The Matzah Ball

By: Jean Meltzer

Narrated by: Dara Rosenberg

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"The Matzah Ball had me laughing out loud...an all-around terrific read."—Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Oy! to the world

Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt is a nice Jewish girl with a shameful secret: she loves Christmas. For a decade she’s hidden her career as a Christmas romance novelist from her family. Her talent has made her a bestseller even as her chronic illness has always kept the kind of love she writes about out of reach.

But when her diversity-conscious publisher insists she write a Hanukkah romance, her well of inspiration suddenly runs dry. Hanukkah’s not magical. It’s not merry. It’s not Christmas. Desperate not to lose her contract, Rachel’s determined to find her muse at the Matzah Ball, a Jewish music celebration on the last night of Hanukkah, even if it means working with her summer camp archenemy—Jacob Greenberg.

Though Rachel and Jacob haven’t seen each other since they were kids, their grudge still glows brighter than a menorah. But as they spend more time together, Rachel finds herself drawn to Hanukkah—and Jacob—in a way she never expected. Maybe this holiday of lights will be the spark she needed to set her heart ablaze.

"A luminous celebration of all types of love, threaded with the message that everyone is worthy of it.”—Rachel Lynn Solomon, author of The Ex Talk

Mazel Tov!

I finished this in less than 24 hours. It's fantastic! It's like Hanukkah for Hallmark without the cringey dialog some movies have. Good character development and a movie ready ending are just what I needed this time of year.

Excellent!

Great holiday theme; enjoy the wonder & magic of Christmas & Chanukah family and young love! Smile…

Feel good story

I loved listening to this story. I cared about the characters. I’m sad it’s over and I miss Rachel, Jacob, Mickie, and Toby 💙

I loved The Matzah Ball!

I LOVED this book & read it in hardcover in one day. It is a beautiful story. It should be made into a Hallmark Channel movie. Now I’m listening to it and enjoying it just. I love the happy feeling this book gives me.

Great representation, but a bit repetitive

Lots to love about this sweet story—representation of a Jewish main character, plus chronic illness, plus a holiday romance other than Christmas. I personally also like the closed door and second chance aspects of the romance. But it got quite repetitive at times. It seemed like they spent the whole novel referring to each other by their full names, and the “summer camp arch nemesis” line got a bit old. Those are fairly minor issues, so overall I give it 4 stars.