Shine A Light

There is definitely a joke to be made about sexy firefighters, romance novels, and Hanukkah – a holiday in which Jewish people light open flames in their homes for eight nights in a row. However, I’m not going to make it because somehow Rebecca Crowley has managed to provide us with Shine A Light, a straight romance featuring a Jewish firefighter and an actress who has recently burned down her apartment, and it is ridiculously sweet. 

Our heroine, Ellie, is an aspiring actress who spends her days working as an executive assistant, a job she hates, because it afforded stability and much needed cash while her mother was ill. She remained in the cubicle even after her mothers passing in order to save up enough funds to move to Los Angeles. She generally avoids her home town of Orchard Hill due to painful memories. But all that changes when she is forced to move in with her sister as her apartment is severely damaged by the fire. And lo and behold, her sisters next door neighbor is none other than sexy firefighter Jonah, who offered her words of comfort after the fire. 

Ellie and Jonah each have their own family issues to work through, but no matter what is going on, they meet each night at their respective windows to light menorahs together. The book is low heat, the physical romance only extends to kissing, but the tension is definitely there. Ellie and Jonah are attracted to each other but they must each first figure out what they actually want in life before starting a romance. 

Crowley has managed to give us a very Jewish sexy firefighter. Jonah is a former rabbinical student, so he is equally capable of waxing philosophical and carrying people out of burning buildings. And in a pivotal scene Ellie remarks on this in a hilarious way. Hanukkah is a holiday of Jewish warriors who defeated a much larger army. They fought not because they couldn’t assimilate into the Greek culture that often prioritized physical prowess, but because they didn’t want to. In a world that sometimes stereotypes us as weak and overly intellectual it is an important reminder that Jewish people can be anything they want to be. On their own terms. 

Note: BookishlyJewish received an e-copy of the book after we reached out and requested one.

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