Four Cozy Rom-Com Books to Make You Smile This Winter

Tense? Edgy? Slipping into the sinkhole of despair?  Turn off the news, stop with the doom scrolling and seek out some frothier fare in this quartet of Jewish rom-com novels.  

SEASON OF LOVE, Helena Greer  (Forever/Hachette, $15.99) 

When her beloved Aunt Cass dies, Miriam Blum finds herself the part owner of Carrigan’s, her late relative’s (ironically) Jewish run Christmas tree farm.  Noelle Northwood, the grumpy manager, wants nothing more than to send Miriam packing; she knows what’s best for the biz and has no use for this interloper.  But these two would-be antagonists find themselves falling for each other in this warm, queer, brimming-with-holiday-vibes story.  

KISSING KOSHER, Jean Meltzer (Mira, $18.99)  

Due to chronic—and woefully unsexy—pelvic pain, Avital Cohen has started going commando. Putting aside her dream of becoming a photographer, she pours her (limited) energy into managing her family’s kosher bakery, Best Babka in Brooklyn.  Enter Ethan Lippman, the guy she’s hired to provide much-needed help.  What she doesn’t know is that Ethan’s a spy in the pastry dough, intent on scoping out secrets for his grandfather, who sees Best Babka In Brooklyn as a threat to the mass-produced kosher baked goods he sells.  In the end, attraction—and love—prove more powerful than competition in this sweet and tasty tale.  

THREE HOLIDAYS AND A WEDDING, Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley (Putnam, $17.00) 

As strangers and seatmates Maryam Aziz and Anna Gibson fly to Toronto over the winter holidays—Maryam to her sister’s impromptu wedding, and Anna to meet her boyfriend’s wealthy family for the first time.  Neither one expects that severe turbulence will force an emergency landing at the quirky Snow Falls Inn in a picture-perfect town where fate has Anna’s actor-crush filming a holiday romance. Anna starts falling for this new guy and Maryam finds the courage to confess her love to Saif, the guy whose had her heart all along.  A feel good story that will keep you smiling all the way through. 

EIGHT DATES AND NIGHTS, Betsy Aldridge (Underlined, $10.99) 

For the younger set: New Yorker Hannah Levin is allergic to exactly two things, horses and tinsel. Unfortunately, she’s surrounded by both when she’s snowed in at her grandmother’s home in a small Texas town. Super lonely, missing latkes and reliable Wi-Fi, Hannah wanders into an old deli where she meets the only other Jewish teen around, Noah, who happens to be equal parts adorable and full of annoying, over the top festival of lights spirit that he’s determined to share with Hannah one itchy Hanukkah sweater at a time.  This cozy holiday tale swaps Hanukah for Xmas, resulting in a Jewish-themed romance that is sure to appeal.