I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this book, but I was very pleasantly surprised. I ended up finishing the book in just a few sittings and really enjoyed the story and characters.

I just finished reading this book. The plot was absolutely fantastic! It was quite the page turner, and I could not put the book down once I began reading it. I can't wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone I know!

Evelyn Schwartz has the perfect Hanukkah planned: eight jam-packed days producing the live-action televised musical of A Christmas Carol. Who needs family when you’ve got long hours, impossible deadlines, and your dream job? That is, until an accident on set lands her in the medical bay with one of her chronic migraines, and she’s shocked to find her ex-husband, David Adler, filling in for the usual studio doctor.

It’s been two years since David walked away from Evelyn and their life in Manhattan, and his ex-wife is still the same workaholic who puts her career before everything else—especially her health. But when Evelyn begins hallucinating “ghosts” tied to her past heartbreaks, and every single one leads to David, he finds himself spending much more time with her than he anticipated. And denying the still-smoldering chemistry between them becomes impossible.

As Evelyn revisits her ghosts of Hanukkah past, she and David both begin to wonder if they can have a Hanukkah future. But with a high-stakes production ramping up the pressure on Evelyn, and troublesome spirits forcing them both to confront their most difficult shared memories, it might just take a Hanukkah miracle for these two exes to light the flame on their second chance at love.

Jean Meltzer gives you all the heart and all the heartbreak in her newest romance. You sympathize with Evelyn when she has her migraines and David when he tries over and over again to help her. But he can't help her through her heartbreaks - Evelyn must experience them to get where she needs to be, and she takes the reader on her enlightening, sometimes sad, journey. This is definitely a book you can't put down because you have to know what happens next. I celebrated their success with them and cried when sharing their pain. This book is not a light romance; there is a lot of substance to it. I implore you to read the author's message at the end because it's an important part of the book. As a side note, I loved the reference to the shop in Kissing Kosher.

As someone who just married into the Jewish community, I’m loving the rise of Jewish rom-coms, and The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah was such a treat! Evelyn and David’s second-chance romance unfolds beautifully against the backdrop of Hanukkah, blending holiday magic with real, emotional depth.

The premise is unique and charming — Evelyn’s hallucinations of “ghosts” tied to past heartbreaks bring an intriguing twist, while the chemistry between her and David still sizzles despite their complicated history. The story perfectly balances humor, heartfelt moments, and the pressures of a high-stakes production, making it feel both festive and relatable.

If you enjoy second-chance romances with a cultural touch and holiday spirit, this book definitely delivers.

This was by far my favorite Jewish Rep book maybe ever — the representation was there but not over the top and yet not overly explained. It was very much normalized and diffused throughout the book in a completely natural way. I love a second chance romance and this was one of the better ones as far as tension and chemistry I’ve read. Lastly, the rep of pregnancy loss and associated trauma was moving and incredibly well written. Last note… Jared Sparks was hilarious and was totally giving Russell Brand, Get Them To The Greek.

What I didn’t love… Did Evelyn need to tell us in her head how much she hated her ex ad nauseum? It was as if she lacked insight into any of her own mistakes and it made her kind of unlikable in my mind. In comparison to David’s introspection it made her seem Regina Jones-ish and not in an ironic, funny way.

Tropes: Second chance romance. He falls first. Grumpy-Sunshine. Forced proximity.

Please note, I did receive this ARC for free; I am writing this honest review voluntarily and appreciate the opportunity provided by the author and publisher to review this book.

📖 Book Review 📖 It’s the most wonderful time of the year…for everyone but Evelyn Schwartz. While she loves her job as a producer and is crushing it with her upcoming live-action performance of A Christmas Carol, the high stress is not conducive to her chronic migraines. When a collision with a piano lands her in with the doctor on set, she is shocked to be face to face with the man who broke her heart, her ex-husband David (what are the chances he’s filling in for a friend this week, of all weeks!?) Something strange is happening on set and Evelyn cannot tell if she’s actually seeing ghosts from the past or if she’s suffering from her head injury. Could these visits through her long history with David ignite that old spark? Jean Meltzer reimagines a beloved story with a fresh twist and raw emotional depths that absolutely pops off the pages. The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah is an instant holiday rom com classic!

Jean Meltzer is one of the top Jewish romance writers. Her books are real and cover real topics.
This book focuses on Evelyn & her ex David.
On a chance encounter, David is working as the doctor on scene for her studio where she is getting ready to put on a live Christmas show.
We learn that Evelyn has migraines and how hard it is for her to get medicine to manage them. She also works very hard and isn't really happy at the moment which causes more stress to her body.
Meltzer does a great job of talking about migraines and how they can affect someone. She always covers real topics.
I love the heartbreaks of Hanukkah and how they visit Evelyn and help guide her to where she really belongs. They help her take a look at her life and become closer to David again.
This book is sweet and has such great representation of Hanukkah, love and family.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC

So stinkin cute, I love the characters and the Jewish representation and the messaging on loss and grief!

📖 Bookish Thoughts
This was cute! I really liked the idea of revisiting her ghosts of Hanukkah past. I was hoping for something cozy and heartwarming, and in some ways, it delivered.

That said, I struggled a bit with Evelyn. I kept hoping she’d grow on me, but it just didn’t happen. David, on the other hand, was an absolute sweetheart! He was so patient and kind (maybe too forgiving if I’m being honest). I just didn’t really feel the spark between them, which made it hard to fully buy into their romance.

🩵 What You Can Expect
• Second-chance romance
• Holiday movie production
• Ghosts of Hanukkah past
• Sweet MMC
• Emotional baggage unpacked

🗓 Pub Date: October 21, 2025
Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC. All thoughts are my own.

⭐️ 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)

"The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah" by Jean Meltzer is a heartfelt and engaging take on the holiday romance genre, offering a unique twist with its Jewish cultural elements. The story centers around Evelyn, a driven TV producer, who finds herself working alongside her ex-husband, David, during Hanukkah. As Evelyn is visited by the Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah, she revisits pivotal moments in her past, leading to a journey of self-discovery and healing. Meltzer weaves themes of love, loss, and second chances into a narrative that balances humor with poignant moments. While the pacing could be tighter, the book's charm lies in its rich character development and cultural depth.

A workaholic (Jewish) television producer focused on a live broadcast of a musical version of A Christmas Carol is upset that her (Jewish) ex-husband has been tapped to fill in as the on-set doctor during the holiday season, adding to her stress. After nearly getting taken out by a moving set piece, Evelyn refuses to visit the hospital, and then is visited by eight ghosts in succession, one for each night of Hanukkah, which she barely observes, while suffering from migraines, worrying about her cast who doesn't yet know lines, music, dance, or blocking; agonizing over her high strung and demanding star, whose contract does not dictate showing up until dress rehearsal, and now facing Dr. David is just the icing on the cake.

I have the sense that Meltzer had a lot of fun writing this book. It's joyful and funny (in between the stress points). The story did not gel for more until more than halfway through, and I think more thoughtful and attentive editing overall would have made this a stronger and tighter story. There is an unfortunate amount of telling instead of showing--the story is interrupted for multiple paragraphs about migraines and EDS, instead of woven in. Details are both repetitive (the details leading to the breakup of the marriage, the longing for children) or left out, or appear out of nowhere. For example, when David eats brisket with his latkes, but brisket was not listed in the excessive and seemingly comprehensive list of food in the fabulous spread his sister Danielle and her family made for the first night of Hanukkah. Both Evelyn and David recall vividly one another’s scents, but the specific smell is not defined for the reader, for either of them, though the ghost of Marla is associated with a specific perfume by brand name, but the name alone did not give me any sense of the scent or the smell it conjures, or why it was significant, why it was deliberately chosen. The amazing chemistry and great sex and horny feelings are acknowledged , but left up to the reader's imagination. A quibble: I'm not quite sure why, when Evelyn had to ratio her migraine medication, David couldn't help her advocate to get adequate dosage (maybe she wouldn't allow it, maybe he can't treat a family member -- or former family member--an explanation would have been great).

The supernatural part of the story was a strong plot device to share David and Evelyn's history, and had a clever and poignant twist at the end. As an homage for Dickens, it does run a little long, detours from the original, and I think it was a missed opportunity to not use "Marla was dead, to begin with," as an homage. The Jewish representation as always, was awesome and appreciated. I love the weaving in of Torah, Talmud, culture, and observance, and Jewish stances on marriage and divorce, children and abortion. What non-Jews may miss is that removing the obvious Jewish details would still make this a Jewish novel: it's the balance of humor and pathos, grief and loss with love and warmth and joy, that makes this a distinctly Jewish story for me. Although I've called it joyful, it does deal with heartbreaking loss and chronic illness that could retraumatize; Meltzer thoughtfully includes trigger warnings.

For another Hanukkah story with deep character growth, read Love You A Latke by Amanda Elliot; for Hanukkah tale that ratchets up the spice level significantly while dealing with the theme of childhood friends turned lovers with amazing chemistry, check out Light It Up by Evie Blum.

I received a free advance reader's review copy of #TheEightHeartbreaksOfHanukkah via #NetGalley courtesy of #Harper in exchange for a fair and honest review; a review will post to HLBB 10/21/2025.

This was the best of Jean Meltzer books. First, I've never considered a Jewish version of A Christmas Carole. Evelyn is a type-A, overarching TV producer. Her ex-house starts working as a doctor on her set during Hanukah. They have a lot of unresolved issues.

Evelyn is driven and selfish and unbalanced. She is both likeable and unlikeable. She is visited by the Eight Heartbreaks of Hanunkah past. David is a caring and sweet MMC. He is an amazing book boyfriend, but also a little flat. Even though we get his POV, I still don't feel like I know him at all.

The story is sweet and heartbreaking. I loved it. Second-chanced that are done well arey favorite. The story stays with you! Ms. Meltzer does a good job of weaving Judaism, health challenges, and other topics into her books. It's always been good, but this time it really all comes together in this adorable HEA.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC. I appreciate the opportunity to read this novel.

In a world full of parodies and remakes of A Christmas Carol, it was only a matter of time before there was a Jewish take on it. Luckily for us, Jean Meltzer is the one who did it. She combines her signature elements of swoon worthy heroes, complicated heroines, Jewish representation and deftly drawn characters with chronic illness.

Jean Meltzer is one of the authors that is helping to establish a new genre - Jewish romance novels.

The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah is a second chance romance novel, Meltzer employs a fascinating storytelling device that takes her FMC back to eight heartbreaking episodes in her past. It's not until the very end of the novel that the FMC understands what these eight episodes actually have in common and that moment engendered a sigh of satisfaction from me as a reader.

I wish I could say something as positive about the Jewish aspects of the book. I recently heard a different Jewish novelist share her definition of what makes a novel Jewish. She said that, if you can remove the Jewish elements and the story falls apart, you've got a Jewish novel. But with slight tweaks, if you took the Jewish elements (Jewish main characters and set during Hanukkah) away, in my opinion, the story would still be worth reading. So to me, the Jewish elements were window-dressing on a second chance romance novel.

I appreciate that Meltzer avoided the stereotype of the self-hating Jew. To me, her Jewish characters seemed lukewarm about their Judaism, but they certainly weren't self-hating. That was a refreshing change.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this novel before its publication.

Nevertheless, I hope this genre continues to grow and deepen.

“The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah” ohs by Jean Meltzer. In so many ways I really liked this book - I really liked David, bless him. David put up with a lot and for a long time, seemed to get very little in return. Eveyln took me a long time to like - and while I think I’d like her in my corner, she’d also drive me nuts. I did like that this had Jewish main characters - just living their lives and celebrating their traditions (more please!). But this book in so many ways was so over the top that my mind felt like it was having whiplash … time to be serious or time to laugh, it was a bit confusing. The heartbreaks hurt - and sometimes one doesn’t realize something in the past is a heartbreak - and in some of those moments Ms. Meltzer shone. I did like the Author’s note about the background for the story. I did read this rather quickly and it held my attention.

I really loved this Jewish reimagining of A Christmas Carol. When I began reading I was a little worried that eight different ghosts/heartbreaks would become tedious, but that was not the case. Instead, I felt swept away and really enjoyed using the flashbacks to learn more about the main character. I really found her to be charming-- and the love interest was absolutely swoonworthy. It's a beautiful exploration of growth and second chances that I am certain I will pick up again!

The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah by Jean Meltzer
Rating (5/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Loved this one! My first read by Jean Meltzer. Can’t wait to check out her backlist of titles. Thank you Jean for making Judaism in all its ways the theme and anchor of this story. And also making it such a wonderful Jewish love story. This one should be on everyone’s tbr list for 2025.

This author is really hit or miss for me, because while I crave Chanukah themed holiday romcoms, there's a lot of christmasy elements involved. This happened in the Matzah Ball and it happens strongly here too, the plot is a Christmas Carol retelling. Putting that aside, there's still some good Chanukah moments. This book was also darker in tone with more serious themes, which were done well.

Even though I'm not Jewish at all, I've always loved Jean Meltzer's work! I appreciate how she writes about real issues and sets them within a religious community, but it's not a religious book by any means! This is the first book I've read that explicitly deals with infertility and related issues and having no context for that myself in any sense, I was fascinated. I also always love a second chance trope and this was a unique twist on that in a good way. Great story with lots of depth.

4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for honest review.

Oh my goodness, nothing gets me like a holiday romance. Add in a second chance Romance and I'm swooning!

Evelyn and David met as children, drifted in and out of each other's lives for years until they reconnected after college. At this point, they started dating, realized they had insane chemistry, got married, went through an awful tragedy and ended up divorced.

Now, it's 2 years later and Evelyn is the producer of a live action Christmas Carol retelling. David is living as an orthopedic doctor/animal rehabber in Pennsylvania but gets called back to be the on-set doctor unbeknownst to Evelyn.

After Evelyn's migraines flare up and she accidentally runs into a piano, she's brought to see David. Shortly after, Evelyn is visited by the ghost of her former boss and told that she'll be visited by the Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah.

As Evelyn goes through each heartbreak, she realizes how David has been there for every one of them. Slowly but surely, these 2 exs realize they've never stopped loving each other but have to figure out how to make it work with Evelyn's workaholic tendencies.

Overall, I absolutely adored this book! I want more David and Evelyn! I loved the descriptive language used, the side characters cracked me up, especially the lead of the Christmas Carol production. I cannot wait for everyone to read this in the fall!