Love You a Latke

A fake relationship can’t stay that way in the glow of the Hanukkah candles in Elliot’s (Best Served Hot) charming latest. Grumpy café owner Abby Cohen agrees to a fake relationship with the only other Jewish person in their small Vermont town, optimist Seth, in order to get the town’s inaugural Hanukkah festival off the ground. Abby’s hard exterior starts to soften, though, as she spends eight days with Seth, his parents, and his pals. Abby’s budding friendship with Seth’s ex-girlfriend Freya is particularly rewarding. The book leans into not only into the trappings of Hanukkah—menorahs, dreidels, and fried food for days—but also Abby’s feelings about her Jewishness, particularly in light of her difficult relationship with her own parents. It also highlights—sometimes comically, sometimes poignantly—the way Christmas overshadows Hanukkah, and pretty much everything else, during December. This novel will melt everybody’s hearts, but Jewish romance readers in particular will be thrilled to see Hanukkah reflected so authentically and lovingly.