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AUDIES FINALIST

Author: Amanda Elliot

Narrator: Kelli Tager

Abby Cohen has been living in a small Vermont town, running her cafe and being royally annoyed by Seth, her ray of sunshine customer who comes to her coffee shop every single day. As the only Jewish person on the tourism board, they dump a regular holiday festival (disguised as a Hanukkah festival) on her lap. She’s having a hard time convincing the local vendors that there’s no Hanukkah Tree, or Santa and Elves, or (oy vey) a Nativity scene in Hanukkah. When she calls for help, Seth is there to help her – for a “price”. He’ll help her if she agrees to pose as his very Jewish girlfriend to his very Jewish mother in  trip to NYC. In turn, he’ll introduce her to amazing vendors in NYC and all her problems will be solved. All she has to to do is endure her fear of running into her parents, being loved up by Seth’s parents, being welcomed by his friends and even his ex. Too bad she’s starting to like it all. A LOT. And it’s freaking her out. 

Told entirely through Abby’s POV, we get a good look at the sort of  “fish out of water” situation of being one of the very few of a group living in community where everyone is not like you. Though I am not Jewish, I could empathize with Abby’s need to reconnect with her roots and her identity. I loved learning more about the Hanukkah traditions and but most of all to see Seth quietly win her over. Think of it as a Hanukkah version of a Hallmark holiday movie. 

It’s solo narrated by Kelli Tager, who does an amazing job. She has to pronounce a lot of non-English words and I can only assume she does it well. She also does a good job with the different voices, but in general, the book would have lagged less in some parts  if we had two POVs. There are quite a few long “inner monologues” that get a bit repetitive. Not her fault, though. 

All in all,  it is a sweet (and very closed door) romance and I recommend it to people of all backgrounds. I truly enjoyed it. 

Content notes: estrangement from parents due to an extremely toxic relationship