There are definite strengths to Meltzer's writing, mostly surrounding anxiety (and chronic fatigue in her last book) and Judaism. I love that more Jewish romance is being published, and I love seeing Jewish heroines be adored. But I don't think her books are funny, and the conflict is all too schticky/wacky for my taste. I also think there are some weird ways in which other marginalized identities are discussed/mentioned that feel like very facile understanding of diversity/wanting credit for having a book that featured diverse characters without actually considering what it means to include them. The romance fell short for me, as it takes so long for them to get together that we don't actually see obstacles to the very real issue of religion holding Dara back. It feels very hand waved away at the end.

Loved the Jewish and mental health (anxiety) rep in this book - I think both topics were handled beautifully. I loved seeing Dara and Chris slowly realize their feelings for each other while trying to find Dara her perfect on paper Jewish husband. The author's writing style doesn't work for me in terms of making this a four star book, but I would still recommend it for anyone looking for a contemporary romance with big feels and issues that we don't necessarily see very often.

I laughed so hard reading this book, but I also found myself at times with teary eyes. I absolutely loved it!

Dara Rabinowitz is a third-generation Jewish matchmaker. Through the online dating platform, she created she has helped many find their matches. But she hasn’t been able to find love herself.

Dara’s grandmother “Bubbe” goes off-script during a live interview with anchorman Chris on a daytime television show. Bubbe reveals Dara’s list of the ideal traits for her “Perfect Jewish Husband.” Not surprising, the viewing audience falls in love with Dara who wears her heart on her sleeve. In an effort to boost his show’s ratings, Chris proposes a plan to help Dara find her perfect man – on live TV. But Dara lives with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and needs control of everything in her life. Live TV terrifies her. And what happens when Dara finds herself falling for a man that does match her list for the perfect husband?

The characters are entertaining. Dara is so vulnerable and open about her anxiety issues. While charming Chris calmly helps her deal with her anxiety, Dara helps him and his daughter deal with the loss of Chris' wife. Who doesn’t love Bubbe? And her friends the ChallahBack Girls. And I loved firefighter Jensen. Even Chris’ TV production crew had memorable characters. Everyone added their unique spice to the story.

This is clearly a Jewish romance story with quite a bit of information on the Jewish culture. I loved that! It also touches on mental health issues.

This is a light, fun, “feel good” rom-com. A quick read. I highly recommend it if you need a good laugh.

I received an advance copy, but the opinions expressed here are my own.

Mr. Perfect on Paper is a Jewish rom-com.

I was absolutely blown away by The Matzah Ball so I could not wait to read this book.

The female narrator is 34 year old Jewish matchmaker Dara Rabinowitz (3rd person POV). She is the creator and CEO of the popular Jewish dating app J-Mate.

I absolutely loved the premise of this book. And the beginning was perfection. However I wish that this book had been told from the female POV only. I do enjoy male/female POV romance books. And I did find the main male character to be interesting. But I just found myself preferring the parts of the story that were told from Dara's point of view.

This book is very Jewish. There is so much Jewish culture thrown into this story. And I loved that aspect of the book!

The book also focuses a lot on anxiety. I definitely appreciate seeing mental health rep in books. However sometimes reading about super anxious people makes me anxious. But it was definitely interesting to see a successful heroine dealing with anxiety.

I really liked Dara's Bubbe. And between her grandmother and the dates that she went on this book was quite funny. The scenes that moved me the most though were when she talked about her mother (who had died years earlier).

I do wish that the actual romance between the main characters had taken up a bigger part of the story. But I had spent much of the book wondering how the author would even tackle the romance without Dara compromising her beliefs.

Overall this book had amazing mental health rep and Jewish rep. It was a fun romantic comedy that also had some depth.

Absolutely loved this book. It is the second book in a series and you do not need to read the first to read this one, but it would be so much better reading them both and in order
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own

I loved The Matzah Ball when I read it - just after New Years (I know, a touch late for Hanukkah!), so I was very excited when I saw that Jean Metlzer had a second book coming out! I was absolutely not disappointed with book 2. It was just as witty, just as hilarious, and just as "bringing the Jewish religion to those of us who wanted to learn a bit about it but don't know much", without it being in-your-face religious.

Dara, similar to Rachel in book 1, doesn't love to leave her apartment too much, because she has anxiety. Unlike Rachel, though, she isn't a complete shut-in, because she does go and visit her grandmother daily, and sees her sister and nieces and nephews regularly. Dara, though, with her anxiety, doesn't love social situations and not being prepared for unknown. With the company that she created (in college! Go Girl!!), J-Date, an online Jewish dating service using an algorithm and her Grandma and Mom's long-proven matchmaking system, she is ready to take it to the world, making it bigger and better with her new J-eography (geo-location info, pinging similar locations and people in their lives). However, to do that, she needs to go onto a local TV News program, and interview with the anchor that she watches daily, and kinda has a thing for... But Christopher Steadfast, a single dad, doesn't have his act together, and decidedly NOT Jewish, is so not the guy that checks any of the boxes on Dara's Mr. Perfect list, that her grandmother reads on on live TV during the interview - but Dara just might be the story that Chris desperately needs to improve the show's ratings!

This is such a cute, cute story, watching the two spending time together as Chris helps Dara to find her Mr. Perfect on Paper (checks all the boxes on her list), as the show follows her progress. It has all of the great chemistry like in her first book, her beautiful writing style, great characters - perfect length. My only issue and dropping the star to 4 instead of 5, is the love triangle aspect that wasn't warned about in advance. I hate a love triangle and just would have liked a bit of an advance warning to know it was coming (it's my worst!). If I'd known ahead, like a note in the start or something in the blurb, it would have been all ok, but that bit coming from nowhere, that was the only reason to bring it down for me. Otherwise, it was fantastic!

I definitely recommend this book for everybody who loved The Matzah Ball, is looking for a great read with a little bit of Jewish Holiday Love thrown in, likes the idea of the mixed religion romance, and single dad finding love (and is OK with a bit of a love triangle that isn't pointed out ahead of time).

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA, and this is my honest feedback!

This was fun to read honestly , I recieved an arc from netgalley and I'm glad to say I enjoyed it.
Chris and Dara were cute , the format was not easy to getting through though.
LACEY SWEET SUMMER CHILD protect her at all costs.
Would definitely recommend, it's such a light read.

This romance story was unlike anything I’ve read before.

Dara is a super successful Jewish woman, who created a matchmaking app to help Jewish individuals find their husbands. A new modern way of their families lifelong careers as matchmakers.

Over the years Dara’s blood line has had a helping hand in over 10,000 Jewish marriages. Amazing, truly amazing…but Dara has yet to find anyone she would like to spend her life with.

Dara and her grandma go on a talk show on tv and her grandma slightly throws her under the bus, by reading the list of Dara’s checklist for the perfect husband that she wrote when she was drunk on wine one night.

Clearly this makes her app blow up and the talk show blow up. They make a plan to work together to film her dates she goes on trying to find Mr. Perfect on Paper. But NOTHING and I mean nothing goes right.

It’s a hilarious and heartwarming story about finding the perfect significant other and sometimes the perfect person on paper you feel zero connection to but someone who can check almost no boxes can be the one you love.

The connection to Jewish holidays through this made the cultural aspect of this story beautiful and I felt like I learned about I culture my knowledge was lacking.

It only lost a star for me because the man she actually loved and wanted to be with, I felt needed a bit more of her time throughout the book, I needed more from that story and connection.

I received this book as an ARC and this is my review. I loved this book! This rom-com is laugh out loud funny and the characters are so flawed and so wacky! The slightly sad moments are offset by outrageous events - this is a fun story with great ceremony and interesting vignettes- I totally recommend this book to readers who enjoy a fun premise and who appreciate off-center behavior with a dash of the absurd.

Was this story predictable? Yes. Was it a good read? Yes. It is a feel good book, it touches on many problems such as mental health while being a quick and easy read. Was funny and light without it being pointless. Loved the romance

I absolutely adored this book! It was HILARIOUS and relatable, with deeper themes of identity and mental health. The romance itself was the sweetest and felt authentic. Both of Jean's books and so wonderfully Jewish yet accessible - I felt like I learned a lot even being Jewish myself! Just so much good rep all around. And I LOVED the Matzah Ball easter eggs!!!! I just love when an author does that.

I need this to be made into a movie or TV show, it just feels so perfect for it. So excited for this one to be out in the world!

Mr. Perfect on Paper is a sweet story about true love and how Dara leaves her ideology of what is a perfect man to what is a perfect man for her.

A quick and sweet read that will have you wishing you were part of the Challahback Girls.

Dara Rabinowitz is a third generation matchmaker. But she’s taken it to the next level by creating a multimillion dollar Jewish dating app. While promoting it on a tv show with her beloved grandmother. Her bubbe shares a list for the perfect jewish husband that Dara wrote while drunk. The tv segment goes viral and Chris Steadfast the anchor suggests the station helps her find her perfect match. He is hoping for a tv ratings boost his show desperately needs. The show films the dates and it is ratings gold. Chris is not Jewish and is a widow with an 11 year old daughter Lacey. But the friendship and sparks between them are real.

I loved The Matzah Ball by the author and this is equally delightful. Dara is very orthodox in her religion and I love how she explains matches and how marriage is a negotiation and the couple needs to be moving toward the same goals. The few dates are laugh out loud hilarious. And that balances so well with the sweeter quieter moments. Dara suffers from GAD (general anxiety disorder) which gives her extra challenges to deal with. I appreciate it is a constant and her coping is shown realistically. Chris even after two years is struggling at being a single parent even though Lacey is his number one priority. Dara’s bubbe is turning 90 and in declining health.

I loved learning about the different Jewish holidays and traditions. As someone raised in a religion that puts similar pressure on marrying within the same faith I could relate to Dara’s thinking. I will mention that an Epipen is made to go through clothing so there was no need to bare a hip. This is a clean book for intimacy. In fact I was unclear if her religious beliefs would allow for premarital sex. The ending is predictable but I wish I had more to go on from the epilogue. Were they just dating or living together? How much did her choice impact her business? And I really liked Lacey and wanted to know how she and Dara were getting along. Happy to recommend this book to any romance reader. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this to be an entertaining if somewhat predictable story. I think the author did a good job with developing the characters of Chris and Dara, particularly addressing the anxiety issue which so many of us deal with. A cute story and I learned a lot.

Maybe he’s not perfect on paper, but he could be perfect for her.

I will dare to call this a rom-com. A lighter side story with many hilarious, almost slap-stick moments, Mr. Perfect on Paper had me laughing often and loudly. From the moment her Bubbe Miriam revealed Dara’s perfect Jewish husband on live TV, I was hooked on her quest to find him. It was great having the dates coincide with the Jewish holidays, as I got to go on a fun date, and learn a bit more about each holiday. That is something that sets Meltzer’s book apart from many others. She shares a lot of her faith with her readers, and I appreciated those glimpses she gifts us.

Though I fully understood why Dara would not take a chance on Chris, I also saw their connection early on and could help but root for them. This was more than physical between them. Dara was at ease and comfortable with Chris in a way her anxiety disorder wouldn’t normally allow. And, though he wasn’t Jewish, Chris was an absolute sweetheart. He was dealing with a lot, having lost his wife, raising his daughter on his own. Both he and Dara shared that pain of loss of someone important in their lives, and it touched my heart to see them working through it together.

Overall: A sweet and adorable romance filled with laughs, warm moments, and lots of characters to love.

i love that this was centered around jewish culture,, because i learned a lot. it took me a few chapters to really get into the story of Dara and Chris, but once I did, I was in. I like that our main heroine had her struggles with anxiety, it made her feel like a relatable character. Chris being a single dad dealing with grief was also something I liked because it made his story and character development that much better. A really great read about love and acceptance of yourself, finding yourself and allowing yourself to move forward.

I was drawn to the cover and title but ultimately did not finish the book. Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book, as I suspected I would. Jean Meltzer writes a story that captures you from the start and doesn't let you go, even after the last page.

I find this genre of Modern Orthodox/modern romance to be a win win for me. They are charming, full of Yiddish words that bring me back to my childhood, jewish traditions that make me long to sit around a Seder table for a few hours. I will admit, I never long for the long days of Yom Kippur shul services.

I will read everything this author writes, with enthusiasm and glee.

p.s. Bucky is pretty much the star of this book for me. My vegan golden retriever is named Henry!

Thank you to NetGalley and MIRA for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Jean Meltzer does it again! Mr. Perfect on Paper is a delightful, but deep, read. Dara has made a list of her perfect Jewish husband and has little to no interest in exploring anything else. Her family business has been matchmaking and she is the creator of the popular dating app, J-Mate. The popularity of the app and her relationship with her grandmother (also a matchmaker) lead them to a spot on a local TV show that Dara absolutely adores. (And she also adores the charismatic host...)

Chris is a single dad, in addition to being the lead anchor on a daily talk show in NYC. He is intrigued by Dara and does his best to help her find her "Mr. Perfect on Paper" but finds himself falling for her.

These characters are so emotionally complex and the writing is such a joy. I really enjoyed this book and I hope you do too!

***thank you to netgalley and Harper Collins for my early copies of this book.***

Genres: fiction, romance, contemporary
📝✡️💗✨🧠 📺 👫

Dara is the creator of a Jewish dating app called J-Mate. She comes from a family of matchmakers and is also trying to find her own future partner who matched her checklist: ✔️Jewish, ✔️a doctor or lawyer, ✔️baggage free

She meets her dream man, Christopher Steadfast, an anchor on her daily news. Chris proposes a new show for following Dara as she looks for her Jewish match, but instead she finds herself falling for him and fighting attraction along the way. He’s not Jewish and he comes with baggage. Can she sacrifice her list and follow her heart?

I enjoyed this book a lot. I think Jean did a great job on her sophomore novel and it was just as charming as The Matzah Ball. Even though I felt Dara was a bit stubborn and determined to stay in her box, I did feel like she grew and changed in this story and became accepting that love comes sometimes when you least expect it, and it is not always neat and tidy, but that’s okay.

It’s evident throughout the entire story that this is a Jewish book and Judaism is something very sacred and central to Dara. I struggled a bit to agree with all of her opinions as someone who is definitely culturally Jewish, but I don’t see eye to eye with her as far as following all the traditions and marrying someone Jewish. But that’s just my own feelings.

Overall, I felt like the mental health of Dara aspect and Chris dealing with his own traumatic past was handled very carefully and I enjoyed seeing the characters grow as they came together. The one thing I wish there was more of was more of a backstory to Dara’s family and the matchmaking that was passed down through generations of her family. But besides that it was a great read!