Member Reviews
Well wasn't this just the perfect read for Jewish American Heritage Month AND Mental Health Awareness Month!
Jean Meltzer writes an excellent love story with what I perceive as solid representation. Our FMC lives with generalized anxiety disorder and I will say this was quite central to the storyline. Amid that though, her grandmother is a beloved Jewish matchmaker who just wants to see her granddaughter find her perfect Jewish match. But what happens when Mr. Perfect turns out to be someone different than Mr. Perfect on Paper?
A wonderful romance with substance that dives into those all-too-familiar deeper issues.
Sending my apologies for not being able to provide a review. I am unable to offer a review for this book - I had sent it to my kindle to read and the file did not download properly. Unfortunately the book has been archived and I'm unable to re-send it.
I love this author and I love all her books! The representation, the easy flow of conversations and overall story was so wonderfully perfect
This was my first time reading anything by Jean Meltzer and I have to admit I'm intrigued! I am always on the hunt for stories featuring Jewish women, so even though contemporary is not my typical sub-genre, I had to see what this was about.
To start off with what I liked, I really enjoyed how the background of the characters was fleshed out. Often times, I think tacking one things that characters deal with that aren't personality traits can sometimes come off as shallow and unexplored. But Dara felt like a woman I could easily point to in my real life. Chris was delightful as single dad just trying to do his best (being raised by a single dad, that's always something that hits close to home).
What I didn't like. The tension was *there*...but that was it really? It started to feel like some of the other subplots were overshadowing the relationship and when it comes to romance, that's something that take a hit in my book. I still enjoyed it, but I would have enjoyed it *more* if the evolution of their relationship was balanced with everything else happening a long the plot.
I loved this story, the set up, and the two lead characters were great including the surrounding friends and family.
I was so excited to read another book by Jean Meltzer after loving The Matzah Ball. This story is just as entertaining to read with Dara’s hilarious and well meaning bubble pushing her to find her Mr. Perfect in a very public forum to Chris who is a devoted single Dad trying to find balance between his work and personal life. I really enjoyed the premise of this story and the characters were thoroughly entertaining, but unfortunately I wasn’t pulled into the romance aspect of this book as much as I hoped I would be. There wasn’t anything specific that I could name and it was still a good story but I was hoping to fall for these characters as much as I did for the author’s previous book. Either way, I love her writing style and humor so I’m definitely excited to read whatever is released next.
Such a cute, funny book! Loved the plot and the characters! This is my second book by Jean Meltzer and I will definitely read a book by Jean Meltzer again!
This is my second Jean Meltzer book and I think this author is just not for me. I love the idea behind the stories and I love the way she integrates education about Jewish traditions seamlessly into her stories.
Where it falls flat for me is the endings. With the last one, I just thought the entire bullying was so immature and unbelievable. With this one, I simply didn't believe the ending. We have someone who is explaining constantly how much her faith means to her and how she believes that love in marriage is based upon mutual respect and shared beliefs and it grows over time and a lifetime of beliefs goes out the window based on a guy she thinks is hot. And in making that decision, she's likely destroying her entire company (because that's everyone who used her app would definitely feel duped by her decision).
I just can't get behind that and I wonder if the ending was just written this way to cater to mass market romance readers. Personally I would have loved if she had stayed with the doctor and the MMC had hit it off with her PA (or anyone else). It just rang false. And it was so far removed from reality that I was just rolling my eyes for the last quarter of the book.
What I Liked:
Feel good romance.
Melding grandmother.
Issue I Had:
I wanted more couple time between Dara and Chris as they navigated their interfaith relationship.
I received a copy of this title as part of a blog tour with the Publisher.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.
For a book with literally no spice, I am SHOOK by how much I absolutely adored it!
This one deals with so many things that are so close to my heart, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (with Compulsive tendencies), the pain of caring for an aging loved one, and having the strength to let go.
Dara deals with anxiety on the daily, and her aging grandmother is getting worse which just intensifies Dara’s fears.
Dara is a third generation Jewish matchmaker and her faith is important in life AND Love.
What this book did so incredibly well was it dealt with hard hitting issues like grief, loss, and living with mental illness while still being absolutely hilarious.
I laughed, I cried, and ultimately I loved it.
I loved this book so much! Her writing is always spot on and this was no different! Such a great story and strong characters
This one was fun, cute and fresh, Jean is quickly becoming a go to author for me. I enjoyed this one very much.
My full review is posted on Pages and Pictures, at https://allpagesandpictures.com/2022/12/23/book-review-mr-perfect-on-paper-by-jean-meltzer/.
Jean Meltzer is one of my go-to authors. The way she incorporates Jewish identity and disability representation is nothing less than a delight. Mr. Perfect on Paper is no different. I look forward to what is next for these characters, and what is next from Meltzer as an author.
I enjoyed Mr. Perfect on Paper and devoured it quickly. Chris and Dara were a lot of fun to get to know and the blind dates premise gave the novel good structure. I loved how Dara talked about and engaged with both the Jewish faith and culture. That being said, if not for the Jewishness of this book I don't know that it would stand out as anything special. It was fun but not particularly memorable except for that. I would definitely recommend it to any rom-com reader!
This was such a wonderful read! It was cute, funny, and relatable. I loved how Jean Meltzer addressed anxiety and went into Dara's experience with it to such an extent. After reading The Matzah Ball, I will definitely read anything Jean Meltzer writes!
Love seeing more Jewish rep in rom coms and we are so lucky we have someone like Jean Meltzer. Thank you to Harper for the gifted ARC my honest review.
Yes, yes, yes!!
A romance for true and honest romance LOVERS!
This was brilliant and such an incredible love story. I was enthralled by Dara and Chris' relationship from the very beginning!
I have never been a Rom Com fan but once again if you are looking for a light entertaining book to take you on a romantic journey you can not go wrong with the delightful new book by Jean Meltzer, Mr Perfect on Paper.
Meltzer reached success last year with her debut novel, The Matzah Ball, a Jewish Rom Com about finding true love against the odds. This time she follows a similar path with a new young woman, with a chronic anxiety disorder who is looking for Mr Right. All her anxiety seems to be getting in the way of finding her perfect match and falling in love.
Ironically she has developed a dating website that scientifically matches you to the mate of your dreams. It is all in the algorithm ... That becomes the premise for the book. Matchmaker Dara Rabinowitz comes from a long line of matchmakers and has modernized the art as the creator and CEO of the app J-Mate. She has created the online formula for lasting love. Her mother before her was a matchmaker along with her grandmother who may have one last match to make, Dara herself.
Chris Steadfast, the national television and charming news anchor of Good News proposes they turn Dara’s search into must-see TV. He is trying to save his show from cancelation when he realizes that following Dara as she dates to find her perfect mate brings in big ratings.
Of course this is romance at its finest and the best laid plans go awry. There is cute comedy and romance which just leads to great escape reading. So fill the bath with bubbles and get the incense and candles ready and slip under the water for a quiet read.
As a Jewish reviewer with GAD, I knew this was a must-have book the minute I read the description.
Dara, as the creator of a Jewish dating app, is a character I loved to read about. And the story itself had a mix of all the things I love the most-- TV personalities, Judaism, Cross-Cultural Romances, and lots of Yiddish and laughter. It certainly didn't hurt that this book takes place over the course of the High Holy Days, and it was lovely to read about Jewish Joy and Jewish holidays!
This book is absolutely delightful, with a perfect balance of mental health (GAD) rep and humor and love and family. Another absolute win by Jean Meltzer!