Stevie‘s review of Eight Secret Nights by Shoshana David
Contemporary Jewish Holiday Romance published by RoseLark Publishing 29 Nov 18
In amongst the wealth of Christmas stories that appear from September onwards, I make a point of reading holiday stories that focus on other faiths and traditions. Mostly that means Hanukkah romances, which is sort of fine by me since I grew up assuming that every ostensibly Christian/secular household had family friends who lent them The Big Book of Jewish Humour and suchlike. I want to learn more about other faiths as well, but sometimes it’s comfortable to sink into an almost-familiar world instead. The protagonists of this short book live in New York, which is a US city I have some firsthand knowledge of – comfort zone reading again. Mara works for a non-profit organisation, and is looking forward to celebrating Hanukkah with her close friends and receiving presents from her family, who live further away. First, however, she has to negotiate her neighbours, some of whom are more welcome features of the block than others.
The new guy two doors down, for starters, is just Mara’s type, and she finally gets to strike up a conversation with him right before the start of Hanukkah. Less welcome is the creepy guy from along the hall, who can’t get his head around the fact that Mara doesn’t want to date him. When presents start appearing on Mara’s doorstep, Evan – the cute guy – seems the most likely source of them, but Mara doesn’t want to jump to conclusions – or to assume that he’s as interested in her as she is in him, especially when some of the presents seem too well chosen to be merely lucky guesses from someone who barely knows her.
I love that Mara and Evan have fully developed lives separate from each other – Mara more than Evan, since this book is entirely from her point of view – and that they manage to respect each other’s traditions and incorporate bits of both their worlds into their getting-to-know-each-other rituals. Having read this story, I really want to know if ugly Hanukkah jumpers are as much of a Thing as bad Christmas jumpers and whether this is just a US tradition or if they occur in the UK as well.
The story wasn’t perfect. It tried a little too hard to sidestep a couple of awkward tropes in ways that felt clunky. I really want to see how this author develops, though, especially if she continues to draw on her own traditions and experiences to bring us thoroughly modern, but also slightly different to the usual, heroines in her future writing.
Grade: B
Summary:
Someone’s been leaving Hanukkah presents on Mara’s doorstep.
Sweet presents.
Thoughtful presents.
Mara never gets presents. After all, this is New York. No one leaves anything on your doorstep unless it’s an eviction notice. And the gifts definitely aren’t that.
Who can her secret admirer be? Her best friend? Her family? The cute guy who just moved in next door? The creep from 7A? Please, dear God, not the last one! Either way, this Hanukkah will be one Mara will be sure never to forget.
This is a standalone novella that is complete with a happy for now ending. No cliffhangers here.
Read an excerpt.
