title: The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah
author: Jean Meltzer
publisher: MIRA
publication date: October 21, 2025
pages: 368
peppers: 2 (on this scale)
warnings:
- chronic illness
- disability
- migrains
- divorce
- grief
- infertility
- abortion
- loss
- wrongful termination
- fetal abnormalities
summary: Evelyn is working her tail off to produce a live-on-TV version of A Christmas Carol; unfortunately, everything is going wrong. The first disaster comes when she gets knocked in the head by a piano and discovers that the on-set physician is none other than David, her ex-husband, who walked out on her two years ago with no explanation at all.
tropes:
- second-chance
- enemies-to-lovers
- Scrooge!
- holiday
- workaholic
what I liked:
- Hanukkah celebrations
- behind-the-scenes TV world
- humor
- disability representation
- parodies of celebrities
- the scope of the relationship
- shenanigans
- explaining Judaism without getting soapboxy or political
- dealt with hard issue in sensitive ways
what I didn’t like:
- I wanted them to talk with each other earlier
overall rating: 5 (of 5 stars)
As always, you can click on the photo above if you want to buy the book.