At this time of year, it can be easy to forget that there are holidays other than Christmas. I’m at best, an agnostic and I’ve had several Christmas centered romances on my kindle without trying. No shade to those books, I liked them. But I did reach out to Stacey Agdern and ask if I could get an arc of her forthcoming Hanukkah romance, The Dreidel Disaster. I enjoyed it. It’s a romance for grownups, in a responding to problems way, not in a sexy times way. The romance is closed door.
Livvy Nachman is about to be the former Mayor of Briarwood, in New York’s Hudson Valley, and is getting ready to take on new duties as a county legislator. Before she leaves office, she wants to get a Hanukkah celebration off the ground, and a local National Hockey League team has donated used hockey sticks to become a dreidl sculpture, and is submitting a proposal for a festival. The big flaw in the plan is the decidedly not Jewish hockey team employee tasked with developing the festival. In a stunningly tone deaf presentation, she manages to enrage everyone. The team calls in noted fixer, Artur Rabinovich, who must navigate a town that’s watching his every move closely.
Sparks fly between Liv and Artur and they move slowly and cautiously towards a romance. The whole community and their overlapping circles of family and friends are watching, commenting, and butting in with advice about the relationship and the festival. This feels a lot like an actual small town romance where the residence are less folksy and more “I know your entire history, so I can tell you what to do.” There are a lot of pointed looks, too. The kind that come from life long friendships . I really enjoyed that their romance was not happening in two person bubble. I also enjoyed how much Liv and Artur enjoyed kissing each other.
I’m a little disappointed that I can’t actually go to the unveiling of the dreidl sculpture. The festival sounded like it would be a lot of fun. I was prompted to look up Hanukkah events here in Austin. No dreidl unveilings, but I did find a new Korean and Jewish shop that focuses on fermentables, including sourdough bagels.
I received this as an advance reader copy from the author. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.
