ago and never forgot each other? You immediately declare love because of it when you are older? It felt just a little forced and never felt the chemistry between them on the page.

I have to say, I was incredibly excited to see a non-Christmas holiday book this year! There are several winter holidays and festivals, and although as Meltzer points out in the book, Hanukkah is a minor Jewish holiday, it is fantastic to finally start seeing some diversity.

Rachel is an incredible protagonist. We don't see a lot of representation of chronic illness in holiday books, and while it is a big part of her story, it isn't her whole story. Her Christmas story is one of my favourites, too! As I've said elsewhere, I celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday- while many people do celebrate it as a religious holiday, many people observe the secular Christmas. Rachel's love of the cosiness and cheer during the holidays, especially to cope with stress, is like looking in a mirror! Meltzer perfectly balances the difficult with humour and hijinks, and it goes off without a hitch.

The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer is a fun holiday rom-com perfect for fans of Christmas delight and all too many memories of a mother's foiled matchmaking attempts by the light of a menora. Reminiscent of You've Got Mail's Kathleen Kelly, Rachel is a single Jewish woman who hides her Christmas romance novelist career from her religious family. After her childhood frenemy and crush returns to town for the Hannukah and is set up with Rachel, Rachel can't help but be charmed by his humor, good looks, and banter. In spite of herself, Rachel may be falling in love, and she can't keep her career secret for much longer. Find out more of Rachel's story in this joyful, New York City holiday romance.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I began reading this book. What I discovered was a gem of a story that kept me reading late into the night, laughing, cheering, and shedding a few tears, until I turned the final page with a happy sigh.

The Matzah Ball is a breath of fresh air in the crowded landscape of Christmas romances and romantic comedies. While Rachel does harbor a secret love of the "magic" of Christmas and is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than twenty Christmas romances - a fact unknown to her family - she is also a character who is grounded in her faith, her Jewish identity, and her commitment to her rabbi father, doctor mother, and the Jewish community in which she was raised. Jacob is also Jewish and though his upbringing was not as strictly observant as Rachel's, the adult man he has grown into is also grounded in faith and heritage. I very much enjoyed the Jewish traditions, rituals, and weekly observances that the author has woven into this book. I learned a great deal about a religion and culture different from mine and I've always believed that the more we know about one another, the more understanding and acceptance will occur.

Religion and culture are not the only representations front and center in this book. Rachel lives with the chronic illness ME/CFS, otherwise known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I applaud the author for creating a main character with this disease and addressing the challenges of living with it straight on. I encourage readers to take the time to read the Acknowledgements and Author's Note at the end of the book for more insight into this disease and how the author was able to bring such authenticity to her character.

Jacob has his issues as well, though his are more emotional in nature than physical. The way he responded to Rachel's condition endeared him to me and I began to lean more into his corner though he wasn't quite there yet. Neither was Rachel. Did I mention layers? There's plenty of humor in their story and, yes, I found myself laughing out loud many times. But both Jacob and Rachel have complicated life histories that need to be sorted out before they are able to come to each other with a clear understanding and open hearts. I enjoyed their evolution and appreciated the depth that flowed alongside the plentiful humor and antics.

The entire cast of characters Meltzer has created are so fully developed, so vividly portrayed and realistic that by the time I was halfway through the book they had ceased to be characters on the page and became treasured friends instead. I wanted to hang out with Rachel's best friend, Mickey, travel the world with Jacob's 91-year-old Bubbe (seriously, I want to be her when I grow up), and score a warm hug from Rachel's mother. I also wouldn't mind a few weeks with executive assistant, "Martha Poppins" in residence!

If you haven't yet discovered Jean Meltzer's The Matzah Ball, I enthusiastically recommend adding it to your fall/winter reading list. I'm hoping there are more stories percolating in this talented author's imagination.

4.5 stars
ARC received for fair and unbiased review

Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt lives in New York City. Her father is a well-known rabbi, her mother a doctor. Rachel’s occupation is a secret from her parents and just about everyone else. You see, Rachel lives and breaths for one holiday a year…Christmas! And to make matters worse, she is a best-selling Christmas author known as Margot Cross whose books have been turned into movies. She can hardly brag about that to her orthodox Jewish family.

Rachel has another secret. One she has kept from her book editors. She was diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome when she was in college. On bad days she can not get out of bed, and sleeps for twenty hours. On good days she can get up and watch a bit of television. Rachel had to drop out of college, and she needed to reevaluate her career goals, figure out what she could possibly do which would keep her motivated and interested without having to go to work a 9 to 5 job somewhere. That was when she discovered her love of writing, especially creating Christmas stories!

But when her editor calls her into her office to suggest she change her next Christmas novel into a Hanukkah story she is not happy. Although she of course knew all about Hanukkah traditions, none seemed as exciting as the exhilaration of Christmas. But Rachel’s editor was adamant. Either write a Hanukkah story or lose your next contract. So Rachel begins to try and plot her next move. With her parents not knowing what she does for a living, just her real name on the book would blow her cover.

Adding to her stress which does not help her physical condition at all, she learns her years ago summer camp love, Jacob Greenberg was coming back from Paris, France where he mysteriously took off for after their one summer of torturing each other to organize a Hanukkah celebration in New York called the Matzah Ball. Her father was asked by Jacob Greenberg to light the last candle on the Menorah the day of the Ball.

That’s when something clicks inside Rachel. She decides she will write the story of their courtship during summer camp in which he dumped her and pull the Matzah Ball into the story. Which means she must get a ticket to the already sold out event. Which means she has to ask Jacob Greenberg. Who says no. Unless she wants to be a volunteer, which for Rachel would normally be out of the question because of her health, but she jumps at the chance. That’s when Jacob begins his I will get you back for dumping me in summer camp tour.

Soon, they begin to see each other in different lights. Jacob seems caring. Rachel is kind and smart. Is it possible for these two hot heads to finally make peace with the friction they have felt for each other all these years? Perhaps they can not only learn more about each other, but about themselves. As Rachel pours her heart and sweat into the Matzah Ball, she sees the Hanukkah traditions as she never has before. Why did she think there was no story here? But Rachel and Jacob still have some personal obstacles to climb. Can they let go of their past and open up to a new future?

The Matzah Ball is an adorable story, but it is also a remarkable learning experience for those unaware of ME, which unfortunately author Jean Meltzer has, but who has learned to not only live with, but incorporate into her work-life and which hopefully will inspire others with the same disease to believe in themselves and to aspire to accomplish what they want.

Thank you #NetGalley #MiraBooks #TheMatzahBall #JeanMeltzer for the advanced copy.

This book was just what I needed and I don’t typically do Holiday themed novels. This is a wonderful romance but it’s also about inclusion, being honest with yourself, with others and finding hope when maybe you are all out of it.

It is also about culture and being proud of it even when you might like some other traditions.

I'm not really big on romance books, but this one caught my eye and I gave it a chance and I don't regret it one bit. It's a very cute and fun book, I love the authors writing and the setting of the book. I find the Jewish religion so intriguing. This book has a little bit of everything Romance, Quirkiness, illness, Family issues. I was totally hooked from the start. It was a fun read and I really enjoyed it. This book is really special. I recommend this to everyone that wants a quick fun romance holiday book.

Such a different and cute kind of holiday book! I thought this was so interesting tying together love and self identity along with chronic illness and the reality of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Thanks so much for letting me experience this story from this new wonderful author!

This is really a very sweet book. One of those charming holiday movies that you can cuddle up on the couch with your hot drink and just smile. There are roadblocks. Rachel suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and needs to store up her energy to have the momentum to enjoy life. That is tough when she volunteers herself to work the Matzah Ball that her teen crush and heartbreaker Jacob is running this year. There is also another very big secret she has hidden from everyone, Rachel writes Christmas novels under a pseudonym. Yes, this nice Jewish girl, who's father is a very big time Rabbi, loves Christmas.

I learned so many Jewish terms and I find that fantastic! They have a lovely way of speaking and their terms are so endearing. You won't go wrong reading this story. You will feel pretty darn good afterward.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Mira for a copy of this delightful book.

Meltzer wrote a swoon-worthy novel about falling in love during The Channukah Season. Reading this was like a warm blanket that reminded me of growing up

When I saw this book I knew that I had to read it. I love holidays and I really don’t know much about Hanukkah and I wanted to know more about the holiday. And this book did not disappoint! Meltzer gave readers a course in Jewish culture wrapped into a holiday love story. Jacob and Rachel. From the get go I really wanted these two to find their way to each other. After meeting each other in their teens at a summer camp they find themselves in each other's lives after over 15 years. This story takes place in New York City where the Christmas season always seems so magical, but can Hanukkah be as magical?

Jacob is an in demand party planner and is working to put on the best Hanukkah ball ever. Will he be able to pull it off? Besides the Jewish culture she did a beautiful job representing chronic illness. It wasn’t done in passing, and truly demonstrated to readers how someone with a chronic illness needs to navigate the world. As someone that has a chronic illness, it is something that most people don’t understand. Chronic illness impacts people in every facet of someone's daily lives. As the story progresses I love the way each of the characters allows the other into their lives, showing their true self to each other. The pair really needed to learn to rely and trust one another. This book is perfection and I love it! I will highly recommend this book to others!

You will enjoy this wonderful new book by Jean Meltzer. I recommend this story. Happy reading!

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher. This is my honest and personal review.

The Matzah Ball wasn't for me, unfortunately. I picked it up twice and couldn't get into it. I think it'll be a great read for folks who like Hallmark movies, as that's a pretty big part of this book. Readers with chronic illness, particularly those shared with the main character, may also click with The Matzah Ball. (Mine are not the same as Rachel's, but I was having a hard time with rep that hit a little too close to home at times.)

The Matzah Ball
by: Jean Meltzer
Harlequin - Trade Publishing

This novel is about Rachel, who is Jewish and secretly works as a novelist writing Christmas romances. Her mom is a doctor, and her dad a rabbi, and she works hard to balance her life and health issues. For anyone who loves an insightful, holiday novel centering on love, heritage and traditions, The Matzah Ball will fulfill that. It provides, inspiration and multi-cultural understanding, sprinkled with humor and romance.
Thank you to Net Galley and Harlequin - Trade Publishing for the Advance Reader's Copy and opportunity to provide my unbiased review.
#TheMatzahBall #NetGalley

posted on 10/1/2021; Shared to Barnes and Noble.

I was so excited to find a non-Christmas holiday romance, but The Matzah Ball just didn't work for me.

Rachel is a closeted Romance Writer who is Jewish, but only writes Christmas romances. She hides this horrid, deep, dark, tragic secret from her parents. They literally have no idea what she does for a living. Her father is a Rabbi, but still. The premise of this lie is ridiculous.

Rachel first met Daniel at Jewish Summer camp when she was 12 and they pranked each other, but also shared a first kiss. That first kiss led to a fallout and these two are still not over it...at 30 years old. That's some pro-level grudge holding and feels just rampantly immature on both of their parts.

Daniel and Rachel are thrown back together and there is just zero chemistry. No sparks. Just bitterness over the past Summer camp experience. And then...heaven help me...these two are suddenly in love and talk marriage BEFORE THEY EVEN KISS. That's right. He *informs* her they are getting married in a year and they have not even kissed once. It all felt so awkward and unromantic.

I did really appreciate that Rachel has a chronic illness and the reader gets a really great look into the physical and emotional struggles of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I also loved Rachel's lifelong friendship with her male best friend (who is gay). Their friendship was a great part of this story.

THE MATZAH BALL had a shaky premise that ultimately led to a shaky book. In the end it just wasn't a story I connected with.

Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt has a secret. Actually, she has more than one, but there is one in particular that she is keeping from her parents. Her father is a well-known rabbi and her mother is a doctor, and Rachel’s whole life, she has been in a fishbowl. She’s had to moderate her behavior, always, so as not to embarrass her parents. So she can’t tell them what she des for a living. They would be mortified, if they ever found out that she wrote (gasp) Christmas romance novels.

Although she is a successful novelist, with some of her books even getting made into movies, Rachel doesn’t enjoy leaving her parents out of this part of her life. But how would they react to find out that their Jewish daughter loves Christmas?

There’s just one problem this year. At a meeting with her publisher, Rachel finds out that they’re not looking for more Christmas romances. They want something different from her. Something more like a Hanukah romance. Would she be willing to write that?

Jacob Greenberg was only a kid when he left New York. His grandmother, Toby, had an apartment in New York, and that is the place where Jacob spent his Hanukahs as a kid. When his mother got sick, when Jacob was only 12, it was his grandmother who helped arrange a summer at camp for him, a chance to get away from his arguing parents for a couple of months. It was at that camp that he first met Rachel, and where he first fell for her. And that’s where she broke his heart.

Now, he’s an adult and he’s back in New York. A man known for planning international events that send all the social media influencers to their phones, making his investors (and himself) millions, Jacob is now planning the premiere event for New York’s holiday season, the Matzah Ball Max. It’s going to be the event of Hanukah, as long as he can get Rabbi Goldblatt to agree to attend.

When Rachel hears about his idea for a Hanukah ball, she thinks she may have an idea for her new romance novel after all. But getting invited to the sold-out Matzah Ball means being nice to Jacob, who embarrassed her at camp when she was 12, and she hadn’t been able to forgive him for taking a cherished memory and turning it into another of his pranks.

But as she gets to know him, she realizes that he is kind as well as rich and handsome. And as Jacob cracks through one of Rachel’s secrets—that she is plagued by chronic fatigue syndrome—he starts to see that her life may not as easy as she makes it look. But as the walls come down slowly, will they be able to forgive and forget past misunderstandings? Will they find the love they want at the Matzah Ball, or will Santa leave coal in their stockings?

The Matzah Ball is the Hanukah romance that we have been needing. To offer readers a break from all the Christmas romances, author Jean Meltzer has created a Jewish romance that opens the doors to some of the culture and traditions of those who don’t celebrate Christmas. I’m not Jewish, but I loved the insider’s view into the lifestyle and the warmth of the Jewish characters in this novel.

I was charmed by this story. I thought it was really creative and charming, and it was a great escape to December in New York City. It’s not perfect, but it’s still lots of fun to read. I do love the Hanukah theme, and I appreciate that there is a character dealing with chronic illness, and that rang true to what I know of chronic fatigue syndrome. I would recommend this to anyone wanting a holiday romance with a new twist, although you will still find plenty of Santa Claus and a happy holiday ending.

Egalleys for The Matzah Ball were provided by Harlequin Trade (Mira) through NetGalley, with many thanks.

I am so happy to have Jewish representation and a Hanukkah romance in one delightful book, I absolutely loved this one! There is Yiddish and Hebrew scattered throughout the book, though always in an accessible way for a non-Jewish reader. Its a magical, delightful, enemies to lovers, rom-com with great antics. Hanukkah is a minor holiday in the year for Jews, which the book points out many times. Instead the book focuses on an event that is held on Christmas Eve, which also happens to be the last night of Hanukkah that year (Jewish holidays float around).

The main character Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt is the daughter of a rabbi, secretly a Christmas novel writer, and living with chronic fatigue syndrome. She's worried about how her career will affect her father so she hides it from everyone. Her publisher wants her to write a Hanukkah romance instead of her normal fare, and so she schemes up a plan to get tickets to the coveted Matzah Ball Max - organized by none other than her camp archenemy Jacob. Their chemistry was great, and was really well done. I never felt like it felt dragged on too long with their miscommunication issues. I also appreciated the nod to the Bible with the use of their names - Rachel and Jacob. I should point out that I loved Rachel's best friend, he was a side character but well fleshed out.

I encourage you to pick up a copy, it'd be great to read this winter while next to a fire.

Congratulations to Jean Meltzer for publishing her debut novel The Matzah Ball! This was an enjoyable step into the holiday reading season.

The premise: Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt, daughter of a highly regarded rabbi, loves Christmas. She's written many best-selling Christmas romance novels and her home office is decorated in red and green from ceiling to floor. The problem? Rachel is Jewish, very very Jewish.

Jacob Greenberg created a successful entertainment corporation that plans lavish events (think Coachella). He's back in NYC to host Matzah Ball Max, the ultimate Hanukkah celebration, and wants Rabbi Goldblatt, Rachel's father, to be involved to give it credibility.

Rachel and Jacob haven't seen each other since they were sweethearts at Jewish summer camp at age 12 when their brief 'romance' ended in hurt feelings for both. As they’re brought together nearly 20 years later, will sparks- or insults - be flying?

This story has all the customary components of a romance: hero and heroine have long-held resentments over trivial issues, forced proximity renews attraction, something happens to create tension in the relationship, and then all is resolved for the HEA ending. What adds interest is the Jewish customs, terminology, and foods that permeate the plot and the fact that the heroine has an often misunderstood chronic illness that impacts every facet of her life.

I appreciated that the novel acknowledges that Hanukkah is a minor holiday in Jewish tradition. I was frustrated with the portrayal that Christmas is a wonderful, magical, secular holiday for every non-Jewish person and was glad when the characters admit that fantasy doesn't reflect reality for all. Because the author shares the heroine's chronic health condition of myalgic encephalomyelitis, I understand her strong emotions, but the frequent references to the condition's badly-worded name of chronic fatigue syndrome became repetitive and annoying. I enjoyed all of the secondary characters, especially Rachel's best friend Mickey and Jason's bubbe Toby.

Thank you to MIRA and NetGalley for the review copy.