That Jewish Thing – ARC Book Review

Tamsyn Rutman is at yet another wedding, for yet another cousin. She wouldn’t mind – the food’s pretty good, the location is fabulous and there’s a moderately famous singer crooning away – but what is a Jewish wedding if not the perfect opportunity for the bride to do a bit of matchmaking on behalf of her single, workaholic cousin? Tamsyn’s not at the table with her parents and her family, she’s sitting next to Ari Marshall.

Ari is everything Tamsyn doesn’t want for herself, and everything her family want for her. Stubbornly determined not to fall into the trap of someone else’s happily ever after, Tamsyn decides to focus on work, and while interviewing London’s hottest new chef, finds herself being swept off her feet . . . by someone her family definitely wouldn’t approve of.

But somehow, Ari and Tamsyn keep crossing paths, and she’s about to find out that in love, and in life, it’s not always easy to run away from who you really are…

This book was such a cheesy cute Jewish romance book.

Tamsyn Rutman is Jewish and at her own cousin’s wedding, she was seated next to Ari. The two at first got on wrong foot. Tamsyn despite being Jewish is someone who is not following the Jewish customs and traditions much as her relatives. While working on an assignment, she meets a really hot chef, Euan and falls for him. The problem is…Euan isn’t Jewish and her parents certainly won’t approve of the relationship.

Besides she keeps meeting Ari….

The story started out really great. It was mainly told from Tamsyn’s point of view. Since I wasn’t Jewish but have been interested in learning about Jewish culture and traditions, I learned a lot about the Jewish culture in this book–Rosh Hashanah, the Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, Yom Kippur and Challa and various Jewish cuisine types. The romantic relationship between Tamsyn and Euan was interesting and intriguing and there were some funny parts in the story that made me laugh out loud. I also like the brother sister relationship between Tamsyn and Ross. Basically, this book talks about what a typical British Jewish family is like. Although I know the ending is predictable (won’t divulge too much) I kind of wished the ending happened in a different way.

Tamsyn is such an interesting character. I just like her witty and funny nature and how she seems to be the one who is not very religious. I do like the strong family bond that is told in the story and how the Jewish communities in the area seem to bond with each other. And as I mentioned earlier, I learned so much about Jewish traditions just by reading this book!

If you are

a) like learning about other cultures

b) fascinated about Jewish traditions and cultures (like me)

c) And loves a happily ever after romance books

Then this book is for you! Worth four stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.