Kissing Kosher
A Novel
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
"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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This captivating rom-com from Meltzer (Mr. Perfect on Paper) centers on an endearingly flawed Jewish heroine whose career, body, and health aren't perfect—but that doesn't stop her from finding her perfect match. Avital Cohen hoped to pursue photojournalism, but a busy newsroom wasn't the ideal setting to also manage her interstitial cystitis, a painful chronic illness. Being the co-owner and manager of her family's kosher bakery in Brooklyn isn't much easier, however, which is why she's eager to hire the suspiciously overqualified Ethan Rosenberg to help out. Encouraged by his ruthless grandfather, the head of a kosher mass-produced baked goods empire, Ethan falsified his résumé to win the position and steal the Cohen's famous pumpkin spiced babka recipe. His resolve wavers almost immediately upon getting to know Avital. He's awed by her ability to manage her pain and push through each day, inspiring him to push back against his abusive grandfather. Meltzer's depiction of Avital's chronic illness—which leaves her unable to have sex—is frank and nuanced. While romance is unable to fully fix each other's problems, Avital and Ethan's love lessens both of their pain. It's a winning recipe for contemporary romance grounded in real-world issues.
