Book Review - The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah by Jean Meltzer

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Title: The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah

Author: Jean Meltzer

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: MIRA

Publication Date: 21st October 2025 

Rating: 4 Stars

Can these exes rekindle their love this Hanukkah?

Evelyn Schwartz has the perfect Hanukkah planned: eight jam-packed days producing the live-action televised musical of A Christmas Carol. Who needs family when you’ve got long hours, impossible deadlines, and your dream job? That is, until an accident on set lands her in the medical bay with one of her chronic migraines, and she’s shocked to find her ex-husband, David Adler, filling in for the usual studio doctor.

It’s been two years since David walked away from Evelyn and their life in Manhattan, and his ex-wife is still the same workaholic who puts her career before everything else—especially her health. But when Evelyn begins hallucinating “ghosts” tied to her past heartbreaks, and every single one leads to David, he finds himself spending much more time with her than he anticipated. And denying the still-smoldering chemistry between them becomes impossible.

As Evelyn revisits her ghosts of Hanukkah past, she and David both begin to wonder if they can have a Hanukkah future. But with a high-stakes production ramping up the pressure on Evelyn, and troublesome spirits forcing them both to confront their most difficult shared memories, it might just take a Hanukkah miracle for these two exes to light the flame on their second-chance at love.

How fabulous, a Jewish version of that Christmas classic A Christmas Carol.  But instead of trying to learn the true meaning of the season, Evelyn is being visited by eight ghosts highlighting heartbreaks that have occurred over the festival of lights in the past. 

All of this while she is trying produce and rehearse for TV a big mega musical production of A Christmas Carol!  And it's set in New York, that magical city at this time of year, which adds a layer of believability to what Evelyn is experiencing. 

And if that's not enough, let's have her ex-husband David, doing emergency medical cover on set, without her having any warning, and she also suffers big time from migraines. 

Then there are all sorts of minor crisis's attached to this live production, and most amusingly of all being the the mega star they have hired, who is rather challenging to deal with.  His rider is just the least of it! 

Although there are heartbreaks and elements of emotional storylines, I found I was ultimately uplifted by this story.  I adored this modern retelling of a festive classic, and of course mentioned of all the lovely fried goodies you get during these 8 days.  

There is plenty of humour in this story, and I really enjoyed reading each and every word.  Another highly enjoyable book from this author. 

Thank you to MIRA and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.