A Whole Latke Love

Holiday romance should feel like stepping into a warm kitchen: familiar, fragrant and a little bit daring. We open with two cocktails that embody that spirit — a risky Latke Sour with potato syrup and egg white, and a bright cranberry cosmo sweetened with local honey. Then we dive into two Hanukkah-centered love stories that test how much flavor, heat and heart a seasonal read can carry.

First up, Love and Latkes by Stacey Agdern. We explore a latke fry-off romance built around Jewish food traditions, a foodie blogger with big TV dreams, and a smoked-meat-loving crush who wants a deli. The sensory writing sings and the food-as-courtship thread feels true. We quote lines about allyship as action and desire that tastes like barbecue on the breath. But we also press on continuity gaps, a “next town over” exile that strains credibility, and TV production logistics that real-life timelines would never allow. When humor is announced instead of earned, the rom-com fizz goes flat—even while the menu dazzles.

Then we head to Milwaukee for a friends-to-lovers Hanukkah story that brings grief, chemistry and real spice with Find Me by Liz Lincoln. The dialogue sounds like 23, the city feels lived-in, and the steam arrives early with intention. We highlight a grounded take on loss — love doesn’t end just because someone is gone — and we talk about how frequent, well-placed intimacy can deepen character rather than distract. We also call out two bar-based encounters that set off our hygiene alarms (because even fantasy benefits from a touch of realism). Overall, this one hit the sweet spot: emotional stakes, local texture and holiday heat in balance.

Across both books we keep circling the same truth: holiday romance thrives on specifics. Food as love language. Place as memory. Ritual as structure for second chances. When timelines are tight and banter is earned, even familiar tropes sparkle. Pour a glass, add these to your TBR, and tell us: are you team cozy or team spicy this season? If you enjoyed the show, tap follow, share it with a bookish friend, and leave a quick review on your podcast app to help other romance readers find us.

Our Books & Bevies for the Episode:

Meghan -- Love and Latkes and a Latke Sour

Nicole -- Find Me and a Frosted Cranberry Cosmo (2 oz. vodka, 1 oz. cranberry puree, 1/2 oz. triple sec, 3/4 oz. lime juice, 1/2 oz. simple syrup or 1/4 oz. honey)

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Transcript

Nicole:

I'm Nicole Danielle. 

 Meghan:

And I'm Meghan Leigh. And this is Romance on the Rocks, where two bookish biddies imbibe and talk about romance novels. This time around, we are doing holidays. We've got some holiday stuff. 

Nicole:

I'm feeling festive already. 

Meghan:

Are you? 

Nicole:

I am. I'm ready. 

Meghan:

It snowed here last night. I flew in to the airport in Green Bay.  And probably about 20 minutes outside of Sturgeon Bay, it got slippery - it was snowing. I couldn't have my cruise on anymore. I was not expecting to come home to that. So yeah, I don't know if that's festive, but it's certainly the start of the season.

Nicole:

Well, I am glad that you are home safe and sound from your travels. I, on the other hand, cannot relate to the weather issues because our AC kept kicking on a couple of days ago where I'm like, why is the air conditioner coming on?

Meghan:

Wow. I usually wait till the very end of our episodes to say this. But hey, folks, if you're not already subscribed, go ahead and check us out on Apple iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, all the things. I wait till the very end to usually say that. And I feel like I should just put that at the beginning and just…

Nicole:

Good call. Good call. I appreciate it. 

So, on this episode of the podcast, we are doing Hanukkah and holiday books. And I'm super excited for it. And a special shout out to our friend Meredith, the book that you have for this episode - she's one of our loyal listeners and one of my high school friends - I also sent her a copy of the book recently. So, I hope she has been reading along with us. I sent her a little bit of our swag to one of our buttons and bookmarks. 

Meghan:

Nice.

Nicole:

So, I'm hoping she can read along for this episode. But Meghan, before we dive into these books, tell me what cocktail are you drinking? Because I am very intrigued because you just sent me the recipe link and I was like, what?

Meghan:

Yeah. So, I was really trying to go on theme as we do. And this one is so my book is called Love and Latkes. And I made something that is called the Latkes Sour, the potato spiked Hanukkah cocktail. I'm not sure about this one, folks. The recipe calls for egg whites, lemon juice, potato syrup, apple brandy, and bitters. The potato syrup is basically like mashed potato water, like what you would what you would normally drain out when you make mashed potatoes.

Nicole:

Okay.

Meghan:

But made into a simple syrup. So yeah, mashed potato water with brandy and egg white. And when I was trying to shake this, the egg white was not egg whiting. It was not getting fluffy. And I didn't have quite enough lemon juice. And I think I added too much bitters. So, this is going to be an experience. Here we go. 

Um it's very bitters forward, and that's my own fault. It's not awful. It's a drink. 

Nicole:

Is it potato forward? 

Meghan:

No, I have a feeling that what the potato does is it just adds to the texture. Like you already have the egg white adding kind of a thicker, creamier texture. And I feel like maybe like you would add a potato starch to anything to thicken it. It's just a little bit more of that creamy texture. So yeah, latke sour. I don't know that I can say I highly recommend, but it's not awful. 

Nicole:

Okay. 

Meghan:

Yeah, yeah. We'll put the recipe out there. We’ll see if somebody else can maybe make it better. You might be inspired by it and be able to make it a little bit better than I did. All right, what do you have, Nicole? 

Nicole:

So, you will be very proud of me. I recently made some homemade cranberry jelly for the upcoming holidays. And I did use Wisconsin cranberries. 

Meghan:

As you should. 

Nicole:

As I should. That's what they had at the grocery store in North Carolina.

Meghan:

As they should. 

Nicole:

I had leftover schmushings of the cranberry from making the cranberry jelly. And you know me, little homestead and girl. I waste not want not. I was like, I am sure there is a use for this leftover cranberry shrapnel. I could put it in a compound butter. I could, you know, do something with it. Well, when I was thinking about a cocktail for this episode, I was like, I feel that the cranberry puree must be made into a cocktail. And so, I present to you the frosted cranberry cosmo. 

Meghan:

Oh, pretty. 

Nicole:

It is quite pretty. And I'm gonna pour myself a little more because I'm already halfway through it. Um, so in this lovely, quite vibrant colored concoction is vodka, and I used an Islandic Reyka vodka and one ounce of cranberry puree and some triple sec, as well as some fresh lime juice, and then it called for simple syrup, and I don't really keep simple syrup around the house. In fact, when cocktail recipes call for it, I usually skip it all together. But I taste tested my cranberry shrapnel, and I was like, oh god, we're gonna need a little something sweet in here, or we're gonna pucker up and die. 

Meghan:

Yeah. Yeah, cranberry requires a little sugar, even for us folks who are not overly sugary.

Nicole:

Yeah. So, I did put a little squishy of honey in there, some local North Carolina honey. So, I feel like this is the perfect meeting of Wisconsin and North Carolina between the Carolina honey and the scant and cranberries. 

Meghan:

I think we need to cheers because we both have martini glasses. So, cheers. 

Nicole:

Cheers. 

Meghan:

Love it. 

Nicole:

All right. Well, I'm excited for your book, Meghan. Let's dive right in. Tell me all about love and la custom.

Meghan:

Well, I will preface this by saying I feel about this book how I feel about my cocktail, which is, eh?

Nicole:

Oh no! Oh no. Yeah.

Yeah. I brought this book with me on my trip to Spain. I actually will have a blog coming out sometime in the future about all the books I read on this trip, because I made this into a reading extravaganza. I got through five romance novels on this trip. It'll be in the blog. We'll talk about it. 

But Love and Latkas was the first one that I did, and I started that on my plane ride from Green Bay, and I was done with that before I reached Barcelona. So that was that was in and out. 

The book is called Love and Latkas. It's by Stacey Agdern, published in 2021. The premise. Batya Averman returns to her childhood hometown, Rivertown, New York, because she has volunteered to use her web design skills to create a website promoting an upcoming latke fry-off competition, kind of a la top chef style. George Gold, who sounds like he's maybe an elderly version of like a Gordon Ramsay or Robert Irvine type? He is hosting this competition to bring attention to Jewish Hanukkah food tradition. Batya is a foodie and she basically has a food blog and she has a growing social media network following. She does a lot of interviews and reviews and things like that. Her ultimate dream is to have her own food network type of show that highlights Jewish foods and the traditions from around the world. 

Nicole:

Okay, I feel it. 

Meghan:

Right. Yeah. It's a it's a great theme. She figures that volunteering to create this website for the competition will help her make good contacts in the industry and maybe even give her a chance to kind of sidle up to George Gould and get a chance to learn from him. So, she has volunteered her services. She has sent out an email to his team saying, “I would love to help with this.”  Gets confirmation back that says, “yes, we'd love to see you in Rivertown.” 

Problem is, she has avoided her hometown like the plague for over 10 years. 

Nicole:

Okay. 

Meghan:

Yeah. She didn't realize that this competition was going to be happening in her hometown when she sent out this, you know, feeler to be like, I can help. And so now she's faced with the task of do I go to my hometown and do this and possibly deal with all the ramifications? Or do I lose out on this opportunity? It's a good opportunity. She's got to take it. But she's avoided it for well over 10 years because of this embarrassing incident involving her high school crush. 

Way back when she was 17 years old, basically end of her senior year, um, she approached him at a party and confessed her love. He in turn just stared at her and then said “no.” 

Nicole:

Harsh. 

Batya:

Yeah. She was so mortified that she literally graduated early, packed up, and moved to her college town in California.

Nicole:

Oh, honey.

Uh-huh. Has not returned to her hometown since. So, this is over 10 years. Okay. Her childhood crush, now all grown up, is Abe Newman. 

He also has recently returned to Rivertown. He had been living in Manhattan, which sounds like it's only like a one-hour commute. He still has his day job in New York City as an accountant, but he has now chosen to deal with that commute instead every day. He bought his childhood home from his dad, and Abe spends his free time now working on his growing side business, which is doing smoked barbecued meats. 

Nicole:

That sounds delightful. 

Meghan:

Right.  It sounds great. 

Nicole:

I'm gonna say a guy smelling like a smoked meat is probably the hugest turn on ever.

Meghan:

See, I would go with smoked meat, but I would also say smelling like an auto shop, something about yeah, like oil.

And I always thought that there should be like, you know, new fragrance from Calvin Klein. Grease monkey.

I would love that. 

Nicole:

Grease monkey. I'm gonna need, yeah, smoked meat.

Meghan:

I feel like it would have to be something like uh oh, let's see.

Nocent by Gucci. Sausage smoke.

Nicole:

Yes, yes. That's what I need in my life. 

Meghan:

Yeah, yeah. There you go.

Nicole:

All right, carry on. 

Meghan:

Okay. So, he's there doing his sausage smoke. Now that they're both more tied to their hometown, it becomes impossible to avoid each other. And they still have a close group of childhood friends who do like weekly dinners and other social gatherings. So, they're forced to hang out now quite frequently. 

Not only that, but Abe decides to enter this latke fry-off competition in hopes that he can win the prize money, possibly to open his own deli or meat shop, and to also get George Gould as a mentor. So, they're both kind of looking for the same thing to get into this orbit of George Gould and his people. Batya becomes far more involved with this competition than she had initially anticipated when she is tapped to audition as a host for the episodes. Her foodie background and desire to ultimately become a host of her own show makes it potentially a great fit. 

Nicole:

Well, and if she's got a good social media following, that just makes sense. Yeah. 

Meghan:

Right, right. But of course, that just means that Abe and Batya are again thrown into more close quarters. That's kind of all I'm going to say about the plot. 

I've got a lot of other things we're gonna go over, though. 

Nicole:

Okay, I was like, don't leave me hanging. 

Meghan:

Yeah, we're gonna go over other stuff. Okay. First off, my whole thing about this being meh. It's fine. It would make a decent Hallmark movie. And so, if you're if you're looking for just a very light read, this might be for you. Some things that I liked, quote wise. One of the pages in the book, they're talking about one of their childhood friends is from an Italian background and he has his family's Italian restaurant, and he comes up with a lasagna type dish that's actually Jewish inspired. And uh Abe is commenting, like, “hey man, this is really cool that you made this.” And he said, “allyship is a verb.” And I liked that because it was just like, yeah, you can't just say you're I'm an ally in this, like I support you and your cause or whatever. You show, you do, it's an action. Allyship is a verb. I liked that. That was really nice. 

Nicole:

Yeah. 

Meghan:

And going back to what you had said about us really focusing on like scents and foods and stuff like that. There's a part here where Batya and Abe are eating some of the barbecue that he had been making. And it says, “She leaned in closer. He could smell the sweet tea and the barbecue sauce on her breath. It smelled exquisite, familiar, like she was wearing perfume that he made for her. But this wasn't flowers or scents meant only to be smelled. This was meant to be tasted”. 

And I was like, yeah, that that's that tie-in of the food and when we talk about those familiar smells, thought that was nice. 

Nicole:

Yeah. And then there is another part where we talk about this crush that was over 10 years ago where things fell apart, right? And Batya's having a conversation with one of her girlfriends about this. And her girlfriend is basically saying, like, “ I can't believe you were hung up on this one event that happened over 10 years ago, and you were allowing this to control everything”, right? And this friend is currently engaged to her childhood sweetheart, right? 

Nicole:

Okay. 

Meghan:

So, Bacha says to her friend, how do you do it being engaged to your childhood sweetheart? And her friend Anna says, I am not engaged to my childhood sweetheart. I'm engaged to the man my childhood sweetheart has become. 

Uh-huh. She continues, if I were engaged to my childhood sweetheart, things would have gone downhill really quickly. 

Nicole:

Oof, okay. 

Meghan:

Right? So, it's basically like, yeah, this is the person that I was with a long time ago. However, we've both grown. We are not the same people. So, I can't cling to that. And she follows. Batya says, “so all of that is just footnotes to the current conversation. It's not the main conversation.” And it's like, yeah, that's all the background, but it shouldn't be what you're focused on now. And then again, Anna responds with, “communication is especially hard when one of you is acting based on 15-year-old information and the other one is acting on cutting-edge innovative technology.” Basically, girl, why are you so set on this one memory that happened so long ago that you are just letting it control everything? That was a great conversation.

Nicole:

That's very valid because when you were talking about that, I was like, why did she let that control her narrative in her life so much? And I get it when we're younger, we do let things like that in and then control us and guide us. But at the same point, it's like, don't let him give that much power over you. 

Meghan:

Right.  Right. I mean, this is again so long ago. Another thing I liked. When Abe was trying to demonstrate his intentions to Batya, he starts having deliveries made to her house. Not flowers, but instead different flavors of ice cream from one of the local ice cream parlors. 

Nicole:

Damn it, I thought you were gonna say smoked meats. 

Meghan:

Well, he doesn't have to do that. That would be personally delivered, right? So, this is him having something sent to her, right? 

Nicole:

Right. No, I appreciate it, but also, I was like, smoked meats would have been delightful. 

Meghan:

I mean, there's plenty of that in here, too. Okay. But he has these ice cream flavors delivered. Each of the flavors is accompanied with a different note that explains why he chose that flavor, why it either reminds him of her or a conversation they had or why he wants her to try it. Follows with a quote He was enjoying the bridge that food was building between them. 

All right, moving on. Things that annoyed me. 

Nicole:

Oh, here we go. Meghan has thoughts. 

Meghan:

Well, we're not there yet. This is just the things that annoyed me. Okay, okay. Okay. There were so many names in this book. This is clearly not the first in the series. This is a series. 

Nicole:

Oh shit, I didn't know that. 

Meghan:

Yeah. Which stands alone. However, it is a friendships and festivals novel. I'm assuming the rest of them are all in that world. You can tell that some of these other couples must have been covered in other books. She needs to name every single one of them, apparently. And I could not keep them straight for a while. There were just so many names. And it wasn't just the couples; it was also every person they met on the street. You got their first and their last name and like what their occupation was. I found that very distracting. 

Nicole:

You know what that reminds me of, Meghan? 

Meghan:

Oh, I do. You want to say it? 

Nicole:

Debbie McCumber. 

Meghan:

Right. And maybe had I read the previous books, it wouldn't have felt like a lot because I would have been slowly introduced to all these characters. So, that could just be on me. 

I think Abe is boring. I said it. 

Nicole:

Okay. 

Meghan:

I do. I think he's boring. I don't think he's funny. They keep trying to tell me he's funny throughout the book. And you know, I don't want to be told. I want to be shown. 

Nicole:

Yeah. 

Meghan:

Page 86. He asks if he can buy her ice cream, and then he says, “it’s cold outside, or will be.” And she goes, “What? Why?” And he goes, “That way you can't say I didn't get you ice cream in winter.” She laughed. Ha ha. 

Nicole:

What? 

Meghan:

I don't get it. I don't. I'm like, is that a saying that I don't understand? Maybe this is some sort of old humor? I don't know. I don't get it.

Nicole:

I don't I don't get it either. But pardon my ignorance if I'm supposed to.

Meghan:

Right. Okay. Somebody explain it to me because maybe I'm just missing the point. 

When I say that Abe was boring and his jokes were not funny, it seems like none of the jokes in this book were funny. And I don't know if I was missing something. But they would tell a quote unquote joke and then follow it with, oh, you're so funny. Oh, she laughed so hard. Oh, his sense of humor was so great. Like, oh, this is some sense of humor I can get behind. 

And I'm like, I'm missing something because none of this is funny. 

Nicole:

No. 

Meghan:

I also feel like the least funny people in the room are always the people who explain to you why it's funny or tell you that it's funny. 

Nicole:

Yeah, no. 

Meghan:

No. Yeah. And that's why I have a problem in books that tell me instead of show me. We're moving on to I have thoughts. Yes. The whole timeline here really threw me. We go back to her friend Anna saying, don't let 15-year-old information rule today. Okay. 

Nicole:

Yeah. 

Meghan:

15 years. We've also heard that it's well past 10 years since she left. I'm not sure where in there it really is, but then following her coming back from California to New York, she's currently living in a New York town called Hollowville. She's living with her aunt because her aunt had some sort of long-term illness that she needed help recovering from. 

Page two, it says Batya has come to Hollowville from California five years previous. So supposedly she's been living in Hollowville for five years. 

But then on page 17, it says she drove through the town she'd spent the last three years in before turning to the town she'd spent more than 10 years hiding from. I'm like, okay, has she been living in Hollowville for five years or three years? Are we 10 years or 15 years? I was having a real hard time with that.

Nicole: 

The continuity, Meghan. 

Meghan:

Annoyed. 

Nicole:

Yeah, I get it. 

Meghan:

The fry off festival, which is for we're just gonna call it Food Network. It's not what they call it in the book, but let's just pretend. The filming for this fry off is supposed to happen in from what I can tell, six to eight weeks. If you were gonna be filming a contest that had prize money and mentoring involved, you would already have this pretty well outlined as to what this competition would require.

Nicole:

Yes. And these type of networks and shows absolutely have this type of stuff outlined and networked. And I can't talk about it, but I can 100% confirm it. 

Meghan:

Right.  Right.  So, what really annoyed me, and I thought you would appreciate filming for this happens in less than two months, but in a lot of the book, you've got these kinds of interactions. “Is there going to be a theme for each one of the episodes? Like special ingredients?” Response. “They're considering that, but they may decide otherwise.” They're considering that you have less than two months to get this film, and it's not already completely outlined and like ready to go. Absolutely not. So, they're just all willy-nilly and kind of like, ah, you know.

And then at the last minute, they're like, you should audition to host some of this in less than six weeks. 

Nicole:

In terms of the competition portion, that would have been completely outlined. 

Meghan:

Correct.

All right. Another thing that annoys me. She wants to work with George Gould. Batya does, this massive personality in the food world. He's from Rivertown originally, her small New York hometown. And she, in the beginning of the book, acts as though she doesn't know that at all. And I'm like, you came from a small town, and you don't know this one real famous man also came from your small town. And he's Jewish and he's doing this show to highlight Jewish foods in small town America for the television special. And it never occurs to her that he might be choosing his hometown for the location. She acts shocked. She volunteered to do this thing. And then when she finds out it's in her hometown, she's like, I can't believe it. I thought he would do something in California. And I'm like, you knew he was from your town.

Nicole:

And it's the holidays, and that's gonna be the pitch for the show, right?  Now I'm really sad that I gave you this book. 

Meghan:

It wasn't terrible. I've had terrible books. This was just fine. But here's the part that's gonna blow your mind. And Meredith, if you have read this, tell me if this bothered you too. Hollowville is where she has been living with her aunt. She needs to return to Rivertown. She has avoided her hometown for somewhere between 10 to 15 years. We find out her parents still live in Rivertown. She has not gone home for 10 to 15 years to see her parents. Okay, Nicole, how far away do you think Hollowville is from Rivertown? She's living in Hollowtown.

Nicole:

At least it's an hour if she's not visiting her parents frequently. 

Meghan:

Try again. 

Nicole:

Shut the fuck up.  How far away is it? 

Meghan:

What I could piece together from this book, Hollowtown and Rivertown. I'm sorry, Hollowville and Rivertown are referred to as the next town over. 

Nicole:

Oh, shut the fuck up, and she can't see her parents. 

Meghan:

There's a point in the book where she is going to be doing part of her audition and she's super nervous. And her friends from Hollowville show up in Rivertown to support her for this. 

Nicole:

Well, because it's the next town over. 

Meghan:

And she says to them, You're here. And one of her friends says, We're not that far away. And I'm like, Yeah, you're not that fucking far away. Okay, you're the next town over. 

I'm not done. There's a part in the book where she talks about driving down Route 9 from Rivertown to go back home where she's living with her aunt. It highlights a two-minute drive. And then another statement, it says, even though Hollowville was only two miles away on Route 9. 

Nicole:

Shut the fuck up. 

Meghan:

Two miles? And you haven't been home in nearly 15 years? You have got to be effing with me. 

Nicole:

Not for a holiday girl. What is wrong with you? 

Meghan:

At the beginning of this book, her friends from Rivertown act as though she has been living in California this whole time. Like they have not seen her. And they're like, oh my God, you're back in town. We have to do lunch. 

And I'm like, bitch, if you have not come to visit me and you lived two miles away, and you have not come in the last three to five years, depending on which version of the timeline we're looking at, we probably aren't really friends anymore. I don't really understand that.

Nicole:

Well, let's just talk about that for a hot second. You and I have lived in various places throughout Wisconsin at various times over the last what 25 fucking years? And always found a way to fucking hang out from time to time. 

Meghan:

Oh yeah. 

Nicole:

And then I moved to North Carolina and we still hang out fairly regularly.

Meghan:

Also, if you happen to have an ex in the city that your friends live in, let me give you a little advice, folks. You can still visit that fucking city. 

Nicole:

Right? 

Meghan:

The likelihood of you having to deal with that ex, even if it was terrible, is slim to none. You can find ways to avoid somebody. I'm just saying it was the dumbest. When I understood that she lived two miles away and they were acting as though she had just come home from California, I was like, this is stupid. 

Nicole:

I'm sorry. Well, the continuity was shit. 

Meghan:

I was having some problems with that. Now, do you want to hear though? The good part, the really good part.

Nicole:

Yeah, yeah, give it to me. At this point, I feel like all hope is lost.

Meghan:

No, no, no. Here's the good part. Beyond the allyship is a verb. That's fantastic. I love that. The list of foods in this book, Nicole. You and I could feast for the next several years. 

Nicole:

Okay. 

Meghan:

Ready? 

Nicole:

All right; I'll take the food. 

Meghan:

Okay, here we go. Barbecue, latkes, curry, macarons, matzo ball soup, gefeltafish, bagels, lasagna, brick, pierogies, chocolate gelts, beer, cream soda, blintzes, knishes, pastrami sandwiches, borscht, potato frito, fried eggplant, and everything bagel swirl ice cream. 

Nicole:

Oh my god. Okay, I got a little turned on by that at least. 

Meghan:

End on a high note.

Nicole:

Okay. I'm sorry. Did you tell me what spice level this was? 

Meghan:

I was just gonna say this book gets you a whole green pepper if you're lucky. Oh god, I am so sorry. There, yeah, there was uh an over-the-clothes neck massage. 

Nicole:

Oh, what a treat. 

Meghan:

And a couple of chaste kisses. 

Nicole:

Oh no. 

Meghan:

If you're looking for a book that you can gift your mother, this is the book for you.

Happy Hanukkah. 

Nicole:

Oh, whoo, okay.  I'm really sorry. Um that was gonna be a fun adventure. I'm also now glad because originally the plan was for us both to read this book. 

Meghan:

Yeah. 

Nicole:

And I'm really glad it's not a bitch fest of us both having read this book.

Meghan:

Well, here's the deal. I know this spice level would have been so beyond anything you'd want. 

Nicole:

Oh God, I wouldn't have handled it.

Meghan:

Yeah.  I am curious though, because now moving on to your book, I gifted you this book. So, we could have an equal, you know, playing field here with oh, good lordy.

Nicole:

Um, Meghan, I'm gonna go ahead and say that I feel like uh I got the better end of the shtick here. 

Meghan:

Okay. All right. 

Nicole:

Uh, so this was Find Me by Liz Lincoln, who is a Milwaukee-based author who you met live and in person, which is…

Meghan:

Yes, yeah.

Nicole:

It's part of the Milwaukee Men at Work book series. Um, this current book that you gave to me was published in 2020. However, Meghan, it was previously published in 2015 under a different title. 

Meghan:

Oh. 

Nicole:

And that title was Eight Naughty Nights…

Meghan:

There you go.

Nicole:

…which frankly I don't should still be under that title. So, the genre I'm putting under contemporary holiday romance. My hot take! I know you love my husband. 

Meghan:

Is it controversial or not? 

Nicole:

Yes. 

Meghan:

Or are you just giving me the synopsis? 

Nicole:

It’s my hot take? Take it or leave it. Two twenty-somethings spend eight crazy nights together during Hanukkah, and the menorah is the only thing they're lighting.

Meghan:

That's not a hot take. 

Nicole:

It is now. 

Meghan:

No, it's not. 

Nicole:

It sounded hot the way I said it.

Meghan:

It did. Okay. It sounded hot the way you said it, but “hot take” means - you're killing me with that, girl… 

Nicole:

I'm gonna keep doing it too. 

Meghan:

No, you need to - you know what? We need to have it be something else. Like, I'm gonna come up with it. 

Nicole:

Okay, you come up with my catchphrase term, and we'll go from there.

Meghan:

Okay.

Nicole:

Anyway, the main characters of this book are Laura, 23. She travels the world and takes a variety of jobs from teaching English to emergency relief work, basically anything that helps finance her travel. Okay, cool. She's half Jewish from her mom's side and half Christian from her dad's side. She celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas. When she's in the States, she usually splits her time between her dad's place in DC and her mom's in Milwaukee. Then we have Brady, who I'm pretty sure, if I was reading correctly, is also 23, give or take. 

Meghan:

What's the name? 

Nicole:

Brady. 

Meghan:

Brady, okay. 

Nicole:

Brady. He is her childhood best friend and still her best friend, even though it's long-distance besties now. They've got history together, including some explorations they did in their teens with everything but actual penetrative sex. They haven't technically been in a romantic relationship, always just been really good friends, but they were each other's first for a lot of things, if you gather my meeting. 

Meghan:

Mmmhmm.

Nicole:

And he is a bartender in Milwaukee. And I'm not gonna lie, Meghan, I kept waiting for him to reveal some other ambitions in life. Um, that apparently being a bartender is just his thing, and I'm not trying to poo-poo that. If you want to be a professional bartender, I know there's a lot of those, and I know they like rock at the craft drink making. But I just I was sensing his life was lacking something?

The plot line. Laura's mom, unfortunately, very unfortunately, was recently killed by a drunk driver. And this is the really horribly ironic part of it; is her mom had alcoholism and had struggled with that for years and had finally gotten sober and then killed by a drunk driver. 

Laura is now home to deal with her mother's estate, which includes a building that her mother owned with a globally inspired boutique shop in the lower part of the building, and then her mom's apartment is in the upper part. She's pretty distraught, obviously, over having her mom die. And she also missed her mom's funeral through no fault of her own. I'll get to that. I'll get to that in a hot minute. 

Meghan:

Okay. 

Nicole:

So yeah, she's got a lot of feels right now, and then her and her mom had a rough history because of the mom's alcoholism, but they really loved each other. And again, her mom had finally gotten her life together, owning her own shop, staying sober for the last couple of years. So, this is just really hitting hard. And Laura wants comfort however she can get it. And she's gonna get it from claiming the rights of friends with bennies from Brady while she's home for the holidays to deal with this stuff. But it's only gonna be for eight nights before she jets off to her next life adventure. And that's where I'm gonna leave it. 

Meghan:

Okay. 

Nicole:

So, I'm gonna start with some excerpts that really stuck with me. 

Meghan:

Mm-hmm. 

Nicole:

This is from Laura's point of view. “I'd already wanted him more than I'd ever wanted anyone. Now it went beyond want to elemental need. He was the water to soothe my thirst, the air to give me breath.  And other cliche metaphors I was too horny to think of.” 

And then, this is the most realistic viewpoint I have read to date for this podcast from an MMS an MMC main male character so far. “Sex with Laura was the most amazing thing I'd experienced in my life. I could admit that as a 23-year-old guy, all sex was near the top of my personal amazing list. But being with Laura blew away every other memory I had of being inside a woman. Not because there was anything wrong with them, but because this was Laura.” 

Meghan:

There you go. 

Nicole:

I'm like, that is the most realistic dude moment I have read yet. And then this one really stuck out to me, and it's a little hard-hitting, but it's in reference to her mom's death. And it's something that Brady is saying to Laura. “It'll never stop hurting. You'll always miss her because you love her. And you don't stop loving someone just because they're gone.” 

Meghan:

Truth. 

Nicole:

I thought that was very true. All right, moving on to Things I Loved. 

Lots of Star Wars references in delightfully humorous and funny ways. For example, Laura thinks to herself at one moment, “Wat would the rom-com movie version of me do? Screw rom-coms. What would Princess Leia do?” 

Meghan:

Yeah. 

Nicole:

I really enjoyed the natural dialogue between characters. There were realistic situations. Milwaukee made for a great backdrop to the story, and Liz Lincoln definitely knows the area. I have read some authors where they spend a weekend at a locale and then write about it, and I'm like, hmm, but do you really know the area? And it is clear that Liz Lincoln does. And Lincoln does a great job tying in elements of the city without letting them take over the story. So that was pretty big for me. That's important. Meghan, the spiciness of the book. The holiday spice arrived right away, and there was lots of it throughout the book. And you know I love a spicier book. So, thank you for that Hanukkah gift. 

Meghan:

Excellent. Excellent. I'm glad I was able to assist. 

Nicole:

This was not a slow burn. We were burning the Yule Log right from the start. There is also mention of the recombobulation area at the Milwaukee Airport. 

Meghan:

Excellent. 

Nicole:

As global travelers, I'm sure you, just as I have always appreciated the recombobulation area. And we can all thank MKE for that because I have started to see it in more airports. And I just really appreciated the reference. 

My uh challenges, and I'm using that phrase very loosely here, because they're not my normal challenges with a book. But, while this book was delightfully spicy - thank you, Meghan - and you do know I love a spicy book. So again, thank you. I always say I don't like to kink shame. I'm gonna go ahead and yuck on some yums here. 

Meghan:

Uh-oh. Okay. 

Nicole:

Strictly from a hygiene and safety and sanitation perspective. 

Meghan:

Ooh, okay. As a former bartender. There were two intimate scenes at the bar where Brady works. One of them involved him fingering Laura with dirty, unwashed bartender hands and eating her out on a dirty bar stool.

Meghan:

Yeah.  I don't know that I would call that a kink so much as just that to me is also like people thinking it's cool to do it in an airplane bathroom. And I'm like, that's one of the grossest things I can think of. I don't know that I'd call that a kink. That's a you're right. That's a hygiene issue.

Nicole:

Mm-mm. I'm not doing it. The other scene was even more cringe for me. And that took place in one of the bar bathrooms. 

Meghan:

Uh I just said bathroom. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

Nicole:

Both on the floor and not on the sink and counter. 

Meghan:

No. 

Nicole:

And that was just like…

Meghan:

No, no, close, no.  Okay. Listeners can't see me right now, but my entire body just clenched and tried to make itself small so it didn't have to touch anything.

And my arms are stiff and my hands are like. 

Nicole:

And I feel a little ickness in the back of my throat, even talking about. Yeah, no. Meh, meh. Anyway, moving on, because I don't want to, I don't want to linger on that. No. So my next challenge, Laura's mother's family did not even wait 12 days for her to return home from humanitarian aid work she was doing following a tsunami in Indonesia so that she could attend her mom's funeral. Meghan, as you personally know, my grandmother passed away earlier this year in February, and my family waited until August to have her funeral. So, I just think it's supremely shitty and ridiculous that Laura's family couldn't wait 12 fucking days, less than two weeks, as she's helping people in a country devastated by a major climate event for her to get home for her own mom's fucking funeral. I had huge fucking problems with that. 

Meghan:

Absolutely. 

Nicole:

And along that line of thought, Laura's Aunt Naomi may be one of the biggest bitches on the planet. She takes bitchiness to a whole new level. I did not like her character, and I frankly understand why Laura struggled with the idea of moving back to Milwaukee. Because she'll have to deal with this bitchy aunt and other shitty family members. Okay, so the last two items aren't really challenges I had with the book. I think they were necessary plot points. They also just frustrated the fuck out of me. And I know they were intended to. So, job well done there, but they were annoying. 

My final thoughts. I enjoyed this book. Overall, there was the perfect amount of spice for me, minus the cringy bar scenes. I mean, just have sex on the back-office desk like normal people. I don't know anything about that. And I would definitely read more from Liz Lincoln. It had good pacing, and it wasn't a girthy read, which is perfect for the holiday season, in my opinion. It respectfully bridges the gap between Hanukkah and Christmas, and it was a delight and a treat. 

Meghan:

Very good.  Well, that makes me very happy. And thank you, Liz Lincoln. I think it is that a signed copy, I think I got. 

Nicole:

Yes, it is. 

Meghan:

Yeah, you got yourself a signed copy. There you go.

Food, we're talking food this year, brisket, kugel, latkes, fancy grilled cheeses. I was here for all the food moments. And frankly, if Brady is ever gonna stop being a bartender, I think he could be a chef, honestly. 

As for spice level, I'm gonna give it a habanero…

Meghan:

Oooo.

Nicole:

…based on based on the frequent sex scenes, the language and wording, a lot of which I don't care for. And you know what those trigger words are for me. But also, there were some holiday spankings.

Meghan:

Oh!

Nicole:

I think that was Yes, there were some holiday spankings, and so I'm going to put it at Habanero. 

Meghan:

I was gonna say I was sighing before because I was like, oh, Nicole, tell me about your boobies. 

Nicole:

Yes, I was about to say booby prize. 

Meghan:

Yeah, yeah. 

Nicole:

Okay, so I've got a little twist for you here. A nipple twist, if you will. Normally we encounter the women's chestal region in a lot of these romance novels, but this time I've got man nips! Man nips, bring it. And they happen on page 59. Quote, “In the dim, almost eerie light of the blue and white holiday lights and the glow of the TV, I couldn't tell if the hoop through his nipple was gold or silver.” What do you got, my lady?

Meghan:

Can everybody hear that awkward pause? Cause I've got nothing! Absolutely nothing! 

Nicole:

No. 

Meghan:

Green pepper, baby. What's that? That's why I sighed before. There was the sigh. 

Nicole:

Oh my god, Meghan.

Meghan:

Setting us up for absolutely nothing.

Nicole:

Oh god. Okay, so there's been times when I've had nothing and you've had something, and I you have remarked that you don't even feel like it's fair. I get it now.

Meghan:

Right? It's like meh. Oh, nothing.  Nothing here.

Nicole:

Were you at least able to glean a romantic reminder? 

Meghan:

Uh, say it with food.

And I do think that that's something I mentioned in my Nora Roberts book a while back. It was one of the McGregor series books. I can't remember the title for real anymore. But instead of sending flowers, he had sent a basket of strawberries. 

Nicole:

Oh yeah, yeah. 

Meghan:

And that's exactly what Abe did in these books too, right? He's trying to get her attention and he knows what's going to speak to her more is speaking to her through food. He sends the ice cream with a nice note that explains why he's thinking of her with this particular flavor. I thought that was really nice. And the fact that they made it almost a habit. It was like every Tuesday he would send an ice cream. And so, she'd start looking forward to that and seeing that anticipation and whatnot. So yeah, say it with food. And you, what do you got?

Nicole:

I have the romantic reminder of watch some movies together naked. Laura and Brady decide to watch the OG Star Wars trilogy naked. 

Meghan:

Oh!

Nicole:

And frankly, I think it's a brilliant idea. If you're not a Star Wars fan, it doesn't have to be Star Wars, you know. Whatever you like. As long as you've seen it a gajillion times before, and it won't matter if you get distracted with each other and miss some scenes for a whole episode.

Meghan:

I was just going to say, I don't know, watching it naked sounds like you're not really watching it, but okay. 

Nicole:

Because you're not. Yeah.

Meghan:

Well, there you go. All right. What do we have coming up, my girl? 

Nicole:

We have one more holiday book coming up, and then we have our end of the year book feast, which I am beyond excited for. Meghan, what is your next read for the podcast?

Meghan:

My next read is called A Christmas Kind of Perfect. And it is. Oh, look at that cover. Right? It's so shiny and new. This one is written by Christine Shrimp, and it is copyright of 2017. This is a Door County author, which is why I am reading it. This is a love. Yeah, semi-local to me. I say semi because I'm not sure where she is in Door County. So, she could be down the block for all I know. “Conrad Hamilton thought his life would be easy. A great job running his own construction business, living in his hometown in Door County, Wisconsin, with Lila Clark by his side. He'd planned to marry her as soon as she returned from her Chicago internship, but it never happened. Lila never expected to become a successful writer, nor did she plan to spend years in New York. But she did. Can the magic of Christmas turn two hearts back to one another again? Or is it too late to capture that special kind of perfect?”

Nicole:

Very nice. I'm excited for a Door County read. 

Meghan:

Yeah. And we'll see if there's anything familiar in here where I could say, I eat there all the time. Something fun like that.

Nicole:

All I heard was you say, I heard all of what you said, but then you said the word familiar, and all I could think was your fucking Familiar cat Christmas.

Meghan:

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that book also falls into the category of “meh”. So anyway, that's what I have.  What is on your agenda? 

Nicole:

So, Meghan, our game plan was that we were gonna read something local for each of us. 

Meghan:

But?

Nicole:

And I have a Carolina allegedly Christmas book, but the more I read the back of it, the more ragey it makes me. And I tried really hard. I scoured the internet for some kind of Carolina Christmas book. And I'm probably just missing it, probably missing it. So, if our listeners know of any legit, not obnoxious Carolina Christmas books, tell me and I'll fucking read it.

Meghan:

Here's the thing obnoxious is such a wide-ranging term, right? What's obnoxious to one is not obnoxious to another. So, you might end up with some suggestions that you're like, hell's no.

Okay, well, this was my book, and I'm not gonna show it anymore. And I can't read it. I can't read it; I can't do it. And then I was at Target, Meghan, and I saw a book that is on my TBR list, and I was like, this is my story.

Meghan:

I was just at Target not that long ago, so, I feel like I probably even saw this one there. Let me see it. Oh, actually, no, I don't remember seeing that, but it's a BK Borison.

Nicole:

So, it’s BK Borison. And I was like, I wanted to read this book the moment it launched, a couple of months ago or so. And I was standing at the checkout at Target, and I'm like, it's fucking happening. This is my sign. 

Meghan:

This cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater here.  I had three or four different books, and she was like, no, you gotta read that one because it's local. So, look at her.

Nicole:

I'm a horrible person. I know. 

Meghan:

Turncoat. 

Nicole:

I mean, if you want me to read the shitty other book.

Meghan:

No.  You can go with what you have. That's fine. I'll just make sure that I do a lot of uh sound effects and stuff as you're talking about how great your book is. 

Nicole:

I mean, if you want to switch, switch. I just switched. 

Meghan:

No.  I'm excited to read something local. I'm just saying I'm still gonna make a big deal out of it. That's all.

Nicole:

So, I have Good Spirits by B.K. Borson. He's the ghost of Christmas past. She's not exactly Scrooge. Ghost of Christmas past Nolan Callahan intends to spend this holiday haunting like every other. Get in, get out, return to his otherwise aimless existence as a ghost awaiting the afterlife. But when he's faced with Harriet York, the sweetest assignment he's ever had, he suddenly finds himself wishing for a future. Harriet York has no idea why she's being haunted. She's a good person, or at least she tries to be. A people pleaser to her core, she always does what's expected of her. But as she and Nolan begin to examine her past, they discover there are threads that bind them together and realize there might be more to moving on than expected. With the deadline of Christmas Eve fast approaching, will they find the key to their futures in each other's past? Or will they stay firmly in the present, indulging in their unexpected, spirited connection?” 

And I want to point out the really beautiful sprayed edge. It's really pretty. 

Meghan:

This was one I took with me on vacation.

Nicole:

Yay! Did you read Deathless One?

Meghan:

Yeah.

Nicole:

Oh my god!

Meghan:

That was that was part of my uh my Spanish vacation. 

Nicole:

I didn't even know that was in TBR! 

Meghan:

Well, I just looked up anything my library had by her, and it happened to get called into my library the day before I left on vacation. So, this library book went all the way to Spain and back. 

Nicole:

Oh my god. 

Meghan:

I wasn't allowed to highlight it. I wasn't allowed to destroy it. That's hard for me. 

Nicole:

I know. 

Meghan:

This book still looks a lot more rough than it did when it hit my hands. 

All right, kids. Thanks for joining us today for Romance on the Rocks. Please like, subscribe, and follow. And if you are a hopelessly romantic, bookish biddie like us, think about giving us a review on Apple iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you catch your podcasts. And until next time, just know that your support really means the world to us. Stay safe, and know that you are love.