What do you think?
Rate this book
The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom
Meet Eliza Bloom: She likes to live life by the rules: long, blue skirt on Thursdays, dinner with mother on Fridays and if someone tells you a Valentine should be anonymous, give your new husband a blank card. Nothing is out of place in her ordered life…
But last night her teenage daughter found something in a hidden shoebox that no-one was supposed to see and started asking questions. Questions that might just change everything in Eliza’s carefully constructed world.
Join Eliza as she shows you how to run away with the love of your life (quite fast actually, as your family are coming after you), how to make your grandfather happy (this might involve a little bit of lying), how to let someone you love go (actually, this never gets easier) and how (now, this is a bad idea) to keep secrets from your new husband.
The only way to truly live is to learn how to open your heart.
But last night her teenage daughter found something in a hidden shoebox that no-one was supposed to see and started asking questions. Questions that might just change everything in Eliza’s carefully constructed world.
Join Eliza as she shows you how to run away with the love of your life (quite fast actually, as your family are coming after you), how to make your grandfather happy (this might involve a little bit of lying), how to let someone you love go (actually, this never gets easier) and how (now, this is a bad idea) to keep secrets from your new husband.
The only way to truly live is to learn how to open your heart.
370 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2019
261 people are currently reading
271 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
February 13, 2026
Aliza Bloom is of the Jewish faith and has newly arrived in the "real world." Throughout it all, readers are provided with a first-person point of view that is different from any other narrator I have ever read. Eliza views the world in fairly black-and-white terms. She does not understand many pop-culture references, and I found her reactions quite delightful. Her difficulty understanding the real world was intriguing, and her interactions with others were sometimes cringeworthy and many times humorous.
Above all else, I found Beth Miller's writing style to be very descriptive in a way that enabled me to envision the characters and events in the book in my head, but also to understand exactly how they felt. I found Ms. Miller's description of Eliza's thoughts and feelings spot-on. Eliza is one of those characters who would be very difficult to love, but I knew from the first chapter that her efforts would make me love her even more dearly.
Overall, I really connected with Eliza. There’s something special about a narrator who sees the world through a completely different lens; it makes those cringe moments feel a lot more human. Eliza stole my heart—both of them. ❤️❤️
February 15, 2019
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
Let me begin by pointing out that the cover of this book looked like such for me . . . .
There is very little chance I would have picked up the “girl with umbrella” version. Let me also say that the comparisons to Eleanor Oliphant or Where’d You Go, Bernadette? miss the mark as well. At best, this could be compared to specific moments such as . . . . .
Or . . . .
I’m giving The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom 2 Stars simply for my own personal enjoyment. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the writing and a modern Orthodox Jewish main character was certainly refreshing and not the cookie-cutter norm when it comes to female leads. However:
1. I don’t like twatty dudes . . . except occasionally when I pick up a motorcycle/shifter porno.
2. I don’t tolerate liars . . . . except occasionally when I pick up an unreliable narrator type of thriller.
3. I don’t accept cheating. Pretty much EVER.
That being said, my reaction to pretty much this entire thing was a big ol’ . . . . .
If you can get past the issues I had, you’ll most likely have a reaction totally opposite of mine.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!
Let me begin by pointing out that the cover of this book looked like such for me . . . .
There is very little chance I would have picked up the “girl with umbrella” version. Let me also say that the comparisons to Eleanor Oliphant or Where’d You Go, Bernadette? miss the mark as well. At best, this could be compared to specific moments such as . . . . .
Or . . . .
I’m giving The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom 2 Stars simply for my own personal enjoyment. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the writing and a modern Orthodox Jewish main character was certainly refreshing and not the cookie-cutter norm when it comes to female leads. However:
1. I don’t like twatty dudes . . . except occasionally when I pick up a motorcycle/shifter porno.
2. I don’t tolerate liars . . . . except occasionally when I pick up an unreliable narrator type of thriller.
3. I don’t accept cheating. Pretty much EVER.
That being said, my reaction to pretty much this entire thing was a big ol’ . . . . .
If you can get past the issues I had, you’ll most likely have a reaction totally opposite of mine.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!
February 14, 2019
This is the story about Aliza/Eliza Bloom an Orthodox Jew who was about to marry Nathan. But then she meets and falls madly in love with Alex, who is not from the Jewish faith. She runs away with Alex on the day of her wedding. Now, 16 years have passed and Alex and Eliza have a daughter called Leah. One day, Lead finds a photograph that had been hidden away in her mother's room. The photograph opens a can of worms and lots of questions, suspicions and lies have to be addressed.
I loved the story of Aliza, a young girl whose family believed in arranged marriages. Eliza was the name Alex called her. When Eliza runs away with Alex he promises to show her the real world. He keeps a book with a list of things he's going to introduce to Eliza: from eating in a non-kosher restaurant to a bacon buttie. The story is told with flashbacks to Eliza's past and the present day. This is a beautifully written and heart warming read. There was not one thing that I did not like about this book. I loved it.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and the author Beth Miller for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I loved the story of Aliza, a young girl whose family believed in arranged marriages. Eliza was the name Alex called her. When Eliza runs away with Alex he promises to show her the real world. He keeps a book with a list of things he's going to introduce to Eliza: from eating in a non-kosher restaurant to a bacon buttie. The story is told with flashbacks to Eliza's past and the present day. This is a beautifully written and heart warming read. There was not one thing that I did not like about this book. I loved it.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and the author Beth Miller for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 3, 2019
A thought provoking story packed with culture, family, and choices.
This was a well told story about an Orthodox Jewish Woman struggling to find where she truly belongs. Eliza has lived her first 20 something years sheltered by the Orthodox Jewish religion, no television, no cell phones, strict rules about food and dress and ultimately an arranged marriage. I found this to be a terribly interesting and unique premise. I loved getting to know Eliza and I found the orthodox Jewish culture and customs fascinating. This is a complicated story with no easy answers, it was about life, choices, and how no matter how hard you try things can get very messy. Now if you are taking another look at the cover and the blurb and wondering if I am actually talking about this book, the answer is yes! This book in my opinion was done a disservice by the blurb and cover. Both the cover and blurb imply a fun fluffy lighthearted read that will make you “laugh out loud“. Now there are some humorous moments in the story but I found this to be a much more serious story than I anticipated based on blurb and cover. Additionally the books that the book was compared to were confusing, this is a good book that I don’t believe can really be compared to any previous book.
A complicated tale with a dysfunctional Love story. I would certainly not classify this as a romance, the love story in this book is a mess. Both Eliza and Alex do some pretty questionable things. Eliza ran away with Alex on the day she was supposed to marry Nathan, see it is complicated. Alex is not an Orthodox Jew and he is eager to show Eliza the ways of the “real world“. Alex’s methods are sometimes a little interesting borderline creepy, and Eliza is not quite sure what she wants. The book jumps between present and past so when Eliza and Alex‘s teenage daughter finds a picture Tucktaway in a shoebox it leads to many questions.
This was an engaging heartwarming story. The characters weren’t always likable, and they don’t always make the best choices, but they are real. Life is messy and some choices are more difficult to make than others. This book really made me think what would I do in this situation? Also made me look back on some choices I have made in my own life. I truly enjoyed the story, and that ending was perfection, absolutely loved it!
🎵🎵🎵Song Running Through My Head
Why do you have to go and make things so complicated?
I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else gets me frustrated
Life's like this you
And you fall, and you crawl, and you break
And you take, what you get, and you turn it into
Honesty and promise me I'm never gonna find you fake it
No, no, no
You come, over unannounced
Dressed up, like you're something else
Where you aren't where it's at you see
You're making me
Laugh out, when you strike your pose
Take off, all your preppy clothes
You know, you're not fooling anyone
When you become
Somebody else
'Round everyone else
You're watching your back
Like you can't relax
You're trying to be cool
You look like a fool to me
Tell me...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5NPBIwQ...
*** many thanks to Bookouture for my copy of this book ***
This was a well told story about an Orthodox Jewish Woman struggling to find where she truly belongs. Eliza has lived her first 20 something years sheltered by the Orthodox Jewish religion, no television, no cell phones, strict rules about food and dress and ultimately an arranged marriage. I found this to be a terribly interesting and unique premise. I loved getting to know Eliza and I found the orthodox Jewish culture and customs fascinating. This is a complicated story with no easy answers, it was about life, choices, and how no matter how hard you try things can get very messy. Now if you are taking another look at the cover and the blurb and wondering if I am actually talking about this book, the answer is yes! This book in my opinion was done a disservice by the blurb and cover. Both the cover and blurb imply a fun fluffy lighthearted read that will make you “laugh out loud“. Now there are some humorous moments in the story but I found this to be a much more serious story than I anticipated based on blurb and cover. Additionally the books that the book was compared to were confusing, this is a good book that I don’t believe can really be compared to any previous book.
A complicated tale with a dysfunctional Love story. I would certainly not classify this as a romance, the love story in this book is a mess. Both Eliza and Alex do some pretty questionable things. Eliza ran away with Alex on the day she was supposed to marry Nathan, see it is complicated. Alex is not an Orthodox Jew and he is eager to show Eliza the ways of the “real world“. Alex’s methods are sometimes a little interesting borderline creepy, and Eliza is not quite sure what she wants. The book jumps between present and past so when Eliza and Alex‘s teenage daughter finds a picture Tucktaway in a shoebox it leads to many questions.
This was an engaging heartwarming story. The characters weren’t always likable, and they don’t always make the best choices, but they are real. Life is messy and some choices are more difficult to make than others. This book really made me think what would I do in this situation? Also made me look back on some choices I have made in my own life. I truly enjoyed the story, and that ending was perfection, absolutely loved it!
🎵🎵🎵Song Running Through My Head
Why do you have to go and make things so complicated?
I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else gets me frustrated
Life's like this you
And you fall, and you crawl, and you break
And you take, what you get, and you turn it into
Honesty and promise me I'm never gonna find you fake it
No, no, no
You come, over unannounced
Dressed up, like you're something else
Where you aren't where it's at you see
You're making me
Laugh out, when you strike your pose
Take off, all your preppy clothes
You know, you're not fooling anyone
When you become
Somebody else
'Round everyone else
You're watching your back
Like you can't relax
You're trying to be cool
You look like a fool to me
Tell me...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5NPBIwQ...
*** many thanks to Bookouture for my copy of this book ***
March 5, 2019
EXCERPT: What happened next, Leah used to ask.
It's a good question.
It was adorable, how fascinated she was by our love story when she was little. She still is fascinated in a sense, if last night was anything to go by. Maybe horrified is a more accurate description. Anyway, I don't want to think about last night. I don't want to think about Leah's face as she stood in the doorway, the black eyeliner she favours making her seem even less childlike, looking at me with that cool, clear way she has. I prefer to think about Leah when she was little, and I could do no wrong as far as she was concerned. Not now, when she is fourteen, and angry, and has been missing for five hours.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: Meet Eliza Bloom: She likes to live life by the rules: long, blue skirt on Thursdays, dinner with mother on Fridays and if someone tells you a Valentine should be anonymous, give your new husband a blank card. Nothing is out of place in her ordered life…
But last night her teenage daughter found something in a hidden shoebox that no-one was supposed to see and started asking questions. Questions that might just change everything in Eliza’s carefully constructed world.
Join Eliza as she shows you how to run away with the love of your life (quite fast actually, as your family are coming after you), how to make your grandfather happy (this might involve a little bit of lying), how to let someone you love go (actually, this never gets easier) and how (now, this is a bad idea) to keep secrets from your new husband.
The only way to truly live is to learn how to open your heart.
MY THOUGHTS: I. Loved. This. Book.
I didn't want it to end. Ever.
I wanted to stay with Eliza, the Scarlet Woman of Hackney E5, as she muddled her way through life. She made me smile. And laugh. And shed a few tears. And Alex? ('My name is Alex Symons and I'm an idiot. It's been a few weeks since I was last a complete idiot.') Lord, I love that man! I want a friend like Deborah. One who is not afraid to call it like she sees it, and who loves you no matter what. And Leah? The glue that holds the package together, the tsunami that tears it apart.
Six hours after I finished reading The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom, I am still not ready to say goodbye. I want to stay immersed in the world of this unconventional family. I am not ready, nor willing, to return to the 'real world'.
More please, Beth Miller!
THE AUTHOR: Beth Miller’s first novel, When We Were Sisters, was recently published by Ebury Press. Her second novel, The Good Neighbour, will be published in September 2015, also by Ebury. She is currently writing her third novel, The Privacy Room, and is also working on a book about the world’s greatest radio show, called For The Love of The Archers. She is a columnist for The Chap magazine, and the rest of the time she runs courses about writing, works with fellow writers as their book coach, and drinks tea while staring vacantly into space. She has been a sex educator, alcohol counsellor, and inept audio-typist. She has a PhD in psychology, which has yet to come in handy.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you, thank you, thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom by Beth Miller for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
It's a good question.
It was adorable, how fascinated she was by our love story when she was little. She still is fascinated in a sense, if last night was anything to go by. Maybe horrified is a more accurate description. Anyway, I don't want to think about last night. I don't want to think about Leah's face as she stood in the doorway, the black eyeliner she favours making her seem even less childlike, looking at me with that cool, clear way she has. I prefer to think about Leah when she was little, and I could do no wrong as far as she was concerned. Not now, when she is fourteen, and angry, and has been missing for five hours.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: Meet Eliza Bloom: She likes to live life by the rules: long, blue skirt on Thursdays, dinner with mother on Fridays and if someone tells you a Valentine should be anonymous, give your new husband a blank card. Nothing is out of place in her ordered life…
But last night her teenage daughter found something in a hidden shoebox that no-one was supposed to see and started asking questions. Questions that might just change everything in Eliza’s carefully constructed world.
Join Eliza as she shows you how to run away with the love of your life (quite fast actually, as your family are coming after you), how to make your grandfather happy (this might involve a little bit of lying), how to let someone you love go (actually, this never gets easier) and how (now, this is a bad idea) to keep secrets from your new husband.
The only way to truly live is to learn how to open your heart.
MY THOUGHTS: I. Loved. This. Book.
I didn't want it to end. Ever.
I wanted to stay with Eliza, the Scarlet Woman of Hackney E5, as she muddled her way through life. She made me smile. And laugh. And shed a few tears. And Alex? ('My name is Alex Symons and I'm an idiot. It's been a few weeks since I was last a complete idiot.') Lord, I love that man! I want a friend like Deborah. One who is not afraid to call it like she sees it, and who loves you no matter what. And Leah? The glue that holds the package together, the tsunami that tears it apart.
Six hours after I finished reading The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom, I am still not ready to say goodbye. I want to stay immersed in the world of this unconventional family. I am not ready, nor willing, to return to the 'real world'.
More please, Beth Miller!
THE AUTHOR: Beth Miller’s first novel, When We Were Sisters, was recently published by Ebury Press. Her second novel, The Good Neighbour, will be published in September 2015, also by Ebury. She is currently writing her third novel, The Privacy Room, and is also working on a book about the world’s greatest radio show, called For The Love of The Archers. She is a columnist for The Chap magazine, and the rest of the time she runs courses about writing, works with fellow writers as their book coach, and drinks tea while staring vacantly into space. She has been a sex educator, alcohol counsellor, and inept audio-typist. She has a PhD in psychology, which has yet to come in handy.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you, thank you, thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom by Beth Miller for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
February 15, 2019
1.5 stars.
Thank to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book and provide an honest review.
The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom was a book I requested based on my interest to read a quirky, funny, love story. (Also, I thought it would be neat to learn more about the Orthodox culture.) Unfortunately, this book was neither quirky, funny or a love story. The marketing descriptions compare this to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and that is completely wrong. What frustrates me the most is that this could have been a really great book, but it was actually offensive. I say offensive because it upsets me that a younger person might read this and think that the relationship between Alex and Eliza/Aliza is love. To me, it isn't. Not by a long shot. What follows is the most polite, scathing review I could write because I am trying to be respectful of the author and the readers who loved this story. Proceed with caution...
Aliza Bloom is a beautiful girl growing up in a Orthodox Jewish family. Her parents are trying to set up a match for her as arranged marriages are part of her religious culture, but to the great frustration of everyone around her, she says no to everyone her family tries to set her up with. She finally says yes to Nathan. After courting Nathan for a while, she meets Alex through her job. Alex is secular and through coffee shop meet ups, they "fall in love" and Aliza decides to give up everything in her life to be with Alex (on the day she was supposed to marry Nathan). Aliza is promptly ex-communicated from the family and is completely stranded from everything she has ever known and now lives with Alex in his apartment. Since they are living together, Aliza insists they get married because it wouldn't be appropriate for her to live with a boy unless they were married. A few weeks later, the marriage takes place with no one in her family present. During this time, Alex slowly (in my view abruptly) brings her further and further into the "real world" and out of the safety of everything she has known for 20+ years as part of the Orthodox Jewish community. Aliza eventually reconnects with her brother and from there we see her grapple with which "Aliza" she wants to be.
So there is a lot more to it and the premise of the book is interesting, but how it was executed is where I have a lot of strong negative feelings. Let's talk about how Aliza's religion and upbringing led her to have an extremely conservative and sheltered life. No television, no cell phones, restricted foods, restricted dress, and extremely restrictive social interactions of those outside the family and opposite sex. The best parts about this book were about Aliza's upbringing and life in the Jewish community and the relationship she had with her family members. The only other book I read about the Orthodox faith was, The Chosen by Chaim Potok and I'm not nearly educated enough about Orthodox Judaism, but I'm pretty sure the representation of it in this book would raise a lot of eyebrows.
What really upsets me is Aliza's relationship with Alex. She quite literally is two people - she adopts a different spelling of her name (Eliza), changes how she eats, dresses, etc. and to me it was not all willingly. The parts that had to do with oral sex, period sex (yes, you read that right) and basically everything that Alex did to bring Eliza into the real world was extremely disturbing and not at all laugh out loud funny, romantic or quirky. Sure Alex started off as a great guy, but he basically wanted to have sex with Eliza because that's what a normal couple would possibly do, but Aliza is not a normal person. His push to assimilate her to Western culture and mores was not at all natural and in my opinion forced where I even felt uncomfortable reading it. I could go into a lot of description, but it just didn't sit right with me at all and going back to my earlier point, I don't want my daughter (when she is of age) reading this and think this is love. This is not love. This is lust. This is changing someone's identity to match your wants and needs all under the pretense that you are "freeing" them. With everything that is going on in the world today and the whole #metoo movement, this book is a CLASSIC example of what this movement is about. The fact that I am reading this *expletive* and I'm being told by a publishing company, marketing staff, etc. that this is love baffles me. I'm sorry to sound so harsh, but is this really what we want our girls reading?
Please understand that I commend any author for writing a book. I can't imagine myself doing it! There were some great segments in this novel, (particularly when Aliza when back to the nursing home to visit her ailing grandfather), that I thought were great, but the back and forth between Alex and Nathan (oh yeah - I didn't even get to write about that, but this review needs to end because at this point I am ranting) completely ruined any positive this book had going for it.
There are many other reviews that are glowing and I'm glad those readers enjoyed it. Maybe I'm looking too much into it and making a big deal out of nothing, but I really don't think I am here.
Thank to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book and provide an honest review.
The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom was a book I requested based on my interest to read a quirky, funny, love story. (Also, I thought it would be neat to learn more about the Orthodox culture.) Unfortunately, this book was neither quirky, funny or a love story. The marketing descriptions compare this to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and that is completely wrong. What frustrates me the most is that this could have been a really great book, but it was actually offensive. I say offensive because it upsets me that a younger person might read this and think that the relationship between Alex and Eliza/Aliza is love. To me, it isn't. Not by a long shot. What follows is the most polite, scathing review I could write because I am trying to be respectful of the author and the readers who loved this story. Proceed with caution...
Aliza Bloom is a beautiful girl growing up in a Orthodox Jewish family. Her parents are trying to set up a match for her as arranged marriages are part of her religious culture, but to the great frustration of everyone around her, she says no to everyone her family tries to set her up with. She finally says yes to Nathan. After courting Nathan for a while, she meets Alex through her job. Alex is secular and through coffee shop meet ups, they "fall in love" and Aliza decides to give up everything in her life to be with Alex (on the day she was supposed to marry Nathan). Aliza is promptly ex-communicated from the family and is completely stranded from everything she has ever known and now lives with Alex in his apartment. Since they are living together, Aliza insists they get married because it wouldn't be appropriate for her to live with a boy unless they were married. A few weeks later, the marriage takes place with no one in her family present. During this time, Alex slowly (in my view abruptly) brings her further and further into the "real world" and out of the safety of everything she has known for 20+ years as part of the Orthodox Jewish community. Aliza eventually reconnects with her brother and from there we see her grapple with which "Aliza" she wants to be.
So there is a lot more to it and the premise of the book is interesting, but how it was executed is where I have a lot of strong negative feelings. Let's talk about how Aliza's religion and upbringing led her to have an extremely conservative and sheltered life. No television, no cell phones, restricted foods, restricted dress, and extremely restrictive social interactions of those outside the family and opposite sex. The best parts about this book were about Aliza's upbringing and life in the Jewish community and the relationship she had with her family members. The only other book I read about the Orthodox faith was, The Chosen by Chaim Potok and I'm not nearly educated enough about Orthodox Judaism, but I'm pretty sure the representation of it in this book would raise a lot of eyebrows.
What really upsets me is Aliza's relationship with Alex. She quite literally is two people - she adopts a different spelling of her name (Eliza), changes how she eats, dresses, etc. and to me it was not all willingly. The parts that had to do with oral sex, period sex (yes, you read that right) and basically everything that Alex did to bring Eliza into the real world was extremely disturbing and not at all laugh out loud funny, romantic or quirky. Sure Alex started off as a great guy, but he basically wanted to have sex with Eliza because that's what a normal couple would possibly do, but Aliza is not a normal person. His push to assimilate her to Western culture and mores was not at all natural and in my opinion forced where I even felt uncomfortable reading it. I could go into a lot of description, but it just didn't sit right with me at all and going back to my earlier point, I don't want my daughter (when she is of age) reading this and think this is love. This is not love. This is lust. This is changing someone's identity to match your wants and needs all under the pretense that you are "freeing" them. With everything that is going on in the world today and the whole #metoo movement, this book is a CLASSIC example of what this movement is about. The fact that I am reading this *expletive* and I'm being told by a publishing company, marketing staff, etc. that this is love baffles me. I'm sorry to sound so harsh, but is this really what we want our girls reading?
Please understand that I commend any author for writing a book. I can't imagine myself doing it! There were some great segments in this novel, (particularly when Aliza when back to the nursing home to visit her ailing grandfather), that I thought were great, but the back and forth between Alex and Nathan (oh yeah - I didn't even get to write about that, but this review needs to end because at this point I am ranting) completely ruined any positive this book had going for it.
There are many other reviews that are glowing and I'm glad those readers enjoyed it. Maybe I'm looking too much into it and making a big deal out of nothing, but I really don't think I am here.
July 7, 2021
Eliza Bloom is a young Orthodox Jewish woman, she’s been raised to follow the rules, her parents want her to get married, Eliza’s introduced to Nathan, she accepts his proposal, and her wedding is only weeks away and she feels trapped.
Eliza meets gentile Alex Symons, and she falls in love and knows she can’t marry Nathan. On the day of her wedding she runs off with Alex, leaving her family and everything she knows behind. But, Eliza misses her family, she secretly starts seeing them, and she doesn’t tell her husband Alex, he finds out sixteen years later and her teenage daughter Leah starts asking questions.
The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom is a story about a woman caught between two worlds, she isn’t prepared for modern life, and she rushes into making decisions, and I found the story a little confusing. It was interesting reading about how Orthodox Jewish people live, the long list of rules and obligations.
Eliza meets gentile Alex Symons, and she falls in love and knows she can’t marry Nathan. On the day of her wedding she runs off with Alex, leaving her family and everything she knows behind. But, Eliza misses her family, she secretly starts seeing them, and she doesn’t tell her husband Alex, he finds out sixteen years later and her teenage daughter Leah starts asking questions.
The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom is a story about a woman caught between two worlds, she isn’t prepared for modern life, and she rushes into making decisions, and I found the story a little confusing. It was interesting reading about how Orthodox Jewish people live, the long list of rules and obligations.
February 11, 2019
Oh I loved everything about this book! This is such a beautiful story, one of the best I have ever read! The brilliant writing combined with the absolutely unputdownable story make this book one to save and re-read. is author one of my favourites - I've loved every book she's written, the stories staying with me long after I finished reading the books.And this book! Wow! This one is on a whole different level altogether. I lived every word - felt for Alyza, loved Zaida. I savoured every exquisite word and didn't want it to end because I know no other book will measure up. Funny, beautiful, uplifting, absolutely unforgettable. A must read for everyone!
March 1, 2019
I requested this based on the comparisons to Eleanor Oliphant, which I loved, but this was nothing like that and I was pretty disappointed. I don’t like romance novels at all, but I can cope with the occasional love story, but this wasn’t even that, it’s about the relationship between two unpleasant dysfunctional people who think what they have is love.
Aliza Bloom has grown up in a strict orthodox Jewish family in North London, with an abusive father, doormat mother and six siblings. She’s always been a bit of a rebel, so when she runs away from her arranged marriage to a nice Jewish boy with the first good looking guy she meets, she believes she is finally free to live and love as she wants, but being estranged from her family is harder than she thinks, and soon the bonds of family and culture are calling her back. Fifteen years later, her teenage daughter has decided that she wants to be Jewish and her attempts to reconnect with the family open up old secrets which will once again threaten her marriage.
The reason Eleanor Oliphant was such a great book was that the protagonist had such a huge heart, and grew as a person to let others into her lonely life. Aliza/Eliza is not a nice character - she’s a selfish, cowardly lying bitch, and behaves no better at 39 than she did at 23. Neither is Alex an admirable hero or desirable husband: his behaviour from the start is controlling and driven by his own lust. While it is Eliza who chooses to run away, he’s the one who makes her try all sorts of things she’s deeply uncomfortable with - from bacon butties to period sex. To portray their relationship as based on love, when they married after two weeks so they can have legitimate sex, and then can’t be honest with each other, was to me quite disturbing. I didn’t find it funny at all and think the blurb is quite misleading.
I did find the bits about Jewish culture, food and rules interesting (I have one quarter Jewish ancestors but was brought up completely non-religious) and there were some good secondary characters like Dov the loyal brother, and Deborah the kindly friend, but overall this book was a disappointment. I also agree with other reviewers about the changed cover, the original heart one was at least interesting while the girl with the umbrella makes no sense.
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review. The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom is published today.
Aliza Bloom has grown up in a strict orthodox Jewish family in North London, with an abusive father, doormat mother and six siblings. She’s always been a bit of a rebel, so when she runs away from her arranged marriage to a nice Jewish boy with the first good looking guy she meets, she believes she is finally free to live and love as she wants, but being estranged from her family is harder than she thinks, and soon the bonds of family and culture are calling her back. Fifteen years later, her teenage daughter has decided that she wants to be Jewish and her attempts to reconnect with the family open up old secrets which will once again threaten her marriage.
The reason Eleanor Oliphant was such a great book was that the protagonist had such a huge heart, and grew as a person to let others into her lonely life. Aliza/Eliza is not a nice character - she’s a selfish, cowardly lying bitch, and behaves no better at 39 than she did at 23. Neither is Alex an admirable hero or desirable husband: his behaviour from the start is controlling and driven by his own lust. While it is Eliza who chooses to run away, he’s the one who makes her try all sorts of things she’s deeply uncomfortable with - from bacon butties to period sex. To portray their relationship as based on love, when they married after two weeks so they can have legitimate sex, and then can’t be honest with each other, was to me quite disturbing. I didn’t find it funny at all and think the blurb is quite misleading.
I did find the bits about Jewish culture, food and rules interesting (I have one quarter Jewish ancestors but was brought up completely non-religious) and there were some good secondary characters like Dov the loyal brother, and Deborah the kindly friend, but overall this book was a disappointment. I also agree with other reviewers about the changed cover, the original heart one was at least interesting while the girl with the umbrella makes no sense.
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review. The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom is published today.
February 7, 2023
Full Review on The Candid Cover
2.5 Stars
The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom by Beth Miller is a book that I find difficult to review. At first, I admit that I was drawn in by the synopsis and the adorable cover. As the book progresses, it becomes evident that there are some problematic elements to the story that are hard to overlook.
At first glance, The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom does appear to be a book that is going to be charming and bring out all the feels. The comparison to one of my favourite reads, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine had me super excited to give this book a try. Unfortunately, the two books are not similar at all. Where Honeyman’s Eleanor is quirky and adorable, Miller’s Aliza is annoying and frustrating.
❀ LOTS OF DRAMA
Eliza breaks free from her life as an Orthodox Jew because she falls in love with a man from “the real world.” Her actions become aggravating to read, as she weaves a web of lies that she hides from her husband, friend, and family. It is hard to empathize with this character because she seems to create so much unnecessary drama.
❀ TRIGGER WARNINGS
It is not easy to review some aspects of this book without giving away the plot. However, there are quite a few trigger warnings to point out, including physical and emotional abuse. While these issues are ones that appear in quite a few contemporary novels, they are handled poorly in this particular book.
While, on the surface The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom seems to be a feel-good contemporary, it falls short. The main character is annoying and the story does not deal with issues of abuse appropriately. Unfortunately, it didn’t charm me as much as I had hoped.
2.5 Stars
The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom by Beth Miller is a book that I find difficult to review. At first, I admit that I was drawn in by the synopsis and the adorable cover. As the book progresses, it becomes evident that there are some problematic elements to the story that are hard to overlook.
At first glance, The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom does appear to be a book that is going to be charming and bring out all the feels. The comparison to one of my favourite reads, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine had me super excited to give this book a try. Unfortunately, the two books are not similar at all. Where Honeyman’s Eleanor is quirky and adorable, Miller’s Aliza is annoying and frustrating.
❀ LOTS OF DRAMA
Eliza breaks free from her life as an Orthodox Jew because she falls in love with a man from “the real world.” Her actions become aggravating to read, as she weaves a web of lies that she hides from her husband, friend, and family. It is hard to empathize with this character because she seems to create so much unnecessary drama.
❀ TRIGGER WARNINGS
It is not easy to review some aspects of this book without giving away the plot. However, there are quite a few trigger warnings to point out, including physical and emotional abuse. While these issues are ones that appear in quite a few contemporary novels, they are handled poorly in this particular book.
While, on the surface The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom seems to be a feel-good contemporary, it falls short. The main character is annoying and the story does not deal with issues of abuse appropriately. Unfortunately, it didn’t charm me as much as I had hoped.
January 18, 2019
I was lucky to get an advance copy of Beth Miller's latest novel from the publishers. I enjoyed it so much. I love family dramas and I'm also incurably nosy about other people, so to get to peek into the lives of the orthodox Jewish community in East london was absolutely fascinating. The story follows Eliza Bloom in 2001 when she marries out to the horror of her family, and 2016 when her daughter discovers certain secrets. It was so well done. I could absolutely see and feel how torn Eliza was between her new life and her old. A good choice for book clubs because there is just so much to discuss here.
March 3, 2019
The Two Hearts Of Eliza Bloom is a beautifully told story which manages to put a fresh twist on the traditional love story.
The story is told is two timelines, one detailing how Eliza and Alex met, the other showing how life is now for Eliza. This is very effective as it creates a sense of anticipation as the reader quickly knows the end outcome in the early timeline so wonders what happens to get there and simultaneously hopes for a happier ending for Eliza in the later one.
I loved the main character Eliza! The fact that she’s a bit of a rebel made me instantly warm to her and I found her humour very funny. I was immediately on her side and felt for her with everything that happened after her elopement with Alex. It was very touching to go on such an emotional journey with her to discover the importance of family and I found I had tears in my eyes whilst reading.
The book describes a little bit about Orthodox Jewish beliefs and practices which was fascinating to learn more about. It sounds daft but I had no idea that they were quite so strict! It was especially interesting to see how the religion had changed over the years as the world became more modern.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I’m now eagerly awaiting her next book later this year. If you like emotional but uplifting books that make you laugh and cry then you’ll love this book!
Huge thanks to Kim Nash from Bookouture for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book via Netgalley which I received in exchange for an honest review.
The story is told is two timelines, one detailing how Eliza and Alex met, the other showing how life is now for Eliza. This is very effective as it creates a sense of anticipation as the reader quickly knows the end outcome in the early timeline so wonders what happens to get there and simultaneously hopes for a happier ending for Eliza in the later one.
I loved the main character Eliza! The fact that she’s a bit of a rebel made me instantly warm to her and I found her humour very funny. I was immediately on her side and felt for her with everything that happened after her elopement with Alex. It was very touching to go on such an emotional journey with her to discover the importance of family and I found I had tears in my eyes whilst reading.
The book describes a little bit about Orthodox Jewish beliefs and practices which was fascinating to learn more about. It sounds daft but I had no idea that they were quite so strict! It was especially interesting to see how the religion had changed over the years as the world became more modern.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I’m now eagerly awaiting her next book later this year. If you like emotional but uplifting books that make you laugh and cry then you’ll love this book!
Huge thanks to Kim Nash from Bookouture for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book via Netgalley which I received in exchange for an honest review.
January 28, 2019
This was an enchanting novel - warm-hearted and gripping, funny and wise. Orthodox Jewess, Eliza Bloom, is weeks away from an arranged marriage to Nathan, when she falls head over heels in love with Alex and elopes with him on the day of her wedding - to the shame and horror of her family. Fast forward to 2016, and Eliza’s and Alex’s teenage daughter discovers an explosive secret that threatens to destroy everything….
Beth Miller is a born storyteller, with the power to draw you into the world she creates and to make you emotionally invested in her characters. She writes beautifully, and I particularly enjoyed Eliza’s transition from Orthodox Jewish life to secular life, where such mundane activities as shopping for clothes or going out for a burger become loaded with taboo situations. I think that my favourite thing of all is how well Ms Miller depicts her characters’ emotional lives: the central love story between Eliza and Alex is achingly poignant and rings absolutely true. This is a novel about family secrets and the importance of staying true to yourself - I couldn’t put it down.
Beth Miller is a born storyteller, with the power to draw you into the world she creates and to make you emotionally invested in her characters. She writes beautifully, and I particularly enjoyed Eliza’s transition from Orthodox Jewish life to secular life, where such mundane activities as shopping for clothes or going out for a burger become loaded with taboo situations. I think that my favourite thing of all is how well Ms Miller depicts her characters’ emotional lives: the central love story between Eliza and Alex is achingly poignant and rings absolutely true. This is a novel about family secrets and the importance of staying true to yourself - I couldn’t put it down.
March 2, 2019
This book was quite an eye opener for me. I know that different religions have different rules, but I never realized how strict they could be. Well, maybe it’s not really true what I say, because they are strict to us but for them it’s only natural. For them it’s how it’s supposed to be, no questions asked. But there are rebels everywhere who don’t want to take everything for granted.
So we meet Aliza and when Alex come onto the scene he seems like the perfect escape route. Aliza can leave her old life behind and takes a step into ‘the real world’. Alex is very keen on showing her everything he loves and convincing her to try it as well. But which one is the real girl? Eliza or Aliza?
The author gives us the chance to follow Aliza. She lets us into her life where she is figuring out where she belongs. But does she have to choose or is there something like the golden mean? She goes back and forth and and past mixes with present. When a secret is revealed, it’s one more thing that adds to the pile of issues.
A story that shows that love between family and friends does not die when one person does something devastating and terribly wrong in the eyes of others. There might be a crack in the bond but it will never break completely. 4 stars.
Thank you, Beth Miller, Bookouture and Netgalley.
https://bforbookreview.wordpress.com
So we meet Aliza and when Alex come onto the scene he seems like the perfect escape route. Aliza can leave her old life behind and takes a step into ‘the real world’. Alex is very keen on showing her everything he loves and convincing her to try it as well. But which one is the real girl? Eliza or Aliza?
The author gives us the chance to follow Aliza. She lets us into her life where she is figuring out where she belongs. But does she have to choose or is there something like the golden mean? She goes back and forth and and past mixes with present. When a secret is revealed, it’s one more thing that adds to the pile of issues.
A story that shows that love between family and friends does not die when one person does something devastating and terribly wrong in the eyes of others. There might be a crack in the bond but it will never break completely. 4 stars.
Thank you, Beth Miller, Bookouture and Netgalley.
https://bforbookreview.wordpress.com
February 28, 2019
I'm not a fast reader but I read this book in days. I thought it was a beautifully written, funny and moving story that gripped me from the first page. Eliza Bloom is an Orthodox Jew who is about to marry Nathan, a man her parents introduced her to. She's already turned down other offers and her dad, in particular is getting impatient for her to settle down. But it's not until after she agrees to marry Nathan that she meets the non-Jewish Alex and falls in love with him.
The story begins in 2016 and Eliza is married to Alex and they have a teenage daughter Leah. But then Leah finds something that opens a whole can of worms and the story then goes back to when Eliza was living at home and about to marry Nathan. I loved this structure as it gave the story a brilliant pace and I was desperate to know what the secrets were. Just what has Eliza been hiding all these years?
I was emotionally invested in all the characters and their lives. I never knew much about the Orthodox Jewish way of life before and I found it fascinating. I loved how the author shows us the secular world through Eliza's eyes after she elopes with Alex. A beautiful story about fighting for love against all the odds. Highly recommended.
The story begins in 2016 and Eliza is married to Alex and they have a teenage daughter Leah. But then Leah finds something that opens a whole can of worms and the story then goes back to when Eliza was living at home and about to marry Nathan. I loved this structure as it gave the story a brilliant pace and I was desperate to know what the secrets were. Just what has Eliza been hiding all these years?
I was emotionally invested in all the characters and their lives. I never knew much about the Orthodox Jewish way of life before and I found it fascinating. I loved how the author shows us the secular world through Eliza's eyes after she elopes with Alex. A beautiful story about fighting for love against all the odds. Highly recommended.
March 1, 2019
The blurb of this book doesn’t really give you a clue what to expect between the covers and gives very little hint of the main plot device of the novel, so it is going to be quite difficult to write a comprehensive, spoiler-free review. Still, I’m up for a challenge so let’s give it a go.
This is a ‘two worlds collide, fish out of water’ story about a couple falling in love from opposites sides of a divide that throws up a multitude of problems in their relationship. If you scout other reviews, you will probably find out what the differences are that divide them without reading the book, but I think that will be a shame for you and I would advise you going into the book naively and discover the secret for yourself as you read. For me, it was really eye-opening, as the world Eliza comes from is one that I know nothing about, and learning about the conventions and rules of the society in which she lives was fascinating and humbling; I’m embarrassed that I have never taken the time to learn more about it before.
However, aside from the particular issues Eliza’s background presents to the relationship, there is a lot in this story that rings true for anyone who has ever been in a relationship, especially one that has been entered into at a young age when, whilst we might feel we are adults, we are largely unformed and uninformed as people, and we are making life-changing decisions joining ourselves to other people when we don’t really know who we are ourselves. Through the book, the author explores all kinds of relationships that shape all of our lives, not just romantic ones. The bonds of family – spouses, parents, children, siblings, friends, extended family, wider community- their needs, expectations, ideologies, personalities, dynamics, all of these things affect each of us in different ways and impact our behaviour and decisions and part of life is learning where we fit, how to manage these things, when we should comply, when we should rebel, what is important and what isn’t. The arts of empathy, understanding and compromise are something we all need to learn, whoever we are and wherever we come from.
The author writes sensitively, warmly and approachable. Her characters felt so real to me, even though the world she is writing about is so alien in many ways, I was totally drawn in. The main character, Eliza, could be me, you, or any of us because, as humans, we have more similarities than we have differences, no matter who we are or where we come from, if we choose to see them and focus on them, rather than our differences. Given some of the current things going on in the world today, I think this message is an extremely relevant and important one to be getting out there, and this book does it beautifully.
This is a gorgeous story, the writing pulls you through with ease and pleasure. There was nothing but joy in the reading of it for me, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Pretty close to reading perfection.
This is a ‘two worlds collide, fish out of water’ story about a couple falling in love from opposites sides of a divide that throws up a multitude of problems in their relationship. If you scout other reviews, you will probably find out what the differences are that divide them without reading the book, but I think that will be a shame for you and I would advise you going into the book naively and discover the secret for yourself as you read. For me, it was really eye-opening, as the world Eliza comes from is one that I know nothing about, and learning about the conventions and rules of the society in which she lives was fascinating and humbling; I’m embarrassed that I have never taken the time to learn more about it before.
However, aside from the particular issues Eliza’s background presents to the relationship, there is a lot in this story that rings true for anyone who has ever been in a relationship, especially one that has been entered into at a young age when, whilst we might feel we are adults, we are largely unformed and uninformed as people, and we are making life-changing decisions joining ourselves to other people when we don’t really know who we are ourselves. Through the book, the author explores all kinds of relationships that shape all of our lives, not just romantic ones. The bonds of family – spouses, parents, children, siblings, friends, extended family, wider community- their needs, expectations, ideologies, personalities, dynamics, all of these things affect each of us in different ways and impact our behaviour and decisions and part of life is learning where we fit, how to manage these things, when we should comply, when we should rebel, what is important and what isn’t. The arts of empathy, understanding and compromise are something we all need to learn, whoever we are and wherever we come from.
The author writes sensitively, warmly and approachable. Her characters felt so real to me, even though the world she is writing about is so alien in many ways, I was totally drawn in. The main character, Eliza, could be me, you, or any of us because, as humans, we have more similarities than we have differences, no matter who we are or where we come from, if we choose to see them and focus on them, rather than our differences. Given some of the current things going on in the world today, I think this message is an extremely relevant and important one to be getting out there, and this book does it beautifully.
This is a gorgeous story, the writing pulls you through with ease and pleasure. There was nothing but joy in the reading of it for me, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Pretty close to reading perfection.
February 10, 2019
I absolutely loved reading The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom. I found the details of Orthodox Judaism to be absolutely fascinating as this is a culture I haven't had much interaction with in the past. I loved Eliza, Alex, Leah, and Nathan, and found all of their annoying habits and mistakes make them all the more relatable. Neither Alex nor Nathan are your typical leading men in a romance, but, then again, who actually is in real life? Learning about these characters made you truly understand why Aliza would be attracted to them, and why she would run into problems with them. I will say that I believe this book is being marketed incorrectly-it's not really a laugh-out-loud, feel good story. Instead, it's a hard look at the way our past, present, and future intersect. Nevertheless, it is an amazing read.
I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
February 5, 2019
I LOVED this book! I could not put this book down. It’s the story of Eliza/Aliza Bloom, an Orthodox Jew who is set to be married in a semi arranged marriage, but she falls in love with a Gentile. I loved the love triangle, the culture and the “re-education book”. All the characters in the book were well developed and likable. Another great book by Beth Miller!!
February 4, 2019
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review is “spoilerish”, so proceed with caution.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Eliza Bloom is a young woman that has been raised in a conservative Orthodox Jewish community. She has always lived by the rules: she wears the “frum” clothes she’s expected to, she eats only kosher food and has finally chosen a suitable husband. And then… she falls in love with a secular man named Alex. And she has to run away from her family and from everything she has ever known.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I thought this was going to be a book about a woman trying to navigate the “Real World” (as the author calls it) and finding herself. But the twist appeared when, after a few months out of her community, Eliza starts missing her family. Her food. Her traditions. And she starts lying to her husband to go back to her family in her old clothes, the same way she used to lie to her family about working late to meet Alex for coffee. That’s what the two hearts of the title mean: she loves her husband, but she also loves her upbringing. And she shouldn’t have to choose.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
One aspect I found very interesting about the book is the culture shock of the protagonist. I’ve always tended to assume that people - especially women - that have been raised in very conservative communities love breaking free from them and enjoying their freedom. But it’s not that easy for them: there are a lot of prejudices to fight, there is a lot of guilt and also the constant feeling of loneliness, of not belonging to this world. This book helped me be more empathetic with these people and made me be more cautious when making certain statements.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
A final thought: a thing that struck me about this book was that it was publicised as “laugh-out-loud” funny and… I didn’t feel this was a “funny” book. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for me, because I enjoyed reading the book nevertheless (it’s a page-turner), but I think it can be very misleading for other readers that are looking for a funny book.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for providing me with this ARC.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Eliza Bloom is a young woman that has been raised in a conservative Orthodox Jewish community. She has always lived by the rules: she wears the “frum” clothes she’s expected to, she eats only kosher food and has finally chosen a suitable husband. And then… she falls in love with a secular man named Alex. And she has to run away from her family and from everything she has ever known.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I thought this was going to be a book about a woman trying to navigate the “Real World” (as the author calls it) and finding herself. But the twist appeared when, after a few months out of her community, Eliza starts missing her family. Her food. Her traditions. And she starts lying to her husband to go back to her family in her old clothes, the same way she used to lie to her family about working late to meet Alex for coffee. That’s what the two hearts of the title mean: she loves her husband, but she also loves her upbringing. And she shouldn’t have to choose.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
One aspect I found very interesting about the book is the culture shock of the protagonist. I’ve always tended to assume that people - especially women - that have been raised in very conservative communities love breaking free from them and enjoying their freedom. But it’s not that easy for them: there are a lot of prejudices to fight, there is a lot of guilt and also the constant feeling of loneliness, of not belonging to this world. This book helped me be more empathetic with these people and made me be more cautious when making certain statements.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
A final thought: a thing that struck me about this book was that it was publicised as “laugh-out-loud” funny and… I didn’t feel this was a “funny” book. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for me, because I enjoyed reading the book nevertheless (it’s a page-turner), but I think it can be very misleading for other readers that are looking for a funny book.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for providing me with this ARC.
February 19, 2019
Getting through this book felt like a chore. First off, it's far from what it promises to be. And while I think the story had potential, the execution of it failed big time.
My biggest issue was that I couldn't get behind the characters, there was so much I did not like about them. There was abuse and controlling behavior throughout the story, at times presented as normal, and that threw me off all along. It didn't feel like a love story, it felt more like a story of two people who made one bad choice, got stuck together, are absolutely not happy about it and one of them takes it out on the other one.
The relationship between Eliza and Alex definitely didn't feel like love, and it wasn't pleasant to read at all. He has no respect for her, her wishes and habits, or any understanding for her at all. He pushes her to do things she doesn't enjoy doing under the excuse of introducing her to the "real world", which wasn't pleasant to read at all.
This book wasn't for me.
I don't feel comfortable recommending it to just anyone. There are definitely some trigger warnings that need to be added, emotional and physical abuse being the major ones. If you're willing, read at your own risk.
*Copy received through NetGalley
*Rating: 1/5 stars
My biggest issue was that I couldn't get behind the characters, there was so much I did not like about them. There was abuse and controlling behavior throughout the story, at times presented as normal, and that threw me off all along. It didn't feel like a love story, it felt more like a story of two people who made one bad choice, got stuck together, are absolutely not happy about it and one of them takes it out on the other one.
The relationship between Eliza and Alex definitely didn't feel like love, and it wasn't pleasant to read at all. He has no respect for her, her wishes and habits, or any understanding for her at all. He pushes her to do things she doesn't enjoy doing under the excuse of introducing her to the "real world", which wasn't pleasant to read at all.
This book wasn't for me.
I don't feel comfortable recommending it to just anyone. There are definitely some trigger warnings that need to be added, emotional and physical abuse being the major ones. If you're willing, read at your own risk.
*Copy received through NetGalley
*Rating: 1/5 stars
March 16, 2019
This was a nice and easy fun read, beautifully written and heart-warming. I loved it! 4.5⭐
March 3, 2019
The cover certainly didn’t present any clues, and neither did the book’s description – although you might well pick them up from the name “Eliza Bloom” and mention of the list of rules – but this book did present me with a bit of dilemma on what constitutes a spoiler. So I’ll (slightly reluctantly) gloss over the reason why Eliza’s always needed to wear a long blue skirt on Thursdays, and simply say that I did find the cultural context for this story a fascinating introduction to a lifestyle and upbringing I knew lamentably little about.
Eliza’s dramatic choice – leaving behind the familiar and entering “the Real World” – did initially seem to be exchanging one set of rules for another, and it raised a whole raft of issues for me around when love might become a tad confused with control. But I think I read the “re-education” situation entirely wrongly, and really did like the changed perception over the years of “the book” and its meaning and purpose. The whole process of trying the new, unfamiliar and previously forbidden – and sometimes the downright frightening and unacceptable – was really well handled, although I did sometimes wonder why the lion’s share of change and trying new things fell only to Eliza.
I will admit to failing to understand Eliza’s overpowering urge to return to her past – I could understand the pull of family and the familiar, but not why she felt the need to put her new life at such risk by doing so much more than simply “going home”. And while I’m admitting things, I’ll also confess that I didn’t entirely take to the younger Eliza – her choices made me a little uncomfortable, and rather than brave and daring I found her rather selfish and self-centred. But I did very much like the way the story unfolded – and I particular enjoyed the way the story was structured and moved between 1999/2000 and the characters’ lives in the present day.
The characters and their interactions were wonderful – the visits to Zaida at the nursing home filled with intrigue and deception, Eliza’s relationship with her sisters and friend Deborah, the steadfast support of brother Dov, and so much more. I also liked the portrayal of Eliza’s father – always the bully, anger growing with his daughter’s defection, then visibly crumbling with the erosion of his power and control. The emotional content is particularly strong too – and I found Alex’s unexpected fragility particularly touching and realistically handled. And there was a nice circle within the plot – while Eliza chose one path, her daughter Leah begins to choose the opposite, and I thought that was particularly well done.
Balancing the drama in the earlier storyline, there’s considerable drama in the present too. The relationship between Eliza and her daughter is in stark contrast to her own family relationships – and if I didn’t entirely take to the young Eliza I most certainly didn’t like her spiky and foul mouthed daughter, although I thought the way she swung between vulnerable small child and all-knowing adult was really well done, and she was unquestionably a very realistic teen.
But enough about the story and characters – I loved the themes too. There’s that whole area of making decisions and choices, with the expectation that the new and different will be somehow better – only to find that what you really want might just be something you already had. There are questions too around love, honesty and loyalty, and the meaning of family – and the fact that you sometimes need to find yourself before you can think about making such life-changing choices.
I always think it’s a really good indication that you’ve enjoyed a book when you have strong feelings about its characters – it’s an acknowledgement that you’ve entered the world they occupy, that they’re entirely real to you even when you might not always agree with their actions, decisions or behaviour. And this certainly is such a book – although to get the full impact, I would suggest that you try to avoid the reviews that mention the story’s context and experience it for yourself. Highly recommended.
Eliza’s dramatic choice – leaving behind the familiar and entering “the Real World” – did initially seem to be exchanging one set of rules for another, and it raised a whole raft of issues for me around when love might become a tad confused with control. But I think I read the “re-education” situation entirely wrongly, and really did like the changed perception over the years of “the book” and its meaning and purpose. The whole process of trying the new, unfamiliar and previously forbidden – and sometimes the downright frightening and unacceptable – was really well handled, although I did sometimes wonder why the lion’s share of change and trying new things fell only to Eliza.
I will admit to failing to understand Eliza’s overpowering urge to return to her past – I could understand the pull of family and the familiar, but not why she felt the need to put her new life at such risk by doing so much more than simply “going home”. And while I’m admitting things, I’ll also confess that I didn’t entirely take to the younger Eliza – her choices made me a little uncomfortable, and rather than brave and daring I found her rather selfish and self-centred. But I did very much like the way the story unfolded – and I particular enjoyed the way the story was structured and moved between 1999/2000 and the characters’ lives in the present day.
The characters and their interactions were wonderful – the visits to Zaida at the nursing home filled with intrigue and deception, Eliza’s relationship with her sisters and friend Deborah, the steadfast support of brother Dov, and so much more. I also liked the portrayal of Eliza’s father – always the bully, anger growing with his daughter’s defection, then visibly crumbling with the erosion of his power and control. The emotional content is particularly strong too – and I found Alex’s unexpected fragility particularly touching and realistically handled. And there was a nice circle within the plot – while Eliza chose one path, her daughter Leah begins to choose the opposite, and I thought that was particularly well done.
Balancing the drama in the earlier storyline, there’s considerable drama in the present too. The relationship between Eliza and her daughter is in stark contrast to her own family relationships – and if I didn’t entirely take to the young Eliza I most certainly didn’t like her spiky and foul mouthed daughter, although I thought the way she swung between vulnerable small child and all-knowing adult was really well done, and she was unquestionably a very realistic teen.
But enough about the story and characters – I loved the themes too. There’s that whole area of making decisions and choices, with the expectation that the new and different will be somehow better – only to find that what you really want might just be something you already had. There are questions too around love, honesty and loyalty, and the meaning of family – and the fact that you sometimes need to find yourself before you can think about making such life-changing choices.
I always think it’s a really good indication that you’ve enjoyed a book when you have strong feelings about its characters – it’s an acknowledgement that you’ve entered the world they occupy, that they’re entirely real to you even when you might not always agree with their actions, decisions or behaviour. And this certainly is such a book – although to get the full impact, I would suggest that you try to avoid the reviews that mention the story’s context and experience it for yourself. Highly recommended.
March 23, 2019
I received an eARC of this via NetGalley, but that does not affect my review.
As someone who is not at all familiar with the Jewish lifestyle and the only things I do know are from different TV shows (the latest being The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel for which I have so much love for), this was quite an interesting read. It definitely made me want to research the subject a bit more as those things mentioned in the book seem SO insane! I'd definitely pull an Aliza and get the f*ck out if I had to live a life like that!
There was something that bothered me about the writing of this novel in the first quarter of it, but I still can't put my finger on what it was. But thankfully that feeling left me as abruptly as Eliza left Nathan and I quite enjoyed the rest of it. It was pretty shocking at times, yet lovely and heart-warming as well.
Reading it I did wonder if the author had watched the aforementioned Mrs. Maisel or are there certain names that are so common in the Jewish culture? Such as Joel, Nathan, Miriam... Those are all characters in the TV show. At first it bothered me, later it was a nice familiar feeling, though.
All in all, it's a nice and easy read which definitely taught me something new!
As someone who is not at all familiar with the Jewish lifestyle and the only things I do know are from different TV shows (the latest being The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel for which I have so much love for), this was quite an interesting read. It definitely made me want to research the subject a bit more as those things mentioned in the book seem SO insane! I'd definitely pull an Aliza and get the f*ck out if I had to live a life like that!
There was something that bothered me about the writing of this novel in the first quarter of it, but I still can't put my finger on what it was. But thankfully that feeling left me as abruptly as Eliza left Nathan and I quite enjoyed the rest of it. It was pretty shocking at times, yet lovely and heart-warming as well.
Reading it I did wonder if the author had watched the aforementioned Mrs. Maisel or are there certain names that are so common in the Jewish culture? Such as Joel, Nathan, Miriam... Those are all characters in the TV show. At first it bothered me, later it was a nice familiar feeling, though.
All in all, it's a nice and easy read which definitely taught me something new!
February 26, 2019
Unfortunately not a huge fan of this one. I requested it because the cover was cute (the heart one, not the umbrella) and the synopsis sounded interesting. I kind of went into it expecting a romance and it is 100% not a romance. As a romance this is a 1 star book. Thinking it was a romance is my fault though, so I am giving it 2 stars based on it being more of a 'women's fiction/realistic fiction' kind of book. Maybe this is realistic in terms of marriages and relationships and I've certainly read worse in general fiction books, but they didn't turn me off quite like this one - maybe because I was expecting a love story and there are some things you just can't forgive in a romance book.. not that this is a romance book, so I really just need to get over that.
Moving on. This book was a bit of a struggle to get through at first. Slowly paced and frustrating characters. I didn't know what was happening and I didn't care as much as I wanted to. But it wasn't awful and I was thinking 3 stars. Then just before 50% you find out something and I was so turned off, so disgusted in this book, that I almost DNF'd it. Are you freaking kidding me? But I had to remind myself - this is not a romance, you can't judge it like one... also I was reading it for a challenge and it was too late to choose another book. But I never got over it, and every time it is brought up, I was annoyed all over again.
Aliza/Eliza is so freaking unlikable. She is so selfish. I could not handle all of her lying. Alex was okay at times, but insecure and selfish as well. They obviously got married way too quickly, which had to happen because of Nathan and all that, but she wasn't ready for all the real world stuff and he was a bit mean about pushing her into things and not caring about her 'laws'. that being said, Eliza pissed me off by not compromising, you *left* your world and married Alex, you don't get to keep all of your laws. You just don't, especially without zero explanation or compromise. I'm not saying Alex had every right to demand whatever he wanted of Eliza, but she was doing the exact same thing - telling him it was going to be one way whether he liked it or not. That's not how relationships work. I feel like both of them had an idea of their spouse and when that spouse didn't perform perfectly, they took it out on each other.
So the thing that happens at 50% paired with the characters and the way they treat each other made me not enjoy this book. I'm giving it 2 stars, because again, thinking it was a romance was my fault, but they are a generous 2 stars.
Like always, when I dislike a book, I hate feeling that way. I am no writer and kudos to the author for writing a book! I am sure it is not easy and it's especially hard to get negative reviews. but there is no such thing as a book for everyone and we can't like every book we read. i truly hope this book finds its way into the hands of readers who will enjoy it.
ARC received from netgalley in exchange for honest review
Moving on. This book was a bit of a struggle to get through at first. Slowly paced and frustrating characters. I didn't know what was happening and I didn't care as much as I wanted to. But it wasn't awful and I was thinking 3 stars. Then just before 50% you find out something and I was so turned off, so disgusted in this book, that I almost DNF'd it. Are you freaking kidding me? But I had to remind myself - this is not a romance, you can't judge it like one... also I was reading it for a challenge and it was too late to choose another book. But I never got over it, and every time it is brought up, I was annoyed all over again.
Aliza/Eliza is so freaking unlikable. She is so selfish. I could not handle all of her lying. Alex was okay at times, but insecure and selfish as well. They obviously got married way too quickly, which had to happen because of Nathan and all that, but she wasn't ready for all the real world stuff and he was a bit mean about pushing her into things and not caring about her 'laws'. that being said, Eliza pissed me off by not compromising, you *left* your world and married Alex, you don't get to keep all of your laws. You just don't, especially without zero explanation or compromise. I'm not saying Alex had every right to demand whatever he wanted of Eliza, but she was doing the exact same thing - telling him it was going to be one way whether he liked it or not. That's not how relationships work. I feel like both of them had an idea of their spouse and when that spouse didn't perform perfectly, they took it out on each other.
So the thing that happens at 50% paired with the characters and the way they treat each other made me not enjoy this book. I'm giving it 2 stars, because again, thinking it was a romance was my fault, but they are a generous 2 stars.
Like always, when I dislike a book, I hate feeling that way. I am no writer and kudos to the author for writing a book! I am sure it is not easy and it's especially hard to get negative reviews. but there is no such thing as a book for everyone and we can't like every book we read. i truly hope this book finds its way into the hands of readers who will enjoy it.
ARC received from netgalley in exchange for honest review
March 29, 2019
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for a free eARC of The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom!
Aliza finally decides to agree to marry the seventh man her orthodox family introduces to her and is engaged within weeks. All seems set for her future but then she meets Alex and falls head over heels for him, blows of her engagement thus cutting all her familial ties and hoping for true love.
Eliza and Alex struggle to understand their teenage daughter who is suddenly interested in being a "real Jew". Over the years their relationship has overcome cultural differences, critical family members and quite a bit of omission of the truth. Now secrets that were buried in the past come to the surface and threaten the relationship they have had to fight for from the very beginning.
The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom is told in two time lines and tries to tackle the challenges a couple with two very different upbringings, ideas of love and religion would have to face. At times Alex may seem controlling and Eliza dishonest but as I do not always have to agree with characters choices to find it interesting reading about them that did not bother me. Although the read was not quite what I had expected - I think you get more out of it, if you question your own reaction to Eliza and Alex's actions - I enjoyed the depiction of a Jewish heroine and the emancipation of various family members as the story progressed. At times I would have liked a slightly less predictable story line but Eliza and Alex love story is not a "perfect" one and more interesting for it!
Aliza finally decides to agree to marry the seventh man her orthodox family introduces to her and is engaged within weeks. All seems set for her future but then she meets Alex and falls head over heels for him, blows of her engagement thus cutting all her familial ties and hoping for true love.
Eliza and Alex struggle to understand their teenage daughter who is suddenly interested in being a "real Jew". Over the years their relationship has overcome cultural differences, critical family members and quite a bit of omission of the truth. Now secrets that were buried in the past come to the surface and threaten the relationship they have had to fight for from the very beginning.
The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom is told in two time lines and tries to tackle the challenges a couple with two very different upbringings, ideas of love and religion would have to face. At times Alex may seem controlling and Eliza dishonest but as I do not always have to agree with characters choices to find it interesting reading about them that did not bother me. Although the read was not quite what I had expected - I think you get more out of it, if you question your own reaction to Eliza and Alex's actions - I enjoyed the depiction of a Jewish heroine and the emancipation of various family members as the story progressed. At times I would have liked a slightly less predictable story line but Eliza and Alex love story is not a "perfect" one and more interesting for it!
March 28, 2019
I loved this book! As someone who has felt like a black sheep and has struggled against constraints placed on me without my consent, this book reallly resonated with me. Better yet, Beth Miller is a master of comical human observations, and her dialogue makes me laugh out loud. The main character, Eliza (Aliza), never felt truly comfortable with the restrictions of Orthodox Judaism, but loved her family and was offered a Hobson's choice of doing what was expected to remain a member of the family or being true to her inner self. It is a fascinating dilemma, and one that Beth Miller has woven into a funny and thought-provoking story. The relationships that Eliza has with her parents and siblings is complicated, yet the writing is accessible and engaging. Here's an example: "I guess this is what Mum meant when she told me that marriage was made up of endless compromises. Mind you, one of the times I remember her saying that was shortly after Dad had smacked her across the room." I also enjoyed the storyline of Eliza's teeneage daughter, Leah, in her search for identity, which was an interesting counterpoint to Eliza's journey of self-expression. Highly recommend!!
March 7, 2019
This is the story of a young Jewish woman, Eliza Bloom. Coming from a very strict Jewish family, Eliza was the shining example of what a good Jewish girl should be. Fast forward 15 years, and Eliza’s life is very different. She is married and has a teenage daughter, Leah. But when Leah finds a photo hidden in a shoebox, she begins to ask questions which may just bring Eliza’s life crashing down.
Whatever I expected this book to be like, it certainly wasn’t this! This was the first book I’ve read by this author, but by golly it won’t be my last! I’ve seen two different covers for this book, and whilst I would have read the book with either of the covers, the covers don’t really convey what this book is really about! I have to admit also, the blurb doesn’t really give much away so when I started this book I didn’t really know what to expect.
Eliza comes from a Jewish family in Hackney, East London. To someone who isn’t part of the Jewish faith, Eliza’s life must seem completely alien. Amongst other things, she wears long sleeved tops and long skirts, has a scarf to cover her hair, she can’t be alone with a man who isn’t part of her family and she has no idea of popular culture, never being allowed to watch TV or listen to music. The story is told from two times in Eliza’s life. Firstly in 2001 when she was a young woman who was on the verge of marrying a man whom her family had chosen, and then 15 years later when Eliza is married and has a teenage daughter of her own. The switches between timescales are done simply and without confusion, leaving me perfectly clear as to what part of Eliza’s life I was in.
Meeting the young Eliza was fascinating. I’ve heard of the Jewish faith, and learnt about it in Religious Education classes at school, but never realised how strict the faith was. Being set in East London, predominantly Hackney where Eliza lived as a child I’d forgotten that there was a large Jewish community in these areas. To Eliza the Jewish traditions which her family followed were the norm, but whilst I understood her faith and beliefs, I did find the storyline involving her father to be quite upsetting.
The storyline flips us back and forth through Eliza’s life. Whilst this isn’t mentioned in the blurb, I don’t really think this is a spoiler, Eliza falls in love with Alex, who isn’t Jewish. When she leaves to be with Alex, the transition into her secular life is so emotional and I really felt for her when she was trying to keep to her beliefs but also try to fit into Alex’s life. I also felt for Alex and you can feel how frustrating it must have been for him to try and understand and accommodate Eliza’s beliefs. My heart broke for the pair of them and left me on the verge of tears for most of the book.
When the story moves later in Eliza’s life, we find her daughter Leah has discovered a photograph which prompts her to ask questions about the family. The story cleverly moves between present and past to keep the reader in the loop as to what is happening and everything in the present day storyline is explained. There are some questions being asked by Leah, but whilst I could guess how the book was going to play out, it was a really interesting journey to get to the answers.
The characters within the storyline are all great, although I wouldn’t say they were all likeable as there were some I disliked from the start. It was certainly a real eye opener into the Jewish faith and how different the lives were for the devout Jewish community in this country. The storyline was wonderful and I found myself being hooked from the very first page with Eliza, Alex and Leah’s story. It wasn’t all doom and gloom though, I found myself enlightened by many parts and others bought a smile to my face. This was completely different to what I was expecting when I started this book, but I’m so pleased it was. Every now and then a book comes along which leaves you thinking about it for a long time after I finished it. This was one of those books! A mesmerising story which I would highly recommend.
Whatever I expected this book to be like, it certainly wasn’t this! This was the first book I’ve read by this author, but by golly it won’t be my last! I’ve seen two different covers for this book, and whilst I would have read the book with either of the covers, the covers don’t really convey what this book is really about! I have to admit also, the blurb doesn’t really give much away so when I started this book I didn’t really know what to expect.
Eliza comes from a Jewish family in Hackney, East London. To someone who isn’t part of the Jewish faith, Eliza’s life must seem completely alien. Amongst other things, she wears long sleeved tops and long skirts, has a scarf to cover her hair, she can’t be alone with a man who isn’t part of her family and she has no idea of popular culture, never being allowed to watch TV or listen to music. The story is told from two times in Eliza’s life. Firstly in 2001 when she was a young woman who was on the verge of marrying a man whom her family had chosen, and then 15 years later when Eliza is married and has a teenage daughter of her own. The switches between timescales are done simply and without confusion, leaving me perfectly clear as to what part of Eliza’s life I was in.
Meeting the young Eliza was fascinating. I’ve heard of the Jewish faith, and learnt about it in Religious Education classes at school, but never realised how strict the faith was. Being set in East London, predominantly Hackney where Eliza lived as a child I’d forgotten that there was a large Jewish community in these areas. To Eliza the Jewish traditions which her family followed were the norm, but whilst I understood her faith and beliefs, I did find the storyline involving her father to be quite upsetting.
The storyline flips us back and forth through Eliza’s life. Whilst this isn’t mentioned in the blurb, I don’t really think this is a spoiler, Eliza falls in love with Alex, who isn’t Jewish. When she leaves to be with Alex, the transition into her secular life is so emotional and I really felt for her when she was trying to keep to her beliefs but also try to fit into Alex’s life. I also felt for Alex and you can feel how frustrating it must have been for him to try and understand and accommodate Eliza’s beliefs. My heart broke for the pair of them and left me on the verge of tears for most of the book.
When the story moves later in Eliza’s life, we find her daughter Leah has discovered a photograph which prompts her to ask questions about the family. The story cleverly moves between present and past to keep the reader in the loop as to what is happening and everything in the present day storyline is explained. There are some questions being asked by Leah, but whilst I could guess how the book was going to play out, it was a really interesting journey to get to the answers.
The characters within the storyline are all great, although I wouldn’t say they were all likeable as there were some I disliked from the start. It was certainly a real eye opener into the Jewish faith and how different the lives were for the devout Jewish community in this country. The storyline was wonderful and I found myself being hooked from the very first page with Eliza, Alex and Leah’s story. It wasn’t all doom and gloom though, I found myself enlightened by many parts and others bought a smile to my face. This was completely different to what I was expecting when I started this book, but I’m so pleased it was. Every now and then a book comes along which leaves you thinking about it for a long time after I finished it. This was one of those books! A mesmerising story which I would highly recommend.
March 1, 2019
Such interesting and timely subject matter. I think we all know or know of someone who has been tossed from their family for some reason be it religion or just who they are or at least have heard of it happening. It was and yet it wasn’t. Possibly it was because it hit close to home and brought back memories of a friend planning her wedding alone and no one in her family being there and walking her down the aisle or because the the 2 main characters were so flawed and immature. I cannot imagine for any reason, religion, belief that a parent would sit shiva for their child and consider them dead. She didn’t do anything other than fall in love and every parent should want what makes their child happy and be loved. To force a child into an arranged marriage when it is not one she or he wants is abuse. Her dad is a mean nasty unforgiving man and her mother has never had any power so goes along with him. So sad and shameful. Regardless of the religion this scenario happens more than it should. Once is more than too many times for a family to toss out their kids. There is no excuse for that. EVER.
The couple may be in love, but boy do they have problems. The wife is trying to navigate the “real world” with a husband who is so judgmental, unbending and at times unforgiving. He wants her to give up everything and has a list. He wants her to do everything he deems as normal NOW and gets more than a little pissy and obnoxious when she has a difficult time. Too much too soon for her and slowing it down is not his way and yet he does absolutely nothing help her gently assimilate. Throwing someone into the deep end of the pool does not usually end well! He wooed her, but once he got her it was all about him all of the time. She went from frying pan into the fire. She is so uncomfortable that she starts sneaking around, reconnecting with her brother and her Zaida and hiding it. It is a terrible choice and yet she doesn’t want crap from her husband. She should not have to sneak and yet I understand why she opts to do so. Secrets are so unhealthy and as they fester they can slowly and quietly destroy the foundation of any relationship. Their daughter is a spoiled rotten kid who has grownup not knowing the secrets, but knowing that there were plenty. No surprise she went behind her parents backs and came up with crazy conclusions. The cousins were like the main characters dad. Mean spirited and unlikable.
All of that said, it was a really interesting read that was well written and realistic. Not an easy read, but worth it. It is about an Orthodox woman and family, but could be interchanged with any deeply devout group. This offers a window into what can happen when you choose religion over love of family.
The couple may be in love, but boy do they have problems. The wife is trying to navigate the “real world” with a husband who is so judgmental, unbending and at times unforgiving. He wants her to give up everything and has a list. He wants her to do everything he deems as normal NOW and gets more than a little pissy and obnoxious when she has a difficult time. Too much too soon for her and slowing it down is not his way and yet he does absolutely nothing help her gently assimilate. Throwing someone into the deep end of the pool does not usually end well! He wooed her, but once he got her it was all about him all of the time. She went from frying pan into the fire. She is so uncomfortable that she starts sneaking around, reconnecting with her brother and her Zaida and hiding it. It is a terrible choice and yet she doesn’t want crap from her husband. She should not have to sneak and yet I understand why she opts to do so. Secrets are so unhealthy and as they fester they can slowly and quietly destroy the foundation of any relationship. Their daughter is a spoiled rotten kid who has grownup not knowing the secrets, but knowing that there were plenty. No surprise she went behind her parents backs and came up with crazy conclusions. The cousins were like the main characters dad. Mean spirited and unlikable.
All of that said, it was a really interesting read that was well written and realistic. Not an easy read, but worth it. It is about an Orthodox woman and family, but could be interchanged with any deeply devout group. This offers a window into what can happen when you choose religion over love of family.
March 3, 2019
I really enjoyed The Good Neighbour by Beth Miller so I was thrilled to be asked to read her latest book The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom.
Eliza Bloom is an Orthodox Jew and her family have been trying to arrange a suitable marriage for her but she keeps turning down the prospective partners for various reasons. Aware of the pressure heaping on her, when she meets Nathan she can see qualities in him that she thinks she could live with and so she gives her parents the thumbs up for the marriage. What she hasn't bargained on though is meeting Alex, who isn't Jewish, and after a few illicit meetings with him in a coffee shop she finds her thoughts and dreams returning to him night after night, which raises questions about her impending marriage to Nathan.
Fast forward 16 years and Eliza's daughter, Leah, has found a shoebox full of secrets which could potentially destroy everyone involved, but just what has Eliza been hiding?
Beth Miller has a real talent for bringing her characters to life but I must admit it took me a little while to warm to a few characters and I even changed my mind about a few of them along the way. Eliza was a complex character who one minute I felt immense sympathy for, but the next I would quite happily have given her a good shake!
I found the insight into the Jewish Orthodox way of life to be truly fascinating. I had no idea of the extent of rules, traditions and customs that are involved in this culture. It was a real eye opener for me and I could see how transitioning from one culture to another is far more intricate than it would appear on the surface and from the point of view of an outsider.
The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom is a thought-provoking and somewhat cautionary tale of family, love and friendship and the consequences of trying to build a life outside of what's expected and familiar. I don't totally agree with the statement that this is a 'laugh-out-loud' book and I feel that some readers will find this misleading - but, that said, I thought that it was a highly enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend and I hope that I'm looking forward to reading more books from this talented author.
Eliza Bloom is an Orthodox Jew and her family have been trying to arrange a suitable marriage for her but she keeps turning down the prospective partners for various reasons. Aware of the pressure heaping on her, when she meets Nathan she can see qualities in him that she thinks she could live with and so she gives her parents the thumbs up for the marriage. What she hasn't bargained on though is meeting Alex, who isn't Jewish, and after a few illicit meetings with him in a coffee shop she finds her thoughts and dreams returning to him night after night, which raises questions about her impending marriage to Nathan.
Fast forward 16 years and Eliza's daughter, Leah, has found a shoebox full of secrets which could potentially destroy everyone involved, but just what has Eliza been hiding?
Beth Miller has a real talent for bringing her characters to life but I must admit it took me a little while to warm to a few characters and I even changed my mind about a few of them along the way. Eliza was a complex character who one minute I felt immense sympathy for, but the next I would quite happily have given her a good shake!
I found the insight into the Jewish Orthodox way of life to be truly fascinating. I had no idea of the extent of rules, traditions and customs that are involved in this culture. It was a real eye opener for me and I could see how transitioning from one culture to another is far more intricate than it would appear on the surface and from the point of view of an outsider.
The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom is a thought-provoking and somewhat cautionary tale of family, love and friendship and the consequences of trying to build a life outside of what's expected and familiar. I don't totally agree with the statement that this is a 'laugh-out-loud' book and I feel that some readers will find this misleading - but, that said, I thought that it was a highly enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend and I hope that I'm looking forward to reading more books from this talented author.
February 24, 2019
The Two Hearts Of Eliza Bloom is a different kind of read for me but one that I enjoyed and read in a day!
Eliza is 23 and lives at home with her Jewish family, following traditional beliefs with the rest of her brothers and sisters. She has turned down quite a few men for marriage and her parents are getting frustrated but then Nathan is brought forward and this she decides is the man she will marry, but a chance meeting with Alex has her doubting everything and on the day of her marriage to Nathan she runs away with Alex. Her family disown her but Alex is showing her so much in the big world that she can now do that her times for missing them are few until she hears her grandfather is in a care home and visits him and tries to get back within her family.
The book bounces between the years of meeting Alex and the non marriage to Nathan to current time when her daughter finds Eliza’s memory box and deduces that Alex isn’t her dad.
This was an interesting read that took Eliza on a big journey and it was fun to go with her and see her cultures and beliefs be overturned for Alex.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.
Eliza is 23 and lives at home with her Jewish family, following traditional beliefs with the rest of her brothers and sisters. She has turned down quite a few men for marriage and her parents are getting frustrated but then Nathan is brought forward and this she decides is the man she will marry, but a chance meeting with Alex has her doubting everything and on the day of her marriage to Nathan she runs away with Alex. Her family disown her but Alex is showing her so much in the big world that she can now do that her times for missing them are few until she hears her grandfather is in a care home and visits him and tries to get back within her family.
The book bounces between the years of meeting Alex and the non marriage to Nathan to current time when her daughter finds Eliza’s memory box and deduces that Alex isn’t her dad.
This was an interesting read that took Eliza on a big journey and it was fun to go with her and see her cultures and beliefs be overturned for Alex.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews