This historical romance has been on my TBR list for a while; since the moment I saw a hunky kippah-wearing man on the front cover. I don't know about you, but most of the time, I forget what's even on my TBR. I'm so glad I remembered this gem and actually picked it up to read because it was so much more than I expected. This week, it's Felicia Grossman's Marry Me by Midnight, a Jewish gender-swapped retelling of Cinderella. Similar to Jean Meltzer's Jewish pride and joy in her romcoms, ...
Musings
WOMS: Magical Meet Cute
We're back this week with another Jean Meltzer special, this time in the form of a hunky golem (maybe). It's Magical Meet Cute! After an antisemitic attack, Faye---a former lawyer turned ceramicist living in Upstate New York---gets drunk and makes her perfect man out of clay inspired by the golem stories of old. But when a stranger walks in front of her bicycle the next day, leading to a horrible crash and amnesia for the poor guy, she wonders just how much magic she conjured the night ...
WOMS: Kissing Kosher
We're continuing this week with more Jewish fiction, this time with Jean Meltzer's Kissing Kosher, a delectable tale as sweet and rich as a loaf of babka. In this romantic comedy, with similar vibes to Romeo and Juliet, there are two feuding families whose patriarchs started a bakery half a century ago, but what neither family agrees on is who wronged who. Caught in the middle is Avital Cohen, granddaughter to Chayim Cohen, founder and owner of Best Babka in Brooklyn, an artisan kosher ...
WOMS: The Familiar
I hadn’t planned on reading The Familiar because the cover creeped me out a bit and I wasn’t sure if it would be too dark for me. How wrong I was. I’m so glad my friend persuaded me to give this a read because it was a heartbreaking, beautiful love story, one only Leigh Bardugo could have written. Though I haven’t read her new Ninth House series, I have read all but one of Bardugo’s Grishaverse books. To me, Bardugo is a superior writer because she has a way of weaving tragedy so humane ...
From Mourning to Joy
This past year is coming to an end, at least on the Jewish calendar, and that means I have been reminiscent, as one does when they assess their lives before the chagim, or holidays. For us, for Israel, this past year has been tinged, if not saturated, with sorrow and grief. Since October 7, our lives have never been the same. There have been days where my grief was near inconsolable, where I wandered through the day like a phantom, feeling more a shadow of myself than anything real or ...
WOMS: Dreamspinner
Remember my recent return to reading epic fantasy and how annoyed I was? It reminded me I hadn't yet read the third trilogy in Lynn Kurland's Nine Kingdoms series. If you haven't guess by now, that's exactly what I did, so let's talk about it! Why I took so long to read this third trilogy, I don't know nor understand. Sure, last year I might have needed a break after plowing through the first six books, but for an entire year? When I love this series so, so, SO much? What's so great about ...
WOMS: A Grave Robbery
Veronica and Stoker are back at it, and this time they must solve a dastardly crime! This week for "What's on my Shelf," it's Deanna Raybourn's latest A Grave Robbery! Last we heard from our sleuthing lovers, they had reconciled and returned to Bishop's Folly in contented bliss after solving their last case. As employees of Lord Rosemorran, we find them continuing their work of documenting and preparing the myriad of specimens in his collection for public viewing. Much to their dismay, the ...
WOMS: The Curse of Penryth Hall
It's getting close to spooky season, and since I happened to read a few thrilling stories over the summer, let's get in the mood! This week, we're reviewing Jess Armstrong's The Curse of Penryth Hall. What drew me most to this book was its setting in post-war England, especially since that is when my own work in progress is set. Of course, the promise of an enticing mystery didn't hurt. I had heard The Last Heir to Blackwood Library compared to this novel, so I hoped I would be indulged ...
Forging Neurodiversity
When people think of autism, usually what pops into their mind is Ray from Rain Man or some other harmful, maybe even more grotesque, stereotype media has embedded in our psyches through misinformation. The problem with those images besides their obvious stigma and discriminatory depiction is autistics are a vibrant and eclectic group of people who vary greatly across the wide spectrum that is our condition. Yes, that’s right. I’m autistic, too. Naturally, I have some bias on the subject. ...
WOMS: A Botanist’s Guide to Society and Secrets
Saffron Everleigh is at it again, and this time she’s going undercover to unravel the secrets of a sinister society in the heart of the British government. This week for “What’s on My Shelf,” it’s A Botanist’s Guide to Society and Secrets! In the third installment of a series I am absolutely adoring, Saffron is tasked with helping clear Alexander Ashton’s brother name as a suspect in King’s Cross constabulary’s latest murder case. "But wait!" You might say. "Isn’t that the same love ...
