Eight Nights to Win Her Heart
by: Miri White
October 15, 2024 Alcove Press
298 pages
For many Jews, Hanukkah is a time for family. Clusters of menorahs burn bright against a window sill as every family member lights their own distinct menorah. Afterwards, extended families gather for seasonal parties and the exchanging of gifts (or more traditionally – gelt in envelopes). While the parties and gifts might be a spill over from the Christian tradition of exchanging gifts around this time of year, and a heavy marketing push to get as much of society buying as possible before year end balance sheets, the injunction to be together as a group is uniquely Jewish. The menorah is lit in a window or in a doorway in order to spread the word about the miracle publicly. There are even rules about how high up one can light the menorah, as it won’t officially count unless you can see it from street view or you bring someone up to view it.
This all adds up to it being a real kick in the rear to spend Hanukkah alone. Which is exactly the predicament facing Andie, protagonist of Miri White’s adult romance novel Eight Nights To Win Her Heart. She’s celebrating the first Hanukkah since her father died, has no extended family, and is even facing the loss of what few connections she has as she contemplates a move to another state to find employment. It’s a bit depressing, until the neighbor she has been crushing on for months winds up at her door. After a few false starts, Andie and Leo agree to spend the eight nights of Hanukkah together.
Leo is hard of hearing and battling to show his father that neither his hearing loss nor his childhood mistakes mean he cannot take over the family business. He’s also got a niece that struck me as just a tad unbelievably precocious for her age, kind of spoiled, and with way more technology use than I think is wise for a ten-year-old. But she’s a necessary plot device to move this relationship forward. Through her meddling, Leo takes Andie on a aeries of delightful adventures that show off Andie’s amazing skills as a preschool teacher – the woman has more empathy than seems legal – and the pluses and minuses of Leo’s family. Because let’s face it – while there are some very steamy scenes between these two – it’s the love of family that is really roping Andie into this relationship.
The third act conflict is where my writerly side came out and tried to ruin things for me. Unfortunately, I saw it coming a mile away, and it kept distracting me waiting for the thing I knew was going to happen to actually happen. At least this time no fluffy companions were harmed in the process (they are the reason I can’t read horror in which precious things are presented to us one by one in order to be killed off later. My heart was not built for that). We feel Andie’s outrage even as we ponder the actual legality of the situation, and how she might have a whole plethora of options she hasn’t explored yet. In the end, it’s family that helps repair the rift, which brings the relationship full circle.
I’m not naive enough to think many people don’t celebrate Hanukkah alone. In fact, as an introvert, I sometimes need more alone-ness in my life and holidays like this can overwhelm me. But when living in Andie’s world I felt her needs keenly. It’s a useful reminder to reach out to the people in your life you’ve been only superficially interacting with. You just never know where things will go.
Note: BookishlyJewish received an arc of this book from the publisher