One of the greatest joys of founding BookishlyJewish has been the way this blog pushes me to read new genres of Jewish literature, including contemporary romance. So for the sixth night of Hanukkah, I am giving interested readers the gift of Roz Alexander and the “Hot for the Holidays” series, a set of queer Jewish holiday romances that also includes the tiny niches of butch/femme and butch for butch.

Matzoh Match, the first book in the series, takes place over Passover and follows Sam, a newly single lesbian nursing a broken heart after her ex left her in one of the most bizarre ways possible (not going to spoil it, but when the backstory comes out I think you’ll agree it is pretty wild). Sam is hosting her first solo seder and her best friend decides to play matchmaker and bring along a blind date for Sam – without informing her. To make matters even more mortifying for poor Sam the blind date just so happens to be Jordan, the extremely hot butch she has been not-so-secretly ogling at the grocery store.

***The following paragraph is NOT SAFE FOR WORK, but then again, neither is the book***

Sam and Jordan have instant chemistry, and they are both undeniably hot for each other, but it takes them two seders, a whole lot of wine and a few false starts to finally get things going. When they do, the payoff is excellent. This book contains a fair amount of sex, so if that isn’t your thing just skip over those bits, but it would be a shame to do so. Because, as stated in the forward, Judaism is a sex positive religion and this is a sex positive book.

*** end of NSFW content ***

On a more personal note, I’ve never been to an inclusive seder and it was a lot of fun reading about them and the different traditions incorporated by the seder hosts. Although the idea of having 3 seders, as Sam does in this book, is giving me a hang over.

Verdict? If you’re into high heat queer romance, this one’s for you.

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