Eight Ways to Say I Love You by Amanda Elliot

Eight Ways to Say I Love You is the newest book on this list, and what immediately caught my attention is that the story unfolds across eight different Hanukkah seasons rather than trying to squeeze an entire relationship into one holiday week. Shira Levinson and Leo David were childhood best friends before Leo moved away, and when they reconnect in their early twenties, the chemistry is still there even though their lives are moving in very different directions. From there, we revisit them over the years as careers change, families remain complicated, relationships come and go, and both of them slowly figure out who they actually want to become.

What I like most about this setup is that it feels less like instant holiday destiny and more like two people repeatedly meeting at slightly different versions of themselves. Their timing keeps being wrong, which makes this a true slow burn rather than a romance that simply tells us two people have history and expects that to do all the emotional work. The Hanukkah structure also gives the story a natural way to measure time, because every return to the holiday lets us see what has changed and what stubbornly has not.

Pick this one up if you like friends-to-lovers stories, messy twenty-something characters, Jewish identity woven into the larger coming-of-age journey, and romances where career, family, and personal growth matter almost as much as whether the couple finally gets together. It begins light and festive and gradually becomes more thoughtful as Shira and Leo grow up, which is exactly what I want from a romance covering that many years. Sometimes the most satisfying love story is not about finding the right person immediately; it is about becoming ready for the person who has been there all along.

You can get a copy of Eight Ways to Say I Love You by Amanda Elliot on Amazon.

The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah by Jean Meltzer

The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah is my pick when I want a Hanukkah romance with more emotional weight. Evelyn Schwartz is a successful television producer whose holiday season gets complicated when she finds herself working alongside her ex-husband, David, now the doctor on the set of her big Hanukkah musical project. As if working with your ex during the holidays were not already enough, Evelyn begins experiencing ghostly visits that force her to revisit the eight heartbreaks that shaped their relationship.

I included this one because I like when a second-chance romance actually makes the characters examine why the first chance failed. Putting two former partners back in the same room is entertaining, but I need more than unresolved chemistry to convince me they should try again. Here, the magical elements create a framework for grief, memory, hurt, and the things Evelyn and David have never fully processed, which gives the romance more depth than a simple reunion story.

This is the Hanukkah romance I would reach for when I am willing to get a little emotional with my holiday reading. It still has humor and festive energy, but there is more tenderness underneath it, and I like that combination. Holiday books do not always need to be pure sugar; sometimes I want the latkes with a side of emotional reckoning.

You can get a copy of The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah by Jean Meltzer on Amazon.

Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot

Love You a Latke is the book I choose when I want small-town coziness with fake dating and a heroine who would very much like everyone to stop volunteering her for things. Abby Cohen runs a coffee shop in Vermont and gets pulled into planning her town’s Hanukkah festival because she is the only Jewish member of the local tourism board. Then her cheerful regular customer, Seth Abrams, offers to help, with one small condition: Abby has to pretend to be his girlfriend when he goes home for Hanukkah.

This is exactly the kind of setup that works for me during the holidays, because the external plot is cozy while the characters still have enough emotional baggage to keep things interesting. Abby’s grumpiness plays well against Seth’s warmer energy, and I especially like romances where meeting the family reveals more about a character than all the flirting beforehand. Fake dating also remains one of those romance tropes where everyone involved apparently believes pretending to be in love is an excellent way to avoid developing real feelings, and fiction continues proving otherwise.

I would recommend this to readers who want cozy holiday atmosphere, Jewish family dynamics, a small-town setting, and a romance that feels comforting without becoming completely weightless. Of the books on this list, this is probably the one I would choose for a low-stress weekend read when I want something warm, funny, and easy to settle into.

You can get a copy of Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot on Amazon.

Eight Nights of Flirting by Hannah Reynolds

Eight Nights of Flirting brings a younger, sweeter energy to the list. Shira Barbanel wants to impress the boy she has a crush on, but flirting does not exactly come naturally to her. When she becomes snowed in with Tyler Nelson, her longtime rival, the two strike a bargain: Tyler will help Shira improve her flirting skills, and she will help him get access to her well-connected uncle.

Obviously, this arrangement is based on the flawless romantic logic that practicing flirting with the person you supposedly do not want will never result in feelings. We know how this goes.

What makes this one fun for me is the wintry Nantucket setting, the extended-family chaos, and the softer rivals-to-romance energy. It has the cozy holiday-movie feeling I sometimes want without simply recreating a Christmas story with different decorations. The Hanukkah setting is part of Shira’s family life and the rhythm of the story, which gives it a more specific identity.

This is technically a young adult romance, so I would especially recommend it to teen readers or adults who already enjoy YA romance. If you want something snowy, playful, and lower on the emotional devastation scale, this is the one I would save for a night when you mostly want to curl up and enjoy the chemistry.

You can get a copy of Eight Nights of Flirting by Hannah Reynolds on Amazon.

The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer

The Matzah Ball remains one of the first books I think of when someone asks me for a Hanukkah romance. Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt is Jewish and secretly writes bestselling Christmas romances under a pen name, but when her publisher asks her to write a Hanukkah romance instead, she suddenly needs inspiration from the holiday she actually celebrates. That brings her into the orbit of the Matzah Ball and Jacob Greenberg, her childhood nemesis and former crush.

I originally connected with this book because there is more happening underneath the romantic comedy setup. Rachel lives with chronic illness, and the story allows that reality to shape her work, relationships, energy, and sense of belonging rather than treating it as a convenient character detail. I also like the tension in Rachel making a career out of Christmas fantasy while trying to figure out what a Hanukkah love story looks like for her.

The childhood history between Rachel and Jacob gives their romance plenty to work through, but I think Rachel’s personal journey is just as important. She wants creative success, connection, and a way to live more honestly without having every part of herself neatly separated. That makes this a stronger pick for me than a romance where the only question is whether two attractive people will kiss before the final chapter. So if you want a Hanukkah rom-com with emotional depth, Jewish cultural detail, chronic illness representation, and plenty of unresolved childhood feelings, this is still one of my favorite places to start.

You can get a copy of The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer on Amazon.