We want to say that culture in books is the best possible thing, but culture and love mixed together have to top it for us. How could one not love learning about new cultures and lifestyles while also finding a new romance couple to obsess over? Let us tell you, dear reader: these books lined up combine the Jewish culture, foods, holidays, and family drama that you didn’t know you would love. These stories come with laughter, knowledge, and a bit of spicy boldness that will always end with a kiss at the end.
If this seems like something you’d like to try or enjoy, read ahead for recommendations on where to start your Jewish Romance adventure!
The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer
“So many people think Hanukkah is about miracles. But Hanukkah is really about fighting for the things you believe in.”
Well, friend, Happy Hanukkah! Depending on when you read this, you may be in search of a good holiday book that you can curl up on the couch with, holding a cup of your favorite hot drink. Or you may be in the middle of summer on a beach with a fruity beverage. Either way, holiday-related or not, The Matzah Ball not only gives readers a wonderful love story but also teaches how to have the strength to overcome whatever you may be going through.
The book follows Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt, the daughter of a well-known Rabbi, and her childhood nemesis and first love, Jacob Greenbug. Rachel has a huge secret she keeps from her family — her career is based on writing Christmas romance novels and rom-coms. Her publisher wants her to branch out from the Christmas genre. Now in desperation to find the inspiration for a new story, she works with Jacob to throw a high-end Hannukah event together. What do you think will happen? Get the book and find out!
The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan
“She looked like the first meteor shower he’d ever seen—impossible and brilliant, so far away but somehow also right inside his chest.”
Second in the Shameless Series, The Intimacy Experiment, follows Naomi Grant and Ethan Cohen in their collaboration to host a buzzy seminar series on Modern Intimacy. Along with overqualified Naomi’s issue with higher ed not hiring her and our lovely Rabbi Ethan’s low funds, congregants, and time, the pair are also faced with another huge problem. Can you guess what it is? We guess you’ll have to read to find out! Follow this adorable novel that gives us a beautiful love story and a sense of vulnerability.
Also be sure to check out the first novel in the series, The Roommate!
Craving Flight by Tamsen Parker
“Fly for me, little bird.”
We’re keeping it real with you, dear reader, this book is the most interesting, wild ride, we have ever encountered and let me tell you, we enjoyed every second of it. Thirty-seven-year-old, divorcee Tzipporah Berger joins the Orthodox Jewish community. Her enhancement in her religious activities and the need to tame her needs were too much for her first marriage. That won’t stop her from having the family and life she truly wishes for.
Elan Klein, who is an Orthodox widower and the neighborhood butcher, is highly intimidating and deliciously forceful and seems to be the saver to her dilemma. Will he truly be the knight in shining armor, or will she find herself tied up in her fantasies? Read and find out!
See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon
“I could wake up on the same day a thousand times, and every single one would be different because of you. Every single one would be life-changing. Because of you.”
Now we don’t know about you, but we love a good time continuum love story. The different ways the characters connect and find their way back to reality are amazing. The book, See You Yesterday follows Barrett, an old soul kind of girl who is an aspiring journalist, and her physics classmate Miles, who has a serious exterior but can be nerdy, sensitive, and vulnerable. Rachel Lynn Solomon does an amazing job book that is guaranteed to keep you on your toes with ideas of parallel universes, deja vu, and the explanations of physics.
Unorthodox Love by Heidi Shertok
“I’m still not quite sure who’s responsible for turning the holiday of Passover into a miserable cleaning festival, but I’d love an hour alone in a locked room with that guy.”
Now we know you remember when love was about respect, connection, and conversation. It isn’t just about sex, and this beautiful book puts you in place of such a wonderful story where true love is the purpose.
Penina works at a jewelry shop, is attentive to her family, volunteers with preemies at the NICU, and maintains an Instagram account for modest, budget-friendly, and fashionable clothing. Enter Sam Kleinfeld; unbelievably rude, highly secular, unfairly hot, and…Penina’s new boss. The last thing Sam wants is a relationship, especially not with his new employee. They can’t touch, and they can’t kiss. Will Sam and Penina keep it in wraps and control their growing connection? Read and find out!
We hope you get the chance to enjoy at least one of these amazing novels and fall in love with the cultural aspects of them as well as these wonderful characters. Hopefully, they will bring a little more light into your life as they did with mine.
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