The Lippman and Cohen families have been rivals for two generations after a mysterious falling out. Avital Cohen, the general manager of Best Babka in Brooklyn, is helping to keep the business she now co-owns with her very distractable brother Josh afloat–in spite of her chronic illness–he has a head for baking but not for business. Their company is hugely successful but growth is limited by their small shop. It’s secretly infiltrated by Ethan (Lippman) Rosenberg, who at his grandfather’s behest, plans to steal the pumpkin babka recipe that made Best Babka famous. His dreams are dashed when instead of starting out in the kitchens, he’s stuck folding boxes and going on a supplies runs. His meet cute with Avi is seeing her naked tuchus after they collide (due to her chronic cystitis, she’s sans underpants), and his attraction is immediate. Avi keeps Ethan at arms length first because of her challenging pelvic issues and then because she learns his true identity–and keeps his secret.

Their burgeoning relationship grows slowly as Ethan, who is truly a mensch, becomes a friend, then supporter, then lover of Avi, always empathetic to her illness without ever making her feel less than. The plot is complicated by Ethan’s family issues (the grandfather who took him in alongside his pothead younger brother and disabled younger sister after their parent’s death is abusive and controlling). Avi’s depiction of living with a chronic illness is real, matter-of-fact, informative, and well-characterized; suffering readers will feel seen. Finally, a fantastic subplot about a halachic rabbi in the medical marijuana trade brings it all together in a satisfactory way.

Jean Meltzer keeps getting better with every book. Hebrew/Yiddish/Jewish terms and festivals are succinctly explained, but I think she could take the lead from writers like Sonia Dev or Elena Armas who let terms in their original language sit as they are used, providing context but leaving it to the curious reader to do the grunt work to define a term, look up a translation, or do their own research. In fact, Meltzer could do less telling and more showing. I did have a sense that things were cut or simplified to keep the page count a little lower while maintaining wonderful details like the characterizations of other workers at Best Babka (a shout-out to the phenomenal ex-con who loves to knit and make bourekas; his presence serves to show tikkun olam in action). The over-explaining is the only reason this is a 4 1/2 star book instead of a 5 star book for me, and I’m blaming it on editing, not content, writing, setting, or characterization, which are all A+.

Additionally, I take with the reviewer who claimed in their NetGalley review, “This book had serious representation issues, that made me wonder (and look up) whether the author was Jewish.” Not only is Meltzer Jewish, she went to rabbinical school and cites rabbinic supervision in the acknowledgements! If there is one thing my conversion to Judaism taught me, it’s that there is more than one way to be Jewish; it’s a culture, a religion and an ethnicity with tons of diversity and degrees of practice. Just because she went with an interpretation that breaking a glass in a wedding represents the fragility of human life (which is just one of several meanings of the symbolic ritual) or that her main character schedules an interview for Friday afternoon (it’s not sundown YET) does not mean she doesn’t know what she is talking about. Avital and Ethan are not modern orthodox, but prayer and tradition is important to them and maybe supercedes travelling on Shabbat, and that’s okay.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #KissingKosher from #NetGalley.

This book had serious representation issues, that made me wonder (and look up) whether the author was Jewish. There were so many little things that felt misrepresented - the manager of a kosher bakery would never schedule a job interview for Friday afternoon as that is the busiest time of their week, a woman who went to Hebrew Day School would know that "Zeyde" means grandfather in Yiddish not Hebrew, etc. It felt inauthentic and at times extremely offensive. As with Meltzer's other works, I couldn't help but feeling that she wasn't writing for a Jewish audience or through a Jewish lens. Rather, she was writing for and as a non-Jewish person and thus leaning on offensive Jewish and Orthodox stereotypes.

This book will have you hooked from the very first page. It’s such a heartfelt, bittersweet rom-com that I think everyone should read. This isn’t just a romance story. It’s about family, forgiveness and learning how to accept yourself and make the most of your life.

I loved everything about this book. The characters, the setting, the romance and all the yummy food! There are a lot of heavier topics throughout the story so I wouldn’t say it’s a lighthearted read by no means. The rep for chronic pain was done wonderfully. My heart broke for Avital. Watching her go through everything that she did and still power through, she’s superwoman. And let’s just take a moment to appreciate how much of a cinnamon roll Ethan is! I love him so damn much.

If you love a good enemies to lovers romance with lots of tasty treats and a teddy bear of a man then I highly recommend picking this one up on August 29th!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Mira for the e-arc!

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer

Book: Kissing Kosher
Author: Jean Meltzer
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Mira Books, for sending me an ARC.

In this one, we follow Avital, who has taken over her family’s bakery. She has not done this by choice though. She lives in chronic pain, forcing her to rethink her life. She has moved back home with her parents to help pay for her medical care. The thing is nothing is working and her pain is only getting worse. It cutting her quality of life. On top of this, she must hire help and the interview happens to be on a pain where she in the middle of a painful pelvic flare. The candidate, Ethan, seems a bit too qualified for the position. Ethan is not there for only a job though. He is the grandson of her family’s biggest rival and is there to steal a secret recipe. You see, once upon a time, Avital and Ethan’s grandfathers were best friends, went into business together, and had a massive falling out. Avital’s bakery is known for their famous babka and Ethan’s grandfather is dying to get his hands on the recipe. The only thing is Ethan ends up losing his focus and starts to fall for Avital.

If you can’t tell from the title, this is a Jewish romance and it is full of Jewish culture. I liked this. I have read some other books with Jewish characters and it felt like they were Jewish only in name. That is not the case here. I am not sadly very familiar with Jewish culture. While our main characters are not overly religious, they do keep to Jewish traditions and customs. They keep kosher, eat Jewish food, and celebrate Jewish holidays. I also liked that the author took the time to explain the how and the why behind most of the things the characters did. I think it adds so much to the book and it makes the book.

I love that while this is a romance book, so much more is packed into it. We have already looked at the Jewish cultural elements, but there is more. Avital lives with chronic pelvic pain and nothing is working. It affects her love life, her personal life, what foods she can eat, and what kind of clothes she can wear. There is one scene where she wants to take a bath, but the fear of a flare-up stops her. She has tried everything and nothing is working. She can’t find any relief. She fears that she will never live a normal life. This may seem like she complains a lot, but stop and think about it. She lives in constant pain and it has taken everything away from her. She didn’t want to run her family’s business, she wanted to be a photographer. She was rejected from everything and has stopped taking pictures completely. Now, it may seem like on the surface level that her rejection is why she stopped. It’s not. Her camera broke and all of her money has to toward her medical care. I normally do not think a woman needs a man to help her, but in this case, Ethan does help her. The pair of them work together to find ways to help her find some sort of relief. It brings into question some practices and brings up a discussion on the use of medical marijuana.

I liked Avital and Ethan’s relationship. It’s kind of a slow burn. Once again, Avital lives in fear that she will not be able to have any kind of romantic relationship because of her pain. (And who can blame her?) Ethan, not only because of that, but because of who his family is, has to work to gain her trust. He waits until she is ready. In the meantime, he takes care of her every need and their relationship blooms into something deep. Now, this is what makes this one stand out a little bit more to me than other romances. While there are sexy scenes, it is Avital who makes the first move. It is all about when she is ready. There is no pressure. This means that whenever we get a sexy scene, it makes sense. Why? Because you can tell that their relationship and feelings for one another are real. Sometimes, in books, I feel like relationships just come from nowhere. I mean, this is a standalone so the author does have to get them together. However, not having them jump into bed right away, allows us to see the relationship develop into something that looks and feels very real.

Why four stars if I enjoyed it this much? If I am going, to be honest, it wasn’t hooked right away. It took fifty or so pages before I was fully invested in the story.

This book comes out on August 29, 2023.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/_KpUwjj20Fs

For fans of the Matzah Ball and Mr. Perfect on paper, comes Jean Meltzer next romantic saga of two people who should never have ever met.
Avital Cohen, the heir apparent to the Best Babka Bakery is dealing with a lot of personal issues, which are causing the bakery to hire a new employee. Ethan Lippman is just the person to do the job- clean the floors, do the laundry, make the boxes and overall help with the day to day operations of the bakery. But Ethan has a secret. He is the grandson of Avital’s family’s chief rival, the Lippman family. The Lippmans and the Cohens had worked side by side to create the bakery until one day the two grandfathers had a falling out, and Moshe Lippman left to create a rival company, Lippman’s, which produces mass market products.
Forced by his grandfather to infiltrate the Best Babka Bakery to steal the famous pumpkin babka recipe, Ethan instead befriends Avital instead and ingratiates himself with the company. What follows is a series of events that eventually bring the two families together and give the families peace of mind. Another good book club pick, Kissing Kosher coming this August from Mira Publishing is a tasty treat, read with a cup of coffee and a good pastry.

I absolutely ADORE Jean Meltzer's books. So when I was approved to read this book before it was published, I was so excited. And I was not disappointed. The Jewish representation is excellent and I might make my husband read this book because it was AMAZING. I will definitely be recommending this for purchase when it is published for my library.

Jean Meltzer has hit it out of the park again with a fantastic Jewish romance. Kissing Kosher is not just a great romance, but it also covers some pretty heavy topics including chronic illness, traumatic brain injury, survivor's guilt, generational trauma, and the under-used benefits of marijuana. These are seamlessly woven into the sweet romance between Avi and Ethan, and the reader can't help but be swept along on their journey. The Jewish representation is fabulous as always! Highly recommended for anyone who wants a great romance with intellectual depth as well.

Rivals to Lovers is one of my favorite tropes and Kissing Kosher really hit it out of the park! Not only was this book funny but I adored the characters and learned a little bit more about the faith! I'm so excited to dive into the authors backlist!

Despite what I would call an ‘uneven’ reading experience, there is quite a lot to love about Jean Meltzer’s Kissing Kosher, which follows Avital and Ethan, two twenty-somethings, born into a generational rivalry, who get to know each other when Ethan covertly takes a job at Avitals’ family’s Brooklyn bakery.

Some of what I loved about the novel:

1. Tropes & Themes: Meltzer effectively blends star-crossed and enemies-to-lovers tropes, frankly portrays some realities of living with chronic pain, and deeply considers the distinction between sex and intimacy (this last one was particularly well done).

2. Religion & Secularism: As a reader who often seeks out novels with characters of different and distinctive faiths, I very much appreciated the glimpses of modern American Judaism that I got here. I especially enjoyed watching the MCs, neither of whom were especially ‘religious,’ confront their own subtle prejudices and navigate the lines between tradition and edict.

3. Disability Representation: Avital’s chronic pain, an ‘invisible’ disease, dominates her plot line, character interactions, and inner dialogue for the first half of the novel, which absolutely rings true. I loved watching her learn not only how to manage her pain but also how to honor her own body and ask for what she needs, even as her needs and pain levels change. And Ethan was such a wonderful match for her, never giving up on finding new ways to help her and willing to try unorthodox methods even when their relationship was in question. These two characters definitely earned their HEA!

The only negative thing I have to say about the novel is that it did read a little unevenly for me. The first half was so focused on establishing how all-encompassing Avi’s pain was that readers were told that she and Ethan were spending time together growing closer more than shown how that was developing. As a result, their first two physical scenes (near kiss/kiss/over-the-clothes) seemed, to me, too abrupt. For what it’s worth, the second half of the novel was much better as far as pacing and escalation go, and the way Avi and Ethan began to communicate with each other definitely made up for the ill-timed early attempts.

My final thought: although the first half of the book leans more toward ‘telling’ than ‘showing,’ the novel’s thematic depth and breadth make Kissing Kosher more than worth the cost of admission. It would make an excellent book club pick.

There were times while reading this that I thought the writing felt a little unpolished, but Jean Meltzer is such a master at capturing what life is like with a chronic condition that it didn't actually bother me that much. The main characters here are Avital Cohen, a 20-something Jewish woman living in New York and running her family's bakery, which is famous for its pumpkin spice babka, and Ethan Rosenberg-Lippman, grandson of the Cohen family's rival Moishe Lippman who is sent in to do some corporate espionage. Avital has interstitial cystitis (IC), a chronic condition that in her cause causes intense bladder pain and pressure as well as overall severe pelvic pain. I happen to also have IC, and this is definitely the first time I've seen a main character with it, and while my case is not nearly as severe as Avital's, the way that she describes experiencing her chronic pain resonated with me so much that I even cried a few times. Anyway, I enjoyed this and was grateful for the chronic pain/illness representation, and I liked Avital and Ethan as a sort of star-crossed pairing. Content warning for chronic pain, medical trauma, emotional abuse, and intergenerational trauma.

I give this book 4 out of 5 babkas!! 🥐🥐🥐🥐

Our favorite Jewish romance author Jean Meltzer is at it again, this time bringing us rivals to lovers in the setting of a family owned Jewish bakery. And if you've never been to a Jewish bakery before? I highly recommend you get yourself to one- the cheesebagels and the apple turnovers and the regulach and the babkas- a dessert so delicious they based a whole Seinfeld episode on it. Jewish delis and bakeries are home to me, and Best Babka in Brooklyn is definitely a whole entire character in this novel.

As always, Meltzer's books have great Jewish rep and spend the time to explain things to people who may not be familiar with common Jewish terms. Plus you learn how to make a challah!!

Additionally, this book continues the theme of addressing invisible chronic illness and how the struggle impacts daily life. Out of all her books, this one focuses on most on both of the MCs' physical and mental health.

Some parts of the story are a little over the top but that's something I have come to expect from Meltzer's books and that's what makes them so much fun.

Putting this on your radar as it pubs end of August! Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an earc/physical arc in exchange for my honest review.

Avital and Ethan are my new book babies! This was a delight to read and I loved the honesty throughout. The Chronic health representation was gorgeously done and has put Jeam Metzler on an auto by list for me. Please keep publishing these kind of romances!! I want to give it to everybody I know who is chronically ill like me. As a bonus, it's also wonderful to see all of the culinary references, the sort of secret identity aspect of Ethan, and of course the Jewish representation!

Well written and engaging! I liked both of the characters and was rooting for them. With that said:

Cons: The abusive grandfather was a little over the top. I know that abuse can look this way. But without giving spoilers, all I can say is the whole picture of the grandfather didn't ring entirely true.

Pros: The descriptions of Jewish food and customs hit just the right note. The right amount of explaining and including to set a tone and feel for the book without being too obscure or too much. The depiction of Avital's chronic pain is handled deftly and compassionately. It's nice to see a character who struggles with chronic pain and still finds her way through without a magic cure.

Conclusion: Would recommend for those who enjoy romance, and want a little diversity in their reading.

Jean Meltzer is now three-for-three with delightful and poignant Jewish rom-coms. This one deals a lot with chronic pain and she takes it in directions I wasn't even expecting. And even though Ethan is way too young for me, he is swoon-worthy in so many ways. The icing on the cake, so to speak, is all the delicious descriptions of baked goods. It made me miss going to Zadie's Bakery in NJ.

The plot made me think of the movie Hanukkah on Rye in some ways. However, it was way different overall and there were some aspects that were really eye-opening when it comes to chronic pain and how to manage it. Even though I don't share Avital's experiences, thankfully, Jean made her situation feel so relatable. I really liked all the side characters working at Best Babka, especially Tootles. They all had interesting backstories though. (I'd actually love for Jean to write a story about Chaya and find a way to help unchain her from her ex-husband in that novel.)

My main concern was that there was too much time spent on discussing intimacy. Maybe because I know so much about family purity already, it felt like it went on too long. However, I did learn some new things from it, as well. I also felt like the rivalry between the grandfathers seemed unclear at times.

Funny coincidence: It's mentioned that Avital smells like cherry blossoms a lot of the time. I've been using a body wash from Bath and Body Works that smells like cherry blossoms, which I put in my shower prior to reading this novel.

Overall, this was a wonderful story. I even got teary-eyed a few times. It will be published in late August, just in time for High Holiday reading! (However, if you are not Jewish or Jewish and not observant, you will learn a lot of things about customs and rituals while enjoying the ride, so it's definitely worth checking out.) Just don't read it during Yom Kippur or all the food descriptions will make things that much more difficult.

(Trigger warnings at the bottom.)

Movie casting suggestions:
Avital: Abigail Breslin
Ethan: David Corenswet
Josh: Austin Abrams
Randy: Zachary Gordon
Moishe: Judd Hirsch
Chayim: Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine reunion, anyone?)
Rabbi Jason: Mark Feuerstein

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TW: illness, death of parents, emotional abuse, suicidal ideation, agunot (for a minor character)

This is a rom-com that deals with some very serious issue like chronic pain, medical assistance, mental health and it brings together some characters that could make this a very sad story but there's hope and romance.
I think this is an important story as it talks about serious issue in a way that can be understood by a lot of people and does it withous preaching or being extremely serious.
PS: rooted for the characters and loved the setting
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

I really enjoyed this read, it was a whole new experience for me. A romance book that's so much more than just a romance.

This is a Jewish bakery (kosher) espionage mission turned into a low story between a woman who lives with chronic pelvic pain and self-doubt and a man with anxiety and the weight of his family's legacy on his back.

Avital has interstitial cystitis (coming from the medical side, I know this disease process is horribly painful). The way they represented the American medical system is unfortunately true and incredibly sad. Yes, it's so difficult for us to prescribe narcotics in this day and age, but it's so so so much worse when patients feel like they're not being heard or supported. It's something that we doctors need to improve navigating. Avital presents her chronic pain so honestly throughout the story, it's amazing representation for what these people go through. And how difficult and debilitating it can be, to the point of mental illness.

Ethan is coming from an abusive upbringing, his trauma runs deep and his resulting anxiety is again, so well represented. The fear of failure, the fear of not amounting to anything, the fear of disappointing, is extremely relatable. And on top of this, he is a good man. He is so good to Avital he maintains his morals, he knows his wrongs and tries to make it right.

This story does boundaries so well. When to have them, and when to let them down. And they each respect each other's boundaries throughout the story. Their romance is so... beautiful! I just loved their love for each other.

I can't speak on how well the Jewish culture and religion was represented as I'm not of this community. But it was so intriguing to learn new words and have a small exposure to their practices. I've never read any Jewish romances, so I'm glad to have found this one. I only wish some of the dialect was explained a bit more. I had a lot of looking up to do to get the whole context sometimes.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS ONE.

This was another good story by Jean Meltzer, although I have to admit I enjoyed her first two a little more. I feel that the chronic pelvic pain problem was a little too personal for my taste but it was interesting to learn about and it did fit in the story. I enjoyed the characters and the feuding families and I have learned so much about Judaism from Ms. Meltzer. Keep those wonderful stories coming! Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read this for my honest review.

Mmmm pomegranate cheesecake. "I liked her ass a lot." I learned a lot about both Judaism and chronic pain. I also laughed a lot. It was really cute and great once it picked up.

This is Jean Meltzers best book yet!!

Avital Cohen, the owner of Best Babka in Brooklyn, is looking for a new employee, especially because her chronic illness is making it harder and harder to get all the small tasks done needed to run her family’s bakery successfully. When Eric Lippmann comes to interview with a fully stacked resume, Avital hires him without knowing he’s really undercover (sent by his grandfather) to steal a famous recipe. However, as Eric truly gets to know Avital, his intentions for why he is there changes and he realizes that he needs to come clean, even if that means risking it all.

First, this book happened to feature my favorite thing: Jewish desserts. There was a point while reading where I had to go pick up a challah of my own because the writing was so descriptive and made me hungry. Second, I found the romance to be more at the forefront of the story and the chemistry between the two main characters to be a lot stronger compared to Meltzer’s previous books. This made me enjoy the plot so much more even when the characters were acting a tad too dramatic or immature. Also, as always, Meltzer did a great job integrating both the Jewish and chronic illness rep into the story. Even as a Jew myself, I felt like I learned more about the religion/ culture, especially because I am not as observant as Avital. Finally, all the secondary characters brought a ton of laughs, warmth and enjoyment to the story!

Read if you like:
-Dessert
-Jewish rep
-Chronic illness rep
-Family rivalries
-Learning about medical marijuana
-Brooklyn setting