Title: Matzah Ball Surprise
Author: Laura Brown
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 232
Read: January 21, 2021
Gaby Fineberg wants to get through Passover Sedar without her mother playing matchmaker. She needs a date so she asks the hot guy at her gym to be her fake date. Levi is deaf and having his own relationship issues but he agrees to help Gaby and be her fake boyfriend.
While there were parts that I liked about this book, I did have a few issues with this book. First off what I enjoyed. I loved that this is centered around a Jewish holiday and that it actually discusses how this family practices. I have read other Jewish holiday romances and those holidays were barely discussed. I also loved how Gaby tried to make sure Levi could participate during her family’s Seder, especially since this was new to her and her family. Another thing I really enjoyed about this book was how the author handled Levi being deaf. Not all deaf people wear hearing aids or read lips so it was nice to see a hero who communicated mostly through text and ASL.
My issues with this book center around the relationship. My issue was with Levi and his lack of explanation/ lying about the current situation with his ex-fiance. I don’t understand why he wasn’t truthful from the very first conversation with Gaby about what was going on because she was being truthful about her past relationship and how it was impacting her. I don’t love the silly misunderstanding trope and this book plays on it hard. This was just something that could have easily been avoided, especially since they were texting constantly.
Overall, this was a pretty ok holiday romance. I had a few issues with it but I did enjoy it enough to read it in one sitting.
Red-Haired Ash Reads 