The closing story in Love All Year: A Holidays Anthology is “The Sweet Spot” by Felicia Grossman, and I gotta say, it’s not just sweet, it’s also very sizzly. We meet up with Alana, a Rabbi, as she’s working to put together her Rosh Hashanah sermon and, well, struggling. The thing is, she’s faced an uphill climb with her congregation, and all signs point to her contract not being renewed and this is her last opportunity. She’s put together something, well, safe, and that feels like her best option, but the whole day is driving her up a wall. Not the least of that driving-up-a-wall feeling is due to her Cantor, Jeremy, who is chisled and pretty and has a gorgeous voice and everyone loves Jeremy, who has a family legacy and it’s just all too much.
That doesn’t stop her from having some Jeremy fantasies—even as she 100% rejects wanting those Jeremy fantasies—but so what if he’s gorgeous and sonorous? The man is a jerk, consistently makes it clear he thinks she needs help in her role and did she mention he’s gorgeous? It’s enough to drive her to complete distraction, she’s on her last freaking nerve, and then they end up having a bit of a snark at each other in the hallway and…
…kiss.
This enemies-to-lovers story was done so deftly, and part of why I say that is because enemies-to-lovers is a trope I generally don’t have a lot of patience for. In this case, Grossman does such a good job of making their “enemy” status a part of some assumptions and miscommunications and their workplace insecurities, though, which really worked to get me on board. And, as I mentioned earlier, the sizzle factor here is off-the-charts. I also loved the resolution to Alana’s sermon issue, and ultimately left the story—and the anthology as a whole—with a smile on my face.
'Nathan Burgoine 