REVIEW: Falling for the Rabbi (Matchmaker, Matchmaker… Book 1) by Jennifer Wilck
Can opposites attract when tradition stands in the way?
Josh Axelrod is incensed! His matchmaker date brought along her annoying best friend—Emma something-or-other. The same Emma who’s ruining the house filled with the young rabbi’s childhood memories and turning it into a bookstore. Sure, she captures his attention but—no. Just no. Emma is too impulsive. Too out there. And he’s a Rabbi, for God’s sake! Except now, it seems impossible to avoid her. And with every encounter, “no” feels more like “yes.” Perhaps the unwitting Josh and Emma were always the match meant to be…
From Harlequin Special Edition: Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness.
Matchmaker, Matchmaker…
Dear Ms. Wilck,
I love that this book takes place in the same small town as the “Holidays, Heart and Chutzpah” series and a few of those characters play tertiary roles. But fear not, readers can start here just fine.
Grandma Muriel has a plan for her rabbi grandson Joshy (and yes, he sighs when she calls him this in front of others) and sets it in motion when she visits a matchmaker on his behalf. Emma is leery about her best friend signing up with a matchmaker and decides, taking a male friend with her, to ride shotgun on Samantha’s first date with, yes, Josh. Things do not go so well but Josh and Samantha want to keep giving this a chance.
Meanwhile Emma is buying Muriel’s Victorian house, the house where Josh came after he was orphaned, with plans to turn it into a bookstore. Josh is … not quite ready to give up his childhood home and glowers a lot. Josh doesn’t do change well. Meanwhile, Emma’s parents, who have always favored their older daughter Alyse over Emma, aren’t doing much to support Emma or her bookstore dream. Then Emma’s bestie relationship with Samantha goes south over Samantha’s relationship demand which Emma sees as just another person not supporting her. Can all this be straightened out before opening day for the bookstore?
To be honest, I wasn’t a fan of Josh over the initial quarter of the book. Then I remembered that sometimes I don’t handle change so well either and I decided to cut him some slack. Emma shoehorning her way into Samantha’s and Josh’s first date didn’t thrill me either but then, women’s safety, so okay. Emma’s parents are clearly more Team Alyse and then later on spectacularly squash any happy feelings I might ever have contemplated about them when they pretty much stomp on Emma’s request for help when Something Dreadful happens to Emma’s dream. And this is after Emma tries to tell Josh how he feels about their relationship due to her relationship with her parents. There are some real issues in this book.
There is some initial sullenness and childish behavior from a lot of people but, and this becomes clear across the story, there are lifelong reasons for the way many people act and react. Much of the beginning of the book is about setting these relationships up and how damaging they are even into adulthood. With the page count dropping, I wondered how all of this could be addressed before The End.
Much, well most, of these issues do get resolved and, glory be, characters talk to each other about why they did this or that. And apologize with real apologies and not that “if I hurt you” nonsense that people pull even when they know damn well they hurt someone. So yay for all that. I’ll be frank and say that some of this talking and apologies – real and heartfelt though they are – also suddenly pop up right at the end, though. As Emma is the recipient of many of these apologies, I will also say that I’m glad that she cleared the air about how the behaviors that hurt her, really hurt her, instead of just accepting the apologies and letting bygones be bygones and that when she made her apologies, she accepted how she had hurt others.
Okay, with all that out of the way, on to more of what I straight up liked. I loved Muriel. Sure she’s a grandma who pulls a few strings in the pursuit of finding her beloved grandson someone to love and she helps him to start dealing with his Fear of Change. The hospital scene ought to show anyone Millennial age and younger that seniors can and do get up to hijinks despite their age. I enjoyed watching Josh at work as a rabbi – especially with the Temple youth group. Ditto seeing the business people of the town support Emma’s store. I also like that the book ends with a solid HFN rather than pushing Josh and Emma into a HEA as they still have work to do on a relationship. Book two is coming this fall and I’m looking forward to seeing how things in this book have advanced. B
~Jayne
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