Title: Mr. Perfect on Paper
Author: Jean Meltzer
Publication: August 9, 2022
Publisher: MIRA
Genre: Romance
Pages: 416
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
The perfect Jewish husband should be:
* A doctor or lawyer (preferably a doctor)
* Baggage-free (no previous marriages, no children)
* And of course—he must be Jewish
As the creator and CEO of the popular Jewish dating app J-Mate, matchmaker Dara Rabinowitz knows the formula for lasting love—at least, for everyone else. When it comes to her own love life, she’s been idling indefinitely. Until her beloved bubbe shares Dara’s checklist for “The Perfect Jewish Husband” on national television and charming news anchor Chris Steadfast proposes they turn Dara’s search into must-see TV.
As a non-Jewish single dad, Chris doesn’t check any of Dara’s boxes. But her hunt for Mr. Perfect is the ratings boost his show desperately needs. If only Chris could ignore his own pesky attraction to Dara—a task much easier said than done when Dara starts questioning if “perfect on paper” can compete with how hard she’s falling for Chris…
REVIEW:
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
When the request for this book came across my email I absolutely squealed with delight. Not only was it on my want-to-read list on Goodreads I also had it on my wish list on Amazon. I read one of her other books in Nov 2021 and I fell in love with her writing. I couldn’t wait to start it.
Dara is a thirty-something tech guru who owns and runs J-Match. A dating site for Jews. She is a third-generation matchmaker. Dara also had GAD or Generalized Anxiety Disorder. She has to have everything just so and planned out to a T. She finds comfort in listening to Emergency Scanners. She thinks everything is going to plan for a morning show who is run by her “crush” Chris the TV anchor. That all changes when her beloved Bubbe goes off the rails and takes the interview in a whole new direction. Oh my, if I thought I had a grasp on Yiddish words from the first book I read I was thoroughly mistaken. It’s a good thing it kept me on my toes the entire time and I loved it! I truly loved Dara. The way the author tackled a huge taboo subject of anxiety was amazing. I myself have anxiety. Granted it is not as bad as Dara’s but I am at times embarrassed by it. Dara certainly was not and I applauded the author for that. It is something that we shouldn’t hide behind since it is part of us and who we are.
I loved how the author wrote about a whole inter-religion relationship. The ins and outs of it. Then she also wrote about the Jew falling for and dating a Non-Jew because that is a real thing in some Jewish families still to this day. The book was a feel-good book. The writing style flowed and was easy to understand. Like I said above there were some things that I had to look up because I wasn’t entirely sure what they meant even from context clues. The author also added in a single widowed Dad who had not a single clue how sort of bra to get his daughter. It was perfect, It showed the side that wasn’t through rose-colored glasses. Not every man no matter what he says is a bra expert. I see that the author has another book coming out in 2023 if Goodreads isn’t lying to me and I will certainly be seeing if I can get an ARC of it!