Sep 18, 2025
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WOMS: Kissing Kosher
Because today of all days, we need joy, we’re continuing this week with more #Jewishfiction, this time with Jean Meltzer's Kissing Kosher, a delectable tale as sweet and rich as a loaf of babka to bring comfort in these uncertain times. Click below to read all about it! #bookreview #Jewishjoy
We’re continuing this week with more Jewish fiction, this time with Jean Meltzer’s Kissing Kosher, a delectable tale as sweet and rich as a loaf of babka. In this romantic comedy, with similar vibes to Romeo and Juliet, there are two feuding families whose patriarchs started a bakery half a century ago, but what neither family agrees on is who wronged who. Caught in the middle is Avital Cohen,…
Kissing Kosher Review
Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer #NewAdult #Contemporary #Jewish #RomCom CW: Loss of Parents During Childhood, Deadly Accident Described, Brai
Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer
CW: Loss of Parents During Childhood, Deadly Accident Described, Brain Injury, Childhood Abuse, Abusive Language, Struggles with Chronic Illness, Legal Drug Use, Underage Drug Use (Mentioned), Sexual Language and Scenes (Fade to Black), Medical Content/Trauma, Capitalism, Suicidal Thoughts, Ableism, Gaslighting, Fire
5/5
Jean Meltzer's Kissing Kosher is not your typical romcom, in style or content. I chose to read this book because I enjoyed Meltzer's The Matzah Ball and wanted to see what else she had written. I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. In fact, my standards may have gone up! This book was healthy, wholesome, and respectable while dealing with some heavy and unexpected topics. All of this while focusing on a believable and gush-worthy romance for Jews and non-Jews alike!
Avital Cohen has been struggling with a mix of chronic illnesses for the last two years. She's also co-running her family's successful bakery with her twin brother. Between the two, she is struggling to survive. So, Avital hires a little extra help around the bakery. This comes in the form of Ethan Rosenberg Lippmann, the grandson of her grandfather's rival. Attempting corporate espionage, he hides his Lippmann lineage, fakes a background in baking, and looks around for the Cohen family babka recipe. Unfortunately for his grandfather (the man whose idea this was) Ethan falls for Avital and the bakery. Will Ethan and Avital be able to improve each other's lives or is their romance a bad idea?
Kissing Kosher was published 2 years after The Matzah Ball, and I can tell that Meltzer listened to her readers and improved her writing in that time. Mind you, she was already very skilled, but I noticed some people had problems with the way The Matzah Ball's love interest handled the main character's chronic illness. I was fine with it, but I did think the relationship was a little rushed. Kissing Kosher corrects both of these concerns while doing so much more. Meltzer deals with chronic illness herself and it's evident in the way she writes Avital's experience.
Although my experience and illnesses are different from Avital's, her story felt familiar. Doctors not finding what they're looking for, special diets, and pain. It's also well-described for anyone who hasn't dealt with it. Meltzer allows anyone who wants to, to be her audience. As for Ethan, he is dealing with anxiety and a childhood of (big T) Trauma. He comes into Avital's life and finds what he wants to do most is relieve her burden. I think it's wish fulfillment for Meltzer, but that's absolutely okay. It's written with boundaries, advocacy, and open-mindedness. I don't wish to spoil the story, but I'll say it made me so happy to be a part of these characters' lives, even for a little bit. Representation matters, and so does speaking up. It might reach someone who needs it.
Of course, disability isn't the only type of representation in Kissing Kosher. There's Judaism too! The book is told with a strong Jewish voice, is filled with Jewish characters, and is set in a Jewish bakery. Throughout, you'll find Jewish terminology, food, wisdom, obscure references, and holidays. Even the sections of the book are split up by where it is on the Hebrew calendar! Most of these things are explained, as to include the non-Jewish readers, but not in a way that would waste the time of a Jewish reader. Jewish food especially is explored, including a beautiful challah-making scene. Some of my other favorite Jewish moments include the Purim Carnival and the tefillin scene. Reading Jewish stories and romances makes me feel happy and seen!
If you're looking for a caring romance filled with Jewish and chronic illness representation, any of Jean Meltzer's books are a good bet. If Jewish food and enemy families excite you, Kissing Kosher should be your next read! Give this romance a chance!
The Matzah Ball Review
The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer #Jewish #RomCom #Contemporary #Holiday CW: Child/Family Abandonment, Death of a Parent, Cancer, Grief, Descr
The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer
CW: Child/Family Abandonment, Death of a Parent, Cancer, Grief, Described Chronic Illnesses, Shame, Ableism, Internalized Ableism, Internet Bullying, Mention of Infidelity, Antisemitism, Discussion of the Holocaust, Breach of Privacy, Drunkenness, Suicidal Thoughts
4.5/5
Being a popular book amongst romance readers, I have no idea how I first came across The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer. It came out in 2021 and I've wanted to read it since. I tend to pick out books that don't have a waitlist on Libby as it can be overwhelming when the books end up coming in all at once. It's because of this that I took a while to get to The Matzah Ball, and even longer because I decided I'd read it for Hannukka 2023. I'm so happy that I finally got to read it. Meltzer is a wonderful author!
Rachel Rubinstein-Goldblatt is the daughter of a popular rabbi and a successful doctor. She's been raised to be the perfect Jewish woman, often reminded that the synagogue of over 1000 families is always watching. She's kept her secrets close to her chest; that she has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and that she loves Christmas. Needing a job that allows her to work from home, she became a successful Christmas romance writer. Unfortunately, this Hannukka, her world is going to be sent spinning like a dreidel. Her publisher tells her to write a Hannukka novel in the same week that her middle school boyfriend, Jacob, comes back to New York. Though they would love to avoid each other, they'll be forced to air out their grudges as they prep for the Matzah Ball together.
This book knows exactly who its audience is. It's accessible for both Jews and non-Jews. The book takes the time to explain certain things that are pretty basic, like sufganiyot, the fact that Hannukka isn't a major holiday, that the 10 Commandments were received at Mt. Sinai, and more. These are for the non-Jewish readers. The book also has plenty of things that are treated as a part of life, like knowing what the Berkshires are, using two sets of table/cookware, and many Yiddish words. One of my favorite Jewish moments in the book is when Jacob is setting up the menorah and has to melt the bottoms of the candles to get them to stick. My family does this too and it filled me with glee to hear it described. I appreciate that The Matzah Ball was written mostly for a Jewish audience without alienating any other readers.
If you enjoy tropes and trope analysis, this is definitely the Hannukka romance for you. The Matzah Ball isn't just a holiday romance novel, it's about holiday romance novels. If at times it feels a little cheesy, unrealistic, or rushed, there's a reason for it. These are important elements of the sub-genre. You can have the romantic tropes featured, enemies-to-lovers and second-chance romance, in any romance sub-genre, but there are certain elements that make this a holiday romance. Obviously, it has to take place during a Festival of Lights holiday and there has to be snow, it also should take place (at least partially) in a big city like New York, each love interest should have just one friend, and they should be in love within an extraordinarily low number of days. Meltzer has set up Rachel to be a writer, a hint to the audience that everything tropey/cliche is intentional.
I'd have loved this book even if it was just a fluffy Hannukka romcom, but it is more than that. The Matzah Ball features a main character who is surviving through a chronic illness and a love interest who was raised by a chronically ill single mom. I face my own chronic illnesses, fibromyalgia and IBS, so I always appreciate when a book explores what it's like to have one. Even better if the character is Jewish. Rachel has a best friend and family that care about and support her, but she has so much shame about her CFS that she has a hard time accepting enough help. The way Jacob approaches Rachel's CFS is accepting and reminds me a little of my own boyfriend. Both men have been close to someone who needed extra help and came away better people for it. Some of it is written in a way that takes away Rachel's agency, but he learns from it. Overall, representation matters!
Jean Meltzer's The Matzah Ball is sweet, hopefully, and delightfully tropey. It also had me guessing how a few things would go and made me invested in all of the characters. If you want a little light in your December books, I highly recommend getting your hands or ears on this novel!
I get that it's a minor holiday that nobody cares about and all, but that doesn't mean it can't offer something special. And isn't that the point, anyway? We're not the norm. We're not typical. We're Jews! So let's put Judaism on fleek! Let's celebrate--in the most courageous and fabulous way possible--what makes us different.
Blog Tour + #Review: KISSING KOSHER by Jean Meltzer!
Welcome to Book-Keeping and my stop on the Summer 2023 Blog Tours campaign with HTP Books! Today I’ve got all the details and a review for you for Kissing Kosher, the latest contemporary romance from Jean Meltzer. I loved this one and can’t wait to tell you all about it!
About the Book
title: Kissing Kosher author: Jean Meltzer publisher: MIRA Books release date: 29 August 2023
"An unflinchingly honest romance." --Kirkus, STARRED review
From the author of THE MATZAH BALL and MR. PERFECT ON PAPER comes this hilarious and emotional rivals-to-lovers romance.
Step 1: Get the secret recipe. Step 2: Don't fall in love...
Avital Cohen isn't wearing underpants--woefully, for unsexy reasons. Chronic pelvic pain has forced her to sideline her photography dreams and her love life. It's all she can do to manage her family's kosher bakery, Best Babka in Brooklyn, without collapsing.
She needs hired help.
And distractingly handsome Ethan Lippmann seems the perfect fit.
Except Ethan isn't there to work--he's undercover, at the behest of his ironfisted grandfather. Though Lippmann's is a household name when it comes to mass-produced kosher baked goods, they don't have the charm of Avital's bakery. Or her grandfather's world-famous pumpkin spice babka recipe.
As they bake side by side, Ethan soon finds himself more interested in Avital than in stealing family secrets, especially as he helps her find the chronic pain relief--and pleasure--she's been missing.
But perfecting the recipe for romance calls for leaving out the lies...even if coming clean means risking everything.
Add to Goodreads: Kissing Kosher Purchase the Book: BookShop.org | Harlequin | Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Books-A-Million | Apple
About the Author
Jean Meltzer studied dramatic writing at NYU Tisch and has earned numerous awards for her work in television, including a daytime Emmy. She spent five years in rabbinical school before her chronic illness forced her to withdraw, and her father told her she should write a book—just not a Jewish one because no one reads those. Kissing Kosher is her third novel.
Connect with Jean: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads
My 5-Star Review
This is the second book I’ve read by Jean Meltzer (the first being The Matzah Ball), and what can I say except I loved it *even more* than the first?! As with her other books, Kissing Kosher is unapologetically Jewish and heavy on disability awareness. But the amazing thing is that she does all this without sacrificing any of the pieces that we love so much about rom-coms -- the romance, the comedy, the banter and flirting, the butterflies, the adorable male love interest (Ethan is an absolute dream). I don’t know how she achieves this balance so well, but I love it!
With The Matzah Ball I felt seen because I have fibromyalgia, which is in many ways similar to ME/CFS that the FMC has in that book. In Kissing Kosher, our FMC, Avital, has interstitial cystitis. I so enjoyed and appreciated learning more about living with IC because a good friend of mine has it. I kept telling her, “You have to read this book, you’ll feel so seen!” This is why reading diverse books is so, so important! People who identify with the characters feel seen, and the rest of us learn so much. I didn’t just learn about IC, either, but about Judaism and their teachings on sex and intimacy (which just might blow your mind!). Honestly, if you haven’t yet read one of Jean’s books, what are you waiting for?
RATING: 5 stars!
**Disclosure: I received an early e-copy of this book for purposes of this blog tour. Thanks to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for the eARC!
“Don’t quit. It might seem hard now, but something good always comes from our most difficult challenges. That’s how we make meaning, really. That’s how we find light during the darkest of times. Besides, you don’t strike me as a quitter.”
“Truth could be scary. Darkness might always endeavor to snuff out the light, but the strength of those who truly loved us would always push us forward. This was how we brightened an otherwise dark world. We filled it with truth, and love, and light.”