Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Audible
Love comes home for the challah-days in this sparkling romance.
Snow is falling, holiday lights are twinkling, and Abby Cohen is pissed. For one thing, her most annoying customer, Seth, has been coming into her café every morning with his sunshiny attitude, determined to break down her carefully constructed emotional walls. And, as the only Jew on the tourism board of her Vermont town, Abby's been charged with planning their fledgling Hanukkah festival. Unfortunately, the local vendors don’t understand that the story of Hanukkah cannot be told with light-up plastic figures from the Nativity scene, even if the Three Wise Men wear yarmulkes.
Desperate for support, Abby puts out a call for help online and discovers she was wrong about being the only Jew within a hundred miles. There's one other: Seth.
As it turns out, Seth’s parents have been badgering him to bring a Nice Jewish Girlfriend home to New York City for Hanukkah, and if Abby can survive his incessant, irritatingly handsome smiles, he’ll introduce her to all the vendors she needs to make the festival a success. But over latkes, doughnuts, and winter adventures in Manhattan, Abby begins to realize that her fake boyfriend and his family might just be igniting a flame in her own guarded heart.
Abby Cohen is grumpy and she has reason to be. As the only Jew on her small town’s tourism board, she’s been tasked with throwing a Hanukkah festival… in a few weeks, after Hanukkah, and maybe can it really be all about Christmas with some blue thrown in? Abby can’t say no, but she’s not about to let a Hanukkah festival become a Christmas festival in disguise so she turns to the only other Jew in the area for help: her most irritating customer, Seth Abrams. Seth is all-too-happy to help, but he needs something in return: a Nice Jewish Girl to bring home to his family for the holidays. Abby agrees to the bargain but of course, fake dating becomes something much more real as the two spend Hanukkah together in New York City.
Love You a Latke is an entertaining romance with a grumpy heroine, a sunshiny hero, and some lovely Hanukkah spirit. Abby is closed-off with walls that are miles high, covered in spikes…you get the picture. She grew up in an emotionally abusive household and hasn’t been able to open up as a result. When she left home, she also left the Jewish community and she feels the loss keenly. Going home with Seth brings that all back: the traditions, the sense of belonging, the history, and the joy. It was lovely to watch Abby get that part of herself back, to feel rooted in her community again. Seth is a sunshiny hero who has a problem with confrontation. I liked Seth, but I felt like we could have gone deeper into his character – I wanted a bit more from him. I absolutely adored his group of friends and how they absorbed Abby into their circle. As for the romance, it’s a foregone conclusion that Seth and Abby are going to fall in love. But while I absolutely enjoyed them together I did want a touch more to really take this book to the next level.
Amanda Elliot really brings the Hanukkah spirit to Love You a Latke and it’s one of my favorite things about this story. The Jewish representation is solid there were many things that delighted me throughout the story. It definitely made me want to brave the cold and celebrate Hanukkah in New York City.
There are a lot of things to enjoy about Love You a Latke. Abby’s journey is the heart of the book and it’s a road I liked travelling with her. Her romance with Seth may not have been as spectacular as I wanted, but it was still solid and Elliot didn’t inject any false drama to the story to detract from the happily ever after. All in all, this is a great read for anyone wanting a Hanukkah romance.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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