Even though this is a holiday romance, I feel like you can read it at any time to get in that holiday spirit. Rachel and Jacob are also so cute together, even if they don’t always see it. There are some parts of this book that are a bit hard to read, since Rachel has myalgic encephalomyelitis (chronic fatigue syndrome), but I really appreciated that representation in the story and seeing how she can really still make her life what she wants, as long as she listens to her body.
It’s fun to experience how Hannukah can be just as magical though. As someone raised in a household celebrating both Christmas and Hanukkah, I can really relate to Rachel’s feelings that Christmas just has more holiday spirit. But after joining in on the preparations for the Matzah Ball, and meeting Jacob, she maybe starts to get some inspiration. Despite being Jewish, she doesn’t really feel the spirit of the season. ~ lizįinally a Hanukkah romance that isn’t about finding your roots or hiding your Jewish identity! In this book, Rachel is secretly a Christmas romance novelist, but her publisher insists she writes a Hanukkah romance this year. It’s a quick but impactful read I’m still thinking about weeks later. I definitely recommend this book if you enjoy history and/or social commentary. Perhaps most importantly, we get a chance to reflect on society and the ways that we still perpetuate the false statement that Jack the Ripper killed prostitutes and that their social status somehow made his behavior acceptable. We got a very interesting picture of the experiences of homeless people, particularly homeless women, lived during the Victorian Era. I love to read about real people in history, especially people who were often overlooked because of who they were or when they lived.
This book captured me right from the beginning. The Five gives us back their names and who they were as real people, and make them more than just how they died.
But they were actual people with complex histories (most of whom weren’t even prostitutes) and reasons for being on the streets. Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine, and Mary-Jane are basically forgotten by history as “just prostitutes” killed by Jack the Ripper. The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold
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