This book made me feel so seen. I’m not Jewish, and I don’t have ME/CFS. But I am chronically ill, and watching Rachel find love for her self and Jacob was incredibly inspiring. My favorite line from the book is “while people wore ribbons for cancer or marched for heart disease, they hid chronic illness.” This doesn’t resonate because I think one of these diseases is worse than the other. It resonates because every chronically ill person understands the feeling of isolation, the struggles of knowing when and what to share about your health, and the pervasive stigma. I would like to mirror Rachel’s character growth in my own life, and I’m sincerely glad I had the opportunity to read her story. “The Matzah Ball” also tackles abandonment issues and being the loved one of someone chronically ill, and it shares a great deal of Jewish culture that was a pleasure to learn about. This Hanukkah romance has beat two Christmas romance novels to take the top spot in my holiday romance rankings so far.