I'll Be Home For Hanukkah

by K.K. Hendin

Shayna Adler has never watched a single Hallmark Christmas movie, but she has a sinking feeling she has found herself in one.A Big City Girl visiting a Charming Small Town full of Christmas cheer? Last-minute business trip to North Pole, Alaska, of all places.Attractive Small Town Single Men, Probably With Dramatic And Secret-Filled Pasts, All Wearing Flannel? A strange plethora.Santa Claus? The World’s Largest.Suspiciously Placed Mistletoe? Repeatedly. The Sinking Feeling She’s Perhaps Falling For Her New Coworker While The Spirit of Christmas Or Whatever Is Trying To Have Her Learn Lessons About Life And Love, Which Is Odd Considering Shayna Is Jewish And Honestly Has No Idea What’s Going On? Check.Wait.Is that not how Hallmark Christmas movies go?

Genres: Holiday Romance, Jewish, Romance, Holiday

158 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 8, 2020

About the author

KK Hendin writes books where people flirt awkwardly, make out, dish out a whole lot of sass and ridiculousness, and live happily ever after. She's the author of many books, including the weekly serial, ALL THE WRONG REASONS.
She also writes books as Brontë Reeve, where people aren't as nice and Happily Ever After isn't a guarantee.
KK is currently writing way too many books and is still waiting for the subway to run on a regular schedule. When she's not playing book Tetris in an attempt to fit everything onto the bookshelves in her tiny NYC apartment, she's probably wandering her neighborhood with her camera or drinking yet another cup of coffee.

Reviews

[That_awkwardbook · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have no idea what I read. two colleges have to travel to Alaska for work, they stay in a Christmas town and have a very festive schedule. the only problem is they both are Jewish and have no concept of Christmas and are so concerned about offending someone.
okay that was it. nothing more or less.
in short : meh

[Courtney Shapiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I'll Be Home for Hanukkah was such a fun one. The Jewish rep was fantastic and I loved seeing Modern Orthodox characters. Both main characters were Jewish and it really warmed my heart to see this in a holiday romance. I thought this was a whirlwind of a book. It had some forced proximity as well as workplace romance that I thought was super sweet. The idea of two Jewish people being forced to work from an all out Christmas village was a bit comical and I liked how it was addressed in the book. I loved seeing all the Hebrew and Yiddish words and phrases and it was great to see Hanukkah as a main focus. The ending was a bit quick and I would have loved a smidge more for Shayna and Noam, but overall, I thought this was super cute.

[Smut Report]

Heat Factor: They do not even kiss, my friends.

Character Chemistry: Noam is extremely opaque, but he plays with Shayna, who is a bit tightly wound, so it’s fun

Plot: Shayna and Noam, Orthodox Jews who grew up in NYC, are suddenly and unexpectedly sent to North Pole, Alaska just weeks before Christmas, for an end-of-year review meeting with a big client

Overall: I really enjoyed this read, mostly because it’s so playful

Noam Gold has recently transferred to the New York marketing office where Shayna Adler works, and they are unexpectedly asked to travel to North Pole, Alaska to provide an end-of-year report to a huge client instead of having their usual meetings in the New York office. The client’s Alaskan assistant/office manager confuses Shayna with her Christmas obsessed office mate Shannon, and sets up a winter wonderland, Hallmark special, Christmas extravaganza itinerary to make all of Shannon’s dreams come true. Shayna and Noam don’t really know how to say no to the itinerary without making their client unhappy, so they mostly go along with what the office manager has set up for them. It’s totally bonkers and it’s meant to be.

Read our full review at The Smut Report

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[Daphne Green]

What are two Orthodox Jewish New Yorkers to do when sent on a business trip to North Pole, Alaska on the eve of Hanukkah (so also right before Christmas)? Make Kosher meals in their hotel rooms using a traveling crockpot, of course!

This story is not very serious and plays on the silly but charming romance of Hallmark Christmas movies, but with the context of "this is not my cultural milieu and I really don't understand how to put these different ideas in a religious or secular context at all."

It's extremely chaste (they don't even kiss), so not the romance some will be looking for, but I was charmed by the way that sharing their religious traditions at the same time that they were having all these ridiculous escapades brought them together.

[J E R S O N · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually finished this story with an Anglo book club, unfortunately I am very distanced from Jewish experiences (yes, it is horrible knowing that in Chile there is still a local Jewish community, which shows how racist Chileans tend to be by absorbing their experiences as demands).

Well, leaving the personal moralistic reflection, I like that it is a “Christmas” story of non-Christian people, I had to google about terms in Hebrew, Yiddish (because they are Ashkenazi Jews), to know a little more about how it influences in real life.

I'm more thankful that Noam and Shayna's boss has been understanding, I really see that this kind of people in liberal spaces are almost not very present in ficccon like real life, but I'm glad they exist.

I liked the dynamic of Noam playing with her feelings, in the good sense of the word.

I actually finished this story with an Anglo book club, unfortunately I am very distanced from Jewish experiences (yes, it is horrible knowing that in Chile there is still a local Jewish community, which shows how racist Chileans tend to be by absorbing their experiences as demands).

Well, leaving the personal moralistic reflection, I like that it is a “Christmas” story of non-Christian people, I had to google about terms in Hebrew, Yiddish (because they are Ashkenazi Jews), to know a little more about how it influences in real life.

I'm more thankful that Noam and Shayna's boss has been understanding, I really see that this kind of people in liberal spaces are almost not very present in ficccon like real life, but I'm glad they exist.

I liked the dynamic from Noam playing with her feelings, in the good sense of the word.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely delightful. The "stakes" such as they were, were remarkably low, and I loved the background knowledge that even if there hadn't been a coworker mixup the meddling wouldn't have worked because Shannon is gay. It just made me appreciate the whole thing that much more, for some reason. I also adored how casual the references to frum life were. There were no unnecessary explanations or sidebars. Uncle Moishy references, in my contemporary romance? Apparently more likely than you'd think! I am very excited to read the next book, and I hope eventually each of the roommates gets one!

[Corvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very cute, very frum romance. I enjoyed it, especially how Jewish it was. It felt like it ended in the middle of a story, thought. Not because of the total lack of spice, but because it felt like I was just waiting for something to happen. I think there’s definitely a place for a frum romance, but I confess my favorite part was the friendship between the roommates.

[Crystal Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

good Jewish representation!!

This was a cute quick Hanukkah read with a good Jewish representation. It was refreshing as it didn’t force the Jewishness or reexplain it like some other books. Totally recommend.

[AC B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, easy, quick read. Likable, believable protagonists with lots of giggles mixed in. Just what I needed!

[Rebekkah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute. An extra half star for the Miami Boys Choir reference.

[Scarlett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little unexpected novella. I wish there had been more of a development of the characters and they had actually gotten together. But some cute little scenes.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe a 3.5. It was a short cute holiday story.

[Susan Gooch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kicking off the eight days of Hanukkah romances with no spice at all, but a great read to help people, like me, who knew nothing about Hanukkah, is "I'll Be Home for Hanukkah." This book does a great job of laying out the road map for how Hanukkah works and explains how people that don’t celebrate Christmas view the various elements of the holiday. Swipe ➡️ for more thoughts about this book! I really liked it and gave it four stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/🌶️